Wavecor Ardent Journal - the first Builds

[JonMarsh]

In totally unrelated but appreciated news, parts arrived from England for the scooter... it's starting to come together! :B

[JonMarsh]

Not to poke the stereotype too badly, but he appears to be Japanese, he can't be that tall. There was a Japanese woman sitting on one too, now she was of the tall and slender variety, as they usually are, but she made the bike look smaller than you'd think too. Maybe they are just giants though.

Japanese or Chinese with a modern western diet can grow pretty tall...

[kevinm]

Very cool! Thanks for posting the internal wiring setup. Very professional and clean. I like it!

[benthe8track]

Let's get back on topic. the next section probably isn't very needed for the hard core DIY guys, but is provided to show how I terminate the wiring leads and have been putting things together in my own OCD kind of way.

Cardas SE11 stripped for the tweeter connections, and AWG bus wire used to create "pigtails".

The finished cabinet is QUITE heavy, considering the size! I'm sure those Wavecor woofers have a big role in that. Last step is going to be wiring up and mounting the crossover base plate- stay tuned, later this weekend.

Love the details! Looking forward to seeing how your base came together.

[5th element]

Japanese or Chinese with a modern western diet can grow pretty tall...

I thought that was mainly genetics, not diet related.

On another note, you're really getting close to making sound

[Alaric]

Black is back as it were.

It does beg the question though, why did they mess up the power transfer in the lower gears at lower revs? I'm not a bike person, but I'd figure that getting good power transfer around the 3.5k-6.5k range, through the lower gears, would be very important towards the bikes ability to accelerate properly. Well at least there's a fix for it, but it does beg the question, why not fix the bike before it's even released?

They control the output electronically for 'safety' reasons , usually called the "anti-wheelie device". I think you'll find that the torque dip farther up the range is caused by the exhaust system/engine design combo. A new exhaust may eliminate it , or move it somewhere else , like off idle , or up where the RPM/horsepower make it all but unnoticeable.
Hijack over.

[JonMarsh]

They control the output electronically for 'safety' reasons , usually called the "anti-wheelie device". I think you'll find that the torque dip farther up the range is caused by the exhaust system/engine design combo. A new exhaust may eliminate it , or move it somewhere else , like off idle , or up where the RPM/horsepower make it all but unnoticeable.
Hijack over.

Another theory with some credence is that it's due to noise regulations, which are measured under very specific conditions- below a certain RPM, below a certain throttle opening, and only in lower gears... this COULD be a factor, too.

Of those who have implemented one of the various "fixes" going around to "liberate" the below 6000 RPM torque curve in 1st and 2nd gear, a few have reverted to the stock configuration after trying the liberated version, because with the Throttle By Wire fuel injection setup, there was just too much get and up go to manage comfortably with your right hand, unless you have a 2012 - 2014 version with traction control. It's a tire sliding wheelie king in the lower gears, given the gearing and power curve. Responsible manufacturers and rides, of course, would want to avoid that sort of thing... Hooligans, OTOH, may have different motivations...

To put things a little more in perspective achievable speed at 4000 RPM in all gears is as follows:

4,000 25 37 47 55 62 68

The initial reviewers noted that on the track, rolling on in the 3,000 - 4,000 RPM RPM range hard exiting corners would leave black streaks on the pavement due to wheel spin- that would be in the 50-60 mph range. Now, imagine the multiplied torque in lower gears with the engine unleashed.

[Alaric]

there was just too much get and up go to manage comfortably with your right hand, unless you have a 2012 - 2014 version with traction control. It's a tire sliding wheelie king in the lower gears

As a Honda technician , for more years than I care to count , the above has been the cause of lower gear neutering in every case I know of. Suzuki's big 1100 cc sport monsters had the same thing for a few years. Then all we had to do was clip the black wire with the green tracer and instant vertical. Noise tests are usually top gear , full throttle roll-ons , the cause of the exhaust putting that 5000 RPM torque dip in place.
BUT-I've been out of the game for a while and anything is possible. Changes occur at a pretty rapid pace in the industry now.

[dar47]

Hope all had a good 4Th. A little slow going on the IB manifold as I seem to have lost my wrenches for the table saw or sent them with the old router and case with Ben to Cal. I eventually end up using a c-clamp and 7/8" to change blades.



3/4" shop grade ply 13 layers, rapped in 3/4" MDF with some strapping.



Drivers are Stereo integrity HT 18". Manifold will be orientated this way going through the framing to flush with the drywall.



Not sure if I'm mounting on the outside or sliding each one in and mounting on the inside.

[JonMarsh]

Well, the size of that manifold becomes more apparent when I think of how large an 18" sub is, and how small it looks sitting on top! :T Looking pretty good... I'm glad to hear I'm not the only person that has occasional problems keeping track of tools...

Your post reminds me of the two knock down sub cabinets I need to finish gluing together- one started, but set aside in the man cave for now...

I have the base mounted on one cabinet and most of the crossover wiring done (it's actually the second crossover, and this is the second cabinet, not the one used for the original tests. I haven't gotten pictures downloaded from the camera yet or I'd post them already- the parade and aftermath took up half the day yesterday anyway! It is pretty much coming together the way I'd hoped; as the main cabinet has a slight taper front to back, the base doesn't exactly match up, but being underneath, it fall under the "good enough from horseback" perspective. :W

Also did some parallel tasking in the evening, putting some of the new goodies on the scooter. hoping that the Helibars will arrive today, but tracking info from USPS is pretty vague- they are in the Richmond facility in the North Bay as of July 3, but whether they'll deliver today is an open question- hasn't been updated since the 3rd. Got my fingers crossed and will plan as if they will, and while it's cool in the AM, tear down the stock bars and controls. Afternoon will be back inside and finishing the crossover wiring and testing; tonight I meet daughter for Bday (her 30th!) with her fiancé.

Gonna be a busy weekend, and Sunday more so, as we'll be getting GF ready for outpatient surgery on Monday, a very early rise to get her to the horse pistol (deliberate malapropism) by 6 AM, over an hour's drive away!

[dar47]

Glad the balancing act is working out for you. Ya the only down side to holidays is the delivery guys tend to get them too.:cry: Getting really excited to see yours assembled though. :banana:

Had a productive morn, finished the rolling amp cart for the back room. This should hold 3 amps and any other future stuff.



Bottom got some blocking for big wheels so I can move it around in the small storage area. Ben may notice the brown glue I used, he left it so I used it. :B



Super hot and muggy here so I'm maybe start the new component stand for the front room tonight when she cools down.

[JonMarsh]

well, that's definitely some progress! Not surprised to hear you need to work around the day's temperatures, too- I was working on on the patio this AM on the bike, now in doors after some errand running, like yesterday.

Here's how things have been going on the cabinet in process:

This view of the bottom shows the stuffed cabinet with all leads ready to insert in the baseplate, as soon as the holes are drilled. There is some method to my madness, as the cables will be going into locations next to where they must connect. Silicon seal was wiped on one side of the gasket then it was positioned on the bottom of the cabinet- this held it in place nicely.




After drilling the needed holes just large enough to pass the different size round cables, then they were routed through from the top side of the crossover-base assembly.





Then 1-1/2" long hex head furniture connector bolts were used to mount the base plate, using a 4 mm allen head T-wrench with access holes drilled through the front and back support plates (this part wasn't terribly well thought out in advance of construction- afraid I'm sort of making it up as I go along... )




What isn't obvious looking at this picture is that the overall ground bus is arranged as a U shaped loop, with the bottom of the U towards the left (laid on it's side), and the top side is going to the LF crossover, and the bottom going to the midrange and tweeter- input connection bus is basically done the same way, this will minimize voltage drop/interactions between the two sections, I think. Sort of like a quasi star ground setup.

Note that none of the resistors and even one of the coils are not glued down yet, pending evaluations and the final seal of approval!

[dar47]

Wow Jon, I'll give you credit when you want to make something fit your going to do it. :lol:

One thing you and Ben used all 8 base mounting points I thought that was over kill I only used 6, should have mentioned that It may have given a little more space. Why the block on front and back of the inside bases? I love the base driver termination point, I usually just come off the xover board and solder 3 wires together. Going to use that thanks! Should be fun trying to get ours in on top of our bases, may still do 2 boards though. Looks like a lot of fun "when can I try Dad, when?". Haha

[sdl2112]

This is a great build(s). I love seeing the collaborative effort really paying off. The three sets I've seen on here look fantastic :T I like all three choices of veneers. The proportions of the cabinet shape and drivers are spot on. Thanks for all the detailed info...it is very inspiring. I can't wait for the finale.

[JonMarsh]

Those plates were put in pace for mounting these Dayton Audio feet, same type as used in their subwoofer cabinets, which are sold with threaded mounting inserts in sets of four:



This are a little flexible, but are a very hard rubber/plastic combination- doesn't abrade easily, quite study. They are whats on the bottom of the Isiris right now...

Just one option to explore - on a carpeted floor I'd probably use spikes, and I may switch to some of the Acoustic Revive isolation thingies with the crystal sand as energy absorbers, to decouple the bass from the floor a bit.

[JonMarsh]

This is a great build(s). I love seeing the collaborative effort really paying off. The three sets I've seen on here look fantastic :T I like all three choices of veneers. The proportions of the cabinet shape and drivers are spot on. Thanks for all the detailed info...it is very inspiring. I can't wait for the finale.

Glad you're enjoying it- I sure am! :W

[JonMarsh]

Follow up on off topic Pentax 645Z

You'll need to get in line behind my girl friend... but I probably need the tequila more than a nice glass of wine, which is all she's offering... :W


Priorities? How about this for a priority?




Pentax finally came out with an upgrade for my 645D- Live view, HD & 4K video, 50mpx, (up from 40), and 3x shooting speed, plus vastly greater ISO range. Just what I need for that trip to Antactica my GF wants to go on March 2015.


BTW, had a convo with my boss... he's been putting off the same stuff, basically for the same reasons.... doesn't make it good in either case. Have been planning to get this done this summer, after getting off this program, but now it looks like I likely won't be off the program until completed in October-December. What a CF!

Reviews are starting to come in, and they're looking pretty good. Some highlights of interest (to me!)

• Due to the new Sony sensor design (also used in a new Hasselblad and Phase One Medium format cameras) the high ISO performance appears to be state of the art, not just for medium format (which is notoriously low due to the CCD sensors from Kodak usually used in this format), but even in the context of 35mm FF cameras pro cameras. Shooting speed is only 3 FPS, due to the large file sizes (over 50MB)
• Control layout is quite similar to my 645D, with a few tweaks, which means direct controls for almost all important funcitons without going through menus
• Resolution is up from 40MP to 50MP, and in camera development of RAW files is even better than for the 645D. In particularly, the "low resolution" 21MP ouptut JPEGs are very high quality; camera can be set to output JPEGs on one memory card and RAW files (in either Pentax or Adobe DNG format) on the other
• 3200 ISO performance is comparable or better than the 645D at 400 ISO; this opens up a LOT of shooting opportunities, and is suitable for 100% sized prints in large formats
• Viewfinder and LCD view panel are first class, and magnified live view allows very precise focussing even with older manual lenses (got a few of those- 67 series mostly).
• Dynamic range appears to be improved a full stop or more... brighter brights, darker darks without clipping. Sony did a bang up job on this sensor, no surprise there... wonder when/if Sony will bring out a mirrorless MF camera some day? Lenses would be the problem- with Pentax, there are a pot ful of older 6x7 and 4x5 lenses to chose from as well as several new digital only lenses (the 90mm macro with shake reduction appears to be amazing based on some test results I've seen...)
• Pricing is in the same range as a high end FF 35 mm. Not an impulse purchase, about the same as a cheap motorcycle- ~$8K.

The high ISO performance, increased dynamic range, and new output options will likely seal the deal for me.


Some samples from online, not at full resolution, and further compressed by Photo-bucket:


Processed from in camera 21MP JPEG



ISO examples 100% crops, with data:

ISO 100



ISO 3200



3 second exposure at sunrise




I think they've got something here....

[JonMarsh]

Un-Progress Report

This is the Un-Progress report- it was stinking hot here this weekend, and GF was holding out on putting on the air (frugal sort, you understand) and much of Sunday was getting ready for her surgery Monday, which went quite smoothly, fortunately (so, that was GOOD progress)

(and after this weekend, we negotiated a new set point/threshold for the central air...)

That first base is about completely put together, and testing should commence Saturday morning, possibly even earlier, as we're on a different work schedule this week back in our own office, not in Cupertino- I may get home around 6 or earlier, instead of 8-8:30 PM! Also, the small and large random orbital polishers and pads came in, so I'm set for doing the final detail waxing of the cabinets. Of course, the grille assemblies and diffraction control remains to be sorted out, but we're very close, and though the temptation is to work quickly, I'd really rather work carefully.

And yeah, I got no where near tearing down the Isiris and working on them. But I did find one of the Acoustic Revive doodads in it's original box unopened, that my friend had given me a couple of years ago to try, and which I hadn't, due to my inherent engineering skepticism. Now I'll be getting a few more over eBay, I think... life is strange indeed!

And bits are continuing to come in for fixing up the new scooter (four packages yesterday!- one from England, one from Hong Kong)- will do a post in the "Speed" sub forum when I have some of that stuff done- with a personal retrospective on bikes/sport bikes. Some of that is inspired by a guy my age on a British forum who got some amazing pictures of older bikes, still running, which I used to ride...

[benchtester]

3 second exposure at sunrise



I think they've got something here....

I like the picture of the two barns, even if one of them is deflated.

[JonMarsh]

You know, when we were out in the north country in England last summer, we saw a lot of those deflated barns… curious, isn't it? :W

[Johnloudb]

Those pics look great John ... Wow, nice camera!

I never thanked you for the great reply awhile back about my digital camera (Pentax K-30). Thanks! I am at the end of a digital camera class right now ... kind of a warm up for school this fall, and it's a lot fun!

So, I have some pics I'd like to share here (hope you don't mind) ... keep in mind I'm a novice, still learning!

I hope these drop box links work ...

Black Car, Packard??? The car is a bit blurry cause the camera was panned while shooting at 1/30 sec, to show movement in the background. I like it though.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nxwqz1cvihbqf8e/IMGP0118.JPG

Firework - I shot this with my iPhone cause I forgot my SD card for my Pentax, but some turned out really well, like this one. I was surprised that image stabilization really helped to minimize the blurring given all the movement going on, but it did.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ui3gf6eshs14wcq/Firework1.jpg

Duck - I like this one, turned out well.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5z9l1usgz8087qm/Duck1.jpg

Dees - This was an 8 sec exposure hand held (really), resting my hand and camera on the car.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zmdloaqpjdxf92p/Dees1.jpg

I see how I could improve on some of these now but having fun

Great job on your speaker!!! I look forward to you listening impressions when you get them up and running.

[JonMarsh]

John, it looks like you ARE having fun- a handheld shot like the last one is very difficult, usually a tripod is essential.

I tried linking your image URL into an image tag set, but it didn't work- looks like you do have to use the direct URL links only- that's not very convenient of Dropbox. I have a Dropbox account, but use it mostly for data syncing- have you looked into Flickr or Photo-bucket? You can get a fair amount of free storage, and may find they are easier to use, though I don't like the additional compression of Photo-bucket they do when you're uploading. For example, this new sample shot from the 645Z as seen from photo bucket looks flat and loses much detail, compared with the downscaled original. It's mangling the color space, compared with what it looks like online from the original. Still, it hints at one the camera and lens are capable of.





This is from some blog posts by Lloyd Chambers, my favorite super picky and irascible photography guy on the web- you know when he actually likes something, it's pretty darn good. And he likes the 645Z, especially with the new 90mm macro lens, though the older 120mm macro is quite good. (I use the 120mm for landscape as well as macro- it's an excellent overall lens unless you need close up, then I switch to something like the 67 55 mm mounted with an adapter to the 645 body). Here's another Photo-bucket mangled picture (down sampled from the original before uploading, as the original is too large for web display).

http://diglloyd.com

To put this in perspective, viewing this photo from Photo-bucket would be like taking a 24/192 master recording, downsampling to CD, then converting to MP3 and transmitting it by bluetooth to a bluetooth speaker for playback- yeah, you can recognize the tune, but much of the magic is gone!


Have you tried shooting with RAW yet? I believe even an inexpensive program like Photoshop Elements supports ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) and that would give you more control of the final picture rendering, while you're still working with 12-14 bits of data, before converting to an 8 bit per channel JPG. It should be worth looking into for your Pentax.

[JonMarsh]

It's been a strange feeling week, as while our customer's power group is moved to a different building, we've been back at our own office, with the shorter commute, and I've been meeting with my new manager and with his boss. Could be some changes coming out of this- it's a little hard to read the tea leaves at this point.

I've been doing a bit of work in the evening, and the additional stuffing came in yesterday for the second Ardent cabinet, so there will be a big push this weekend, and we SHOULD have working stereo pretty soon! Heck, if they measure and sound good enough, I may even go and wax the cabinets with the special Minwax I bought, (got a Porter Cable 6" random orbital polisher and a Grinot 3" polisher, too- (the latter for doing GF's headlight refinishing). Main challenge I think will be figuring out a relatively optimum diffraction control setup with the felt, and of course final assembly on the grilles.... this is exciting!

One thing you and Ben used all 8 base mounting points I thought that was over kill I only used 6, should have mentioned that It may have given a little more space.

You know, I think 6 would be fine, too- especially with the weight of the cabinet sitting on top of things!

[Hank]

Nice photos boys! I like the "delflated" barn, Jon. And your duck shot, John. Reflective week for me, as my 35th 3M anniversary was Wednesday. Lots of bleeding edge projects, lots of laughter (even at myself) and boy, did the time fly by! I shall continue celebrating this evening. arty: Of course tequila will be involved:boozer:

[benthe8track]

It's been a strange feeling week, as while our customer's power group is moved to a different building, we've been back at our own office, with the shorter commute, and I've been meeting with my new manager and with his boss. Could be some changes coming out of this- it's a little hard to read the tea leaves at this point.

I've been doing a bit of work in the evening, and the additional stuffing came in yesterday for the second Ardent cabinet, so there will be a big push this weekend, and we SHOULD have working stereo pretty soon! Heck, if they measure and sound good enough, I may even go and wax the cabinets with the special Minwax I bought, (got a Porter Cable 6" random orbital polisher and a Grinot 3" polisher, too- (the latter for doing GF's headlight refinishing). Main challenge I think will be figuring out a relatively optimum diffraction control setup with the felt, and of course final assembly on the grilles.... this is exciting!



You know, I think 6 would be fine, too- especially with the weight of the cabinet sitting on top of things!

You could hold it on with one really but the idea was to promote a consistent deformation of the gasket. It should be so airtight I've considered borrowing some equipment from work and essentially preforming a leak down on them haha. Just another day in the office here, mechanical department waiting on the electrical department

[JonMarsh]

Yeah, those EE's seem to take forever finalizing a design! GF wants the back of her family room back, too, so I'm motivated from several directions!

[JonMarsh]

Nice photos boys! I like the "delflated" barn, Jon. And your duck shot, John. Reflective week for me, as my 35th 3M anniversary was Wednesday. Lots of bleeding edge projects, lots of laughter (even at myself) and boy, did the time fly by! I shall continue celebrating this evening. arty: Of course tequila will be involved:boozer:

Hopefully, at our age, quality over quantity when it comes to tequila! Congratulations! I'm about a month and a half away from 29 years, I don't think there's any way I'll go 35 years. More likely, 32... but we all know I'm just a light weight! :W

Well, my furlough week back in the normal office is over- back to the customer stalag for the next three months! :W But one of our guys is getting "liberated"- next week will be his last one there! There's a story behind that, but not one I can share. :W

[JonMarsh]

A high res crop via my Virtual Avenue account

OK, this is just to show you a 100% crop of a portion of the lower right of one of the images above; kind of like listening to 1 minute of a song in high res through a big DAC.... :W




Compare with the second image in the post on pictures above that I did...

Mind you, you'll likely have to resize your window to get a 100% view, and on a large display- this fully takes advantage of a Macbook Pro Retina display that is 2880X1880 in resolution.

[Johnloudb]

Impressive Jon, nice!!

Nice photos boys! I like the "delflated" barn, Jon. And your duck shot, John. Reflective week for me, as my 35th 3M anniversary was Wednesday. Lots of bleeding edge projects, lots of laughter (even at myself) and boy, did the time fly by! I shall continue celebrating this evening. arty: Of course tequila will be involved:boozer:

Congrats Hank! 35 years huh? Impressive!!! :banana:

[5th element]

35 year 3M anniversary. That made me laugh.

[JonMarsh]

35 years with one company is no laughing matter! :B

[Hank]

Laughing has been VERY important to me - making other people laugh no matter how serious the current temporary situation - because serious, sky is falling situations happen constantly. It's your choice whether or not to let them get to you. I've read lots of business books, but the one that was spot on was the Dilbert one.

[JonMarsh]

Laughing has been VERY important to me - making other people laugh no matter how serious the current temporary situation - because serious, sky is falling situations happen constantly. It's your choice whether or not to let them get to you. I've read lots of business books, but the one that was spot on was the Dilbert one.

That's been my experience, too- Scott Adams nails it! :B

[JonMarsh]

One of those weekends... warning- larger pictures (file size)

Geez, you ever have one of those weekends?

I spent MUCH more time on the Honda Element forum this weekend than HT Guide, but at least now I have a full DIY guide for how to tear down the driver door and have a second source version of the original OEM window regulator part on the way, at substantial savings. Hopefully I've turned what would be a $300-$400 bill at the dealer to a $60 part order.

That what quite a diversion from my plans, and then, of course, I had a couple of unexpected "Honey must do's", a third to do after dinner this Sunday evening. Well, that's how it goes.

However, I did finish up the initial wiring up of that cabinet and crossover... (slow work takes time)





And it's actually sitting up and ready for measurements- (I'd hoped to get an impedance plot this evening, but Honey Do Blogs will win instead...)

They're not waxed and buffed out, but still look pretty good. Have all the tools and supplies now to do that.









These pics were hosted on my Virtual Avenue web site account; I'm getting sick of the compression and fuzziness that Photo-bucket puts on everything- it's the MP3 world of picture sites.

Did I mention these things are heavy? Oh, they're heavy... feel like a solid block of cubic unobtanium. Slapping or beating on any of the enclosure walls feels like you're wacking granite - the harder you hit, the more you'll hurt your hand. NO resonance or sound from the walls, otherwise.

Next weekend should have tech data...

[Johnloudb]

I spent MUCH more time on the Honda Element forum this weekend than HT Guide, but at least now I have a full DIY guide for how to tear down the driver door and have a second source version of the original OEM window regulator part on the way, at substantial savings. Hopefully I've turned what would be a $300-$400 bill at the dealer to a $60 part order.

You know, you'd think they could design window regulators that work more than 50 -100 times before going out. I hate that! They've gone out a number of times on one car and once my my used 98 Camry already. Oh, but the engine runs great and hardly burns oil with all the miles it has on it. But windows, nope, a REAL engineering problem! Haha

Yeah, I had to tear down a couple of front doors too installing my car stereo. I found YouTube and other instructions on internet helpful. First time was like, OMG hope I don't break something! Second door was like, okay easy, I can do this.

Nothing like experience!

[benthe8track]

Ahh good old Honda window problems. I'm pretty sure I've had to do something window related on every Honda I've ever owned. Everything else works like a top but the windows.

The speakers are looking sharp! Heavy is right, I find them almost immovable with the solid bases and drivers installed at this point. They will be downright dangerous if I put spikes.

[5th element]

Those are coming along nicely indeed and certainly look like they mean business with the light reflecting off the fronts in those angled shots.

Seeing the Be tweeter reminded me of this website that I have perused a couple of times.

http://www.audiogurman.com/1.htm

There are lots of measurements there for a large number of tweeters, mids and woofers. The one tweeter that jumped out at me was the Audax one.

http://www.audiogurman.com/1.htm#tw025a28

Very low distortion indeed.

And then I found a retailers website that actually has some of their own measurements on it with their own distortion plots! This was quite refreshing I wish more would do this. (I wish they'd measure more!) But one driver that they happened to have measured was the Magnesium dome tweeter from the same range as the above Audax.

http://audiotransducers.com/en/90-100mm/300-audax-tw025a20mg.html

These seem to follow a different trend from the newer scan speak offerings in that they do not have particularly high HD2 levels. I remember you mentioning that you'd prefer if if scan changed the way they optimised their suspension and motor design to get the HD2 levels down a little and I tend to agree. So I saw these and thought of you.

Do you have a pair of those gold Audax drivers? I have some vague memory of having seen you post a picture of them before, not that you need more drivers to try and not that I do either, I've got several pairs of tweeters sitting on the shelf, but these did intrigue me and they don't cost ridiculous amounts either, plus I think you can buy replacement domes.

[CraigJ]

Beautiful design and finish Jon. Did I miss the part about your GF having a couple of dogs and they shed?

Hank, congratulation on 35 years with 3M, pretty impressive these days.

Craig

[Alaric]

The one tweeter that jumped out at me was the Audax one.

All the text being in Russian jumped out at me!
Those are beautiful speakers , Jon. Awe and envy are battling it out inside me as I ponder the skills necessary for the speakers you make. ;x(

[JonMarsh]

Beautiful design and finish Jon. Did I miss the part about your GF having a couple of dogs and they shed?

Hank, congratulation on 35 years with 3M, pretty impressive these days.

Craig

Didn't I own up to that somewhere? She has a couple of rescue Siberian Huskies, and this time of year the weather drives them into what seems to me like bursts of shedding - on that particular rug, GF claims it was clean just a few days ago... it's about that time of the month we pre-clean before the hired cleaning gals show up- that's one of the things requiring attention! :W

[JonMarsh]

Ahh good old Honda window problems. I'm pretty sure I've had to do something window related on every Honda I've ever owned. Everything else works like a top but the windows.

The speakers are looking sharp! Heavy is right, I find them almost immovable with the solid bases and drivers installed at this point. They will be downright dangerous if I put spikes.

I've only been vaguely aware of that issue for many people, doing research this weekend really highlighted the depth of it! Snapping the cable seems to be due to an issue with the electronics, as they're supposed to sense the locked rotor current spike and turn-off the motor before damaging any other parts (at the limits of travel, particularly lowering the window).

If I was in my norma work routine, I'd just take it into the dealer on a week day, but can't do that with the Cupertino commitment- so I did the research, found a very good online guide in a blog for doing the driver side window regulator replacement, found a good Youtube video for the procedure which I've downloaded (using iSkysoft iTube Studio), and found the 3rd party parts available outside the OEM channel which are the parts built for Honda- I've found for electrical items for Honda or Acura you can often get parts that are made by the same OEM supplier but through a different distribution channel at a significantly lower price.

I've even read about guys on the NSX Prime forum having problems with the window regulators, and there's a DIY guide there for doing that replacement- I haven't had any issues with mine, though...

Well, should have the part by the weekend.

As to the speakers, with spikes they'd punch right through any floor, that's for certain! If I can find a little spare time this evening I'm going to get setup for the system impedance measurement- first QA check on the 2nd crossover build! And I remembered I have my other older Macbook at GF's, too, so should just setup with that. I can leave it wired up with the gear, not having to bring it to work in the AM.

Three more months in Cupertino- but I do get off for the niece's wedding- looking forward to that trip starting July 30!

[JonMarsh]

Those are coming along nicely indeed and certainly look like they mean business with the light reflecting off the fronts in those angled shots.

Seeing the Be tweeter reminded me of this website that I have perused a couple of times.

http://www.audiogurman.com/1.htm

There are lots of measurements there for a large number of tweeters, mids and woofers. The one tweeter that jumped out at me was the Audax one.

http://www.audiogurman.com/1.htm#tw025a28

Very low distortion indeed.

And then I found a retailers website that actually has some of their own measurements on it with their own distortion plots! This was quite refreshing I wish more would do this. (I wish they'd measure more!) But one driver that they happened to have measured was the Magnesium dome tweeter from the same range as the above Audax.

http://audiotransducers.com/en/90-100mm/300-audax-tw025a20mg.html

These seem to follow a different trend from the newer scan speak offerings in that they do not have particularly high HD2 levels. I remember you mentioning that you'd prefer if if scan changed the way they optimised their suspension and motor design to get the HD2 levels down a little and I tend to agree. So I saw these and thought of you.

Do you have a pair of those gold Audax drivers? I have some vague memory of having seen you post a picture of them before, not that you need more drivers to try and not that I do either, I've got several pairs of tweeters sitting on the shelf, but these did intrigue me and they don't cost ridiculous amounts either, plus I think you can buy replacement domes.

I used to, don't remember who I sold them to... I used to use a lot of Addax in the 70's and 80's.

I wish more drivers (especially Scanspeak) had HD2 to HD3 balance more like this:

JDT-1024

[JonMarsh]

All the text being in Russian jumped out at me!
Those are beautiful speakers , Jon. Awe and envy are battling it out inside me as I ponder the skills necessary for the speakers you make. ;x(

Thanks for the kind words- it took a lot of time and effort since the genesis of the Ardent concept in June 2009 to get to this point! Slow work takes time! :W

[benthe8track]

I've only been vaguely aware of that issue for many people, doing research this weekend really highlighted the depth of it! Snapping the cable seems to be due to an issue with the electronics, as they're supposed to sense the locked rotor current spike and turn-off the motor before damaging any other parts (at the limits of travel, particularly lowering the window).

If I was in my norma work routine, I'd just take it into the dealer on a week day, but can't do that with the Cupertino commitment- so I did the research, found a very good online guide in a blog for doing the driver side window regulator replacement, found a good Youtube video for the procedure which I've downloaded (using iSkysoft iTube Studio), and found the 3rd party parts available outside the OEM channel which are the parts built for Honda- I've found for electrical items for Honda or Acura you can often get parts that are made by the same OEM supplier but through a different distribution channel at a significantly lower price.

I've even read about guys on the NSX Prime forum having problems with the window regulators, and there's a DIY guide there for doing that replacement- I haven't had any issues with mine, though...

Well, should have the part by the weekend.

As to the speakers, with spikes they'd punch right through any floor, that's for certain! If I can find a little spare time this evening I'm going to get setup for the system impedance measurement- first QA check on the 2nd crossover build! And I remembered I have my other older Macbook at GF's, too, so should just setup with that. I can leave it wired up with the gear, not having to bring it to work in the AM.

Three more months in Cupertino- but I do get off for the niece's wedding- looking forward to that trip starting July 30!

Hopefully those issues don't arise on your NSX. I retrofitted NSX calipers onto a civic once upon a time and the parts were were not cheap.
Looking forward to see how the impedance checks out!

[Hank]

Hank, congratulation on 35 years with 3M, pretty impressive these days.

Thanks Craig! Jon, those cabs are looking mighty spiffy!