A Finalist Center Channel build

[TH-1]

I liked the Anthologys so much, I figured I'd better upgrade my 13 year old center channel to something worthy. There's also grumblings that the RS28F tweeter may be in limited supply.

This build will likely take 2-3 weeks as I wait for parts to arrive and poke away on evenings and weekends. It's not lost on me that I may need more time than I did on the Anthologys. First step is done.



Was able to use left over MDF cuts too, which clears up some space. I've cut the baffle pieces with two 3/4" MDF pieces so as to be 1-1/2" thick, hope that doesn't pose any unforeseen problems as long as I preserve the other cut sizes and internal volume. Else I'll have to scrounge up some 1/2" MDF this weekend.

[TH-1]

Only had about 2 hrs, so started assembling the cabinet.



This is a big center. Interesting sealed design too.

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I cheat with a few brad nails in all my cabinets, but clamp as well. I’ve had great luck with 2” brads pulling the seams tight, but wouldn’t trust without clamping. Usually I dado but, after my Anthology build, I don’t know if I’ll bother again. Butt joints seem plenty strong and tight.

[Chris~H]

Looking forward to your thoughts on how you like the integration with your Anthologys.

Chris

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[TH-1]

Me too, Chris. Gonna be a week or two yet.

I did manage to get the cabinet braces and mid chamber assembled. I applied a run of silicone on all the edges, but this box is air tight. Probably used a bit too much glue. Not the cleanest but I won’t see it.



Baffle pieces are cut, but I probably won’t start routering until all the parts arrive.

[TH-1]

Was hoping to update this thread and finish the speaker this weekend, but USPS seems to have routed my speakers to Poland. (I live in eastern Canada now). I’ve been screen capturing the tracking updates, this one is bizarre. I worked in the shipping biz back in college, there’s actually a chance this is intentional, I can remember more bizarre routing patterns, but gonna make a call today just in case though.

[scottvalentin]

Wow that is definitely the scenic route.

[TH-1]

If it gets a little further north I’m calling this the Scandinavian drivers version.


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[TH-1]

A Finalist Center Channel build

Update - after spending a few days in Warsaw, Poland and Vienna, Austria, the parts decided to finish their journey and made it to Atlantic Canada.

I really have to tip my hat to Chad at Meniscus Audio who was very responsive and quickly set the shipping company straight to resolve the issue. All the labels definitely had the right address, so no idea how they managed that detour. Also, there appears to be no visible damage because of how well it was packaged. It’s the little things that make for a good shopping experience.

Baffle finally routered, foam and crossovers assembles and installed.







I’ll have to attach the baffle start work on the finish over the next few days. Was hoping to knock this out before September, as I travel a fair bit for work, might not have this ready for the Kickoff Game, but that’s ok

[TH-1]

A Finalist Center Channel build

Took longer than expected but finally got everything finished. Wow, this is a big center channel.







The sound is excellent, a very nice match with the Anthology mains despite a few different drivers in the design. There’s an airiness to it from the top end that’s works very well with dialogue and the midrange frequencies are very natural sounding. In my room, I can easily cross it over to the sub at 50Hz. Part of that appears to be the result of benefiting from modes boosting frequencies in this area. Side note, these last 2 projects have allowed me to substantially lower the crossover point to my sub...this has really helped sound on a number of fronts.

Placement has been a bit of trial and error and dealing with room acoustics. I wonder if larger speakers are a bit more difficult to tune in just right in this regard? When I measure the speaker 6 feet out from a wall, 36” off the floor, it measures very flat, what I’d expect. When I place it 24 inches out from the front wall and sitting on the stands I have (12” High I think) at 2m distance, some of the response between 200 and 1000Hz is reduced. Moving the mic to the listening position further back and much higher and that same range is reduced as low as -9dB at the worst. At 18” out from the wall with a bit of tilt towards the listening position, that’s improved substantially. At 12” out from the wall, the response is better still, near the testing measurement. I could probably go closer and get better results still but the thing is heavy and I was tired.

I’ll keep playing with it, but using Dirac Full on my Emotiva XMC-1 professor sort of makes it moot anyway.

I can’t stress how much the dynamics and realism shine through - I wish I was more poetic with words like magazine reviewers . Have to give Jim and Curt a lot of credit for these designs. I dabble designing my own speakers, but I’m not confident enough that I could achieve the same performance level if I spent this much. These will serve as a good reference point for future designs.

Next step is a few surrounds.

[JoeAngelicchio]

Those look amazing, nice work!!!

[Jim Holtz]

The system looks great! I'm pleased that you are enjoying the Anthology's and the Finalist/Anthology center. IMHO, they make a very good combination.

I suspect you're getting room interaction with the differences in positioning you're measuring. Pick the one that sounds best and interacts with the room best, then enjoy!

Jim