SMJ Audio TTC style Ardent D Build

[svenarajala]

As I completed my SMJ Calliope build this year I decided I wanted to take this to the next notch and build the Ardent D's with the help of Steve Manning. With that said I pulled the trigger on having Steve build the cabinets for the Ardent D's using the TTC style and the bamboo tops, bottom, and front baffle. I'm looking forward to assembling another pair of speakers and continuing to learn more about audio from this forum.

[Evil Twin]

I do believe you will find this a most interesting endeavor, and judging from the work you did with your last project, you are well prepared for the challenge...

[Steve Manning]

As with the Calliope MT's that Sven did a little while back, I'll post some pictures along the way getting his parts ready.

Here are a few pictures of what the design is intended to look like when done.

This time around the baffle will be the curved version that I have been working on.



With the baffle removed.



The back if the cabinet.

[svenarajala]

I'm very excited for this project, and my goal is to have them operational by end of April, but availability of parts could add delay.

[svenarajala]

As with the Calliope MT's that Sven did a little while back, I'll post some pictures along the way getting his parts ready.

Here are a few pictures of what the design is intended to look like when done.

This time around the baffle will be the curved version that I have been working on.


With the baffle removed.



The back if the cabinet.

I forgot to ask if you had an updated diagram with the new baffle. I'm really looking forward to this new baffle and how it will look with the bamboo options you showed me. Thanks for sharing the updated diagram!

[Steve Manning]

I forgot to ask if you had an updated diagram with the new baffle. I'm really looking forward to this new baffle and how it will look with the bamboo options you showed me. Thanks for sharing the updated diagram!

Just a note, the driver cutouts are not finished at this point in the rendering..... waiting on the drivers to finalize that.

[Steve Manning]

Besides getting CAD/CAM files in order, parts have already started down the fabrication path.

Lots of gluing up 1.5" slabs of material



Some mdf slabs as well the baffles waiting their turn on the CNC





With the curved baffle design the modified ribs now have a flat front. This should help in getting all the parts aligned.

[Steve Manning]

Well despite a minor detour off into the weeds over Thanksgiving ..... I had to help with the Christmas decorations, there stored above my shop and it shuts down all work activities for the duration, progress continues.

The cause of the detour .....



One of the stands in bamboo ....



Recess to accept port ....



Port installed ....



Underside ....... opening will have a round over when done.

[Steve Manning]

A few more picture with the base of the cabinet in place.

Progress for you as well Danny, your bamboo came in a couple of days ago .... that's it next to your baffles.

[dar47]

Aw Steve, memories of production lines. looks great!

[Norm]

This build will be fantastic.

[Steve Manning]

Thanks guys ....... though Sven gets to do all the fun stuff, finishing.

[JonMarsh]

Mmmm, the smell of bamboo dust in the morning!

Best not to do too much of that, given what it will do to your lungs- get out your KN95 filters!


I've been slowly dialing in the midrange and tweeter levels via listening and measurement, I have what might be the final setting in the next crossover build for the second cabinet.

I'm very happy with how the bass works out with this enclosure volume and the 30Hz tuning of the PR's - very good rendition of pitch, no flab or fatness (some like their bass with a bit of pulchritude, I'll acknowledge) - a great example is the percussion break in the SACD version of James Taylor's "Gaiia" (which I have ripped to 24/176 many years ago). (The CD version in comparison sounds like it is playing back through a pillow with an extra compressor/limiter in the chain). Any extra flab or lack of very low frequency grunt will be quite apparent to someone familiar with how this cut sounds on a good system...



Other cuts being used for listening checks include Keb Mo's "Slow Down" (very good recording of delta blues- both the instruments and vocals) and for mainstream pop (mainstream for a "mature" guy like me) it's Jackson Brown's "I'm Alive".




In fact, SMJ is doing a special promotion this month which Sven qualifies for, with a free copy of "Slow Down" included with his speaker kit! This is a limited time offer, but I have an additional 6 CD's available for Steve's next customers...

[csmielke]

Jon,
I sometimes have issues with things in the room not nailed down vibrating during the break in that cut if the volume is a little high. I will have to look for the super audio version to compare.
Chris

[JonMarsh]

If you haves an SACD player, it's worth taking a look for that recording, though it was issues back in the earliest days of SACD. Who knows, maybe they even have a newer release.

But there's a substantial difference in the clarity of vocals and vocal choruses, too- (you can hear that readily in the vocal choruses on the Gaiia cut) they just didn't do a very careful mastering job on the CD, I think. But you know, I have this suspicion that Sony, for those first releases, went back into their masters and pulled a number of recording in for the first releases and a large part of the sonic difference was not CD versus SACD, but differences in the mastering/mixing equipment and the output.

My CD resolution "down mixes" of some of those SACD releases that I ripped seem to prove that theory out... they sound markedly better than the original CD's.

Mind you, I'm using pretty good DACs for CD playback, too. In the early days of HiRez, the DACs weren't nearly as good for either CD or high res PCM, but the resolution difference from bit depth and rate often tipped things decisively for high res. A really good DAC can be surprisingly good with a well mastered CD... IMO. YMMV, blah blah!

[csmielke]

Jon,
Finding it is going to be a bit of a challenge (in my limited search) unless I want it used at high price points. I wonder if someone is doing a HiRez download?

[JonMarsh]

PM me and perhaps I can help out... though with the ongoing relocation move and Christmas, it might take a bit to find.... nope, just found it. Apple search comes through, didn't think I had it here on this system. To give you an idea of the difference in disk space for different formats, "Gaiia" in 24bit 176kHz takes up 350MB...by it self. That's the size of many average CD releases. The whole album takes 3.45 GB.

While there are a number of James Taylor releases on HDTracks, Hourglass isn't one of them. And most are just 44.1/24 bit.

[Steve Manning]

Parts are stacking up ..... literally. All of Sven's ribs and spacers have been machined for both cabinets. I did a stack up of one cabinet to get a feel of what it's going to look like. Here's a few pictures ....










Port will be longer than what you see here, ~22" for a tune of ~30hz.



Next step is to apply round overs to all the ribs, as well as countersinking some holes to accommodate screw heads and threaded inserts.

[svenarajala]

How tall is the cabinet? Very excited to see the progress and how the cabinet is going to look!

[JonMarsh]

Parts are stacking up ..... literally. All of Sven's ribs and spacers have been machined for both cabinets. I did a stack up of one cabinet to get a feel of what it's going to look like. Here's a few pictures ....










Port will be longer than what you see here, ~22" for a tune of ~30hz.



Next step is to apply round overs to all the ribs, as well as countersinking some holes to accommodate screw heads and threaded inserts.

VERY solid progress, here, looking very nice! Friday I should be able to work on my contributions- looks like I'll have to wrap up everything at work today, and Saturday hitting the road again, since the weather looks like it will be OK.

[Steve Manning]

How tall is the cabinet? Very excited to see the progress and how the cabinet is going to look!

As they sit at the moment, just under 43" tall. By the time you add all the gaskets, you will add ~1" and then the spikes. So ball park is 45".

[technodanvan]

Man that thing looks SOLID. Any idea on weight?

[Jayfabs]

super cool build!

[Bear]

Man that thing looks SOLID. Any idea on weight?

To paraphrase an old adage about restaurant prices....

If you have to ask, you can't lift it.

[dwk]

VERY solid progress, here, looking very nice! Friday I should be able to work on my contributions- looks like I'll have to wrap up everything at work today, and Saturday hitting the road again, since the weather looks like it will be OK.

At the risk of being OT, given all the trials and tribulations in your work life over the years it's amazing that 'the day' is actually here - congratulations! Hopefully everything in the next phase goes as well as you're hoping.

[Steve Manning]

Man that thing looks SOLID. Any idea on weight?

Based on the lightest rib, which I just weighed, what your looking at is 70 - 75 lbs. So by the time their done ..... stout.

[Steve Manning]

At the risk of being OT, given all the trials and tribulations in your work life over the years it's amazing that 'the day' is actually here - congratulations! Hopefully everything in the next phase goes as well as you're hoping.

Thanks dwk ..... yep, it's been all that and then some, especially this year (like many of us).

[svenarajala]

Lesson learned of trying to refresh the browser to see if post made it only to find out after reposting that the original post made it. One would think that the amount of time I spend on a computer would get that...

[svenarajala]

Based on the lightest rib, which I just weighed, what your looking at is 70 - 75 lbs. So by the time their done ..... stout.

Just like the type of beer I like to drink, Stout! I thought about the weight and started thinking I might/should assemble these in the basement. That way I don't have to maneuver stairs.

[Steve Manning]

Round overs and chamfers on parts are done.





Some detail on what that looks like on the stand and a nice round over for the port.

[JonMarsh]

At the risk of being OT, given all the trials and tribulations in your work life over the years it's amazing that 'the day' is actually here - congratulations! Hopefully everything in the next phase goes as well as you're hoping.

Ain't that the truth. I'm nothing if not optimistic, but it's backed by a lot of solid planning and effort, from the financial to heath preservation.

I have routines for many things- like when I get to Nampa, I'm a backdoor man, as Jim Morrison would say...





This is the closest thing I have to human contact, the masked order and checkout gal there... other than that, it's the drive through take out line at Starbucks in Fernley NV or Nampa ID.

Then, just the comforts of the new home...






Let me relate a quick "ah hah!" milestone this weekend...

After video calling Liubov, and eating my take out, and putting a few things away and checking news, I turned in on the temporary bed I built there with an inexpensive but very comfortable gel foam memory mattress... and this night, I slept like the proverbial log all the way through to the alarm I'd set to get up for unpacking and heading to Starbucks, then home in CA. I was in very deep sleep, dreaming, when that alarm went off. I haven't had a nights sleep like that in ages... well over a year. I ALWAYS wake up on my own before the alarm goes off- it's a product of being so mentally wound up in this times, I believe. I wouldn't have thought kicking my day job to the curb would provide this much relief, but it went down almost the same way last night...

There is hope for the future... and a new bass guitar, too! A lucky deal I found at Sweetwater music, a completely mint demo "Al Cisneros" signature edition Rickenbacker bass. It is just lovely... gobsmacking lovely! Now, there are specific construction and tonal reasons why I wanted one of these, and not a standard 4003 stereo bass. The second pickup is not the normal neck pickup, but another bridge pickup assembly, and it's located in a different location that gets a different tonal response than the normal neck pickup or the standard bridge pickup. It's also a solid walnut body, with an oil finish, not lacquer or polyurethane, which some claim dampens the sustain. This bass has sustain for miles...




I've been very lucky with my instrument purchases, but then, they have been done with patience over a long period of time. Most you can't just go out and buy anymore- a number of items have been recreating what my setup was in the early 70's when working my way through college. That included a JTM45 Marshall, with a 100W Traynor amplifier, a Marshall stack with Celestion greenbacks on top, and Vintage 30's on the bottom, a G1275 double neck, a 72 Les Paul recording, and a triple pickup SG Custom., and a Hammond B3.

The JTM45 is "replicated" with a Marshal VM2266, also built with KT66 but with preamp body and presence master gains, an effects loop, a balanced send, and digital plate reverb.

So, it's faithful to the part creating the fundamental tone, but with modern updates. The VM cabinets are like that, too.




The KeyB Duo MkIII is the most faithful portable to the original B3, more so than Hammond's efforts, but the Italian company basically died after 2013, after trying to get manufacturing going in the US. I got one of the few MkIII models built in the USA back then...





Besides having the full programmable reverse color keyboard presets, it has extensive control over the "special" characteristics different B3's have, and has a relatively decent Leslie tone cabinet simulation built in- but it also has the standard connectors for hooking up to a Leslie cabinet, like the Pro touring model I have.


Well, some folks say that you have to make your own luck- I agree- what they don't tell you is that it takes time and hard work!

[Steve Manning]

It's Baffle Time

With all drivers on hand so I could double check dimensions, work has started on the baffles.

Baffles are comprised of a 1.5" outer layer of bamboo and a .5" layer of Baltic Birch.



As Jon found out with his test cabinets, the bolt hols for the AS168 drivers do not allow the use of the brass inserts that I typically use. I found a different route using an offset insert that is inset between the birch and bamboo layers.



Layers are aligned with 3/8" dowels.



Layers combined.



A test of alignment of the thru holes and inserts.

[Steve Manning]

A few more ...

Top side of the baffle.



Test fit of the drivers.






Mid & Tweeter are sitting a little low since they do not have any gasket installed at present ...... add that to your to do list Sven.



Side shot of the woofers. Their very stout considering their size. Very well made.

[Bear]

After video calling Liubov, and eating my take out, and putting a few things away and checking news, I turned in on the temporary bed I built there with an inexpensive but very comfortable gel foam memory mattress... and this night, I slept like the proverbial log all the way through to the alarm I'd set to get up for unpacking and heading to Starbucks, then home in CA. I was in very deep sleep, dreaming, when that alarm went off. I haven't had a nights sleep like that in ages... well over a year. I ALWAYS wake up on my own before the alarm goes off- it's a product of being so mentally wound up in this times, I believe. I wouldn't have thought kicking my day job to the curb would provide this much relief, but it went down almost the same way last night...

If you don't have a latex allergy, consider getting a Talalay latex mattress if you upgrade from the cheap one. However, given your recent sleep, why spend money when it isn't broken. Depending upon which specific foam mattress and gel vs no gel, the latext ones tend to have better edge support and more support, in general, without creating pressure points. There are a ton of online dealers (many located in Phoenix, of all places), but if you've got an IKEA in one of your haunts, then you can give a more basic model a try in-store.

[svenarajala]

The baffles are gorgeous!! My wife really likes them too!

[Browncoat]

Agreed, stunning work.

Do you aim to have the top/bottom of the driver flush with the baffle, or the left/right sides? Or neither?

[Steve Manning]

The baffles are gorgeous!! My wife really likes them too!

Thanks Sven .... as long as your wife likes them your good to go.

[Steve Manning]

Agreed, stunning work.

Do you aim to have the top/bottom of the driver flush with the baffle, or the left/right sides? Or neither?

Thanks Browncoat ...... Each of the driver cutouts have a radius on their edges. I set things up so the top of the driver face plate lines up with where that radius starts on the right/left sides since their the high point. The radius in this case is 1/8". With the Accutons, since they don't have a flat face plate/edge, I line up where the edge stops being vertical and angles over.

Hopefully that makes sense.

[Norm]

Seeing the baffles Steve has made for the TCC Ardent D my first thought was “Steve Manning’s work in CAD and CNC is the highest level being done in the HiFi industry”. On reflection that is a bit hyperbolic. A more accurate statement is that Steve Manning’s work in CAD and CNC is at the level we see coming out of the Wilson Audio and Magico factories. And available to us DIY HiFi nerds.

[Steve Manning]

Seeing the baffles Steve has made for the TCC Ardent D my first thought was “Steve Manning’s work in CAD and CNC is the highest level being done in the HiFi industry”. On reflection that is a bit hyperbolic. A more accurate statement is that Steve Manning’s work in CAD and CNC is at the level we see coming out of the Wilson Audio and Magico factories. And available to us DIY HiFi nerds.

Thanks for the kind words Norm ..... Wilson Audio and Magico have been an inspiration for me for some time.

[JonMarsh]

Steve is a joy to work with, because of the degree of experience and craftsman ship he brings to the cabinet work we dream up...

Someday even I may be able to build a cabinet kit from him! I gotta get a little more mileage out of my Sawstop saw first!

[Steve Manning]

A small update ...... Made a half dozen crossover boards in preparation for Jon's final crossover version.







Also getting ready to order up a bunch of threaded inserts for installation so these cabinets can be put together.

[svenarajala]

will the crossovers all fit on one board or will it be two boards per cabinet? Yay on the threaded inserts, I can focus on my finishing work on this build.

[Steve Manning]

will the crossovers all fit on one board or will it be two boards per cabinet? Yay on the threaded inserts, I can focus on my finishing work on this build.

Actually there will be at least 2 boards per cabinet, maybe 3. Once the master gets me a parts list and I get the parts in, I can start building the jigsaw puzzle and see how it works out.

[Finleyville]

What are those white spacer ribs made out of? Are they painted white?