Jon's 'Obi-Wan' project got me thinking about a few kits I have lying around, including one that is somewhat similar in that it is an 8" two-way. I'm talking of course, of Ben's (Wolf's) Zingers design. I purchased this at least a year or two ago from Meniscus since it was relatively low cost and seemed like a fun set of speakers. I've always wanted to try one of Ben's designs as well, so this seemed like a good opportunity to bust out the parts and see what I'm working with.
This kit appears to still be available from Meniscus, which is a good sign considering parts availability for other speaker kits can be hit or miss. However, these particular parts have been around a bit - the Dayton Audio SD215-88 woofer and the Peerless DA25BG08-06 dome tweeter. Given the low cost of the kit, I elected to spring for the Clarity CSA cap on the tweeter. I did not, however, have them build this particular crossover for me, which was a mistake. Not because I can't do it myself, but they do good work and given the little mark up on their kits it's nice to throw them an extra couple of bucks. If you get one of their kits I highly recommend springing for the built crossovers.
Another part of this project was wanting to use up some of the copious scrap pieces of wood I have lying about in an attempt to better organize my garage. I found two nice chunks of Bamboo that were 1.25" thick - laminated for my failed Ardent go, but I had cut off the water damaged portions and this is what I had left. Only downside is they're about 0.25" too narrow for the 11.5" wide baffle the design calls for. Also, if I want to get both baffles and rears of the speakers out of the same stuff (I kinda do), they're also about 0.25" too short for the 18.5" height specified.
Given the minimal difference in dimensions I've decided to use them and make the cabinet 0.25-0.5" deeper to keep the volume roughly the same.
I also scrounge up a couple pieces of 3/4" MDF to use as the sides...
Another 3/4" chunk of Bamboo to use as the top/bottom...
And a nice piece of 3/4" Baltic Birch to serve as a pair of vertical window braces.
I have a plastic/cardboard port from the Meniscus kit, but I think I'll make my own given the bamboo on the rear. Current plan is to clearcoat the front and back bamboo, and paint the rest of the cabs a bright red. We'll see how that evolves.
This kit appears to still be available from Meniscus, which is a good sign considering parts availability for other speaker kits can be hit or miss. However, these particular parts have been around a bit - the Dayton Audio SD215-88 woofer and the Peerless DA25BG08-06 dome tweeter. Given the low cost of the kit, I elected to spring for the Clarity CSA cap on the tweeter. I did not, however, have them build this particular crossover for me, which was a mistake. Not because I can't do it myself, but they do good work and given the little mark up on their kits it's nice to throw them an extra couple of bucks. If you get one of their kits I highly recommend springing for the built crossovers.
Another part of this project was wanting to use up some of the copious scrap pieces of wood I have lying about in an attempt to better organize my garage. I found two nice chunks of Bamboo that were 1.25" thick - laminated for my failed Ardent go, but I had cut off the water damaged portions and this is what I had left. Only downside is they're about 0.25" too narrow for the 11.5" wide baffle the design calls for. Also, if I want to get both baffles and rears of the speakers out of the same stuff (I kinda do), they're also about 0.25" too short for the 18.5" height specified.
Given the minimal difference in dimensions I've decided to use them and make the cabinet 0.25-0.5" deeper to keep the volume roughly the same.
I also scrounge up a couple pieces of 3/4" MDF to use as the sides...
Another 3/4" chunk of Bamboo to use as the top/bottom...
And a nice piece of 3/4" Baltic Birch to serve as a pair of vertical window braces.
I have a plastic/cardboard port from the Meniscus kit, but I think I'll make my own given the bamboo on the rear. Current plan is to clearcoat the front and back bamboo, and paint the rest of the cabs a bright red. We'll see how that evolves.
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