New Build Thread - Ardent D by SMJ

[Steve Manning]

Fiddley bits ..... installed another two dozen threaded inserts to mount the crossover boards. Using some standoffs for some clearance behind the boards.





With that out of the way, I can start gluing together cabinet panels.

[JimS]

Ah, but that depends on what they offer me for co-marketing agreement to showcase their logo…..of course target market might be a bit small (likely only my dog 😜)

[technodanvan]

Great work as always Steve! Just a thought - and I know these are not the permanent installation, so this may be for JimS - I would consider mounting the feet with the brand facing 'inside' the speaker at an angle such they would not be visible from the front or sides, even were someone to lay down in front of said speakers.

[JonMarsh]

Things moving along ..... got the bases finished with inserts installed and edges beveled.





Picked up some 1/4" MDF and cut out some xover boards.





Doing a test fit and positioning so I can get threaded inserts installed for mounting the boards. More involved than Jon's heavy duty Velcro, but since I tend to run wires on the backside of the boards I didn't want issues if I had to pull the Velcro for modifications.

The Master Machinist at work! It's really cool to see these coming together like this!

Me, I've mostly just been doing fun stuff like carpet cleaning... but also updating some Shapr3D CAD files.

[Steve Manning]

Cool, looks like good progress Steve 👍

Did PE finally get back ordered xover parts shipped?

Yep ..... I should have everything from them at this point. I'm hoping to start assembly on boards here shortly.

[JimS]

Cool, looks like good progress Steve 👍

Did PE finally get back ordered xover parts shipped?

[Steve Manning]

Things moving along ..... got the bases finished with inserts installed and edges beveled.





Picked up some 1/4" MDF and cut out some xover boards.





Doing a test fit and positioning so I can get threaded inserts installed for mounting the boards. More involved than Jon's heavy duty Velcro, but since I tend to run wires on the backside of the boards I didn't want issues if I had to pull the Velcro for modifications.

[Steve Manning]

Well despite everything going on this time of year, some progress continues.

Got the inserts installed for the passive radiators.





Got the bases roughed out.



Also started work on some internal bracing for the cabinets.

[JonMarsh]

I could try weighing one of my assembled ones for fun... it might be tricky though, to avoid smashing the Withings scale!

[Steve Manning]

That sure is a nice looking cabinet! What is the weight of one these cabinets weighing in at?

I have no idea, though have no fear, next to yours these will light weights, though stout.

[theSven]

That sure is a nice looking cabinet! What is the weight of one these cabinets weighing in at?

[JonMarsh]

It's a great feeling seeing those enclosure walls come together... I think over the Thanksgiving week I'll be able to get the updated crossovers installed in my 2nd one, and with a bit of effort, start getting back to the Saint-Saēns, which was interrupted by family emergencies in early July...

[Steve Manning]

Getting layers trimmed to length with 10 degree bevels on the ends and then glued together. As Jon is fond of saying about slow work and all that .....











I can see where a 5 axis CNC would come in handy for stuff like this. That however, is waiting on a Lotto win!

[JimS]

Good progress Steve, looking great 👍

[Evil Twin]

Your progress to date on the 2nd build of the Kurosawa Jr. is most impressive...

[Steve Manning]

Well speaking of said PR's .....

Parts for the rear panels have been cut out.





A test fit of one of the PR's and a reason to have parts on hand. I discovered the the flange thickness was ~0.1" off from the manufacturers drawing!



Also got the top and bottom pieces cut as well.



Of course lots of gluing and trimming to the correct length are next on the agenda.

[Evil Twin]

A Data Item update for Mr. Manning, regarding the LF alignment and PR configuration with one weight disk on each RSS210-PR (2x) - Jonmarsh was unduly tied up with health advocacy issues for others...

[theSven]

Those are some gorgeous looking baffles for this build. Looking forward to see how they come out finished.

[Evil Twin]

In this case, Steve's construction engineering and philosophy produce uniformly excellent results- and without tapping the power of the Dark Side...

With only more basic tooling available, calculated consistency it not available- it requires the inspiration of the Dark Side...

[Steve Manning]

Genuine engineering apparently leads to impeccable results!
BRAVO !

Thanks for the kind words Gerald

[Gerald Jansen]

Genuine engineering apparently leads to impeccable results!
BRAVO !

[Evil Twin]

A most satisfactory result at this point... I am anticipating further progress soon... I expect Jim is most pleased at these construction results...

Then came the cleanup ....



The first side finished .....



All done.



The before and after comparison.

[JimS]

Whoop, looking good Steve!!

[technodanvan]

Wooooooow, that looks good!

[Steve Manning]

Then came the cleanup ....



The first side finished .....



All done.



The before and after comparison.

[Steve Manning]

Well after building a number of Ardent baffles over the years, I opted to forgo the table saw approach which is a pain, unless you have a 14" slider. I decided to give it a whirl on the CNC.

It was a bit of a pucker factor, but things turned out rather well.

The start of the roughing process.





Like building a set of stairs.



First side done.



Both sides roughed.

[JonMarsh]

Slow work takes time but yields precision results, in Steve's case!

[JimS]

Looking good Steve!!

[Steve Manning]

As with most parts, unless one has a vacuum table, there are machining tabs that need to be cleaned up.





The usual pile of cutout plugs left over.



Starting to build up a good pile of parts ....

[Steve Manning]

Then started on the bottom layers.



Since the woofer mounting holes are so close to the edge of the driver cutouts, using standard threaded inserts was not an option. Sp I went with an offset option that will live in between baffle layers.

Here are the recessed pockets for them.

[Steve Manning]

Been making some wood chips over the last few days. Turned the maple blanks into some parts.

The outer layer of the baffle.



As Jon has mentioned this stuff machines very well. None of the chipping and splintering of bamboo or Baltic Birch. Too bad it doesn't come in more useful sizes and less abusive on the wallet!



Test fitting some of the drivers.

[JonMarsh]

Steady progress, good to see. I just got back to some actual crossover assembly stuff yesterday, (2nd midrange crossover board) then had to go to ACE Hardware because my Stanly hot glue gun was glitching... lets see how far I get today!

[Steve Manning]

Also managed to get things started on the baffles.

Breaking the maple pin block down to rough length.



Rough break down of panels next to a set of sides.



Things broken down to final width and rough length for the CNC

[Steve Manning]

Work has continued on the cabinet sides.

Weather has been nice so I can enjoy the shop being open.



A little sanding of the MDF to rough up the surface prior to glue up.



Many clamps required as usual.






After clean up of things.

[Steve Manning]

Another small update ....turning blanks into parts. After doing some PM work on the CNC, I was able to get the inner side walls cut out today.

[JimS]

Cool, excited to see these move forward 👍

[theSven]

Great to read and see photos that the sawdust has begun on Jims Ardent D's. It's also great that Jims live close so I can hear these bad boys once they make it to his house.

[Steve Manning]

With Sven's subs complete and home safe and sound things are starting to move along on Jim's Ardent D's. All the crossover components have been ordered though only about 60% have been delivered. The remainder are supposed to ship later this month.

Today I did get some sawdust created and got the blanks cut for the cabinet sides. Outer shell is 18mm Baltic Birch and the inner is 1/2" mdf.

[JimS]

Thanks Steve and Jon. Six of the RSS210 PRs are acquired and inbound 👍

[JonMarsh]

That's about the only thing I'm aware of that has come up, and it was just in response to Jim's question to me this week. Asking why I originally had 10" PR's, and explaining the area ratio thingie and how it relates to frequency tuning an extension versus flatness.

one can use the extra disk on just two of the RSS210PR, tuning to the same Fb, but you don't get the same coupling and output, where the woofer output starts to roll off, the whole system output declines. One can only change PR mass in disk weight increments, so no disks is 110g, 1 disk is 185g.

Also, the Fb tuning is a function of individual PR mass and the number of PR's and net compliance.

[Steve Manning]

Good thing I hadn't started cutting any wood yet. So, what did the three of us miss when we signed off on the change a while back? Oh well we will adapt. 🙃

[JonMarsh]

OK, a little bit of an LF modeling update, in consideration of changes being considered by Steve and Jim.


Quick review of the original configuration with two AS168-9-470 with two RSS265PR in Unibox...







With 2x RSS210PR no weights...



IMO, 2 - 8" PRs is a less than optimum ratio of woofer area to PR area.

But what do I know?











Now, my preferred alternative if the 8" PR are to be used...



With one weight disk added...

[JonMarsh]

Picked up one more for a spare... Minvera Tangband is fairly likely to happen.

[JonMarsh]

That's curious, because someone must have bought a bucket load, as when I checked in 2024, they had about 50 in stock! Thanks for the tip.

[technodanvan]

Related: Those coaxes are considered on clearance by Parts Express right now. There's only 3 left and the 20% discount works on them.