Isiris evolution to Osiris Jr? Summary of Isiris build and new update

[cochinada]

I say! That is one heck of a baffle! I had to review this thread because I was confused about the shape of the baffle but now is clear that this is the upper part for the tweeter and the two middles and I believe you still don't have the upper box ready, right?

[cochinada]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]25724[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]25729[/ATTACH]

I say! That is one heck of a baffle! I had to review this thread because I was confused about the shape of the baffle but now is clear that this is the upper part for the tweeter and the two middles and I believe you still don't have the upper box ready, right?

What is the purpose of that closed (?) compartment behind the 3rd driver? It seems to be closed but then I can see also a bracing apparently on top of the bottom shelf. Is this for placing the crossover?

[meb46]

Joaquim - The cabinets are split into three different sections, a) Subwoofer b) Bass and c) Mid/Tweeter. The Subwoofer Cabinet Baffle is the one that is missing, and in terms of the actual cabinets, the Mid/Tweeter Cabinet is not shown. There is chambers in behind both the Bass and the Mid/Tweeter Cabinets which is room for the Subwoofer Plate Amplifier and Crossover respectively. The Subwoofer Amplifier is not in the back of the Subwoofer Cabinet as it consumes too much volume, whilst I have un-used room in the Bass Cabinet. Works out pretty well, and leaves the void in the Mid/Tweeter Cabinet for the crossover... assuming it doesn't get too out of control large

The Subwoofer Amplifiers were ordered yesterday from Hypex... DS8.0 which gives the two 15" Acoustic Elegance Woofers 800W. Will start with this and work out if they need more power later. At the moment, the plan is to then power the Bass/Mid/Tweeter with a NAD M22.

[meb46]

This might make a little more sense than my previous ramblings...

[cochinada]

Joaquim - The cabinets are split into three different sections, a) Subwoofer b) Bass and c) Mid/Tweeter. The Subwoofer Cabinet Baffle is the one that is missing, and in terms of the actual cabinets, the Mid/Tweeter Cabinet is not shown. There is chambers in behind both the Bass and the Mid/Tweeter Cabinets which is room for the Subwoofer Plate Amplifier and Crossover respectively. The Subwoofer Amplifier is not in the back of the Subwoofer Cabinet as it consumes too much volume, whilst I have un-used room in the Bass Cabinet. Works out pretty well, and leaves the void in the Mid/Tweeter Cabinet for the crossover... assuming it doesn't get too out of control large

The Subwoofer Amplifiers were ordered yesterday from Hypex... DS8.0 which gives the two 15" Acoustic Elegance Woofers 800W. Will start with this and work out if they need more power later. At the moment, the plan is to then power the Bass/Mid/Tweeter with a NAD M22.

Ok, thanks, now it's clear. :T
I know this is a huge speaker and so the scale can be a little misleading but are you confident you will be able to fit the whole crossover in that apparently very small space? Have you already did some modeling of it as well, I mean using the real components and see if fits?

BTW, I probably missed this info already but are the subwoofers active?

[meb46]

Based on my experience with the first versions of these, I should be good on the crossover mechanics etc. Yes, the Subwoofers are active, and use a DS8.0 from Hypex.

http://www.hypex.nl/product/2012-11-23-13-44-01/2012-11-23-13-44-19/ds8-0.html

[sdl2112]

Most impressive. Looks to be coming together very nicely.

[olu78]

Great job Meb. Your project is coming together quite swimmingly. I am blown away by how fast your build is coming together, considering the exotic nature of the drive-units, and the degree of coordination required to stay on schedule. I cant wait to see more...

[JonMarsh]

Cabinets are making good progress and the first couple of Baffles arrived today...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26009[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]26008[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26007[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]26010[/ATTACH]

The Baffles need a bit of a tidy up and cant be attached to the cabinets until they are lined with Bitumen and Felt... next weekends chore!

Test Fitting of Drivers will also happen next weekend to determine if any modifications need to be made... hoping all is spot on! Fingers crossed!

Nice work on the front baffle pieces, Mike! It's good to see things this far along now. The scale of things is deceiving, though, because looking at this one would likely not realize that's a 6-1/2" to 7" midrange driver there! Or that the bottom driver rebate and hole is for a 10" woofer!

These are going to kick some butt when they're finished. :B

Regarding the Hypex DS8.0, I don't think the build quality and performance will disappoint, but I found the box packaging could have been a bit more robust. Do check yours out as soon as you get them- also, I found the Torx fasteners securing the toroidal power transformer to be a bit loose; I'm going to have to get a larger Torx tool than I currently have to snug the bolt down. This is meant to be isolated from speaker rear wave- it's not meant to be in an acoustic space.

Due to the impending visit of nephew and ongoing house work (re-installing the pool solar, getting the electric solar in) and re-organizing the manacle work space it may still be a couple weeks before I bench this and the M22. Sorry for the delay, but I never would have believed how busy this year would be...

[meb46]

Touch-down... Bitumen and Felt have arrived! Lining starting tonight!

[cochinada]

Is the inside matrix already fixed to the cabinet(s)? I never used Bitumen myself but I have lined with different materials and this is always the part I dislike the most, mainly because the access is terrible but also because I hate glue. Once I used these spray bottles and promised to never do it again because at the end of the day my feet were sticking to the floor within a radius of 2m from the subwoofer (at the time) being lined.

[meb46]

Yep - everything on the cabinets are now epoxied in-place. I am using Bitumen Sheets stuck to the inside walls of the cabinet, and then a 1/4" layer of heavy Felt. I like using the Bitumen Sheet and find it adds great mass to the walls - not that these a flimsy or lacking mass, but I am working towards the ultimate cabinet, so no short cuts or short comings

[cochinada]

Yep - everything on the cabinets are now epoxied in-place. I am using Bitumen Sheets stuck to the inside walls of the cabinet, and then a 1/4" layer of heavy Felt. I like using the Bitumen Sheet and find it adds great mass to the walls - not that these a flimsy or lacking mass, but I am working towards the ultimate cabinet, so no short cuts or short comings

No void issues so far?

[meb46]

Nothing of any significance so far... even the baffles at this stage look good and no voids.

[meb46]

A few solid developments in the last week or so...

Bitumen and Felt have arrived and I have nearly completed lining of all cabinets. Each cabinet has STP 3.2mm Bitumen, then a layer of 6mm Wool Felt. I used Contact Adhesive on the Bitumen as you cant trust the adhesive backing it comes with. The Contact Adhesive I used actually reacts with the Bitumen and then sort of fuses it to the Bamboo... end result is a really great adhesion.

All cabinets are essentially complete, but require a few small changes as follows:

1 - Bass Cabinet needs the recess for the DS8.0 Amplifiers. I now have a template for this and just waiting on the correct router bit to arrive to cut these out.
2 - Mid/Tweeter Cabinets require mounting holes for the input terminals. Yes, the input terminals are in the top cabinet, but that's where the crossover is going to reside and I don't want to run cables up the inside of the cabinets to feed it.
3 - Mid/Tweeter and Bass Cabinet need the routing and drilling of speaker line cables. I am using a Via-blue SC-2 Silver Cable for all drivers, and will just run these through the inner panels and seal with SikaFlex.
4 - Bass Cabinet also needs small apertures put in the top to run post-crossover lines down from the top Cabinet.

All in all, really good progress, especially given I am now balancing time with a three week old daughter...

You will note in the images below, I have had to use Ply for the base of the Mid/Tweeter/Bass Modules. Not ideal, but ran out of 25mm Bamboo. I'm not to concerned about it given the short spans between Bamboo reinforces, braces, Sides and Baffle. However... the void question now comes up again. Bamboo - Great, Ply - Rubbish! There are a couple of small voids in the Bamboo, and as I find them I fill with Epoxy.



Slight mix up on the Baffle completion, so I am now waiting till the end of this week to hopefully have them all... then its mount them with threaded inserts, add some felt and epoxy them together. (Jon - I have your test Baffle ready to ship, will email you later on this).

Next comes finishing, and this is where I have some questions for the forum...

I have purchased a Fuji Mini-Mite 3 HVLP System to finish these with. On the MIC #1 Project, I used a basic Wagner HVLP System which actually gave very good results. I used a Water Based Pre-Catalyzed Lacquer from ML Campbell called Agualente. It was excellent! Unfortunately, I am now back in Singapore and simply cannot get access to good Lacquer or even paint types. The high humidity is a factor, and I am starting to get a little nervous on my options. The purchase of the Mini Mite 3 is anticipation to "raising standards" on the finish, but I am going to stick with the Matte White finish... its just a question of what sort of paint...

Questions...

1 - What's peoples experience using a spray on Acrylic Enamel?
2 - Does Enamel end up being hard enough to polish/buff?
3 - Can anyone recommend an International Brand Paint that I could consider? Please omit the typical American Brands... as whilst brilliant... I just cant get them in Singapore. Unless, someone knows a distributor that will ship internationally?

Any help on the finish side of things would be greatly appreciated!

[JonMarsh]

Great progress on the cabinets, Mike! :T

I am an ignorant dork when it comes to finishing, or at best a one or two trick pony- one thought is that doing your finish, I would treat it like the white equivalent of piano black. (Not saying that is right, but just as a concept proposal...). So my question would be regarding your proposal for how to do spray on Acrylic enamel, if you have a clear coat available in that, then using it over the base white coat and building up some layers, you ought to be to get it to where you can buff it out to the degree you desire as a satin finish (or even gloss). Basically, you're doing an automotive finish, and apart from doing the surface prep and primer suited to the wood, thinking in those terms would be logical. Look for automotive finishes available in Singapore.

Does that make sense to you, or seem reasonable?

[TEK]

I agree, automotive finish should work as long as you lay down a good foundation. A base coat of epoxy might be a good idea to ensure you have everything sealed off.
I'm sure they do have car shops and repairs in Singapore, they should be able to help you with paint.
One brand is Glasurit (German).

The downside is that it's some nasty stuff - so take care and ensure good ventilation!

Oh, I almost forgot - extremly impressive build!

[meb46]

Slow progress, but Bass Baffles are attached... next stop, Mid/Tweeter Baffles. Hopefully this weekend!

[meb46]

Further to this, I think I have identified a suitable material for finishing. I am going to try a Acrylic Resin Lacquer in Matte White. It has suitable build, seal and finish specifications, and a supportive vendor! I will test a few bare bits of Bamboo before progressing on the cabinets... just need my Mini Mite!

[Steve Manning]

Glad you have come up with something Mike ..... looking forward to seeing the results.

[Horio]

Boy those speakers are going to be beastly!

[5th element]

Those look really nice and I'm sure are going to sound awesome once finished. They are going to have serious output potential.

[sdl2112]

Good job on the lining and good luck with the finish...

[meb46]

Subwoofer Baffle

Given Jon's awesome progress on the Kurosawa Project, I have been spurred on to get things moving on mine. Just as I had that thought, my Machinist announced he has one of the Subwoofer Baffles ready for collection... So Public Holiday and all today in Singapore, it was time to get things happening again...

[meb46]

Subwoofer Baffle

With Inserts secured in the back of the Baffle, it was time to mount them to the first Subwoofer cabinet...







Next steps is to start the cabinet preparation stage... epoxy, filler, sanding etc... then seal/prime.

The second Subwoofer Baffle is due back this coming weekend, so hopefully by this time next week I may have a full set of cabinets.

[cochinada]

Very, very nice! :T

Just a couple of questions: what kind of inserts have you used? How are those boxes laid up together? Do you have any kind of fit so they don't slide or are you gonna fix or screw them together?

I'm curious because I had some problems with my project, mostly because the fit did not came out as planned and I had to sort this rattle between the cabinets.

[Steve Manning]

Very nice Mike ..... don't you love what CNC can do, those baffles turned out very clean.

[Evil Twin]

Definitely an impressive level of planning and attention to detail in the execution of this system build...

[meb46]

And then there was two...

Finally a pair of Subwoofer cabinets...



Baffles epoxied on and hardening as I type...

Sanding on the top two enclosures are underway, hoping to get some sealer on them this coming weekend all going well... more updates then!

Loving the new Mirka Deros 6" Sander, a serious upgrade from my previous Dewalt... Not sure if Jon is having the same success unfortunately!

[Evil Twin]

Congratulations on your progress- and your positive experience with the Mirka sander. Mine has not been quite as uplifting, but the substitute device has proven quite satisfactory in operation so far...

[meb46]

Marathon Weekend

Finally a dedicated weekend to progress...

Subwoofer Cabinets Sanded, Filled, Sanded Filled, Sanded Filled... now pending final sand and prep for sealer coat.



Only way to lift the Subwoofer Cabinets... 10T Overhead Crane



First Sealer Coats on the Mid and Upper Cabinets. Definitely highlighted some deformities in the cabinet prep. One Mid Cabinet will need to go back for some serious "flattening". Overall, happy with the progress, and still to apply another 5+ coats of sealer to get things properly sealed and flat.



Travelling for work for the next couple of weeks, so progress once again goes into hiatus... dam it!

One observation for cabinets this size... the standard paint cup for the Fuji HVLP Sprayer lasts hardly a single coat across the Mid and Upper Cabinets... which equates to a very small portion of the large cabinets. Time to purchase the larger Aluminum Cup me thinks! And a whole lot more Paint/Thinner!!

[Evil Twin]

Hmmm, this looks like a somewhat larger workshop than most of us have access too....

[Steve Manning]

Hmmm, this looks like a somewhat larger workshop than most of us have access too....

Me thinks your right about the shop size ....... where does the boat fit into the design? Looking good Mike!

[Face]

Hmmm, this looks like a somewhat larger workshop than most of us have access too....

You must be the only person I know that doesn't have a large boat in their workshop.

[JonMarsh]

There is large, and then there is LARGE! At some point, it's no longer a boat, but a ship. We're definitely approaching that point here...

[meb46]

Small "Day Cruiser"...

Just a small vessel under construction... 40m Cruiser for tripping around one of the Pacific Island Reefs!

[JonMarsh]

That will be an exceptionally large hole in the water to throw money into!

[ergo]

Nice progress!

Looking for what is a relatively expensive DIY speaker build next to something like this makes both the speaker and the budget for it appear very small...

[scottvalentin]

I think you need speakers for the ship next.

[Evil Twin]

I'm seeing enough space to renovate or even scratch build an Imperial Lambda shuttle...

[meb46]

Progress... albeit slow!



More progress hopefully happening this coming weekend... Cabinets all still need minor filling and then sealing. Aiming to have everything "leveled" and final sealer coats on by the end of the weekend!

[wkhanna]

time for a laying of the keel toast?

[TEK]

Hmm, makes me wanting to build a pair like it!
But that will have to wait, no place to put them and a bunch of projects waiting in que to get my workshop improved...
And some evening studies that cause there to not be time for neither :-(

[BobEllis]

Sounds like a bunch of excuses, TEK.

[JonMarsh]

Progress... albeit slow!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]26516[/ATTACH]

More progress hopefully happening this coming weekend... Cabinets all still need minor filling and then sealing. Aiming to have everything "leveled" and final sealer coats on by the end of the weekend!

Nice progress, Michael! :T