# Put my BR-1 kit together, want to make sure I did it properly (noob here)



## hans030390 (Jun 23, 2008)

I put my Dayton BR-1 kit together last night. It wasn't as easy as people made it out to be. I found that the instructions could have been a bit clearer (for complete newbies, especially for the crossover), but I worked my way through it without any real problems. I figured assembling the crossover would be the hardest part (never done it before), but that was probably the easiest/most straight-forward part of the whole kit (after I figured out that my soldering iron has a "sweet spot").

Everything is working and sounds good (as far as I can tell), and I'm not disappointed with them by any means. I just ran across a few things that I wanted to ask about during my assembly:

1. My hot glue gun really sucks. I was able to use the glue to keep stuff down on the crossovers, but it cooled down before I could glue it to the bottom of the enclosure. Instead, I just used some Gorilla tape (stronger than duct tape, I believe, but you have to consider with the soldered parts, it doesn't sit real flush on the bottom) to hold it down. It seems to have done the job, and things are still working. Any problem with that?

2. Get the acoustic foam in there was a PITA! It was really thick and hard to get in there, and I didn't do a great job cutting, so some parts were a bit small or a bit big. I didn't have any adhesive to use on them, but after putting all the foam in, it's a really tight fit and nothing seems to be going anywhere. Some parts (like the sides) don't sit completely flush against the cabinet (they might pop out a bit in the middle or curve on the corners). This is mostly due to my poor measuring/cutting skills and parts not fitting perfectly (or lack of time to do it extremely carefully), but adhesive would have held *some* parts more flush. For the majority of it (I really mean most of it), the foam fits and is flush against the cabinet. Will my poor measuring/cutting/fitting and lack of some adhesive make any noticeable difference? Like I said, it's not going anywhere. It's a tight fit and fits well for most of the part.

3. Laying the foam over the crossover (it said to in the instructions) was...messy? I don't know how to describe it, but the foam on the bottom has a bit slit in it (for wires) and it obviously "bumpy/raised" where it lays over the crossover. The foam near the back (where it hooks into the cable input) is pretty messy too, since I cut some slits to get it to fit in there better. This sort of relates to my second question in a way. It all just seems messy (that's the only word I can think of) in that area. Laying the foam over the crossover? 

4. This directly relates to 2 and 3. Does the foam actually have any real impact on the internal volume of the enclosure? I know it's a pretty open material, so is it more important that it surrounds the drivers rather than being extremely neat/tidy up against the inside walls? Because it would be REALLY hard to do that. My foam just looks messy in parts and lacks any adhesive (but it stays put and fits for almost all of the interior). Sorry for my repetition, but will my slightly messy foam installation cause any problems or have any noticeable impact on my sound?

5. Is the tweeter supposed to be flush on the front of the cabinet? I know it has a big plastic circular surround...but the surround is elevated from the cabinet (just a bit). Screwing it in tighter might get some parts to be more flush, but not all of it (so it's really uneven). If it's supposed to mount flush, they need to work on the cabinets a bit more before sending them out (they mentioned nothing of it). Or is it fine being a bit elevated (or even meant to be like that)?

6. Putting the sealing caulk on the woofers was also a PITA, mostly because PE did a pretty poor job packaging it. It was stuck to the bag, so in the process of getting it out, a lot of it got stuck to itself. I made the best of what I could, and I did get the seal around the woofer. Is this a real critical part of the installation? I did thin it out/spread it out on the lip of the woofer as best as I could, but I can't guarantee that I did a great job with it. Some of it is pretty much dead center on the lip of the woofer basket (or whatever it's properly called), though some of it is close more to the "corner" of where the lip actually turns into the basket part. Either way, I'm hoping it made a good enough seal. Am I just thinking too much about it?

7. This goes along with 6, but I didn't want it to go unnoticed. The woofers also didn't sit flush with the cabinet at first (probably due to both the wood and the caulk). After screwing them in pretty tightly (not too tightly), they sit flush for the most part (some parts of the metal _might_ stick up a very tiny bit). Am I good to go with that? I'm really new to this, so I have no idea what might or might not affect the sound.

Sorry for asking so many (long/repetitive) questions, and perhaps I'm just worrying too much/thinking too hard about all of this. It was just supposed to be such an easy kit, even for newbies, yet I the "issues" I encountered made me wonder if perhaps I was doing something poorly or wrong.

I do think they sound good, but I have nothing to compare them to...how am I supposed to know if any of my installation messed with how they sound? Any help is appreciated, especially since I know me being new to this requires patience from people.


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## hans030390 (Jun 23, 2008)

Autiophile said:


> Got any pics of the front baffle. It's hard to judge what might be an issue with the flush mounting of the drivers without seeing them.
> 
> Getting an air tight seal between the drivers an the cabinet is critical. I prefer gaskets to silicone or caulk, but as long as it's air tight you should be fine.
> 
> I don't think your foam issues will be a major problem unless something falls out of place and from you description I doubt that will happen.


No pictures yet, but I can get some today or tomorrow. For the tweeters, I think the hole is just too slightly too small for the surround to be flush with the cabinet. For the woofers, they're flush now...I think it was just the caulk (being semi-thick) keeping them from being flush without screwing them in. 

The drivers should be sealed in pretty tight. I didn't do the best job thinning out the caulk, so I'm sure that as least is air tight. Is there any way to do a quick check, just in case?

That's good about the foam. I guess being really neat and completely flush against the cabinet isn't extremely important with that?


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## backwoods (Feb 22, 2006)

you didn't read my suggestions in your other thread, did you?

lol.


The tweeter being flush mount is very critical. Pull it back out, and either do light sanding on the box, or lightly sand the flange on the tweeter. They routed the holes without taking veneer into consideration.

The woofer being flushmount is not nearly as critical. The importance there is a good seal. You don't even need to use the strips on the tweeter.

When bolting down drivers, use the same method as putting a wheel on a car. Make sure to incrementally work in each screw going diagonal across the driver, this helps ensure as flat and even of a mount as possible and helps to make sure you get a solid seal.

As far as the xover, I never foam over them. Don't find the small reflective surface of a xover that critical. 

As far as the foam on the walls, I've always been good enough at cutting them, that I don't really need glue, they fight in nice and tight as it is, but a couple dabs of hot glue works fine.

MAKE SURE to let your hot glue gun sit for a while before trying to glue. It should cool quickly, but you should have enough time to drop a couple spots and stick the foam in before it dries. Just make sure to apply pressure to the piece for a minute while the glue cools to get a solid bond.

Sounds like you did ok for your first time, also sounds like it was quite a learning experience!


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## hans030390 (Jun 23, 2008)

backwoods said:


> you didn't read my suggestions in your other thread, did you?
> 
> lol.
> 
> The tweeter being flush mount is very critical. Pull it back out, and either do light sanding on the box, or lightly sand the flange on the tweeter. They routed the holes without taking veneer into consideration.


I did, I guess I just didn't think much of it. When I think about it, I have a vague memory of reading something like that. It's just that they're supposed to be ready to go as-is, so I wasn't too concerned about that at that time. That, and I have the memory of an old person. 

I'll look at it tomorrow and see what I can do to fit it in there. Shouldn't be too hard.



> The woofer being flushmount is not nearly as critical. The importance there is a good seal. You don't even need to use the strips on the tweeter.
> 
> When bolting down drivers, use the same method as putting a wheel on a car. Make sure to incrementally work in each screw going diagonal across the driver, this helps ensure as flat and even of a mount as possible and helps to make sure you get a solid seal.
> 
> ...


You don't understand. My hot glue gun is crap. I think it's meant for little kids, since I had to borrow it from my sister.  My mom was too busy on the computer to possibly consider finding me a better one (if we even have one). The glue got hard after a few seconds, even after a LONG time for it to heat up. I had enough trouble trying to even fit the foam in, so naturally, I was out of luck with the glue.  The foam is just so thick! Does it not change the volume of the box to any noticeable degree?

Based on everything else you guy have said, I should be fine (except for the tweeter). Thanks 

Edit: After re-reading your post in the other thread, you didn't say anything about a flush mounted tweeter being critical (unless I can't read either). That's another reason why I probably didn't think much of it. I figured during installation that maybe they were supposed to fit like they were. Now your post makes more sense.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Think mass produced as opposed to handmade [ ideally the holes would be smaller thereby allowing you to finesse the speakers together ].

The flush mounting part comes from understanding waves and diffraction [ some here understand glue, caulk , wood ,etc..,{hey, hand me a bigger hammer  }

without being a craftsman or understanding this is not a paint by number routine, it can be well ... tough !

Knowing where point B is and understanding that you are at point A is the first step 

If this were sex , you are looking for her to squeeze your lemon [ involuntary muscle contraction ], her breathing should become faster and escape her [ involuntarily ].

If you ever somehow manage to bring her to this point [ you have succeeded ].

Of course...you know your name is not "OH, GOD" but this is better than Say foo 

Flush mount the tweeters, order some additional gasketting material from P.E.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)

Ummm , cough, ******** ... quote>It's just that they're supposed to be ready to go as-is <quote


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## hans030390 (Jun 23, 2008)

a$$hole said:


> Ummm , cough, ******** ... quote>It's just that they're supposed to be ready to go as-is <quote


Hm? I suppose the instructions would have told me to sand down the hole for the tweeter then if they meant otherwise. Oh well, I guess with this type of kit it's expected.

I sanded down the holes and got the tweeters flush with the cabinet. I think that was the only thing I had to take care of, so I'm good now.


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## pontiacbird (Dec 29, 2006)

i had no problems with my install of the BR-1S

I agree the foam was slightly tricky, but nothing crazy.....i kinda had to stuff it in place, and my hand got burnt more than twice trying to get it in there neatly.....


i did not have the issue with the tweeter flange though.....i believe the gasket behind it should be enough to seal it up.....plus, it will be hidden behind the grill, so who cares if it is slightly raised, as long as it is sealed....i understand if this is one of those things that would just bother you though....


from start to finish, mine took literally 4 hours (far from the 2 or so hours the instructions said...maybe that was for a pro or something)...i tend to work slow...the crossover took about 1.5 hours.....

also, with the crossover, i had no problem hot gluing the components down....perhaps the trickiest part of the crossover install was the piggybacked capacitors.......

I love my BR-1S...i have it coupled with a random home theater subwoofer that is in the corner of my room, and it is very pleasant to listen to....vocals have a nice air about them, not bloated at all around deeper vocal notes (the bloated sound you usually hear from a talk radio show, with this speaker setup, not evident at all)

my setup has no equalization in place....flat all around....and when listening to my radio to any type of listening content (talk, music...) i have no issues whatsoever.....

off of about 10 watts RMS, the setup gets decent volume, and has no hint of strain....


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## backwoods (Feb 22, 2006)

pontiacbird said:


> i did not have the issue with the tweeter flange though.....i believe the gasket behind it should be enough to seal it up.....plus, it will be hidden behind the grill, so who cares if it is slightly raised, as long as it is sealed....i understand if this is one of those things that would just bother you though....
> ..


 
very important to have the tweeter as flush as possible. Makes quite a difference on the overall response.

Also, if you are ever itching to try, check out the modified xovers for them. Gets rid of the nasties around 3k.


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## hans030390 (Jun 23, 2008)

backwoods said:


> very important to have the tweeter as flush as possible. Makes quite a difference on the overall response.
> 
> Also, if you are ever itching to try, check out the modified xovers for them. Gets rid of the nasties around 3k.


The modified crossovers I saw were supposedly pretty pricey (Dennis Murphy's were apparently $50 a pair). Perhaps that will be my next project...not for a while, though.


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