# My DIY project with my PRS compo...



## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Hey people, 

I found some build pics of my monitor's with din-A4 sized front I would like to share with you all...

Box 18mm MDF with a 30mm baffle
Pioneer TS-M7PRS
Pioneer TS-T3PRS
Pioneer UD-N2PRS
Standartplast damping
Sound absorber foam
4mm Sharkwire ofc speakerwire
PVC reflex pipe


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Some more pics... Still looking for the painting pics, I believe they are somewhere @ my girl's place..


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## gokiburi (Jul 20, 2007)

That looks really nice. First thread I've seen with Russian military-developed damping


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

gokiburi said:


> That looks really nice. First thread I've seen with Russian military-developed damping


Huh?

You can find it at partsexpress. 

Nice design. I always admire people who at least attempt DIY home theater speakers. 

Just a word of caution, these will sound a bit thin. Car speaker crossovers are designed without baffle loss compensation, so you will have to EQ the bottom end a bit below ~600hz. Otherwise, it should sound decent. 

You can use this software for a simulation of the effects I'm describing:
Home of the Edge


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

These are stereo monitors, no HT satellites, and the low end is definitely there ( br on backside close to wall, these guys go as low as 40Hz in my room ) on my Onkyo receiver...
No sub needed 

Ps. This is the old standartplast material before it was taken over about 2 years ago..


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

Woosey said:


> These are stereo monitors, no HT satellites, and the low end is definitely there ( br on backside close to wall, these guys go as low as 40Hz in my room ) on my Onkyo receiver...
> No sub needed
> 
> Ps. This is the old standartplast material before it was taken over about 2 years ago..


If they're close to a wall, that's a different story. The wall will act as an extended baffle, giving you another 3-4db of bass output, and the boundary loading from the port on the back will increase output even further. Place them 2 feet into a room, such as on a desk, and you'll notice a lot of that bass disappears.

I had a similar problem with a set of bookshelf speakers I built a while back with a rear firing port. Great bass extension down to 65hz (for a 3.5" driver, that's damn good) with a port, but once you got out of the tuning frequency, if the speaker wasn't up against a wall, it would sound shallow and thin. I've since preferred a forward firing port design.


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

XtremeRevolution said:


> If they're close to a wall, that's a different story. The wall will act as an extended baffle, giving you another 3-4db of bass output, and the boundary loading from the port on the back will increase output even further. Place them 2 feet into a room, such as on a desk, and you'll notice a lot of that bass disappears.
> 
> I had a similar problem with a set of bookshelf speakers I built a while back with a rear firing port. Great bass extension down to 65hz (for a 3.5" driver, that's damn good) with a port, but once you got out of the tuning frequency, if the speaker wasn't up against a wall, it would sound shallow and thin. I've since preferred a forward firing port design.


I agree


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## The A Train (Jun 26, 2007)

all that matters is that youre happy with it! good work on the enclosure


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## its_bacon12 (Aug 16, 2007)

If you're happy with it, awesome.

However, there are definitely some pointers that could improve the design. Revolution pointed to one, in lieu of a BSC crossover section, some EQ would be handy when it's not up against the wall. A lot of other things can be said for it too but if you don't care then you don't care.

Something to be said for tossing stuff together and enjoying it though


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Open for any kind of suggestions...


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

Woosey said:


> Open for any kind of suggestions...


For future builds, don't use as thick a wire. Thiel audio uses solid core twisted strand 18 gauge copper, which you can find as thermostat wire at any home improvement store. It comes in a brown sleeve that comes off easily. 

There's a program called The Edge that will design a baffle loss compensation network that I believe you can add to your speaker for baffle compensation. I can find you the link if you're interested.

How will you be finishing the cabinets?

Sent from my HTC Awesome using Tapatalk


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks, they are allready finished, just found the pics of the build and wanted to share them with you all.. They are finished in a high gloss black spray paint and covered with a few layers of high gloss clear coat..


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

Woosey said:


> Thanks, they are allready finished, just found the pics of the build and wanted to share them with you all.. They are finished in a high gloss black spray paint and covered with a few layers of high gloss clear coat..


Looks good (at least from that distance). 

I remember when I used to finish MDF with spray paint. Never again, lol. 

I've sworn off of MDF for any small and medium projects. Its all poplar, pine, and oak for me.


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Thanks... Next project will be multiplex or OB.... Never heard open baffle but the concept of no enclosure makes me curious...

Sent from my LT15i using Tapatalk


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

Found the rest of the pics...


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## Woosey (Feb 2, 2011)

tadaa


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

I'm glad that worked out so well for you. I don't touch MDF for home theater speakers anymore.


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## its_bacon12 (Aug 16, 2007)

XtremeRevolution said:


> I'm glad that worked out so well for you. I don't touch MDF for home theater speakers anymore.


Why not?


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

its_bacon12 said:


> Why not?


Here's the process I need to follow to get a *good *mirror finish with no visible seams on MDF once the cabinets are built. 
1. sand with orbital sander
2. patch
3. sand with orbital sander
4. patch
5. sand with orbital sander
6. prime with paint gun, wait 2 hours
7. prime with paint gun, wait 2 hours
8. clean paint gun
9. lightly sand primer
10. base coat with paint gun, wait 15min
11. base coat with paint gun, wait 15min
12. base coat with paint gun, wait 2-3 days
13. clean paint gun
14. sand lightly by hand
15. mix clear coat with proper ratio of mineral spirits
16. clear coat with paint gun, wait 20 minutes (repeat 2-4 times)
17. clear coat with paint gun, wait a week
18. clean paint gun
19. sand with medium grit by hand
20. sand with light grit by hand, progressively getting to 2000 grit
21. slowly work in rubbing compound
22. slowly work in polishing compound
23. have unexplained desire to end one's life

Here are the steps I take to finish hardwood
1. sand with orbital sander
2. fill seams with wood filler (aka glue + sawdust)
3. lightly sand with orbital sander
4. brush prestain
5. brush stain. wait 30min to dry. repeated as needed for darkness. wait 24hrs
6. brush polyurethane coat. wait 24 hours
7. sand lightly with medium grit by hand
8. brush polyurethane coat. wait 48 hours
9. have unexplained desire to do something for charity

In the end, the vast amount of time saved making the speakers out of hardwood to get equally impressive results offsets the additional cost of the hardwood over the MDF, and requires fewer tools to boot. That, and if you screw up at any point during the MDF finishing process, you need to go back a few steps and start again. I can get cabinets built for hardwood in 4 days.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

XR, I'd like to see some of your builds. Do you have a thread somewhere?


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## gokiburi (Jul 20, 2007)

Yes, please share.


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## el_chupo_ (May 27, 2007)

I would love to see pictures of your MDF finished boxes, using all of the steps above.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

bikinpunk said:


> XR, I'd like to see some of your builds. Do you have a thread somewhere?


http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-home-pro-audio/102502-ultra-budget-diy-tm.html


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

chad said:


> http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-home-pro-audio/102502-ultra-budget-diy-tm.html


That's one I posted because I received help from another member. I figured if they helped me put it together, I should share it with everyone. I'll have to take pictures of some of my other builds. 



bikinpunk said:


> XR, I'd like to see some of your builds. Do you have a thread somewhere?


No, I actually don't. Chad posted *a *thread, to one build. I do have the ones in that thread finished however. I can probably get my wife to snag a few pictures of them. 

Edit: just noticed that's the thread on this forum, not on the techtalk.PE forum, where I have updated pictures of those. 



el_chupo_ said:


> I would love to see pictures of your MDF finished boxes, using all of the steps above.


I didn't take pictures of quite all of the steps, but I do have some finished photos. These were built as a gift for my father in law for his birthday and for getting through a year of lung cancer where they had to remove a lung and finally being on a path to recovery. My wife added the design. These were actually the first ones I built. I spent well over 50 hours on these. I didn't use a final sand, rubbing compound, and polishing compound on these because by that time, I was so incredibly sick of how long it was taking that I pretty much lost any motivation to work on them and the the deadline was coming up fast.

Baffles weren't screwed on completely at that point, hence the gap you see.

For those who are curious, here are some more complete instructions on how this is done. I took my queues from this guy:

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=220553


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