Dayton knock down speaker cabinets

[Rick Sykora]

Noticed Parts Express finally has a replacement for the Denovo-supplied minitower cabinet. I see 2 differences. One positive is they beveled the front baffle.  Two, the MDF appears to be different grade. Not sure about the MDF quality just yet.

Still waiting on the replacement for the Directiva r1 cabinet and then will post a full account of the MDF quality.

 

[motomech]

Three differences, New lower price! If I recall correctly, the old cab was around $135. Combined w/ their new, lower free shipping policy of anything over $49 adds more savings.
What other hobbies are the prices going down?
I might have to turn my HiVi DIY 2.2A's into Totem Forrest clones as I.M.O., the Hivi's are a little large and heavy for stand-mounts.

 

[Gorgonzola]

Noticed Parts Express finally has a replacement for the Denovo-supplied minitower cabinet. I see 2 differences. One positive is they beveled the front baffle.  Two, the MDF appears to be different grade. Not sure about the MDF quality just yet.

Still waiting on the replacement for the Directiva r1 cabinet and then will post a hand account of the MDF quality.

I'm not sure which mini-tower you're talking about. Is it the 1.16 cu.ft. or another? I built my Zaph Audio ZRT's a few years ago using a 1.16 cu.ft. that looks the same. These cabinets were a tad smaller than the Zaph design based on a Madisound cabinet which was/is no longer available; I calculated an adjustment to the vent length to compensate for that which works very well. The pic shows them nearing completion; I fabricated plinth on my own, here painted black.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Suppose I should have referenced the link, but they have only had one minitower…

So, yes, the 1.16 ft3 one. Also, the bevel change is actually an inner rabbet and the long outer edges no longer appeared to be rounded.

If PE compromised MDF quality for a lower price, this would be a mistake in my opinion. Will see, still cannot order the .56 ft3 cabinet used for Directiva r1.

 

[cavedriver]

what happened to the Denovo cabinets? I got one of the last 0.5 cu ft ones and it's a very useful size. Would be nice if there was also a 0.75 cu ft and a 1.0 cu ft.

 

[Rick Sykora]

what happened to the Denovo cabinets? I got one of the last 0.5 cu ft ones and it's a very useful size. Would be nice if there was also a 0.75 cu ft and a 1.0 cu ft.

From what I understand, sounds as though Denovo was struggling to meet delivery mainly due to supply chain issues. If their main business is finished custom cabinetry, dealing with PE's volumes for unfinished MDF is a different market really. Never had any complaints about Denovo's quality so just seems did not fit their longer-term business model.

As for other sizes, am not sure. They also used to make a 3/8 ft3 cabinet which is a nice small bookshelf size. If enough people request, more likely we get more sizes.

 

[cavedriver]

From what I understand, sounds as though Denovo was struggling to meet delivery mainly due to supply chain issues. If their main business is finished custom cabinetry, dealing with PE's volumes for unfinished MDF is a different market really. Never had any complaints about Denovo's quality so just seems did not fit their longer-term business model.

As for other sizes, am not sure. They also used to make a 3/8 ft3 cabinet which is a nice small bookshelf size. If enough people request, more likely we get more sizes.

yeah, it almost has to be taken in and managed by PE because they can leverage it to drive site traffic and related sales. When I dug around on the net a little I found people offering a couple off the shelf cabinets and others offering custom cutting but the price goes up rapidly and they don't have anything else to sell you. Meniscus existed in this neat spot where they offered soup to nuts packaging for DIY kits that was appealing but probably was a nightmare to manage and only profitable in large volumes.

Certainly pre-cut MDF can't be very profitable by itself because there's little product differentiation. I can give cad files to my local woodworker store and they'll cut sheets down for me at reasonable rates (I think, I'm starting down that path, their product might be crap, and I don't know if they'll do partial depth cuts on their machines).

 

[Barnaby1]

This might already be known, but I inquired about the .56 ft3 cabinet last week and this was PE's response:

Thank you for reaching out to Parts Express. Actually we do have a new manufacturer for the box and the part number will be 300-5004. We expect our first shipment towards the last of April.

 

[carbidetooth]

Certainly pre-cut MDF can't be very profitable by itself because there's little product differentiation. I can give cad files to my local woodworker store and they'll cut sheets down for me at reasonable rates (I think, I'm starting down that path, their product might be crap, and I don't know if they'll do partial depth cuts on their machines).

I'd be interested to know how that works out. I've suggested just this to a few people but don't know the result. From the CAD files a cut file needs to be generated for specific machine and software. I've been approached many times but just can't see my way clear from a business standpoint. I think it' a good idea to prototype, as well. Add to significant differences in MDF quality, router accuracy, cutters, sharpness etc. and it becomes not so simple. I've seen stuff on Youtube videos that make me shudder. Hairy, stringy and inaccurate. Just not my cuppa, I guess, but I'd point people that way if it's viable.

 

[Rick Sykora]

This might already be known, but I inquired about the .56 ft3 cabinet last week and this was PE's response:

I asked PE about 2 months ago and was told end of March.

I hope they are right this time!

 

[Prana Ferox]

From what I understand, sounds as though Denovo was struggling to meet delivery mainly due to supply chain issues. If their main business is finished custom cabinetry, dealing with PE's volumes for unfinished MDF is a different market really. Never had any complaints about Denovo's quality so just seems did not fit their longer-term business model.

I assumed Denovo was just Erich?

 

[Rick Sykora]

I assumed Denovo was just Erich?

Tbh, not really sure.

 

[cavedriver]

I'd be interested to know how that works out. I've suggested just this to a few people but don't know the result. From the CAD files a cut file needs to be generated for specific machine and software. I've been approached many times but just can't see my way clear from a business standpoint. I think it' a good idea to prototype, as well. Add to significant differences in MDF quality, router accuracy, cutters, sharpness etc. and it becomes not so simple. I've seen stuff on Youtube videos that make me shudder. Hairy, stringy and inaccurate. Just not my cuppa, I guess, but I'd point people that way if it's viable.

The CNC service I'm looking at is a Woodcraft store in Maryland. I don't have the quote yet but will soon. They told me they have a CNC table, might have said it was 5'x10'. Accepts dxf files. They confirmed I could cut down a 4x8 sheet. Since it's Woodcraft the MDF they stock seems like a good grade. I think they said it's double weight. Not sure how good the cuts would be but it wouldn't be much of a CNC service if they're sloppy.

 

[mdsimon2]

I assumed Denovo was just Erich?

Yes, you are correct.

About Us

DIY Sound Group, DIY Speaker Kits

www.diysoundgroup.com

Michael

 

[Rick Sykora]

So, this makes sense as audio (and associated cabinetry) is the side hustle to his landscaping business. As the audio products have had limited availability for years now, it is clear he does not have enough time or interest to keep it going. Had some correspondence with Erich and he seemed nice. Landscaping can be very lucrative and volume MDF milling is a hazardous, repetitive work. Looks as though he had to make a hard choice.

Hope it all works out for him. As I said, his cabinetry was decent quality at a reasonable price. Anxious to see how the new vendor does. Have more than enough minitower cabinets currently so will wait on the Directiva r1 cabinet as I could use one right away. If they changed it, Directiva r1 may need modification.

 

[carbidetooth]

The CNC service I'm looking at is a Woodcraft store in Maryland. I don't have the quote yet but will soon. They told me they have a CNC table, might have said it was 5'x10'. Accepts dxf files. They confirmed I could cut down a 4x8 sheet. Since it's Woodcraft the MDF they stock seems like a good grade. I think they said it's double weight. Not sure how good the cuts would be but it wouldn't be much of a CNC service if they're sloppy.

Could it be double refined? I know Plum Creek labels their better MDF as such. Should you proceed, I might be able to save you some headaches as I imagine they are going to cut exactly what you send. First, I'd measure the actual drivers and not rely on their white sheet dimensions. Secondly, add clearances where needed. If you cut a tweeter recess to actual tweeter flange size, it probably won't fit. Seems like it would be perfect, but I can tell you from experience it likely won't. We can discuss if you like.

 

[cavedriver]

Could it be double refined? I know Plum Creek labels their better MDF as such. Should you proceed, I might be able to save you some headaches as I imagine they are going to cut exactly what you send. First, I'd measure the actual drivers and not rely on their white sheet dimensions. Secondly, add clearances where needed. If you cut a tweeter recess to actual tweeter flange size, it probably won't fit. Seems like it would be perfect, but I can tell you from experience it likely won't. We can discuss if you like.

I do the speaker cutout routing at home, and as you said I use the actual drivers. I was just going to use them for some repetitive cutouts for a large cabinet where I have a curved shape I want to make and it's tedious building a jig and doing it all myself. The idea is like one of those housings where you cut a whole series of rings and then glue them all together to build up the shape you want. I'm still debating doing it in baltic birch or even some other material because I'm concerned that even using 1" MDF I may not have enough stiffness in the finished housing.

 

[carbidetooth]

I do the speaker cutout routing at home, and as you said I use the actual drivers. I was just going to use them for some repetitive cutouts for a large cabinet where I have a curved shape I want to make and it's tedious building a jig and doing it all myself. The idea is like one of those housings where you cut a whole series of rings and then glue them all together to build up the shape you want. I'm still debating doing it in baltic birch or even some other material because I'm concerned that even using 1" MDF I may not have enough stiffness in the finished housing.

Typically called a stacked lamination, I think. Thinner laminations might add some stiffness, too. Baltic Birch has gotten harder to get and doubled in price over the last couple of years, but will still be lighter in weight. High Density MDF is weighty, for sure. If you want to post a napkin sketch, I'd be happy to run through my thinker.

 

[mtg90]

Erich cut ties with Parts Express due to them being very shady over the years. What kicked things over the edge started last year.

Basically PE starting asking when flatpacks for a PO he never received would be delivered. When he replied that he had not received that PO but he had some of the flatpacks in the PO already cut and could deliver those quickly they said never mind we will go ahead and cancel it. In the mean time Erich sees that one of the flatpacks that was in that now canceled PO has been listed as out of stock for several months, he brings it up multiple times saying he still has room of the truck for them and could still bring them with the other flapack deliveries if needed but they never respond.

Now during that whole mess he also noticed they had not ordered the 4.0cuft subwoofer flatpacks in a while, usually there was an order every month or two as it was one of the most popular models. It should also be noted that this was also one of the products that was on that canceled PO. Even though they had not been ordered for several moths the stock status showed they had plenty in stock after a big sale. This was actually the topic of the first email he sent to me complaining that something shady was going on at PE and all the pieces started to fall together. A few days later he sends me another email saying he noticed they had now changed the picture to show a slightly different flatpack that was obviously not his and removed the Denovo logo. So they had someone else making those flat packs yet listed them under the same model number and kept all the reviews for the Denovo flatpacks even though there were some differences between the two. They also ask to cancel a couple of more recent PO for flatpacks, which he already had cut an was getting ready to bring them over, they reluctantly give him to the end of the week to deliver otherwise they wont pay even though the due date on the PO was several weeks away.

Erichs brings all this up with PE and they come back and saying that he was several months behind on a delivery for another PO (the very same one which was supposedly canceled 5 months ago at this point) and used that as an excuse as to why they moved to another manufacturer. Erich realized they had copied his flatpack designs months ago and had been selling essentially counterfeits under the Denovo Audio name for several months up until this point and that was what pushed things over the edge for him.

Some of the other things that did not sit well with him that he had told me: He had royalties for the designers baked into the price of the flatpacks he provided to PE. Well he used to supply the cabinets for the original Aviatrix but after the original RS tweeter was discontinued those kits went away for a while. When the RST tweeter was released they had Curt look over the changes needed but PE swapped suppliers for that cabinet so Erich could no longer pay Curt the royalties from the flatpack sales. Same thing happened to Jeff Bagby's Tango design but worse, instead they didn't even ask Jeff about it, redid the design themselves for the new RST tweeter, removed Jeff's name from design and changed the name of the kit to the Samba! There were more things Erich listed but basically he was tired of all the crap they pull and is glad to be done with them.

Currently Erich working on getting a new website up and running which has taken much longer then he wanted but many of the Denovo Flatpacks should be back at some point.

He has also been done with the landscaping business for a few years now.