Cadentia 3 Product Development thread / Audio First Designs

[Audiofirstdesigns_Harry]

Hi Harry,

In a previous blog post, you mentioned customizing and building an immersive surround sound system for a client in Taiwan using in-wall horn speakers(along with 4 subwoofers). I was wondering how that project is progressing. Any update?

The construction of the audio room on-site was delayed massively, and they just finished it last week. I still need to find time to visit Taiwan to complete the tuning, but I am too busy with moving the office and other work at the moment. Maybe in Late July, hopefully. I was hoping to go on the trip before summer because I know how hot and humid it can get in Taiwan, and I have got too used to the UK weather ...

 

[NanoGuidingStar]

The construction of the audio room on-site was delayed massively, and they just finished it last week. I still need to find time to visit Taiwan to complete the tuning, but I am too busy with moving the office and other work at the moment. Maybe in Late July, hopefully. I was hoping to go on the trip before summer because I know how hot and humid it can get in Taiwan, and I have got too used to the UK weather ...

View attachment 537729

Got it, that’s exactly what I expected. As someone in the construction industry myself, it’s honestly been rare to see any project without delays in recent years.

Right now, Taiwan is right in the middle of the "梅雨季". We get sudden, heavy downpours right after midday, creating a really uncomfortable weather pattern—dry and hot in the morning, followed by humid and muggy conditions after it rains. Plus, typhoons pop up from time to time between summer and autumn, so you might want to keep a close eye on the upcoming weather.

 

[Milt]

Just what I'd expect from you, Harry.
Without knowing the construction details, understated, elegant, nice dimensions & perfect screen size.
I built out a dedicated music\theater room from zero. A ton of work, thought & $$$$.
You'll love it.
Nicely done.

 

[Milt]

FWIW,my planned system:
SMSL SU-10 DAC
Oppo205 disc player
Eversolo T8 streamer
Roon Nucleus 1 w\Evo 4TB SSD & 16GB RAM
Anthem STR-1 preamp
Buckeye 9040 Purifi based monoblocs
Cadentia3s w TPCD woofer option
Audio First stands
2x SVS SB3000 Evolution subs

Room:
22'W x 17' D x 9' H

 

[PristineSound]

FWIW,my planned system:
SMSL SU-10 DAC
Oppo205 disc player
Eversolo T8 streamer
Roon Nucleus 1 w\Evo 4TB SSD & 16GB RAM
Anthem STR-1 preamp
Buckeye 9040 Purifi based monoblocs
Cadentia3s w TPCD woofer option
Audio First stands
2x SVS SB3000 Evolution subs

Room:
22'W x 17' D x 9' H

Any reason for the SMSL SU-10 when the Oppo 205 is also a DAC?

 

[Karmacoma]

Any reason for the SMSL SU-10 when the Oppo 205 is also a DAC?

The eversolo T8 is a streaming transport, he'd need a DAC but there's a DAC in the Anthem preamp already.

 

[Milt]

Bypassing the Anthem DAC, Oppo for discs.
Potentially using Roon as the streamer instead of the T8

 

[Karmacoma]

Bypassing the Anthem DAC, Oppo for discs.
Potentially using Roon as the streamer instead of the T8

So why do you need the smsl su-10 for? It's quite expensive.

 

[Milt]

Need?
I like both pieces for their over-kill engineering.
Will one sound "better" than the other?
I'll see. I have no illusions in that regard

 

[suttondesign]

Day one of Cadentia 3 build. Just a glue-up of the first of two enclosures, which was a good excuse to buy more clamps since I never seem to have enough. Air was dry today, so I had to work fast. I didn't worry overmuch about glue stains or overrun since I'll be sanding these and coating them with water-borne urethane before veneering them with walnut peel-and-stick sheets.

 

[Paul7777x]

Day one of Cadentia 3 build. Just a glue-up of the first of two enclosures, which was a good excuse to buy more clamps since I never seem to have enough. Air was dry today, so I had to work fast. I didn't worry overmuch about glue stains or overrun since I'll be sanding these and coating them with water-borne urethane before veneering them with walnut peel-and-stick sheets.

I’d love to hear what you think of them when they’re up and running sir.

 

[suttondesign]

Glued-up box, sanded to prep for urethane pre-coat. Water-borne urethane is a good gap-filler for peel-and-stick veneer to adhere to. But it's pretty expensive, too.

 

[101geo]

Day one of Cadentia 3 build. Just a glue-up of the first of two enclosures, which was a good excuse to buy more clamps since I never seem to have enough. Air was dry today, so I had to work fast. I didn't worry overmuch about glue stains or overrun since I'll be sanding these and coating them with water-borne urethane before veneering them with walnut peel-and-stick sheets.

Looking good but the lack of matching colour clamps irks my OCD...

 

[suttondesign]

Looking good but the lack of matching colour clamps irks my OCD...

As I got near the end, I was feeling blue.

 

[suttondesign]

Following two coats of water-borne urethane, sanded baby-smooth, application of walnut veneer to speaker 1. The top grain runs front-to-back and aligns with the top-to-bottom sheet on the front. Speakers with veneering on all sides seem to look best with the vertical running on the front and top. That's how Audiofirst does it, as well.

 

[suttondesign]

Veneered pair, ready for finish coats.

 

[suttondesign]

Pair built, pre-finish tung oil coat only.

 

[somebodyelse]

The lack of alignment for the weave on the mid and tweeter would annoy me. Is that down to the builder, or do you just have to live with what you get?

 

[Trangbar]

The lack of alignment for the weave on the mid and tweeter would annoy me. Is that down to the builder, or do you just have to live with what you get?

Mid and woofer come separate and are mounted by the builder while the tweeter is pre-mounted on the waveguide.

 

[somebodyelse]

Just found the assembly video where it's clear the mid can be placed at 1/6 turn increments, and cosmetic alignment is mentioned. It looks like you just have to live with the tweeter orientation.