DIY Speakers build : Toid's Epic

[JyPay]

Hello there,

As promised in my presentation, here is the built of my DIY speakers : the Toid's Epic

The video made by Rick, the creator :

Description in his website :

Ever want Full Range of sound out of your speakers? That is exactly what the Epic HiFi Speaker is designed to do. This excels ate giving you deep bass with an approximate F3 of around 30hz, using just two 5 1/2″ drivers. That mean you do not have to take up the whole room, to get room filling sound. The Epic HiFi speakers are designed for you not to have to use a subwoofer. Instead, you can use these compact bookshelf speakers to enjoy the music or movies that you love.

For me the bookshelf version is not what I wanted, so I adpated the design to create a floorstand version.
The internal volume is not modified. My speakers are 95 cm high, 20 cm large and 32.5 cm depth.

I choosed them by instinct with almost no idea of the final result.
Just read the good reviews of the tweeter and gamble on the carbon-made woofer : just released and mostly not used anywhere.
But the numbers were appetizing. Epic's response :

The tweeter is the CSS LD25X

The woofers are the Dayton Audio Epique 150HE-44

The passive radiators are Dayton Audio DSA215-PR 8

The total costs are :

800 euros 4 x Epique speakers + 4 x passive radiators + filter components + paint from soundimports.eu
200 euros 2 x TD25X tweeters (black friday price) directly from manufacturer
200 euros 2 x 2.5 cm walnut front bafles
200 euros 19 mm MDF planks
100 euros connections, wires and glue

So now, how I made them Epic :

1) Create the boxes

Then I had to wait two month to receive my speaker, on back order from manufacturer.

2) Reception :

3) Paint, varnish and electronics

Et voilà :

The listening :

I was really shocked the first time I heard them, the really good way.
I have nothing bad or critic to say about the sound : nice and precise treble, warm medium and deep firm bass. But I have nothing "high-end" to compare with.
For me, my foot taps are the key. Just enjoy the music each time I power up the amplifier and listen.

Regards

 

[Wolf]

I hope they sound as good as they look...

 

[JyPay]

They do

 

[Golf]

Quite impressing!

Regarding the walnut panels: How did you connect them to the boxes? And as being from solid wood obviously: Don’t you worry they could warp or bend sooner or later?

 

[JyPay]

Thank you.

The walnut panels are glued to 5 edges : four on their back and the bottom.
One panel is only 50 x 20 cm for 2,50 cm thick and two big holes : I don't think they will move or bend.

 

[Golf]

The walnut panels are glued to 5 edges

OK, that gluing may prevent the worst, but nevertheless I wouldn’t be too surprised to find the panels (slightly) bent after a while ...

 

[JyPay]

And I forgot to mention the central reinforcement which adds even more gluing surface. Wait and see, with no worries

 

[Wolf]

Wood moves. Moisture and climate minor changes have been enough for solid wood to crack, warp, cup, bow, or shift. Severe cases have cracked the cast frames of drivers as well. Stabilization is not always foolproof, but if the wood end grain is not sealed well it will take in moisture and move.

The best way is to seal and epoxy the wood to try and keep it stable, but even that does not always fully work.

 

[Golf]

The best way is to seal and epoxy the wood

And that has to be done on both sides. (On all six sides actually.)

A while ago I replaced the worn side panels of a vintage Pioneer receiver with new ones. Thought it a pretty good idea to have me a carpenter cut two nice panels from maple wood for that. It wasn’t

 

[Wolf]

Yep, completely sealed.

 

[beagleman]

Some of this "Toids" stuff looks good for sure visually, but I was a bit underwhelmed about lack of good measurements and not willing to shill out 20 bucks to SEE a crossover he "Designed", without knowing it was well designed.


I could be totally wrong, but just have some fairly high standards of DIY design at least in crossover theory and so on, and some things he says kinda makes me not so sure about his understanding of the design side. Woodwork wise, really good though!

 

[Matt_Holland]

Nice build, they look very nice.
Are they 2-way of 2.5-way?