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arboleda

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Hi all. I think that in the last 3 days I've spent about 10 hours reading posts on this site.

I'm preparing to spend some money I've saved on some DIY audio. I'm heavily leaning towards a Jim Holtz speaker design but still debating which. My brother built some AviaTrix speakers several years ago and we were both stunned with the sound and have both been reading and preparing for a next build since then. I'm 44 and life is very stable at the moment. We're in a home that we should have for at least 10 years here in San Diego. I'd like to build some nice speakers that will bring joy for quite some time.

I don't recall now how I found this site but I've spent a ton of time reading about DACs and Amps here. I love learning about audio equipment. By trade I am a software engineer but I've been learning about audio equipment for the past 2 months or so. I know far more than I knew 2 months ago and hope to learn lots more as I prepare to select speakers, amps, sources, etc.
 

MediumRare

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Welcome to ASR. I’m quite new here too and have found it addictive.

Curious what your motivation to DIY is?
 

BDWoody

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Hi all. I think that in the last 3 days I've spent about 10 hours reading posts on this site.

I'm preparing to spend some money I've saved on some DIY audio. I'm heavily leaning towards a Jim Holtz speaker design but still debating which. My brother built some AviaTrix speakers several years ago and we were both stunned with the sound and have both been reading and preparing for a next build since then. I'm 44 and life is very stable at the moment. We're in a home that we should have for at least 10 years here in San Diego. I'd like to build some nice speakers that will bring joy for quite some time.

I don't recall now how I found this site but I've spent a ton of time reading about DACs and Amps here. I love learning about audio equipment. By trade I am a software engineer but I've been learning about audio equipment for the past 2 months or so. I know far more than I knew 2 months ago and hope to learn lots more as I prepare to select speakers, amps, sources, etc.

Welcome!
 

617

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1. Learn.
2. Stretch my dollars.

Which Holtz design are you interested in? He's one of the better DIY designers and generally makes high value speakers.
 
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arboleda

arboleda

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Welcome aboard. You live where we used to live and left reluctantly.

Thanks amirm! The work you're doing here is quite astounding. Thank you and I'll be sending a patreon donation. My wife and I lived in Utah for the past 20 years or so and needed a change. She grew up in San Diego. We basically narrowed down our choices to Seattle, Portland, or San Diego and ultimately came to San Diego. It's been great!
 
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arboleda

arboleda

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Which Holtz design are you interested in? He's one of the better DIY designers and generally makes high value speakers.

Well, I keep going back and forth. I think I really want to build the Statement II. My only concern is that I might not need so much speaker and the size is large. WAF is not a factor as she is very supportive of my nerdy hobbies but they really are large!
 

617

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Well, I keep going back and forth. I think I really want to build the Statement II. My only concern is that I might not need so much speaker and the size is large. WAF is not a factor as she is very supportive of my nerdy hobbies but they really are large!

I'm verryyyy close to making a pair of these using 3 ikea eket cabinets as the shells (with modifications).
The rs225 woofers are probably still the best value in bass reproduction and the ne123 woofers are quite nice.
 
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arboleda

arboleda

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I'm verryyyy close to making a pair of these using 3 ikea eket cabinets as the shells (with modifications).
The rs225 woofers are probably still the best value in bass reproduction and the ne123 woofers are quite nice.

Awesome. Interested to hear how it goes. Is the ikea cabinet your own idea or has that been done before? If I build them I'll almost certainly use this flat pack:

https://www.speakerhardware.com/statements-tower-flat-pack-i-or-ii.php
 

617

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Awesome. Interested to hear how it goes. Is the ikea cabinet your own idea or has that been done before? If I build them I'll almost certainly use this flat pack:

https://www.speakerhardware.com/statements-tower-flat-pack-i-or-ii.php
I bought flat packs from that company. I asked them to make a custom cabinet, price was pretty reasonable. Finish was okay but not like furniture grade. I can be more specific if desired.

I think people have made cabinets using ikea things before; the ones I'm thinking of are unique however. It won't be the exact same thing as the statements either, I'll probably use another tweeter. A big part of the appeal to me is that it cuts down on the sanding and filling which is a time consuming mess for me, and allows me to build the speaker in 3 parts which are relatively easy to move around rather than one huge cabinet. Never making a 2x8" tower in one box again!
 
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arboleda

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I bought flat packs from that company. I asked them to make a custom cabinet, price was pretty reasonable. Finish was okay but not like furniture grade. I can be more specific if desired.

Actually yeah I’m interested in hearing about the finish. My intent would be to sand/stain/sand/etc.
 

617

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Actually yeah I’m interested in hearing about the finish. My intent would be to sand/stain/sand/etc.

Well, the plywood he uses is baltic birch or similar, 12 or 19mm. It's high quality plywood made of many thin plys. My flat pack didn't have rabbets, it's all butt jointed with pocket screws on the inside and biscuits for the main panels. This made it easy to assemble and quite strong but the edge of the plywood show everywhere. This is not an issue for me, I like how it looks, but it's something to be aware of. He doesn't seem to use a CNC, but the cuts were all clean and smooth, and the driver holes were extremely precise.

He also mentioned he's getting plywood with more and more patches - I requested all the main panels be patch free (the patches are quite subtle) and it was a modest upcharge.

I finished it with general finishes satin poly because I wanted to keep it simple. I had to do some minor filling here and there with natural colored wood filling. It's more visible in my build due to the natural finish.

I would be careful staining this plywood, it is rotary cut and unless you use a pre-stain conditioner or use a gel stain it will probably look patchy.

If you really want these cabinets to look really nice I'd highly recommend pressure adhering wood veneer - trimming it around the driver holes would be tricky but it would result in a very nice product. You cut it a little oversize, peel back the paper covering the adhesive, and press it down hard using the edge of a board of wood to generate a lot of pressure all over the surface. Trim with knife and finish like any other wood (I recommend wipe on poly and a coat of wax.)

So, not perfect but I'd order them again. I may get him to just cut baffles for me for my build. Plywood is certainly much nicer to work with than MDF.

I can send some pictures later if you like.
 

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Actually yeah I’m interested in hearing about the finish. My intent would be to sand/stain/sand/etc.
The Statements definitely made it to my short list. I've done speaker builds in the distant past, including a folded labyrinth (horn) 4 way design using KEF drivers. Its fun. I'm putting diy on hold for now and am thinking of buying Yamaha HS8 studio monitors as an interim system. Start up work schedule isn't crazy, but it doesn't limit my spare time efforts. Welcome aboard! There is a wealth of information here.
 

BostonJack

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The Statements definitely made it to my short list. I've done speaker builds in the distant past, including a folded labyrinth (horn) 4 way design using KEF drivers. Its fun. I'm putting diy on hold for now and am thinking of buying Yamaha HS8 studio monitors as an interim system. Start up work schedule isn't crazy, but it doesn't limit my spare time efforts. Welcome aboard! There is a wealth of information here.
oops, should read: "does limit my spare time"
 

617

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20191108_175619.jpg
 
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arboleda

arboleda

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The Statements definitely made it to my short list. I've done speaker builds in the distant past, including a folded labyrinth (horn) 4 way design using KEF drivers. Its fun. I'm putting diy on hold for now and am thinking of buying Yamaha HS8 studio monitors as an interim system. Start up work schedule isn't crazy, but it doesn't limit my spare time efforts. Welcome aboard! There is a wealth of information here.

I hear you. I did a start up and it was intense.
 
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arboleda

arboleda

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617, that's super helpful. It makes sense that you'd see the edges like that but I hadn't really considered it. Makes me wonder about black instead of stain. Or, like you said... maybe veneer.
 

617

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scott wurcer

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Well, the plywood he uses is baltic birch or similar, 12 or 19mm. It's high quality plywood made of many thin plys. My flat pack didn't have rabbets, it's all butt jointed with pocket screws on the inside and biscuits for the main panels. This made it easy to assemble and quite strong but the edge of the plywood show everywhere. This is not an issue for me, I like how it looks, but it's something to be aware of. He doesn't seem to use a CNC, but the cuts were all clean and smooth, and the driver holes were extremely precise.

I assume you know Boulter, I was a customer back when old man Boulter used to cut everything for you.
 
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