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Imagining a successor to the Affordable Accuracy Monitor

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As a matter of fact, no reason the whole cabinet couldn't be 3D printed (if filled with something solid.) You can really get creative in terms of eliminating internal standing waves and resonances if you have no constraints on the shape.
Would love to see what’s possible with a 3D Printed enclosure. I briefly looked into how MJF PA11/PA12 behaved acoustically and it seems promising. JLCPCB does that, it’s what my keyboard keys are made of. Also, is there a 3DP case for the Mechano23?
 
KEF R300 is perhaps too upmarket to be a contender here, but from a process perspective I very much liked what @Zvu did with them.

 
Dennis Murphy has designed a much better crossover for the Parts Express BR-1 kit. BR-1s are still available and cheap enough to be a good mod starting point.
 
Dennis Murphy has designed a much better crossover for the Parts Express BR-1 kit. BR-1s are still available and cheap enough to be a good mod starting point.
I think those are $234.98 and I don't think they're in stock, no?
 
is there a 3DP case for the Mechano23?
Don't think so.

how MJF PA11/PA12 behaved acoustically and it seems promising
Probably really well on their own, but too much for an accessible DIY build. Nylon should be used for mechanically intensive applications, but it's relatively expensive and difficult to print at home.

To equal or exceed the acoustic properties of MDF I think the easiest way is to print a hollow enclosure and fill the walls with concrete or maybe plaster. ABS or PETG would work for this.

Trying to make an all-plastic enclosure perform well is doing it the hard way IMO. 100% solid ends up being really expensive, trying to get anything less dense to perform well seems unlikely.

Would love to see what’s possible with a 3D Printed enclosure
What I think can / should be done that hasn't been explored a lot in the DIY scene:

  • Smoother shapes for the exterior of the cabinet, other than spheres
  • Irregular shapes for the interior space, to break up reflections / resonances
  • Multiple cabinet wall layers, for damping and to kill cabinet resonances

If you end up doing a DIY kit hit me up and I can help with a cabinet design... it's something I've thought a lot about doing, but a high-end DIY speaker isn't something I have the space or budget for. But I'm still keen to see if my thoughts on this subject hold water. :)
 
Sorry for suggesting another active speaker but this might be a candidate too.


Gets many things right except for a couple resonances and overall tonal balance. Seeing what @Weeb Labs did here and given the fact that the same DSP chip was used, there is a small chance it can be pulled off with this one as well.

No guarantee but perhaps worth exploring?
 
Sorry for suggesting another active speaker but this might be a candidate too.


Gets many things right except for a couple resonances and overall tonal balance. Seeing what @Weeb Labs did here and given the fact that the same DSP chip was used, there is a small chance it can be pulled off with this one as well.

No guarantee but perhaps worth exploring?
Looking at some of the teardown photos, I can see what appears to be a USBi header and an EEPROM without an MCU. These should make a good candidate. I have no plans to purchase a pair but in the event that somebody sends me one to play with, I would be happy to publish another reimplementation.

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O wow that is really amazing news.

Imagine fixing the response through the DSP and getting rid of the worst resonances with some well placed physical measures. If that works out the way I feel it could I wonder what more to ask for in a 2025 AAM successor.
 
Looking at some of the teardown photos, I can see what appears to be a USBi header and an EEPROM without an MCU. These should make a good candidate. I have no plans to purchase a pair but in the event that somebody sends me one to play with, I would be happy to publish another reimplementation.

View attachment 418927
Yeah this is really good. My personal preference for passives has more to do with wanting something that can be used for Home Theater like the original AAM but the reality is that there’s more of a market for cheap actives/soundbars so a hack for those should always be explored.
 
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