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Very Nice Cheap Kit Speakers: HiVi/Swans DIY 2.2A & 3.1

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Just saw an ad for the new Wharfedale Evo4.2. Eerily similar to the 3.1a right?


3 way with dome mid and ribbon/amt tweet is nothing new. However the dome mid taking over much of the important vocal range does help the transition to tweeter, IMO.
 

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peanuts

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funny how zero fidelity and other youtubers go on about the "dome midrange" of the Wharfedale`s, yet its crossed over from 1.4kHz to 3.9kHz. that is not midrange at all.
 
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I don't know about others, but in live sound, I start treating sound as "low end" when it starts to become omnidirectional, usually 500hz?.
Also 3khz is "peak midrange because that is where you get a lot of smoothmess or harshness going on. A dome crossed at 3.9khz will at least pull that area out of the crossover band.
 
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Poultrygeist

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I think I bought the last pair of HiVi 2.2a on Amazon. Could not believe how heavy the shipping box was and as someone said it might survive an air drop. When I opened up all the internal boxes I couldn't believe the thoroughness of this kit even down to the screws and gaskets. I don't see how there's any profit margin considering the quality of the parts included. The black vinyl covering looks a bit cheesy so I think I may paint mine. I've watched all the youtube videos but would appreciate any tips you builders might provide.
 
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GGroch

GGroch

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Congrats on your purchase and the speakers' safe arrival. I think the single best source of information is the Swanskits website . One of the videos shows how to assemble the boxes for gluing using tape which for most people is the best method. How to get the mitered edges to line up right was my biggest problem, I used a lot of clamps but the tape way is easier. The other issue I see mentioned frequently is that the lacquer on the ends of the coils must be scraped off before soldiering to make good contact. It may be that the newer kit coils come pre-scraped, or perhaps they mention it now in the guide, but this used to be a frequent error. Let us know and hear about your final results.
 

Poultrygeist

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Congrats on your purchase and the speakers' safe arrival. I think the single best source of information is the Swanskits website . One of the videos shows how to assemble the boxes for gluing using tape which for most people is the best method. How to get the mitered edges to line up right was my biggest problem, I used a lot of clamps but the tape way is easier. The other issue I see mentioned frequently is that the lacquer on the ends of the coils must be scraped off before soldiering to make good contact. It may be that the newer kit coils come pre-scraped, or perhaps they mention it now in the guide, but this used to be a frequent error. Let us know and hear about your final results.

Thanks, I plan to use the 2" green tape method as clamping those mitered edges looks to be a challenge. The legs on my coils were not painted. Should I glue up the complete box or should I leave off the top or bottom so as to access the insides?
 
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GGroch

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Assemble it completely. You can access everything through the woofer hole. The top and bottom are also necessary for lining up the sides accurately. After the cabinet is assembled, be sure you insert the crossover in the correct direction, I understand that the woofer can physically interfere if you get it backwards.
 

Poultrygeist

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Assemble it completely. You can access everything through the woofer hole. The top and bottom are also necessary for lining up the sides accurately. After the cabinet is assembled, be sure you insert the crossover in the correct direction, I understand that the woofer can physically interfere if you get it backwards.

Thanks again. I haven't started anything yet but will follow your recommendations. Do you recall the correct orientation of the crossover in the enclosure?
 
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If you don't have one, get a small brush to use for the glue.
 

Poultrygeist

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Boxes are together. Had to buy extra batting as the kit was a little deficient. Sanded them down with fine grit paper and the first coat is on. I'm using flat jet black ( $4.98 sample size ) Behr Marquee from Home Depot. Looks better than I expected and one more coat should be enough. Painting MDF is usually a PITA but there are no edges to deal with here and the guy in the youtube video had success without a primer. Behr Marquee is paint + primer in one. These speakers are quite heavy for their size.
 
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