TLAH build for sanctuary

[gzc_stageTech]

OK, this is my first build thread so please bear with me.

First off, I want to give some background of the venue for the TLAHs. It's a church sanctuary, roughly 35' x 55' with a vaulted ceiling (don't they all??). The room is pretty plain, that is - no elaborate sound damping treatment, woodwork, etc. The concrete floor is carpeted however.


And where they'll be mounted:


The dilemma with the original speakers (Peavey 115s flown overhead & placement):


This is the view from the speaker's perspective:


OK, so that's the site and it's obvious "why" I'm building the TLAHs. This sanctuary is an excellant application for the arrays. The PVs are very harsh and loud in the front of the sanctuary. There is a lot of cancellation (nodes) throughout the seating area. Obviously, the center aisle about 20' back from the speakers is the "sweet spot" for the PVs. The TLAHs should give me broader coverage, with better front to back (nearfield to farfield) sound.

I am anxious to hear them in the venue.

Oh, I apologize for the quality of these fotos. I took them this past Sunday and created a pdf (with the text and labels) and then extracted the image from the pdf. So, it is poor quality. I hope future posts will have better photos, without the intermediate media transfer processes.

Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

This weekend (Saturday March 10th) I started cutting wood. I was busy with the measurements, tooling, and layout so I didn't get too many photos. But, this is the first cut:


I got the pieces cut and started the routing for the drivers. They'll be face mounted (the front baffle is removable) but I wanted to spotface them down from the surface a little. See:



I got into the routing a ways and then my router blew out. So I didn't get them all cut. Now, I've either got to go buy another router, or take mine to get it fixed. I fear the worst, as it is 30 years old. No, being old isn't a disqualifier for quality...but it certainly is an indication of fragility.

More to follow.

Cheers.
Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

OK, so these are the last of my photos from my 1st week(end) of building. This one shows the back panel positioned with the sides in my gluing fixture. It's really just a couple of channels set up square that I can clamp block to. Nothing fancy, just functional.




Here's a smiley face view with the baffle positioned on the box (nope, not glued in...it'll be removable):


And here's an "end view" of the bottom. Notice the 1x1 cleats along the sides. Those add glue strength to the joints and provide a "land" for the brads which hold it together while the glue dries.


The baffle and the back plate are 1/2" auraco and the sides, top and bottom are 1/4" baltic birch.

I hope I get some more "shop time" during the week. I'm starting to enjoy the smell of sawdust, or at least the "crusties", in the morning.

Chris

[DJPhatman]

Chris, what diameter driver are you using? Are they to fit in the recesses that are rabbeted around the woofer holes? If so, you should have made them so the frames just touch.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

sides, top and bottom are 1/4" baltic birch.

There is no bottom.

[gzc_stageTech]

Chris, what diameter driver are you using?

DJ, they're 5.25" drivers (outside is about 5 5/8") and the driver holes are 6" center to center. I'll shoot a foto with the drivers placed in the holes. When they are, they look much closer together. The recess makes it just flush with the surface of the baffle when installed.

Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

There is no bottom.

Yes, I know it's open when done. The bottom will just trim the edges of the baffle and back. It will be open (annular center opening) when done. I'll add a photo when I get it trimmed.

Chris

[chenry78]

Looks good, clean build!

I like the inset speakers, Im just too lazy for all that fancy stuff! Im gonna do the same with my bottoms (that arent supposed to be there). Im gonna cuttout the centers and put a mesh in the back to keep them looking clean, uniform and to keep all that filler inside!

[gzc_stageTech]

DJPhatman,

Here's the photo of the driver to driver spacing:


I know, there's a little gap. But I think they'll still couple just fine.

Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

Finally, an update from the last couple of nights. I got a new router (the geriatric Craftsman has been retired) and I managed to complete the driver hole cutouts.

Here's a view of the cabinets drilled (not dressed):


I'm not quite done with the tweeter holes though. I need to slightly enlarge the holes for the horn shape so they recess a little better into the baffle. This shows the tweet placed in the hole that I hole-sawed into the baffle:


So, for the "dress up" photo, I placed a driver in each of the holes, so you could see the array progressing. Here:


Believe it, or not, it's starting to look like a speaker cabinet.

Chris

[shawn_g]

That looks great. What kind of drivers are those?

[gzc_stageTech]

?...What kind of drivers are those?

Goldwood S525-8's. They fit well. I'm hoping they sound good.

I hope to get some progress today. I was preoccupied yesterday and couldn't get to the shop. I'll post more later.

Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

Trimmed the bottom opening today. Sorry, no photos yet. I'll get some later. Sanding things and getting ready to check fit the drivers & tweets. I just got in the grill cloth & stub mounts for the grill frame. Once the drivers have been checked in, I'll start the grill.

I'm going to spray paint the TLAH to match the walls it'll be mounted on. So now I've got to pull a sample of the latex paint so I can match it with enamel and then overspray the whole thing (without the drivers in, of course).

I have some left over scraps of 1/4" Baltic birch that I plan to mount the piezo high pass filter on. Maybe later this week I can get those made. Again, I'll shoot some photos to post. I'm getting close to start the wiring business too.

Nearly two weeks into the project. I'm getting anxious to listen to these TLAHs.

Chris

[gzc_stageTech]

OK, so I promised some photos. This one shows the trim at the transmission line opening:



I trimmed it with a pine 1x material. It provides a place for me to staple the screen on the inside and cleans up my rough cut lines. The whole box will be painted with an enamel finish to match the sanctuary walls. I'm trying to make it blend in with the surroundings as best as possible. I will add a grill cover though, to keep inquisitive fingers from poking the driver cones.

This photo shows the drill template I used to match the hole pattern to the speaker. I use it and a square to make sure that the drivers are all oriented the same in the box (I know...it's a bit OCD, especially since the grill cover will hide the handy work anyway).



And here's the fully dressed box (with speakers mounted and screwed in place):



I know, I'll have to unscrew them to paint the box, but at least the holes will be there in place. Gosh, that's a lot of drilling and screwing speakers in place. My wrist was tired from turning all those screws in.

Next, I start the high pass filter board. Oh, and the jack plate will be on the back of the box out of sight from the sanctuary. The speaker wire will run directly into the wall to which the TLAH will be mounted.

Chris

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I'd remove those cleats that are constricting the bottom opening.