First build: 2x Otop8

[hbinderup94]

Hey forum!

Have been lurking for a few months and have now decided to start my own build.
A friend and I will do the build together, and we are both quite rookies at woodwork, so let's see how it's gonna be - cant' wait!

We live in Denmark, so everything is ordered from Thomann and the actual build will start next week.
The build will be Beta 8A and ASD1001 drivers.

I have access to a laser cutter, so everything is 2D drawn already and will be cut asap.

Full setup is gonna be 4x Otop8s and 4x T48s, but we'll start out "small" and do 2x Otop8s and 2x T48s..
I can also see that this is the first Otop8 build thread - hopefully it'll be a good one!

[J_Dunavin]

Welcome!! Excited to see some pictures!
What will it be used for? DJ or live sound?

[Grant Bunter]

Hey forum!

Have been lurking for a few months and have now decided to start my own build.
A friend and I will do the build together, and we are both quite rookies at woodwork, so let's see how it's gonna be - cant' wait!

We live in Denmark, so everything is ordered from Thomann and the actual build will start next week.
The build will be Beta 8A and ASD1001 drivers.

I have access to a laser cutter, so everything is 2D drawn already and will be cut asap.

Full setup is gonna be 4x Otop8s and 4x T48s, but we'll start out "small" and do 2x Otop8s and 2x T48s..
I can also see that this is the first Otop8 build thread - hopefully it'll be a good one!

Hello and welcome to the forum
Just take your time with your build and you should be fine.
Read the plans so many times you remember them, but still have them with you as you build.
Always remember that the teeth on a saw blade don't feel a thing when they pass through a finger, and neither does a drill bit
Other than that, the oldest woodworking saying is measure twice, cut once.

Regarding the laser cutter.
It will be ok for many of the cuts in your build, but not all of them.
There's lots of angles to be cut, and sometimes it's better or perhaps easier to make the angled cuts from the outset rather than try to trim down some rough size blanks. You will find this especially so in the compression driver horn.
Hope that makes sense.

Enjoy your build, take a lot of pics for us.
Finally, if you have some doubt at any stage, ask questions before you proceed, and wait for an answer.

Also consider building all your cabs at once, but only loading 1 pair of each at a time, if your budget allows for this.
You can get on a real roll when building, and when you hear the first pair of each running, you will want the second pair of each immediately

There is a build thread, it's a few pics, and it's your benchmark
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=24726

[Tom Smit]

Welcome to the forum!
Enjoy your build!
+1 to what Grant posted.
Do you have amps and processors(for EQ and hard limiting, etc)?

[hbinderup94]

Welcome!! Excited to see some pictures!
What will it be used for? DJ or live sound?

It will primarily be used for DJ'ing techno. But we specifically chose T48 as it seems to be the most versatile regarding genres. So we'll use it for both

[hbinderup94]

Hello and welcome to the forum
Just take your time with your build and you should be fine.
Read the plans so many times you remember them, but still have them with you as you build.

Thank you very much!
I bought the plans a few weeks back and have actually read them a couple of times a day haha!

Regarding the laser cutter.
It will be ok for many of the cuts in your build, but not all of them.
There's lots of angles to be cut, and sometimes it's better or perhaps easier to make the angled cuts from the outset rather than try to trim down some rough size blanks. You will find this especially so in the compression driver horn.
Hope that makes sense.

So you recommend that I offset the sides with angles so I have something to work with?
I'll use a table saw with a guide sled to make the angled cuts. So basically start a few mm (European, sorry) off, notice the error, and then cut accordingly to this?

Always remember that the teeth on a saw blade don't feel a thing when they pass through a finger, and neither does a drill bit
Other than that, the oldest woodworking saying is measure twice, cut once.

I'm in the lucky situation, that my mum's boyfriend is a collector and forest warden, so he has tools for days.. and hopefully he'll give a hand - so I won't lose one..
I'm not completely new to wood working, just never worked with angles, so that's the new exciting part!

Enjoy your build, take a lot of pics for us.
Finally, if you have some doubt at any stage, ask questions before you proceed, and wait for an answer.

Thanks again!
I'm sure that there'll be a lot of questions along the way. Glad to have some support!

Also consider building all your cabs at once, but only loading 1 pair of each at a time, if your budget allows for this.
You can get on a real roll when building, and when you hear the first pair of each running, you will want the second pair of each immediately

I really wish that I could.. Unfortunately I live in a small apartment and I don't even own a car... Denmark.. So have one set is quite complicated already.. I just can't wait anymore - I need my own BFM set haha
But I finish University in December and then it'll be a whole different situation!

There is a build thread, it's a few pics, and it's your benchmark
viewtopic.php?f=26&t=24726

For sure that's the benchmark! Amazing build!
Have actually been nerding a lot since I discovered the forum (around August), and I've actually read every single thread - some a couple of times!
I study Electronics Engineering and I'm doing an acoustics course. I must admit that using this forum is way more educating than listening to my professor..

Again, thank you so much Grant! Looking forward to keep you updated. Now I've read too many build threads without pictures in the end - this one won't be like that

[hbinderup94]

Welcome to the forum!
Enjoy your build!
+1 to what Grant posted.
Do you have amps and processors(for EQ and hard limiting, etc)?

Thank you!
I sure will

The OTs will run from a Crown XLS 1502 and the T48s (24" Kappalite 3015) will run from a Crown XLS 2502 (no bridging of course).
I wanted to have some headroom, so I could use the limiter without losing too much performance.
I haven't tested the amps yet (ordered yesterday), but will the build-in limiter and crossovers be sufficient?

I want to buy a miniDSP, as I've been doing a lot of digital signal processing during my studies. This is the only one I've found to have all the tools I need - for educational purposes (for myself) and also just to be able to make simple tweaks for optimal settings

[Bruce Weldy]

The OTs will run from a Crown XLS 1502 and the T48s (24" Kappalite 3015) will run from a Crown XLS 2502 (no bridging of course).
I wanted to have some headroom, so I could use the limiter without losing too much performance.
I haven't tested the amps yet (ordered yesterday), but will the build-in limiter and crossovers be sufficient?

The XLS does not have a limiter that works for these speakers......it really doesn't work for any speakers, it's just marketing BS.... so, since you have to get a real limiter, you might as well use a driverack - then you'll get the limiting along with a much better crossover and EQ - all things you need to do this right.

[bottomdweller]

Hey forum!

Have been lurking for a few months and have now decided to start my own build.

Velkommen om bord. Jeg er også ny her. Looking forward to seeing your build progress.

[Grant Bunter]

So you recommend that I offset the sides with angles so I have something to work with?
I'll use a table saw with a guide sled to make the angled cuts. So basically start a few mm (European, sorry) off, notice the error, and then cut accordingly to this?

You always have to allow for the width of the saw blade.
You also need to really understand which is the wider (and narrower) part of the ply once the angled cuts have been made...

[Padde298]

Hi hbinderup (and bottomdweller).
Nice to "see" other danes in here... Looking forward to following the build! Having completed my own set of TAT (there's a build thread), I have some experience in building after the BFM design. As others have said; READ THE PLAN, THEN READ IT AGAIN (and understand it)! I did all my panels on a 90 dgr table saw,then checked all dimensions and then made the angled cuts. Used a digital angle gauge to set up the blade in the correct angle. Only missed a single panel this way...
I'm in the Kolding area. Where you at?

[hbinderup94]

The XLS does not have a limiter that works for these speakers......it really doesn't work for any speakers, it's just marketing BS.... so, since you have to get a real limiter, you might as well use a driverack - then you'll get the limiting along with a much better crossover and EQ - all things you need to do this right.

I just looked into the Driverack PA2, and I must say that I'm in love. Will for sure be added to the rack. Thanks a lot!

Velkommen om bord. Jeg er også ny her. Looking forward to seeing your build progress.

Thanks! Where are you located?
We live in Aarhus but the build will be done at my mum' and her boyfriend's place around Hobro, as they have a nice workshop

You always have to allow for the width of the saw blade.
You also need to really understand which is the wider (and narrower) part of the ply once the angled cuts have been made...

Also if you make the cut on the "outside" of the measured line? I'm sure it's harder to get right, so I'll just go with the longer sides and then adjust until we hit the correct size.

I'm not sure that I follow the part about the wider and narrower part of the ply? You mean after the angle is cut?
I thought about making some angled guide jigs, so one side is always straight when I have to do the cuts. I saw people using adjustable jigs, but as it's only a few I have to make, and I have the laser cutter, I might just make a couple of fixed ones. Then I also have them for the next pair.

Hi hbinderup (and bottomdweller).
Nice to "see" other danes in here... Looking forward to following the build! Having completed my own set of TAT (there's a build thread), I have some experience in building after the BFM design. As others have said; READ THE PLAN, THEN READ IT AGAIN (and understand it)! I did all my panels on a 90 dgr table saw,then checked all dimensions and then made the angled cuts. Used a digital angle gauge to set up the blade in the correct angle. Only missed a single panel this way...
I'm in the Kolding area. Where you at?

Hey there! Thanks for joining the thread!
I absolutely love your TAT build! The sound bike looks really nice!
We live in Aarhus
The table saw I'm using have angled adjustments with 0.1 degree resolution. I'm sure that they also have a digital angle gauge, so we can check if it's set up correctly.

[Grant Bunter]

Also if you make the cut on the "outside" of the measured line? I'm sure it's harder to get right, so I'll just go with the longer sides and then adjust until we hit the correct size.

You always have to cut on the outside of the line with one edge of the saw blade!
I mark the outside of the line with a X to remind me that is the part to be cut off.
Don't think about cutting wood any other way.

I'm not sure that I follow the part about the wider and narrower part of the ply? You mean after the angle is cut?

Yes. In your plans, where necessary, it will say something like "mark the wider face as ...". That, and looking at sketchup is a reminder about how that part sits in the cab when building.

I thought about making some angled guide jigs, so one side is always straight when I have to do the cuts. I saw people using adjustable jigs, but as it's only a few I have to make, and I have the laser cutter, I might just make a couple of fixed ones. Then I also have them for the next pair.

Jigs are always handy

[ACUA]

I built 4 otop12s and 4 t45s. If I could take what I know and do it over I would do what you are doing. The otop8 I do really like and after 2 years of Giging/djing I believe that t48 would have been the better cab for me.

So I think you are off to a great start. I’m all about the driverack or any of those sophisticated dsp units, they solve a great many of the audiophile problems.

[hbinderup94]

Small update:
The packages from Thomann arrived today! There was 95 items on the shopping list, but here are the most important parts:

Unfortunately we might have to reschedule to next week.. I hope that it won't be necessary! Can't wait to start the build for real