AudioXpress DR12 Article

[sethlover]

Hello all. I just signed up here and this is my first post.

I ventured back through my AudioXpress mags and came across Vol 32, issue 7 (7/1/01 ) and was
stopped in my tracks by the DR12 project (very cool looking). I imagine this would also work well in a home stereo environment? I have a pair of old Community horns, they are 30" wide and about 14" high that would look awesome sitting on top of the DR12 (they sound pretty good too) and I would love to build a pair of DR12's. I am an experienced woodworker with speakers in particular. Has anyone else built these? Do you have an actual set of plans with better details than the article?

sethlover

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The DR12 is three generations ago. The current version is the DR280.

[sethlover]

Yes I know it's an older design but I still want to build it and I'm not really interested in the tweeter array of the 280. My vision is to use it as a bass horn only and extend the design on top to incorporate a mid/tweet horn while making it visually attractive in the home. I can build it from the article but just thought I would inquire if there was any more info. Thanks!

sethlover

[Grant Bunter]

Hi sethlover,
Welcome to the forum

Of course your entitled to built whatever you want, but I'm curious:
Why would you want to build a (very) outdated design?

Each generation of Bill's designs has lead to improvements in response and output.
Bill only updates his designs for this reason.

The current version, in this case the DR280 is a pro sound cab. Even the most over the top HT setup I have seen implementing Bill's designs only uses DR250's.

There's plenty of offerings from Bill at present for HT.

The "David" springs to mind as a bass horn with mid/tweet on top.

Most people here looking for a bass horn design seem to go with the Table Tuba or Tuba HT for bass, and something else like SLA's or TLAH for their mid/HF cabs.

Unless there is a lot more info in that article, basically a set of plans, while it may look like a plain box on the outside, if it's like current cabs, it is anything but that...

[miked]

Bill's designs, includingy the Tuba/Titan/DRs are anything BUT "just a box." Grant spelled out the options for HT very well. As long as you choose the PROPER cab FOR YOUR application, you cannot go wrong with any of Bill's designs. They simply stomp all over commercially-available boxes costing 2X+ as much as it'll cost you to build them.

[sethlover]

Thanks for all your input guys. I will take all of this into consideration and buy a set of plans for the 280 to study. If you haven't seen the dr12 it's a shame because it is a very hi tech looking design. Ok. by now you are wondering, is this guy into good looks or good sound? Both. I have built many speakers, some with mid and tweeter horns but never a full range system...the bass horn always being way to big & ugly for the home. I want this to be a 2-ch only system. The dr12 has good response down to the 30 hz region which is more than adequate for me. If I truly proceed with this project, and it may be a ways off, I'll post some pics.

Seth

[DJPhatman]

What the system looks like is only 0.01% of the entire equation. You can polish a turd, and make it all shiny and pretty, but it is still a turd. The finish of the completed cab varies by builders talent and planning. I suck at both, and my builds show it. But, building a 3+ generations old design, that has been superseded by a better performing design, doesn't make any sense. The current DR280 out-performs the DR12.

[Grant Bunter]

Thanks for all your input guys. I will take all of this into consideration and buy a set of plans for the 280 to study. If you haven't seen the dr12 it's a shame because it is a very hi tech looking design. Ok. by now you are wondering, is this guy into good looks or good sound? Both. I have built many speakers, some with mid and tweeter horns but never a full range system...the bass horn always being way to big & ugly for the home. I want this to be a 2-ch only system. The dr12 has good response down to the 30 hz region which is more than adequate for me. If I truly proceed with this project, and it may be a ways off, I'll post some pics.

Seth

As I so often do, I looked them up before responding, and found:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jacen/DR/
Made in Australia even lol.

Good luck with your project!

[miked]

Thanks for posting that link, Grant. Very interesting-looking cab! Would be curious to see what it looks like inside.

[jswingchun]

If you haven't seen the dr12 it's a shame because it is a very hi tech looking design.

As I so often do, I looked them up before responding, and found:
http://members.iinet.net.au/~jacen/DR/

I don't think the appearance of that is any more hi tech than the current DR lineup. Am I missing something?