SLAs & AutoTuba

[Dan_S]

After what seems like absolutely ages, I've managed to get my first two BF projects done. I decided to have a go at building these to see if I was any good at woodwork, and intrigued at the thought of creating an efficient 2.1 system in a DIY fashion.



Fortunately for me, this picture's not that big, so you don't get to see the 'inconsistencies'! The SLA pair was probably the more difficult of the two designs, because of all of the hole cutting and the lack of a drill press, not to mention all of the soldering and gluing that had to take place as well.

Black paint also is good at covering up 'things not originally in the designs'

But enough of that - I had a go at testing all 3 speakers together earlier on, and I'm impressed with the sound. It's very clean and precise, and it's going to take a while getting used to clear Bass without boominess, that's for sure! My brother and I tried some various different types of source material, and we kept coming across bits and pieces in the music that we'd never heard before

Given the depth of the AT, I was wondering, would I lose anything if I situated the cab in a corner, but had it firing upwards? I didn't get chance to test it then and there, but if it's not an insane idea I'll give it a go.

The AT is also heavy, but that's my own fault with making the mistake of using 3/4" plywood - but if it sounds good it won't need to be moved!

I will be using these speakers as a monitoring system for my own music production. I'm looking forward to when the inspiration hits!

I now feel I know enough to get started on a couple of Bass Guitar cabinets. This project was an eye-opener, and an ear-opener at that too!

[loaferz]

looks beautiful, i dont see any imperfections.


Great job, I'm looking to build this same system to replace my home theater system, tried using my t36 and ot1x12's, but they're just overkill and a little too bulky.

[Mark Coward]

The best arrangement I believe is mounting it mouth down on 6" legs as specified in the plans, and put it in the corner:

it’s equally adept in home or pro-sound applications where its shape makes it more user friendly than the Tuba 18. In those applications you would have to add six inch legs at the mouth end of the box to stand it upright with the mouth facing the floor.

[Dan_S]

The best arrangement I believe is mounting it mouth down on 6" legs as specified in the plans, and put it in the corner:

it’s equally adept in home or pro-sound applications where its shape makes it more user friendly than the Tuba 18. In those applications you would have to add six inch legs at the mouth end of the box to stand it upright with the mouth facing the floor.

Thanks Mark. I couldn't find that in my designs! Which page was that on?

I'll give it a go, and post an update once it's all placed properly.

[RubiconProSound]

it's on page 12...

For in home use you may lie the box on its side next to a wall, preferably with the mouth six inches or so from a corner. You can also put it on legs and stand it up next to a wall, or better in a corner.... For freestanding placement make the legs 3.25 inches long; for placement next to a wall make them 4 inches long, and for corner placement 6 inches long.

If you don't want permanaent legs on it make a small square stand that will hold the AT off of the floor. The mouth of the horn slides into the stand. This way you can plug it into the car or stand it up when you're at home or at a gig.

[Dan_S]

it's on page 12...

For in home use you may lie the box on its side next to a wall, preferably with the mouth six inches or so from a corner. You can also put it on legs and stand it up next to a wall, or better in a corner.... For freestanding placement make the legs 3.25 inches long; for placement next to a wall make them 4 inches long, and for corner placement 6 inches long.

If you don't want permanaent legs on it make a small square stand that will hold the AT off of the floor. The mouth of the horn slides into the stand. This way you can plug it into the car or stand it up when you're at home or at a gig.

At a gig? As a Bass cab, or a sub to a small PA?

I had a couple of speaker stands hanging around, so I used that to place the AT on. They measure 7.5"...I hope that doesn't make too much of a difference with the sound. If it does, I'll make a 6" stand like RubiConProSound recommended.

Here's a picture of the system 'kind of' set up:

[DJPhatman]

Dan, how does it sound? Try to compare it to anything commonly sold that you have heard.

[Dan_S]

I've been finding it quite difficult to put it into words about how it sounds. The output from all of the speakers is very clean and accurate...one of the first things I noticed was that I was turning the Bass and Treble down, and had found a new friend called Midrange

I've been using a pair of Wharfedale Glendale speakers (I think) that my Uncle made some 25 years ago, and the difference is quite large. The crossover circuits in them aren't great, so there's quite a loss of midrange. I had to replace the tweeters in them too, but they detracted from the midrange by being slightly overpowering at times.

None of this is a problem with these speakers, I've not had to do any EQ'ing to sort them out, and they're so much more sensitive that I'm left wondering if I actually need my amps on (because they're running so low)!

I've tried them out with a number of different recorded material. Stuff of my own (I can now hear I slightly over-compensated on the mid-range because of the Wharfedales), Acid Jazz, and some Progressive Metal music.

One of the Acid Jazz albums was 'Travelling Without Moving' by Jamiroquai. There's a bonus track at the end, and when I got to it I heard the singer talking in the background while the band jammed for a bit. I've never heard that before!

Commercial speakers should run screaming if this is the clarity you can get from a couple of week's work (albeit stretched out over a few months) with some power tools, glue, paint and a soldering iron!

Another thing I noticed is that these speakers are easy to listen to. Unintrusive, and needless to say very impressive because of that.

[RubiconProSound]

At a gig? As a Bass cab, or a sub to a small PA?

Sub for small PA...sorry about that.

I ocassionally DJ at small house partys, coffee houses and the like so I need something with a small footprint. One or two AT's works fine. We have a small bar next to the house and dragging in my T30's isn't an option. Two AT's corner loaded on stands works great. People still can't believe all that sound comes from two 8" woofers.

[theGeek]

Time to resurrect... but what drivers did you use? Also, after a year are you still happy with these speakers?

What are you powering them with?

[Chris_Allen]

I have the same question - I didn't see this thread the first time round. You gotta love those early 90's carpets (and if you've just fitted it) that's a really nice carpet

[Dan_S]

Haha, the carpets aren't anything to do with me! That room used to be an office, so unfortunately that was my parents' choice

The speakers I used were the Onkyo drivers that Bill recommends in his designs. I had them shipped over from America, because even with the delivery costs and customs they were still less than anything I could find of a similar spec over here.

The same goes for the AutoTuba - I used a MCM 55-2421.

I didn't use the speakers regularly for a while, but a month or so ago I put them in my bedroom so that I WOULD use them. Really glad I did, they still sound great, and I've not had any problems with them at all.

I run the SLAs through a Cambridge Audio A1mk3 amp, and the AutoTuba through an old old amp made by FAL. Neither of the amps are being pushed - I feel like I'm saving the planet in some ways!

I've split the signals on the computer (using ALSA with Linux is quite easy as there are a few good examples on the net) as I run everything on that anyway.

[theGeek]

are you using them as studio monitors or just for daily listening?

[Dan_S]

I use them for both. The flat response for them makes it quite easy to master music now, and for general use their flat response and high sensitivity mean you don't need to turn them up. The detail's all there, which is just about all you could ask for.

I'm in the process of making a Tuba 18 with the other MCM 55-2421 I ordered, which might be easier to fit into the room! There's the chance it might sound better too, as I made a blunder with the AutoTuba in that I bought 3/4" plywood, rather than 1/2". I've got some MDF which I'm using at the moment (it was offered to me for free, so I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth), so it'll weigh more than it should, but being part of a HT/home studio, it won't need to get moved all that much.

[theGeek]

awesome... I can't wait to get started on those!!