Custom DIY horns

[Wardsweb]

These are my 2-channel system speakers. The frame is CNS baltic birch with four layers of kerf MDF on the sides. The veneer is sapele pommele with a gloss lacquer finish. The drivers are: JBL 2235h woofer, JBL 077 tweeter and Altec 802-8G driver mounted to an Altec 511B horn.

 

[amirm]

I can't hear how they sound through the form . But as a woodworker, I certainly can admire the great woodworking! It it sounds half as pretty as it looks, it would be a wonderful speaker .

 

[soundofvoid]

Indeed, the level of effort that you inject in all your work is inspiring!
I wish i could work the veneers like that!
I will definitely ask for you advice when i start my new speaker project!

 

[kach22i]

I remember when you posted the construction process in another forum. I said be careful with veneers my first experience was not so good, you said to the effect; not my first rodeo.

Stunning work.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Beautitiful! Probably not at all dynamic, though....

Tim

 

[DonH50]

Very sweet, look like a modern, upgraded, much more beautiful Voice of the Theater!

Rodeo, did that a few years, quit before I did serious damage...

 

[Mark Seaton]

I see this is an older thread brought back up, but fun to see guys still open to horn designs. Despite some atrocious examples to be heard, there is some real potential and a few great sounding examples. I've actually been working on making some nice looking cabinets available to DIYers through my cabinet shop and have one cabinet already using a large, 14" x 10" horn that behaves very well with a 15" woofer. For those not rolling their own, I'll later be offering a kit that will be "screwdriver ready" for anyone to assemble. These were at my cabinet builder's table at RMAF on the main floor:

 

[Wardsweb]

I see this is an older thread brought back up, but fun to see guys still open to horn designs. Despite some atrocious examples to be heard, there is some real potential and a few great sounding examples. I've actually been working on making some nice looking cabinets available to DIYers through my cabinet shop and have one cabinet already using a large, 14" x 10" horn that behaves very well with a 15" woofer. For those not rolling their own, I'll later be offering a kit that will be "screwdriver ready" for anyone to assemble. These were at my cabinet builder's table at RMAF on the main floor:
[/IMG]

What is the internal cubic feet of the cabinet? It looks small for that driver. Were you going for a waveguide?

 

[Mark Seaton]

What is the internal cubic feet of the cabinet? It looks small for that driver. Were you going for a waveguide?

The cabinet is compact at only about 2 cu.ft. This particular cabinet was also intended to be used with a woofer/subwoofer of some form, not a full range design. The woofer shown was just the closest thing I had on hand to the intended driver that I'll be using, although DIYers are free to drop in whatever woofer they like if they want to roll their own crossover. The intended 15" is the Acoustic Elegance TD15M driver:

The waveguide/horn shown is a 90 x 60 deg horn that Parts Express worked out a deal to distribute from QSC due to demand. The horn is a replacement part used in one of their pro products which DIYers became wise to and were ordering "replacement parts" to build their own.

 

[Wardsweb]

Very sweet, look like a modern, upgraded, much more beautiful Voice of the Theater!

Rodeo, did that a few years, quit before I did serious damage...

I actually had A7's before building these. Inbetween I built some 2-way corner horns with JBL drivers and veneering in Brazilian rosewood. This latest design was to fix what was wrong or missing from the A7 and/or my corner horns. These have exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. They are my favorite speaker and I have lots to choose from in my house; Martin Logan Prodigy, Klipsch Julibee, JBL C50 Olympus with custom 2397 horns and 2405 tweeters and other smaller speakers like the Mark and Daniel Maximus Mini.

 

[Mark Seaton]

I actually had A7's before building these. Inbetween I built some 2-way corner horns with JBL drivers and veneering in Brazilian rosewood. This latest design was to fix what was wrong or missing from the A7 and/or my corner horns. These have exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. They are my favorite speaker and I have lots to choose from in my house; Martin Logan Prodigy, Klipsch Julibee, JBL C50 Olympus with custom 2397 horns and 2405 tweeters and other smaller speakers like the Mark and Daniel Maximus Mini.

Very cool speakers indeed. It appears they are passively crossed. What did you use for the crossover? Are those two knobs L/R of the binding posts L-pads?

 

[Wardsweb]

Very cool speakers indeed. It appears they are passively crossed. What did you use for the crossover? Are those two knobs L/R of the binding posts L-pads?

Good eye. I built custom crossover based on a combination of a modified JBL 3106 and an Altec N501. The attenuators allow me to dial in the mids and highs to how I want to hear it.