troporobo's 85% solution

Post your system set-up here.

Moderator: JackD201

Postby troporobo » Wed May 17, 2006 8:02 am

arnoldc wrote:Thank you for using the Bullet Plugs :D


My pleasure - thanks for making them available!

I was a little nervous working with these the first time because so many people say they are difficult, easy to wreck with too much heat from the iron, etc. In fact, I found them very easy. The minimalist design means they solder very quickly. And they have a death grip on the RCA jacks!
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Postby qguy » Thu May 18, 2006 10:32 am

Nice work on the boxes. I noticed you used marineboard over MDF, any advantage of marineboard over MDF ?
User avatar
qguy
Master
Master
 
Posts: 2539
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2003 3:23 pm

Postby troporobo » Thu May 18, 2006 2:52 pm

The speaker cabinets are baltic birch plywood, not marine board. BB is preferred because of its straight fine grain, thin laminations meaning more alternating layers for a given thickness, and no voids or knots.
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Postby qguy » Fri May 19, 2006 9:21 am

where can I get this ? (BB)

troporobo wrote:The speaker cabinets are baltic birch plywood, not marine board. BB is preferred because of its straight fine grain, thin laminations meaning more alternating layers for a given thickness, and no voids or knots.
User avatar
qguy
Master
Master
 
Posts: 2539
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2003 3:23 pm

Postby troporobo » Fri May 19, 2006 10:28 am

My cabinets came as a kit so I don't have direct experience finding the material locally, but Handyman recommends the following two suppliers as possibilities:

Magellan Vener Corp.
2291 G.E. Phils. Bldg
Pasong Tamo Ext.
893 86 42 or 893 85 26

Bright Year Construction Supply
1241 EDSA, QC (Across Philippine Rabbit)
Tel. 361 6224 / 361 6225 / 361 6305

However, if I was building cabinets from scratch I would probably use MDF, and also lots of internal bracing and double thickness on the baffle. That stuff is dense, inert, easy to work, and finishes well, plus is sure to be a lot cheaper than BB. Its good if you veneer or paint the cabs. If you just want stain/varnish, BB is the better choice
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Postby qguy » Fri May 19, 2006 11:30 am

Thanks .. planning on just applying a clear coat...

troporobo wrote:My cabinets came as a kit so I don't have direct experience finding the material locally, but Handyman recommends the following two suppliers as possibilities:

Magellan Vener Corp.
2291 G.E. Phils. Bldg
Pasong Tamo Ext.
893 86 42 or 893 85 26

Bright Year Construction Supply
1241 EDSA, QC (Across Philippine Rabbit)
Tel. 361 6224 / 361 6225 / 361 6305

However, if I was building cabinets from scratch I would probably use MDF, and also lots of internal bracing and double thickness on the baffle. That stuff is dense, inert, easy to work, and finishes well, plus is sure to be a lot cheaper than BB. Its good if you veneer or paint the cabs. If you just want stain/varnish, BB is the better choice
User avatar
qguy
Master
Master
 
Posts: 2539
Joined: Thu Mar 20, 2003 3:23 pm

Postby Superman » Fri May 19, 2006 3:32 pm

congratulations, Robert! :wink:

marvelous gears! :lol:
User avatar
Superman
Master Showman
 
Posts: 15237
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 1:41 pm
Location: Davao City

Postby troporobo » Thu Jun 29, 2006 3:49 pm

After a long dormant phase, I managed to get another part of the DIY project completed last weekend - a set of Cat5 braided speaker cables and matching jumpers for the supertweeters:

Image
Image
Image

There are a few more cable construction photos here:

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b122/troporobo/cables/

Other system photos here:

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b122/troporobo/
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

CAt 5

Postby kabubi » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:08 pm

husay!

i, too, have a lot of Cat 6 wiring. just wanna ask where you got the black sheath where you inserted all those Cat 5 wiring. how much na rin.

salamat!


k
User avatar
kabubi
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 5476
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:28 pm

Postby troporobo » Thu Jun 29, 2006 4:32 pm

Techflex you can get from almost any online vendor. The 3/4" size is perfect for these speaker cables. It costs less than $1 per foot

The cable pants (yes that is what they are called!) cost $5.50 for a pack of 10. I used the 14mm size.

Parts Express carries both - here's the links:

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=161&CFID=2481873&CFTOKEN=24610669

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=082-784

Image
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Postby Superman » Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:14 pm

congrats robert!...and you call this DIY?? it's like a "branded" one...cheers! :wink:
User avatar
Superman
Master Showman
 
Posts: 15237
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 1:41 pm
Location: Davao City

CAt5

Postby kabubi » Thu Jun 29, 2006 5:40 pm

husay talaga, sir.

up to now Choobs and i are figuring out yung pagka-braid mo. looks like pinagsama mo lahat ng striped sa striped at yung colored sa colored. lupit! tapos yung pag-crossover pa from one braid to another.

but what i'd really like to hear --- or read --- is how they compliment your sound. no-holds barred review naman, sir o.

salamat!

k
User avatar
kabubi
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 5476
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:28 pm

Postby Jon Agner » Thu Jun 29, 2006 6:21 pm

Robert,

How many braids did you do? look's like a Chris Venhaus braid :shock: My hand got numbed when I did that braid

Nice pants :D Do you have an extra pair on hand :roll:

Like what superman commented... looks more like a "branded" cable :D

Congratulations. You'll surely love the sound when it's broken-in :wink:
User avatar
Jon Agner
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 10567
Joined: Thu Feb 20, 2003 6:48 pm
Location: Sa isang kabukiran na malapit sa tabing dagat

Postby Killer Mike » Thu Jun 29, 2006 7:01 pm

very nice work Robert :D
User avatar
Killer Mike
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 5329
Joined: Wed Feb 11, 2004 3:10 pm
Location: Vintage Electronics

Postby troporobo » Fri Jun 30, 2006 8:29 am

Thanks for the compliments guys - but this stuff is really just my way of trying out new things in my my spare time and having fun along the way :oops:

The speaker cables are a hybrid of the ChrisVH and TNT triple T recipes. As you can see in the photo, there are initial 3-pair braids that are then doubled before braiding again (3 x 2 x 3). There's a total of 18 pairs of 24 AWG for an equivalent gauge of 11/12 AWG per leg. I figured that was plenty for a Fostex driven by an 8 watt SET!

Image

As for the sound, it is too early to make a definitive conclusion (these are still breaking in and yes I can hear a difference each night), but here are some early impressions. First of all these replaced a set of Straightwire Rhapsody cables which I think are very good. The Cat5 cables sound a little softer or maybe more refined - I think because the the extreme highs are not as pronounced, perhaps rolled off or perhaps just not as "etched". There is no question that I now hear more bass with better definition. There's been no change that I can hear in the midrange which is a good thing! Also no change to imaging that I can hear.

Overall I am very happy considering the total cost of materials was very low, though the total labor was not :)
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Re: troporobo's 85% solution

Postby BALLESTEROS » Sat Feb 21, 2009 8:29 pm

Thank you for this advice. Im just a beginner and I don't want spent so much money on trial and errow. Well that's the thrill of it. My music room which is soon to be completed measures 3.5M x 3.58M. I hope this will be good enough.
What about for the ceiling materials? Do you recommend ceiling lights?
BALLESTEROS
Newbie
Newbie
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2009 8:43 pm

Re: troporobo's 85% solution

Postby B747 » Sat Feb 21, 2009 11:24 pm

Great gears and amazing DIY's! Congrats and more power sir troporobo! 8)
User avatar
B747
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 473
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:34 pm
Location: Mandaluyong City

Re:

Postby tenderobject » Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:34 am

[quote="troporobo"]
Image
/quote]


hi robert,

where can i source these gold spades here in manila?

nice setup!!!

thanks
User avatar
tenderobject
Master
Master
 
Posts: 2813
Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 8:23 am
Location: iran

Re: troporobo's 85% solution

Postby troporobo » Sun Feb 22, 2009 5:35 am

B747 wrote:Great gears and amazing DIY's! Congrats and more power sir troporobo! 8)


Thank you sir! I just realized how long ago was the last post in this thread, which means I have not changed anything (except phono cartridges) in over two years. It seems possible I may have got most of this right, at least for my ears

BALLESTEROS wrote:My music room which is soon to be completed measures 3.5M x 3.58M. I hope this will be good enough. What about for the ceiling materials? Do you recommend ceiling lights?


Square rooms are generally more difficult than assymetric rooms, and small square rooms more so. I recommend you spend some time at the Rives room acoustics forum at Audio Asylum to get a handle on what to consider. Also study Jon Risch's pages on DIY treatments. My guess is that your room would only benefit from bass traps and absorber panels at first reflection points. I don't believe ceiling lights make a difference one way or another, but ceiling materials surely will.
User avatar
troporobo
Fanatic
Fanatic
 
Posts: 1309
Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2004 8:46 pm
Location: Manila

Previous

Return to Members' Audio Set-up

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests

cron