Hi folks,
Just thought I'd share with you images of my new budget build speakers. I started with an 8x4' sheet of 25mm MDF, an offcut of 40mm Iroko and a pair of 2nd hand B&W 601 S2 speakers. The tweeters were a bit tatty with a child having pushed the domes in previously. I got them back out with sticky tape, but you could still see the creases. Also, one tweeter wasn't working as the filament wires had been broken. With great care and a steady hand, I managed to solder them back so the tweeter worked again, but I didn't trust them, so decided to replace them with a pair of Monacor units. I reused the original B&W crossover for cost reasons, but this can be an easy future upgrade.
As I'm not an audio engineer, I used Troel Gravesen's TQWT design as a basis, only reduced in width slightly to better suit the smaller B&W driver. The cabinet is all biscuit strip and glued construction and very strong.
And here they are after the cabinets were painted in 2 pack and final assembly. I think they look not bad at all, but more importantly is how they sound. Well, just like the original B&W speaker, but with sledgehammer bass behind them! I'm very pleased with the result, seeing as they were always going to be an experiment without any real guidance or experience to work from. I was a bit cheeky fitting the B&W badge for a factory look
Final cost of the build including all materials was £195 or $313, so not too bad. I think I'll enjoy them for a while before trying something else.
Hope you like! Be gentle...
Graham