Carbon Fiber mini-monitors

[iandh]

I purchased these a pair of these a while back for a car audio project:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-844

Reviews both on parts-express and other DIY speaker sites describe these drivers as nothing short of amazing.

I'm in the middle of building up a shop right now, and realized I need some tunes. I hooked these up free air using a sonic impact t-amp I had packed up in a box, and as soon as I fired them up, it was like the gods were singing... I mean, these things sound AMAZING. There's just no adequate way to describe them, although you can get somewhat of an idea from reading reviews.

I wanted to build an enclosure set worthy of these drivers, but my budget right now is zero, so I had to use materials I already had on hand. I had some really nice self-adhesive carbon fiber sheeting in a drawer, so I decided to incorporate that.




To start, I cut some 3.75" long sections of heavy wall carboard packing tube. To turn it into an enclosure, I made four MDF discs, then turned them into rings on the lathe. The front rings were bored out with 3" holes for the speakers, and the back rings 2" for the terminal cups. I added a lip on them so they would pop into the end of the tube tightly. After that, I glued them in place, and when the glue was dry sanded the OD smooth.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08181234.jpg


Then I wrapped the bare enclosures in the carbon fiber and trimmed the extra with the belt sander. I didn't feel like doing much work on the backs, so I just blacked them with magic marker.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08184208.jpg


Next I wanted to make some aluminum bezels for the front to hide the wood and tie in the enclosure with the aluminum phase plug on the drivers. First I marked the circles on a sheet .062" aluminum, and then used a hole saw to chop out the centers to match the hole in the enclosure.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08184812.jpg


After that, I trimmed the excess metal from the rings using the shear.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08185109.jpg


I chucked the rings on the lathe, and turned them down to match the OD of the enclosures exactly. That way the edge of the carbon fiber sheet is hidden, and the whole enclosure has smooth lines. I also traced the speaker mounting holes and punched them out with a hand punch... after that I transferred them on to the enclosure and pre-drilled for the mounting screws.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08191005.jpg


The speakers were mounted using wood screws (just like fermi... j/k), and some foam strip to ensure a good seal against the enclosure.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08192949.jpg


I made some triangle shaped sheets with some scrap pieces, and then rounded the corners. I hand bent them over a large round post, and worked them until they were curved identically. I had just enough carbon fiber left over to cover them, and after applying it, trimmed it using the same method as before.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08202240.jpg

You can't see it, but there's small rubber bumpers under each to make sure they don't slide around.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08202626.jpg

I took some final shots, but unfortunately they didn't show the carbon fiber weave as well as the above shots did.
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08202704.jpg
http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn33/iandh27/2010-02-08202730.jpg

[d_stilgar]

Hoowie! Those look great!

[x88x]

Very nice! It's always great to see a $0 mod that turns out looking so good. :D

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

r the tubes ported? how well is the response? r they more geared for looks? or actual sound quality aswell?

[Luke122]

I've nothing but awesome-ness about those Tangbang Bamboo drivers! Great project, and a very cool final product!

Did you build these to the proper enclosure volume? (0.07 cu ft.)

Also, with a bottom end response of 105hz, you will likely need a subwoofer to help round out the response.. why not go for a matching sub for this project? :D

[iandh]

Thanks for the comments :)



r the tubes ported? how well is the response? r they more geared for looks? or actual sound quality aswell?

These are SQ all the way, they just also happen to look good. The enclosures are sealed.


I've nothing but awesome-ness about those Tangbang Bamboo drivers! Great project, and a very cool final product!

Did you build these to the proper enclosure volume? (0.07 cu ft.)

Also, with a bottom end response of 105hz, you will likely need a subwoofer to help round out the response.. why not go for a matching sub for this project? :D

These bamboos TOTALLY live up to the hype, no doubt.

The enclosure is slightly smaller (.05) and stuffed with polyfill. I did that on purpose because eventually these are going to be actively high passed and I wanted a little more power handling with the smaller enclosure volume. These things don't exactly have the greatest x-max so I wanted to protect them from damage.

I also plan on a sub build, but you'd be very surpsised how much midbass output these things have... they don't exactly thump or anything, but it's quite adequate for listening to them alone.

[Luke122]

Thanks for the comments :)

These bamboos TOTALLY live up to the hype, no doubt.

The enclosure is slightly smaller (.05) and stuffed with polyfill. I did that on purpose because eventually these are going to be actively high passed and I wanted a little more power handling with the smaller enclosure volume. These things don't exactly have the greatest x-max so I wanted to protect them from damage.

I also plan on a sub build, but you'd be very surpsised how much midbass output these things have... they don't exactly thump or anything, but it's quite adequate for listening to them alone.

For nearfield listening, I'm sure they are great, and have plenty of low freq. output. :) I'm rocking a pair of Merrill Zigmahornets with a Super T-Amp, and I find that they are plenty good for a 4" full range. (The towers definitely help the low end though)

Quick link to a duplicate of my system (I'm using different interconnects and speaker cables):

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/zigmahornet/zigmahornet.html

[SgtM]

Sick! +rep

[SXRguyinMA]

awesome!

[rendermandan]

Those speakers look really great! The would look even better sitting next to my computer. :glasses:

[Trace]

DAN! when is your next mod coming???

[rendermandan]

DAN! when is your next mod coming???

Well, sorry to say, but it might be a while. I have been concentrating on finishing my basement, and I just got back from a 10 day vacation and cruise, so I have to pay that off first. I've have to build a workbench first. So that will probably be my next project.

[knowledgegranted]

These Mini-Monitors are amazing! Very slick looking, nice job, and it's pretty cool you could double in SQ and looks.

[chaksq]

Those look awesome. The feet for them kind of remind me of skyfish.

[iandh]

Those speakers look really great! The would look even better sitting next to my computer. :glasses:

Haha I didn't realize what you were referring to until now... they would indeed be a good match for your system. ;)

[Commando]

absolutely awesome.

TD