D130 / 075 / N2400 Custom Box Job

Hi guys, I am looking at making some boxes for these speakers my dad has passed down to me. I want your opinions on a couple of things. First, box design = good sound? Will this box sound good or will the top corners cause problems? Second, which colors would you guys suggest? I am leaning toward a dark grey with white covers, i think black wont show much of the detail of the box. I can adjust the box to a certain volume and tweak the port sizes also. I have seen so many different size boxes for this setup I dont know which one to use. I think I am close to the box volume that i have here but I really want someone to guide me to the best volume. This box as is has right at 6965 cubic inches = 4.03 cubic feet. With this volume what should the port diameter be and if needed the port length (if im to understand correctly, thats the length of the tube you put in the port hole?). I am building two boxes now that i will probably stack, and two more later when i get those speakers and i might arrange them all together. Anyway, here are some images of my 3d Cad work. If you guys want some cad done on your speaker designs, just let me know.

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/20.jpg

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/21.jpg

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/22.jpg

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/23.jpg

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/24.jpg

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/25.jpg

Very nice cad work! :applaud: I like your box design, especially the way you’ve set up the angles around the tweeter to minimize baffle interference. After the training and experience you obviously have with this, how long does it take to put a drawing like this together?

Normally I’m all for working with the parts you have, but in this case I’d have to recommend against it. I’m sure the speakers would sound ok, but not excellent. You need a midrange. The D130s don’t go up high enough, or the 075s low enough. If the drivers have sentimental value, I’d restore the vintage cabinets to match the vintage sound, otherwise I think you’d do better to sell the originals and upgrade.

Thanks man. It took me only about 20 minutes to actually model the box and speakers. the one image that looks almost real took like 30 minutes to just render, all the other images only about 10 minutes to do all them. so i spent about an hour last night doing all that.

The speakers sound really good now, in the boxes they are in. I dont want to get rid of them, my dad bought these when he was a teenager. One day i will upgrade and build something new for those speakers, but for now, i really want to build a box that sounds good and showcases the tweeter more then anything, its a cool looking tweeter. From what you are saying, you think its the speaker combo more then the box design that wouldnt sound good? Thanks.

It's a very interesting modern looking design.
You’re definitely making a visual design statement here.
I am going throwing this out as just an idea here.
Have you considered tilting the front face back slightly?
The JBL L300 would be an example of what I am suggesting.
Assuming that the 075s is going at about knee height above the floor, a slight upward tilt of the front panel would raise that driver's projected sweet spot up to ear levels height above the floor.
At one time, I used to sit on the floor, just to get my ears down to the same height as the 075s.
So, I know from experience that it will make a difference in how the 030 system sounds.

Baron030 :)

i do understand what you are saying about the tilt, however if i stack the speakers like shown, one will be facing the ground and the other ear level. i might try to figure out a design simular to this would fix that, thanks bud. What thickness mdf should i use for these boxes? i was thinking 5/8 or 3/4, thanks.

tilting the top plane for the tweet would be ok, but i really dont like the look now of the box, and when stacked you are screwed on the upper speaker. i might look into this more and see what i can come up with for a happy medium.

http://www.kontrolfreek.com/26.jpg

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Originally Posted by rrwalkertr

tilting the top plane for the tweet.

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I think I would go for a much smaller tilt back. More like the slight backwards tilt of a C50 Olympus baffle. Just enough so that when you're sitting 10-12 feet away the 075 tweeters wil be approximately aimed at your ear level.

cool looking design!:applaud:

yeah if i were to never stack these then a tilt would be nice, but once i get 4 boxes built, there is no telling how i will stack them, so i dont know if a tilt will be a good thing or not. im still thinking about a design that is more horizontal then vertical that would allow me to mount the 075 in different locations depending on how i stack them. i can make my ports the same size hole and maybe just move it around to fit how i stack these, not sure yet, still working on the details. thanks man

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrwalkertr

...when stacked you are screwed on the upper speaker.

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You are screwed with stacking them anyway. What's the point? You're no longer stereo if they're playing two channels, and if it's just one, you've created phase interference between the two tweeters....

Very cool speaker design ...
You might not consider stacking them - some of the audio engineer types here (I mean the real gurus) say stacking similar speakers can muddy up the image. You know, the perceived placement of the instruments in a really good recording ...

But 4 of those speakers would make a real kickin' surround system!
Add a subwoofer off to the side - Hooah!

What? Stacking Boxes? Just how many 030 systems are you planning on putting together? Is this for a home stereo application or massive a sound reinforcement system?
Now, this is getting very confusing. :confused:

My suggestion about tilting the front panel to something similar to the JBL L-300's is not exactly what I meant. Glen’s suggestion is what I really meant to say. The slight tilting of the front panel really shouldn’t be limited to just the 075 driver. With the N2400 crossover's point at somewhere up around 3KHz, the D130 becomes pretty beamy as well. So, tilting the D130 upwards a little bit wouldn't hurt.

As far as your question about MDF thickness, I would recommend 0.75" on all the sides and 1.5" on the front panel. The added thickness will also allow you to flush mount the D130. Since, you’re planning on using faceted sides in your design. I would strongly recommend using some reinforcing wood cleats on all the wood joints; otherwise they will be a source of vibration. Also, you will need to add braces on all of the surfaces. The "old school" method for this would be to add some 2" x 3"s or 2'x 4"s screwed and glued to all of the sides and back. Or you could get fancy and use "aviation style bracing" like what is found inside the new Everest DD66000.

Link: http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/s...t=12164&page=3

Baron030 :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hjames

... stacking similar speakers can muddy up the image.

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Not only the image:

See "2. Demonstration of Principle" here:

http://www.jblpro.com/pub/technote/fat_wht.pdf

this is for home use for now, but i am building a nice garage soon with a game room in it, pool table and so on. so when the pool table gets in i will be putting these in there. i know four of these will be loud, but as you all know, you dont have to turn the volume knob up hardly at all with this set of speakers like i would with the surround system i have. the reason i am planning on stacking is because i will have 4 of these, and dont have the room to spread them out everywhere. with just two i wont stack, with four i probably will. keep the comments rolling guys, i want the feedback, good and bad, thanks

man zilch, thats confusing lmao, any papers in laymans terms around hehehehe

The other thought would be - do you currently have parts enough to build 4 of these - because I believe those drivers have gotten kind of valuable - it may be expensive to get 2 075s and 2 D130 for a second pair of them if you only have a pair now ... (you can build crossovers)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rrwalkertr

this is for home use for now, but i am building a nice garage soon with a game room in it, pool table and so on. so when the pool table gets in i will be putting these in there. i know four of these will be loud, but as you all know, you dont have to turn the volume knob up hardly at all with this set of speakers like i would with the surround system i have. the reason i am planning on stacking is because i will have 4 of these, and dont have the room to spread them out everywhere. with just two i wont stack, with four i probably will. keep the comments rolling guys, i want the feedback, good and bad, thanks

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