GR AV-1RS build

[dvenardos]

Thought I would start up this thread as my AV-1RS progresses. I can't really call this DIY because I am having Danny assemble the circuit and Elemental Designs build the cabinet. Kind of fun though to be able to coordinate the building of the speakers.

Here are pictures of the enclosures which just came in today. They are much heavier than I expected them to be. I haven't decided if I am going to paint them or veneer them. Anyone know how to join the corners when veneering? Other than that it would be pretty easy to veneer these.

What the heck happened to the add attachments button? :wtf:
Guess I will post pictures later...

edit: not sure what is going on with the pictures here, but I uploaded them here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dvenardos/20090207Audio?authkey=I3vFGzSpwYw&feat=directlink

veneer pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/dvenardos/Av1rs?authkey=Gv1sRgCOXw3sL01YrGMg&feat=directlink

I used Band-It paper backed birch veneer the small pack was just enough to finish the pair:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000DZD07C

Progress update 7/5/09 (posted over at Danny's circle also):
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I have been working on a bunch of projects and finally got back to my AV-1RS.
Thought I would post some pics on my network assembly and post some first time builder comments.
I was almost done when I snapped the wire on the 20uf cap trying a little to hard to get the heat shrink tubing in place. :doh! 1:

I copied Danny's board from a post over at audio circle and started with the positive circuit because it is simpler in this configuration than the negative circuit because in the negative circuit you have to create a jumper from the 20uf cap to the .33 m inductor. The hardest part for a new builder is getting the wires twisted properly so that you can solder them together it definitely takes some skill especially if you haven't done any soldering in awhile. The inductors also act as a big heat sink so while the copper wire heats up fast I couldn't get the inductors hot enough to melt the solder, not sure what is the best way to wrap the wires including the inductors to make sure that you get a good solder joint with the inductor wire not heating up that much. I could of used a little more heat shrink tubing, didn't have any left over to do the connections on the binding cups and woofers/tweeters so I will have to pick some up.

Hope this is helpful to others.

Starting the boards:




Positive circuit complete:



One board complete:
I wouldn't recommend that negative joint with the jumper wire, cup terminal wire, tweeter terminal wire, and inductor that was not easy to twist because there was no small wire.


I wired this one to avoid all the wires in the negative junction in the other board but then broke the wire at the base of the cap. :doh! 1:


Both boards:

[myaudiocd]

Looking forward to your pics. Love to see a good project!

[django1]

Here are pictures of the enclosures which just came in today. They are much heavier than I expected them to be. Anyone know how to join the corners when veneering? Other than that it would be pretty easy to veneer these.

Looks like thick MDF, 3/4 inch? I'm not sure what you mean about joining corners on veneer? You generally apply one face and finish it flush to the edge. Then you apply the adjoining face which will cover the first veneer edge (all .042 inches of it). The edge of this layer of veneer is sanded ( ever so slightly) at a 45 degree angle.
Cutting out the round holes will be more of a challenge if you don't have a lot of tools...

[dvenardos]

Looks like thick MDF, 3/4 inch?

Yep, good eye it is 3/4.

The edge of this layer of veneer is sanded ( ever so slightly) at a 45 degree angle.

This is the part that I wasn't sure about how do you make it look like it is a solid piece of wood instead of pieces of veneer butted up next to each other.

[woofersus]

I would imagine that since the veneer is so thin, as long as you were neat about it there wouldn't be much of an edge to deal with. Since it's real wood, when you sand the exposed edge, it should look pretty much like a solid piece - the grain and wood color will still be there once it's sanded to a nice 45 degree angle. The only better way is to bend/wrap the veneer, but that seems like it would be much more difficult.

I've been tempted to do something DIY for some time because I think it would be really fun to have something really unique and taylored to my tastes, but I wouldn't be willing to live with something that looked homade and I doubt my skills to make a really nice cabinet - especially since I'm not super fond of basic square boxes and curves are probably especially difficult. I anybody here is a master carpenter and wants to build colaborate with me on a sweet cabinet design let me know. :D I have a friend who is accomplished enough with solidworks to make up detailed plans for whatever we want.

dvenardos - those are interesting looking enclosures. Is the idea to wall mount? Are they surrounds?

[myaudiocd]

http://www.gr-research.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=113

he's prolly busy sanding....this is the speaker he's building, i think. Looks very nice.

[django1]

Yep, good eye it is 3/4.

This is the part that I wasn't sure about how do you make it look like it is a solid piece of wood instead of pieces of veneer butted up next to each other.

Well, to my eye, veneer always looks like veneer. A solid piece of wood has face grain and edge grain. Typically when something is veneered you only have one type of grain on all faces.
Now, this is something veneered from Ikea and it looks pretty good and is made as I previously described. But you can see that they took the trouble of using different types of veneer on the top and on the edge.[IMG][/IMG]
I would think that bending the veneer over a 90 degree edge would be nearly impossible to do in any practical way. The x-ls encore got around this by rounding the edge. Veneering over a rounded edge would, in my view, require a master class in veneering or at the very least, great determination and plenty of time. I've done a fair amount of veneering and some cabinet making and would not attempt to make something like the x-ls encore without deciding to make a commitment to improving my skills. YMMV

[dvenardos]

http://www.gr-research.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=113

he's prolly busy sanding....this is the speaker he's building, i think. Looks very nice.

Yep, that's the speaker. :)

Well, to my eye, veneer always looks like veneer. A solid piece of wood has face grain and edge grain. Typically when something is veneered you only have one type of grain on all faces.
Now, this is something veneered from Ikea and it looks pretty good and is made as I previously described. But you can see that they took the trouble of using different types of veneer on the top and on the edge.

That looks good and is what I am trying to achieve. I have never done any veneering, so this will be great experience.

[django1]

Just in case you don't know, paper backed veneer is much easier too work with. You can get it "pre- glued", you apply it with an iron. Otherwise you need to glue it, generally with contact cement. The iron on variety works well if they have it in the species you want. Usually you apply oversize pieces and trim them once glued. The trimming is the part you want to read up on to make sure you use a good technique. It is not an overly challenging project if you have minimal skills and savvy. Good luck!

[dvenardos]

What do you guys think about this oak veneer stained dark?

http://www.veneersupplies.com/product_info.php?cPath=51_75_71&products_id=3736

[dvenardos]

bump, no one has an opinion about veneer? Who are you and what did you do with guys that usually hang out around here? :ufo:

[rsa]

I think you should go with the Macassar Ebony...:eek: :D

[dvenardos]

I think you should go with the Macassar Ebony...:eek: :D

Is that gold plated or what? :dizzy:

[dvenardos]

You can see my set and another in the factory at ed here:

http://blog.edesignaudio.com/?p=422

Update:
I am getting ready to veneer these ( I went with white birch which I will stain to match my floor) and my network and drivers are enroute from GR. I decided to assembly the network myself, so I will post pictures of the process.

[cburbs]

Can't wait to see the progress.

On a side note I have my boxes being built and Danny is sending the crossovers for the Neo2x.