CECAA850 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 That thing should be making noise soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 That thing should be making noise soon. I tested it last night to make sure everything was functioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 That thing should be making noise soon. I tested it last night to make sure everything was functioning. And??????????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 That's all I really did so I will give it a listen this evening if I can move the bast$rd around because right now it's still sitting on the horses and firing perpendicular to the RB5's and angled right at the SPUD that's sitting on the dolly I need to move the beast around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Ok, so it's a good thing that it's been a cold day here in Ohio (about 16 currently) so everyone has their windows and doors shut and they're inside because I'm sure they would be saying "Pete's drinking and cranking tunes in the shop again". Keep in mind that these are my impressions after listing to a lot of different material over about 1.5 hours. The F-20 is sitting up on saw horses with the mouth perpendicular to the RB5's and about 6' in front of them with the shop full of stuff, including a SPUD that is about 4' in front of the mouth on the F-20 and this is all running on a new/old Marantz receiver that I've done nothing but set the mains to small and told it that I had a sub. Hook up is the sub out on the Marantz to the LFE in on the SA230 and 12 gauge speaker wire from the amp to the sub. I'm pretty impressed so far. Clean solid bass, definitely better than the SPUD that I've had hooked up with the RB5's for a few weeks (haven't had a chance, but will hook them both up when I can place everything properly so I can truly A/B them). I do have the gain on the amp turned up about 1/2 way, screwed with the phase for a couple minutes, but again, this isn't placed where it should be so I really just wanted to listen. I did walk outside the shop while I was rocking out a bit and my gutters were rattling as well as a few other items that were leaning up against the shop and it was loud inside, but not crazy. Until I get the second one build and moved inside where I can really listen to this side by side with an RSW15 which is my reference I wouldn't begin to get into better, worse, different, but I'm pretty positive that musically, I'm going to love it with the 7's. I know that when I A/B'd with the SPUD inside a while ago, the SPUD sounded good, but it's in the shop and the RSW's inside. I will post information as I get things moved around and set up in the shop to do some better listening and I'll probably take a set of the KP250 out and give them a listen also. I'm glad I decided to build this and I know Tom is going to be thrilled because if this sounds this good under these conditions with a set of RB5's, it can only get better from here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Nice build Pete, a lot of work there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Great write up. It's a really good design that's simple as well. Awesome in the bang for the buck department too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 Thanks guys, the posts will slow way down now, but it was nice to have a few days off and get this banged out, now I need a couple to get the second one done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockhound Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Nice work Pete looks good and I bet it sounds great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 You could never build a THT this fast and I don't know why you'd want to. This is just as efficient, goes a hair lower and has less cuts and angles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 One thing that I was amazed with is the lack of vibrations. I placed screws with points up, on the top (keep in mind, I'm building both to lay down) and cranked it up and they literally just sat there without moving, with the exception of the one that I placed right at the mouth, which moved very little. I'm planning on using mine as my equipment stand providing I don't have vibration issues with the CD or Blu-ray player shuttering, but very encouraged by what's been observed thus far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 You could never build a THT this fast and I don't know why you'd want to. This is just as efficient, goes a hair lower and has less cuts and angles. I totally agree at this point and have a friend that built a THT and we were discussing it a couple of weeks ago and his comment was "I wish I would have seen this plan first" It's not that he isn't happy with his THT, just the simplicity of the build and the plans I have to make it a functional piece of furniture that will more easily blend in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 (edited) I've got to say this. After listening to the F20 for another couple of hours and then coming into the house and hammering the RF7's and a single RSW15, I would be shocked if I would be ready to give up the RSW in lieu of the F20 when it's in here and I do a true A/B. This is nothing against fully horn loaded systems, but I can state with complete confidence, that my 7's with a RSW15 in my room (which is probably acoustically prime) will not take a back seat to many other systems. As I build, buy and experiment, I keep hearing how pleased I am with my original set up. I hope I totally recant these statements when I move the F-20 inside, but we will have to wait and see. Edited January 6, 2016 by Pete H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 The two different rooms make a comparison moot at this point. It will be interesting if your opinion changes with a true AB in the same room. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 6, 2016 Author Share Posted January 6, 2016 The two different rooms make a comparison moot at this point. It will be interesting if your opinion changes with a true AB in the same room. I agree 100%, it was more a statement regarding my level of enjoyment with the 7's and the RSW. They have never been knocked out of the 1 position in my home, not by the Cornwalls, Cornscala's, RP's, KP's and many others that have traveled through. I really want to hear some of the fully horn loaded systems before I blindly build a set of bass bins. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 I really want to hear some of the fully horn loaded systems before I blindly build a set of bass bins. You won't hear it with the 7's then. You'd need to go heritage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWL Posted January 6, 2016 Share Posted January 6, 2016 This is nothing against fully horn loaded systems, but I can state with complete confidence, that my 7's with a RSW15 in my room (which is probably acoustically prime) will not take a back seat to many other systems. Been there...done that and I totally agree. When I had a quad of 7's, stacked RSW-15's and a couple SVS's (for good measure) it was probably the most accurate and enjoyable system I've had at least as far as movies go. As far as music, perfect recordings were just that... perfect...and the RF-7 ---RSW-15 combination is a match made in heaven. I can't get that same magical integration with my KLF-30/RSW-15 combo but it does sound good, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete H Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Moved things around and did a lot more listening. I have a question for anyone that has one of these F20's. I noticed when I did the first testing that I had the gain turned up quite a bit on the SA230 to play at levels that blended well with the RB5's so after moving and hooking up the SPUD and the F-20 to the Inuke, so I could A/B them using the same amp, I had the same thing, gain on both subs was turned up 3/4 to full on both. Checked the settings on the Marantz (gain on the sub was already set to +9) and switched from the sub out to one of the main outs and got the same result. I decided to go inside and bring out the Sansui and run the preouts to the SA230 and hooked up a pair of the KP250's to see what the result was, and it was the same, gain was set beyond 1/2 way with everything else set flat. I expected the opposite regarding the gain on either one of the amps (Inside I have the settings on the Onkyo at -10 for the RSW) Is this just because I'm using much smaller output amps (did this because of the efficiency claims for both builds) or was I just expecting something that was incorrect to begin with? I don't want anyone to think that I needed more than max gain to sound balanced, I didn't, but in some cases I did needed a lot of it. After hours of better listening and the ability to A/B with the Inuke my conclusions on the SPUD remain as I anticipated, it's the least favorite and it's going to stay in the shop because it just doesn't produce like the F-20. The KP's will be staying out in the shop but the real test on the F-20 won't be done for a couple of weeks, but in the mean time, I will enjoy the new sub and 250's when I'm in the shop and might even drag out the 115's and hook them up. Edited January 7, 2016 by Pete H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 I'm not sure about the gain structure or voltages of you components but you'll find, as the driver breaks in, you'll be turning the gain down on your sub amp relative to where it's at now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MookieStl Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Pete, I've used the line "ain't building pianos" a dozen times since I read your post. Words to live by. Make mistakes, learn from them and move on. I am in the process of building two 25hz tapped horns and did the first one so I could tweak the second once I get smarter. Well the first one went off without a hitch. I thought the second one would be a snap. I guess I got lazy and didn't force the panels into the dados tight enough because I cant get the top (side) on now. Time to redo! Good thing it wasn't a piano. I guess I can use it for mouse races. Anxious to hear your A/B comparison. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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