Duratex & Speakon; La Scala, Heresy & TH subs

[DizRotus]

The Faux-Pro Heresy are done for now.  The backs and motorboards will eventually get Duratex, but not until after the party on Saturday.  My son and I were hoping the screens that came with the Frankensmurfs (left in the photo) would fit his Heresys, but they're slightly too big.  He somewhat apologetically said that he would prefer a waffle grill for the woofer to the grills I worked so hard to make.  I understand completely.  He likes the Pro Techno look, which is inconsistent with the grills.

 

If I don't use them on the Super Heresys I'm building, they'll be offered here.  Watch this space.

 

[DizRotus]

With the full grills out of the mix, the Velcro dots were removed and Duratex was applied to the motorboards.  My son is pleased with how they turned out, therefore, so am I.  I clear coated the labels, taped them off, and then also Duratexed the backs.

 

[DizRotus]

PM your way @Budman.   The grills with your badges are yours if you want them.  They look as good today as when they were made ~5 years ago.

 

[DizRotus]

Glad to report that Russ, aka @Budman wants his badges back. The safest way to ship them is still attached to the grills.  If I can find some black Velcro dots, I'll send those also.  

[Budman]

i normally don't like speakers in black but yours look really nice. i love my birch raw H-SM's

[DizRotus]

11 hours ago, Budman said:

i normally don't like speakers in black but yours look really nice. i love my birch raw H-SM's

 

Those look very nice Russ.

[DizRotus]

The Klipsch Pro badges arrived.  Thank you @dwillie.  The attached photos illustrate at least 3 things.

1. Hoffman's Iron Law.  The LaScalas consume all available space in a Ford Edge with the rear seats folded down, whereas a Heresy pair, which sacrifices a small amount of efficiency, free up a tremendous amount of space in the same car, with the rear seats still useable; 
2. Whether to attach waffle grills with the bars on the diagonal or horizontal & vertical; and
3. Whether to attach badges the same or mirror image.

 

The grills on the boombox are horizontal & vertical.  The grills on the Heresy are diagonal.  Which do you prefer?

 

After collaborating with his mother, the consensus regarding the badges is to attach them in mirror image.  Which do you prefer?

 

[MookieStl]

Diagonal by a very wide margin! IMHO, but I happen to be right.

[Marvel]

13 hours ago, MookieStl said:

Diagonal by a very wide margin! IMHO, but I happen to be right.

 

This time... I agree 100%

[MookieStl]

17 minutes ago, Marvel said:

 

This time... I agree 100%

I cant decide if I should put "was there a time we didn't agree" or "well then this time you get to be right"!

I normally stay middle of the road in the "this option vs that option" as it is usually subjective and based on personal tastes or experience. I will usually just state something I have tried and liked or didn't like. For some reason, this time when I looked at the photo it was clear "this is right and this is wrong"! I knew Diz would know it was tongue in cheek! Plus it is a very tame topic.

[DizRotus]

51 minutes ago, MookieStl said:

I cant decide if I should put "was there a time we didn't agree" or "well then this time you get to be right"!

I normally stay middle of the road in the "this option vs that option" as it is usually subjective and based on personal tastes or experience. I will usually just state something I have tried and liked or didn't like. For some reason, this time when I looked at the photo it was clear "this is right and this is wrong"! I knew Diz would know it was tongue in cheek! Plus it is a very tame topic.

 

Now I will rotate the grills on the boombox to diagonal.  It was handy to have it that way in the photo to make a comparison.

[DizRotus]

The flash makes a fair comparison difficult.  Nonetheless, I agree with my son that his Faux-Pro Heresy look better without the fabric grills.

 

Russ, aka, @Budman, note the small black ribbon in the lower left corner of the grill.  Each grill has one to make removal of the grills easier; no need to resort to knives, screwdrivers, etc. to pry off the grills and risk damaging the cabinets.  It was my wife's idea.  They're easily removed if you don't like them . . . the ribbons, not my wife's ideas.

 

[DizRotus]

Thanks to Mike, aka @MookieStl, each of the school's La Scalas now has a genuine Klipsch badge.  I followed his recommendation and used Loctite Power Grab to adhere the metal plate to the Duratex.

 

On another note, I contacted the helpful people at Duratex Acry-Tech regarding their excellent product.  The man recommended Elmer's latex based color changing wood filler as a superior alternative to Bondo.  He said that a client suggested it to him and they have found it to be better than Bondo.  Duratex can be applied directly to bare wood, Bondo, or the Elmer's filler.  If primer is desired, such as over slick MDF, he recommended Zinsser Bulls Eye 1*2*3 with rust inhibitor, which, coincidentally, is exactly what I used on my son's Heresys.

 

Full disclosure to ease my conscience, the speaker in the attached photo is not the one with Mike's badge.  I forgot to take a photo, but it looks exactly the same from the floor.

 

[MookieStl]

Huh oh! I bondo'd the heck out of my LS's prior to Duratex. Seems to be holding up ok. The one in the back was worse! These babies had led a rough life!

 

[DizRotus]

On 8/16/2017 at 7:33 PM, MookieStl said:

Huh oh! I bondo'd the heck out of my LS's prior to Duratex. Seems to be holding up ok. The one in the back was worse! These babies had led a rough life!

 

 

I too used Bondo extensively with excellent results.  Nonetheless, I purchased some Elmer's, as recommended by Duratex, to finish a pair of DIY TH subs.  I'll report the results.

 

The Duratex guy now recommends the Elmer's for the following reasons:

1. Latex based;
2.  Can be used indoors without chromosome damage;
3. Quick drying;
4. Easy cleanup;
5. Works as well as Bondo; and
6. Less expensive.

[DizRotus]

On 8/16/2017 at 7:33 PM, MookieStl said:

Huh oh! I bondo'd the heck out of my LS's prior to Duratex. Seems to be holding up ok. The one in the back was worse! These babies had led a rough life!

 

 

Mike-

 

I like what you did.  If I'd been doing those for personal use, rather than the HS band, I'd have used the same folding handles and installed them higher, as you did.  In my case, the "improvements," were more important to me than to the band director.  The primary use of the handles, in my case, is to hoist them up above the lockers.  

 

[DizRotus]

I don't think I mentioned that my Friend's 50th reunion in Frankenmuth at the Bavarian Inn (Google it) was a success, but the Heresys never left the car.  Again, the notion of enjoying old music and conversations were incompatible.  

 

Most of the time, my Pono player was patched into the restaurant's PA system to provide background music.  A few times the boombox was used.  Without two distinct spaces, one for conversations and the other for music appreciation, the capabilities of Heresys, or larger, are superfluous.  Are you listening Chuck @Tarheel?

 

An interesting, to me, coincidence is that each of the 50th 

reunions attended so far had a graduate of USNA in attendance.  I go to one more in September, it would be a surprise if another Annapolis ring knocker were present.

 

Fortunately, Lederhosen were optional and the snow was absent.

 

[MookieStl]

10 hours ago, DizRotus said:

 

Mike-

 

I like what you did.  If I'd been doing those for personal use, rather than the HS band, I'd have used the same folding handles and installed them higher, as you did.  In my case, the "improvements," were more important to me than to the band director.  The primary use of the handles, in my case, is to hoist them up above the lockers.  

 

 

functionally, mine might be better suited a little lower, I just didn't want the screws to poke through in the horn area.

I also made covers for them with flaps where the handles are. They can safely ride in the back of a pickup without worrying about a spot shower.

[DizRotus]

Cool.  I hate it when uncoverd speakers are showered with spots. :-)

[DizRotus]

On 8/22/2017 at 7:45 PM, MookieStl said:

functionally, mine might be better suited a little lower, I just didn't want the screws to poke through in the horn area.

I also made covers for them with flaps where the handles are. They can safely ride in the back of a pickup without worrying about a spot shower.

 

Higher gives a lower center of gravity.  With the handles where I placed them, the speakers are slightly top heavy when being carried by the handles.  To deal with the screw issue, I initially screwed into a scrap piece of 3/4 plywood and ground away the protruding tips before using those screws to attach the handles.