Cornscala Cabinet Build Advice For a New Member

[Gerolamo M]

G’day all.

Yet another prospective Cornscala builder with need for advice.

After lusting over Cornwall iv’s for some time I could not justify spending AUD 18000.00  approx. 14000 US on a pair  here in Australia so have decided to go the diy route.

After a lot of poking around here on the forum I’ve ordered some ALK sp12 and es5800 networks, Crites cast frame woofers, B&C DCM50’s, DE120’s and eliptrac 400 with Dave’s tweeter horn.

I initially was going to go with the C type Crites kit but was told that they have had huge problems in the past with freight companies in the past damaging orders etc when shipping to Oz. So that led me down a rabbit hole to purchasing the parts mentioned above.

So my question/plea for help is about the cabinets.

I would prefer to build split cab speakers as some have done but am not sure of the cabinet volume size and port shelves. 
I am intending to brace the cabs, but not too heavily. I was thinking of using 32mm MR MDF as I will probably paint the cabs professionally.(vehicle refinisher by trade).

I am not opposed to using ply, just a little harder to get really nice material here in Perth.

 

If anyone has any cabinet plans or advice it would be very welcome. I understand that building split cabs with mdf will probably change the character of the speakers, if there is any one who has had success or failed with building something similar please chime in, any advice would be hugely appreciated.

Once finished the speakers will be living in a large room about 560 sq ft. With 18 ft vaulted ceilings so space is not a limiting factor.

 

Gerome.

[Lbk]

Try doing a search for-cornscala-- on the forum,, should get you started.

[Lbk]

Posted Wednesday and nobody has even welcomed you to the forum?

[PrestonTom]

Sounds like an exciting project, however ..... It also sounds like you are mixing and matching various parts that were not in the original design (correct me if I am wrong)

 

My friendly advice, and I hope it is not too late, is to cancel all the parts you have ordered and go back to the design phase. 

 

Pick a single, tested configuration that BEC recommended (there are multiple configurations). Use that configuration and do NOT mix a match various parts, driver, horns, woofers, tweeters and crossovers. Use what was originally specified since BEC designed and tested those. They should sound fine. People get caught up in substitution and "upgrades" and then the result is no longer a designed system but rather a smattering of parts which may or may not work well together. Those projects sometimes avoid real design in favor of "someone on the internet said it sounded good".

 

As far as the cabinetry goes, use the geometry specified by BEC, especially the cabinet volume and port dimensions -for that particular woofer. The issue of material (MDF vs plywood) is secondary to the more important issue of adequate bracing. 

 

I hope my comments are taken as constructive. I say these things because designing a speaker - cabinet - system is actually quite complicated and is a result of carefully chosen compromises. Most of us do not have the sufficient background. 

 

Good luck,

-Tom

[sootshe]

Here's the plans. 

 

My advice would be to stick with the first components you specified - the B & C DCM50 is a great driver & coupled with Daves horn is fabulous. The Crites cast woofers are the go & I used the B& C DE10's with Daves timber elliptrac also. Don't skimp on the components in the crossover.....they will make or break the system. 

[sootshe]

Here's what I built using the above components. They did take quite a while to get here from the States but, believe me, it's worth the wait. I didn't get any damage, but it took about 4 months to get here. 

 

I bought the B & C gear from TLHP Audio & they were very good. All I got from Crites was the woofers. The crossovers are ALK uni's with upgraded components. If you need schematics for the AP12500's & the ES5800's I can send them to you. 

 

All the best with your project.

[Gerolamo M]

Wow sootshe nice work. I was going to build a two box design but have changed my mind. I did my research on drivers and crossovers, spoke to Al K. I’m confident that the drive units, horns and networks will be a good match. Cheers for the drawings mate.

Hi Tom, constructive comments are welcome. I’m definitely keeping the boxes as close to spec as possible. Will have to make them deeper though as the dcm50 mated to the eliptrac is a little deeper than the crites and Cornwall dimensions.

Once I have all my parts in front of me I should be able figure it all out. I’ll have to take into consideration the larger volume needed due to added bracing, mid horn etc.

Lbk, had a good look on the forum. Certainly is plenty of cornscala content here. I’ll be sure to post pics once everything is under way.

 

Thanks again guys.

 

Gerome.

 

 

 

[Lbk]

3 hours ago, Gerolamo M said:

Wow sootshe nice work. I was going to build a two box design but have changed my mind. I did my research on drivers and crossovers, spoke to Al K. I’m confident that the drive units, horns and networks will be a good match. Cheers for the drawings mate.

Hi Tom, constructive comments are welcome. I’m definitely keeping the boxes as close to spec as possible. Will have to make them deeper though as the dcm50 mated to the eliptrac is a little deeper than the crites and Cornwall dimensions.

Once I have all my parts in front of me I should be able figure it all out. I’ll have to take into consideration the larger volume needed due to added bracing, mid horn etc.

Lbk, had a good look on the forum. Certainly is plenty of cornscala content here. I’ll be sure to post pics once everything is under way.

 

Thanks again guys.

 

Gerome.

 

 

 

Pic's! Good luck with  build.

[consistent]

G'day from Mandurah

I stuck with Crites design specs but built with 25mm MDF, did some bracing but used the Roger Floth Equalizing the Klipsch Cornwall.pdfwhich seemed to improve bottom end tightness/response however designed a Bessel network to work with this mod.

 

Anyhow good luck and have fun

[Gerolamo M]

Thanks mate, that port mod is pretty interesting.

 

[Gerolamo M]

Well the project is well and truly under way. Cabinet build almost there. Bracing and finishing to do.

Does anyone have advice with how crazy I should go bracing?

The window cross brace pictured is installed. 

The horizontal pieces shown are what I'm thinking of doing but I'm sure there is more or better I could do.

Cabinets are 1 inch thick birch ply. Baffle is 1 3/4 laminate of birch and mdf.

My bracing will be made from the 1 inch ply.

 

To put things into perspective i could put anothet two cross braces in of the same size of the existing and be at 6ft3 internal volume. (Horn, drivers and corner blocking etc taken into consideration.)

Made my cabinets a little larger at almost 6.9ft3 internal.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers.

[henry4841]

Probably braced well enough as is. Looks like a good solid cabinet. Well on your way to good music. 

[Gerolamo M]

Yes quite solid. Not  a wood worker by any means but have taken my time with the basic skills and tools i have.

Must say, am really enjoying the process of building them. This site is just great a resource for build indo.

Just wish I had some solid consecutive days to finish them.

Fingers crossed that they sound great.

I've never actually even heard a klipsch heritage speaker. But going off peoples  comments on klipsch and cornscala ish speakers I recon they'll be right up my alley.

Have a Trinnov ST2 Optimizer to sort out the dodgie acoustics in the room and correct any weirdness so should be alright.

 

[Gerolamo M]

Some more pics

[Honeybadger]

This is coming along nicely.

 

HB.

[Gerolamo M]

Thanks mate. Have hit a bit of a stall. Have some renovations to take care of. Hope to be getting back to the project in the next couple of weeks.

Can be really difficult finding the time to get stuck into them. 

[grindstone]

Nice work, thanks for posting pics.  I'd never have that kind of patience being that close. 

[Gerolamo M]

Ha ha, funny you should say that. I was completely in the zone building these in my limited spare time. Was having trouble sleeping because I couldn’t stop thinking about the build…… I was like a zombie, completely absorbed by the them……then my wife had enough.

In fairness to her, my list of jobs needing to be sorted before our reno’s were piling up. Just had to put the project on hold.

Probably better to be patient, wait to get some quality time, then complete them properly.

Can’t believe my wife is cool with the size of these things. They’re gigantic! 

I’ll post more pictures in due time.

 

[ANDREW1211]

Hi
I will also put my 5 cents in as I have built almost the same project but in two separate blocks.

Tweeter is B&C de10 with Dave small eliptrack, squawker is B&C DCM50 with fastlane 400 horn and woofer is crites 1526c. Crossover for now is upgraded Crites(with duelund) but it is temporary due to long waiting time for ALK.

Currently, I stuck with crossover because crites and ALK allows for maximum 12db attenuation and it seems it isn't enough...

With best regards, Andrew.

Edited September 11, 2021 by ANDREW1211
added two more photos

[Gerolamo M]

Hi Andrew, wow really nice work! Walnut hey? Did you build the cabinets your self?

I’m still at a stall with mine. I think I’ll try to source some veneer this week to keep the project moving forward.

How’s the bass and what volume is the bin?

Also what kind of amplification are you using?

I’ve two Monarchy Audio sm70 pro SS amps. Will see how they fair and maybe try convince my wife into a Macintosh 275 next year.

I’m hoping that my Trinnov ST2 Optimizer will sort out any attenuation issues etc.

It’s performed a miracle with my current DIY baffleless speakers. They were almost unlistenable, would cut the ears off you before in my room. Now they sound quite good.

Have you compared your lovely speakers with any Klipsch?

 

Gerome.