Deang Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Not quite what I envisioned from an asthetic/layout point of view, but liveable. After I got done, I actually thought the cap bank looked kind of cool -- what do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyC Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 I agree! It does look cool! Any tests yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Shomaker Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 If that one cap is as big as it looks I think that you should get an airbrush artist to make it look like a pepsi can. I think that it looks pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 1, 2004 Author Share Posted June 1, 2004 "Any tests yet?" Are you kidding me? I don't listen to the stuff, I just build it. As usual, I'll let the customer decide if I know what I'm doing or not. A lot of little things went into these that I think will add up to a big difference. We'll see. Type B's are waiting for me -- it's going to be a long night. "A Pepsi can..." Now there's an idea, add some real novelty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrench_peddler Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Symmetry is a beautiful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_Shomaker Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Dean you have PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Dean, Looks nice. Parts of it even seem, somehow, familiar. I think you should send that to me for a session with the Spectrum Analyzer. I would send you back some pretty traces. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 1, 2004 Author Share Posted June 1, 2004 ---------------- On 6/1/2004 8:54:19 PM BEC wrote: Dean, Looks nice. Parts of it even seem, somehow, familiar. I think you should send that to me for a session with the Spectrum Analyzer. I would send you back some pretty traces. Bob ---------------- Thanks Bob. Yeah, I bet some of it does look familiar. BTW the way, I found Cinch .375" eight circuit terminal strips out on the web. I'll send you the link when I get to work tomorrow. Also, I had to hold off on the next order until Thursday when I get paid. I'll paypal the balance I owe as well as the funds for the next run. There will definitely be some loss with these compared to what you build -- no question about it. I guess my thinking is that the original circuits had to be somewhat "lossy" to begin with, and since we'll probably never know the exact amount of series resistance in those original circuits -- I thought I would just take a SWAG at it and see what happens. What I have now has to ship ASAP to the folks who paid for them. They've been waiting almost forever. I'll have enough caps left over to build another set AA's, and when I finish them, I'll ship one out to you. What I really want to see -- I'll email you about tomorrow. I don't mind showing my ignorance -- but what does an oscilloscope show that a spectrum analyzer doesn't? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dflip Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 At first look, I thought these were the Type B's. The parts look similar, except for the extra smaller cap, 2.0 uF on the Type B. They look great. I am interested in how they sound, the Type B's more so with my Cornwalls. I know Al K likes the Hovlands and I replaced the inductor on mine and used a Hovland on the 2.0 uF cap and a cheaper polyprop for the 4.0 uF cap. It will be interesting to see how the Jensens compare in sound. As with most things it will either add detail or mellow it out a bit. I guess it depends on the amp you are running the system with to determine which will sound better. Please feel free to post your observations when you get them complete. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dzapper Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 "Not quite what I envisioned from an asthetic/layout point of view, but liveable. After I got done, I actually thought the cap bank looked kind of cool -- what do you guys think?" They look great Dean.Just don't try to take them on an airplane!!!!! Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Dean, The spectrum analyzer provides just sort of an "automated" way to do frequency response testing. You could input known individual frequencies at a known amplitude and measure the output amplitude at each frequency with scope or meter. You could then plot the result on graph paper to get a frequency response curve. That is a pretty laborious method. With the spectrum analyzer, you can input a sweep of the audio spectrum into the device you want to test and send the output of that device to the spectrum analyzer. The spectrum analyzer looks at amplitude vs frequency and directly outputs a frequency response curve. Mine sends it to a pen plotter and makes a hard copy of it. That is probably too simplified but is the basic picture. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artto Posted June 1, 2004 Share Posted June 1, 2004 Where's the gold plating & diamond studded terminal screws? How exoctic is that wood? Is it a rare form of petrified cellulose fiber? Does that wood base conform to the Fibonacci "Golden Section"? Looks great. Now for the acid test................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted June 1, 2004 Author Share Posted June 1, 2004 That be real Arkansas Cedar, 7/9 silver wire, star grounded, with all connections tapped in with solderable eyelets, and then soldered with WBT silver solder. Serious work on the Autoformers and woofer inductors too. United Transformer dips all their stuff in something really nasty (I haven't figured out what in the hell it is yet) -- and I remove it from the frames with IPA and .0000 steel wool. When I'm done, I vacuum the things, tape them up, and then spray them with clear enamal. You don't even want to know how long it takes me. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to do the zeners. There wasn't any real room for the bracket, and a finally decided on drilling holes just slightly smaller than the diodes, and using a self tapping screw to get some threads into the holes. I fill the holes about a 1/4 of the way up with epoxy, and then screw the zeners in with a socket. Worked good. Ahh yes, the "acid test". I'm not worried. Don, the Type AA is really different than the Type B. The 13uF "pepsi can", tweeter inductor, and zeners make it that way. BTW, if you're using a Solen for the 4uF position -- yank it and throw it away. The 4uF cap is the first cap in the circuit, and you won't hear the 2uF Hovland until you get rid of it. You're only going to get as good as your weakest link in these things. As far as the Hovlands go, they're excellent capacitors. However, these crossovers were designed with some resistance in the circuit, and something like the Hovlands removes just about all of it. I'm sure the treble and midrange is quite clean, but probably also somewhat accentuated. I'm sure Bob will agree with me -- this isn't what PK heard, or how he voiced them. Now, this thing about "detail" and such -- it's difficult to articulate, but basically -- an accentuated HF response should not be directly correlated with "detail". In fact, Leo and myself both reduce HF energy in the RF-7, but increase its ability to deliver "detail". Detail comes from lowering noise in the circuit, and finding the best balance between the drivers. I believe the capacitor with the lowest series resistance isn't always necessarily the best cap to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Dean, You've got a good eye for composition. Layout looks good and the spiffed up hardware looks fabulous. That Arkansas cedar makes a pleasing foundation. Nice presentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Mandaville Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Dean: These look the cleanest yet, and the zip ties in my opinion provide a more professional appearance. I've used everything from silicone to hot glue, and zip ties just do the trick visually, I think. I'm curious about your interest in this type of an inductor. The crossovers I've built in the past used the best quality air core coils I could afford, but then I was after the lowest possible DC resistance -- which does not seem to be what you are interested in. Also: instead of using ONLY oil capacitors or ONLY F/F like Hovlands or similar, a combination of the two can sometimes make for a really nice balance. Two pair of crossovers I built in the 90s for some speakers I made combined different types, and can work really well. This is the nicest looking work you have done! Kevin Cut-Throat's networks look similar, as well, though he does use Solen inductors in the low-pass branch. He's also used some nice kinds of wood in the past, which would look especially good if they weren't inside the cabinets! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Oh! I think my center channel La Scala is going to like that! I am very interested in how it is going to sound when I pull the 26 year old "AA" that is currently in there and replace it with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audible Nectar Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Reviews, reviews, reviews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 "It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to do the zeners. There wasn't any real room for the bracket, and a finally decided on drilling holes just slightly smaller than the diodes, and using a self tapping screw to get some threads into the holes. I fill the holes about a 1/4 of the way up with epoxy, and then screw the zeners in with a socket. Worked good." Dean, How are the bases of the zener diodes connected together? Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Dean, Was that Lossy or Lousy Really they look great ! I sure wish I had my new set Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny dB Posted June 2, 2004 Share Posted June 2, 2004 Yeah, your crossovers sound awesome, Craig!! I've been laying low, hoping you and Dean would forget where he put them. Dean, those look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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