Is there anyone in San Diego running Pi speakers and 2A3 amps that I could hear? 2 Pi's and Paramours would be ideal, but anything that would give me an idea about Wayne's "house sound" and low-power triodes would be welcome.

FWIW, I'm currently using the Paramours with 89-dB sensitive PSB Century 600s. While this combo isn't particularly dynamic (the PSBs aren't, regardless of amp), and it won't play super loud, it does enough right that my 40 watt Jolida integrated has sat unused for almost a year.

If I have to sacrifice what I like about my system, just to get some things that I'm not as concerned about, I'm not as interested. If I can keep the good stuff and help out the weaknesses, that's a good upgrade.

Thanks,
--Shannon

Could you send me the plans for the regular and tower versions?

Thanks,
--Shannon
tube_ee@yahoo.com

You rock.

A few minutes with some graph paper and a ruler shows that I can cut the panels from the 2 5x5 pieces of 1/2" Baltic Birch plywood I have on hand. What effect will the 1/8" thinner wood have on the tuning? Will using this wood change the sound of the speakers, and if so, how?

I expect that the plywood will be more resonant than MDF, but what that means for sound I'm not so sure of.

Also, my cutting plan leaves me a 28"x14" piece of wood that could be used for internal bracing. What kinds of bracing have people used?

--Shannon

If you are building Studio two π speakers, just make sure that your port length is 1.875" (1 7/8") from entrace to exit. The front of the speaker face to the edge of the port inside should be 1.875". So if the baffle thickness is 0.5", then the duct material should extend 1.375" (1 3/8") into the cabinet interior.

Be sure to brace the cabinet very well, so that it is solid when you rap on it with your knuckles. You want it to sound like a rock, not a drum or a keg. You're probably alright on Studio two π speakers but the towers will definitely need braces. There are lots of good suggestions here in this forum, so you might do a search for "brace."

If I use one 15"x13" brace with 4"x3" cutouts, and run 1/2" x 1/2" vertical strips up each corner, with 2 horizontal strips per panel, I get a volume about 5 ft^3 less than what I calculate for an unbraced cabinet built with 5/8" stock. What effect will this difference have on the woofer alignment? Would this be sufficient bracing to compensate for the thinner walls?

For additional vibration-killing, what about gluing some asphalt roofing tiles to the insides of the panels? It shouldn't affect the volume much. Or you could use a marble plinth and thinner marble top, "sandwiching" the speaker between them, or...

The mind runs amok.

Tanks for all the help,
--Shannon