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Theater 4 boxes...Question for those who have built them. [message #41138] Sun, 27 April 2003 10:01 Go to next message
wasteh202 is currently offline  wasteh202
Messages: 137
Registered: May 2009
Master
I am calculating less than one 4x8 sheet of plywood for each speaker. Is this correct? Two sheets for the pair.
Re: Theater 4 boxes...Question for those who have built them. [message #41139 is a reply to message #41138] Sun, 27 April 2003 10:07 Go to previous messageGo to next message
BillEpstein is currently offline  BillEpstein
Messages: 886
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (2nd Degree)
I used part of a 3rd sheet but I doubled the woofer baffle.
Have you made a scale drawing of the 4X8's and penciled in the cuts?
If it's MDF you have 49X97, a little windage for those 24" front and rear pieces.
And we never make mistrakes, right? I always make 5 legs for tabls!
Re: Theater 4 boxes...Question for those who have built them. [message #41140 is a reply to message #41139] Sun, 27 April 2003 12:06 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jtsjf is currently offline  jtsjf
Messages: 13
Registered: May 2009
Chancellor
There's a bit of software out there called 'cutlist' or 'cutlist pro' from 'Bridgewood' software. I think its freeware or shareware. It's supposed to outline the most efficient use of plywood for a project.
That said, I didn't use it (didn't know about it when I built my theater 4's), and I still bought an extra sheet, cause I screwed up one cut.
MDF is real unpleasant stuff in my opinion. This summer I hope to have time to rebuild my theater 4's either as 7's or as 4 towers using nicer looking material. Instead of putting veneer on mine, I just slapped on some wallpaper. Doesn't look too bad, really.

cheers,
Jason

you need three sheet [message #41141 is a reply to message #41138] Sun, 27 April 2003 12:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Zeno is currently offline  Zeno
Messages: 122
Registered: May 2009
Master
nt
Re: Theater 4 towers [message #41142 is a reply to message #41140] Sun, 27 April 2003 13:26 Go to previous messageGo to next message
wasteh202 is currently offline  wasteh202
Messages: 137
Registered: May 2009
Master
you got any ideas just what the dimentions for a 4 tower would look like?
Re: There goes another secret [message #41143 is a reply to message #41142] Sun, 27 April 2003 14:21 Go to previous messageGo to next message
BillEpstein is currently offline  BillEpstein
Messages: 886
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (2nd Degree)
I've never seen plans for a Theatre 4 Tower like the 2Pi variation. Wayne'll have to weigh in on that one. Don't know why there wouldn't be different port tuning and taller tho'.
In the meantime, you've prolly seen these half finished boxes: reg Theatre 4 bottom 34X36X18 with 24X10X18 top to make a baffle for the horns. Maybe too tall, tho'

Towers [message #41144 is a reply to message #41143] Sun, 27 April 2003 14:41 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Bill, your cabinets are really great. I just love that look and I can hardly wait until they're done!!!

Check out John Lapaire's Theater four π speakers, which he made taller and narrower than the original, retaining the same volume and making a tower configuration.

John Lapaire's Theater four π tower speaker with MK2 beside it

Another interesting speaker is Martinelli's Arrezo, which is essentially a Theater Series three π in a tower configuration. It was a big hit at the Midwest Audiofest.

Martinelli Arrezo

There's definitely some really great work being done by you guys.

Re: Towers [message #41145 is a reply to message #41144] Sun, 27 April 2003 15:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
wasteh202 is currently offline  wasteh202
Messages: 137
Registered: May 2009
Master
The driver mid/bass driver in the quasi Theater three barly fits the front baffle of the tower. Is there any issues with the baffle not being stiff enough? I like this tower design... one other question, the Theater three is not tube friendly... correct?
Re: Towers [message #41146 is a reply to message #41145] Sun, 27 April 2003 15:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

In my experience, baffle step is not a problem for speakers that are boundary loaded anyway. There is only a small frequency interval between where the baffle acts as a boundary and the rear wall acts as a boundary. Since this range isn't sharply marked but rather a transitional area, it is essentially never realized. Besides, once you get down into the room's modal region, any effect of baffle step becomes swamped by room modes.

About the Delta 12LFA and tube amps, please understand that this is something that doesn't concern everyone, as impedance fluctuation isn't troublesome for every amp. Those that are considered "tube friendly" will work on even amps with very poor damping ability. But you'll find lots of tube amps that work just fine with practically every good-quality high-efficiency speaker. I was running Stage sevens and Bill was running his Arrezo's with tube amps throughout the show. Both sounded great, and produced nice deep bass with no audible artifacts or response anomalies.
Re: Tube friendly for all who listened [message #41148 is a reply to message #41145] Sun, 27 April 2003 18:46 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
bmar is currently offline  bmar
Messages: 346
Registered: May 2009
Grand Master
Thanks Wayne, I'll just add a few noteworthy comments about the "Arezzo 12" since some questions were brought up. The speaker was designed to be an entry into a two way horn with a high quality wood horn and veneered bass reflex cabinet. I determined the height to position the horn at a perfect ear level for listening while seated. The width was determined by the 12" horn that would be used on top. The depth was then determined to yield a full 3 cubic foot internal with all bracing and driver.

The narrow baffle design of the speaker will help with imaging but as Wayne says it will increase the baffle step a little. Will this speaker blow the doors off a 15" or 18", or horn loaded bass speaker? No, lets not be silly! It has very nice bass and surprised a lot of people who listened to them while at MAF.

I can assure you that not only is there no structural detriment to having the driver mounted in a narrow baffle. It is actually more ridged and structurally sound than a wider baffle. The driver is not just attached to a front baffle, it is also attached into the side panels of the cabinet. There is ample unequal bracing in the cabinet which makes a very ridged box with no unwanted box excited resonance.

I find the Arezzo 12 to be tube friendly with the tube amps I have used. I have not tried a 2A3 or a 45 amp. They work great with a Dyna 35, higher wattage mono blocks and they were running almost the entire MAF show with a Audio Note 8 watt 300B amp. In fact, They sounded so good with the Audio Note 300B, I'll be picking that amp up in a few weeks because I bought it!

If your looking to build a speaker or have a finished speaker built for a smaller room or where space is an issue. I suggest you try a Pi Theater 3 or an Arezzo 12. The have two things that make them a tweakers pleaser. They are small and compact for a high efficiency speaker, fitting to many decor and very WAF. Second, Although perfectly fine as they are. By adding a well thought out subwoofer and supertweeter. You essentially have a perfect 4 way design with minimal extra labor and crossover compliments.

Hope this helped, Doctor Epstein says I write too much. just a speaker junkie at heart.

Bill

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