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4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #68819]

Tue, 02 August 2011 21:46

Quiet_Storm
Messages: 9
Registered: August 2011

Esquire

I'm planning on ordering a pair of 4 Pi speaker kits and a pair of 3 Pi subwoofer kits soon. This afternoon I happened to be at Home Depot, so I grabbed some MDF. The 1/2" looked like about the right thickness, so that's what I picked up.

Now looking on the forums, it looks like 5/8" is the recommended thickness. Home Depot looked like they only had 1/2 and 3/4". Should I stick with the 1/2" I bought, swap it for 3/4", or find somewhere with the 5/8"? I might be over thinking this, but I'm ramping up my research on this new DIY tube amp and speaker setup.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #68820 is a reply to message #68819]

Tue, 02 August 2011 22:55

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18683
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Get 3/4" wood. That's what is specified in the plans for both models you've asked about.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #68821 is a reply to message #68820]

Tue, 02 August 2011 23:07

Quiet_Storm
Messages: 9
Registered: August 2011

Esquire

Thanks for the quick response Wayne! I'll swap them out sometime this week. I guess that's what I get for jumping the gun..

Another question.. I'm looking to build sub amps soon too, and I'd prefer to keep everything DIY. I was intrigued by the Selectronic ProFet sub amps that you're running. Did you do anything special to navigate through the French site or get them shipped to the US? I made my way to the checkout, and then I got a little confused.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #68822 is a reply to message #68821]

Tue, 02 August 2011 23:40

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18683
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

I used to stay in regular contact with the owner of that site, Eric Mainardi. I haven't heard from him in a couple years though.

My suggestion would be to write to Selectronic and ask about ordering. Ask for Eric, if he's still active in the company, he will be most helpful.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69006 is a reply to message #68822]

Sat, 13 August 2011 17:01

Quiet_Storm
Messages: 9
Registered: August 2011

Esquire

Thanks I'll see if I can get in touch with him.

I just bought some kits for some upgraded 4 pis (drivers, inductors, and resistors) and some 3 pi subs. I'm pretty excited!

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69009 is a reply to message #69006]

Sat, 13 August 2011 21:17

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18683
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

A little eye-candy to fan the flames...

http://lonestaraudiofest.com/2009/Photos/PiSpeakers_10.jpg

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69012 is a reply to message #68819]

Sun, 14 August 2011 06:36

Bill Epstein
Messages: 1088
Registered: May 2009
Location: Smoky Mts. USA

Illuminati (2nd Degree)

Up on the stands, the 4s look about 15" tall!

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69202 is a reply to message #69012]

Sat, 27 August 2011 00:57

Quiet_Storm
Messages: 9
Registered: August 2011

Esquire

My kits arrived. I need to get my act together with building the cabinets. I'm building them out of 3/4" mdf with cherry veneer to match the cherry surround on my Rega P5.

I'll be veneering some shelves (for a flexy-rack) first, but I'll still be very new to veneering when I tackle these cabinets. This is shaping up to be a fun challenge.

When I opening the boxes today, I was disappointed to see that the inductors on the crossovers shifted around some. I think I have them back in position, but I feel like I should add some more adhesive. Wayne, what do you typically use for this? I'm assuming the inductors should not touch the PCB traces. Some of the inductors are now in contact with the traces, but I can space them appropriately when re-adhering them.

I'm planning on documenting my progress. If anyone is interested in how things turn out, I can post my build report here.

My planned setup is:

Rega P5 > Dynavector 10x5 > Dynavector P75 MkII > Bottlehead Extended Foreplay 3 > Bottlehead Paramount 2A3s > Pi 4s

plus an active sub crossover coming off the Extended Foreplay (thinking about using Wayne's recommendation: http://audioroundtable.com/Semiconductor/messages/359.html) > FET amps (maybe the Selectronic ProFets) > Pi 3 subs

I'll also have a Squeezebox Touch and cheap Yamaha CD player feeding into the preamp.

Oh and there's a custom power conditioner using Felixes (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=2qjtmqcrd9b1ij5gj3aad2j41b8aqk5g&topic=25757.0). I could write a whole report just on this guy.

Needless to say, I have my hands pretty full for the next couple months. I'm still buying and building a lot of this. I'm very excited to see how much this setup blows my Logitech Z-5500s out of the water.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69209 is a reply to message #69202]

Sat, 27 August 2011 09:24

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18683
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

I may have shipped those too soon. I usually assemble the crossovers, apply the silicon "cushion" adhesive and wait several days for them to cure before shipping. But I had been extremely busy the last few months and getting backlogged. So I think we shipped yours too soon.

We use a clear silicon adhesive. Not a lot to it really, we just want a cushion for the coils. The thing is, it really takes a week for it to cure, sometimes longer. It films over in a day, but the center is still mushy for a long time, so the blob is still somewhat weak for a while. After it has fully cured, it's rigid and strong.

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Re: 4 Pi and 3 Pi Subwoofer [message #69337 is a reply to message #68819]

Sun, 04 September 2011 05:12

Quiet_Storm
Messages: 9
Registered: August 2011

Esquire

I'm getting close to cutting all the mdf, and I have a few questions:

1) On the subs, I was scratching my head on how to make the tuning ports. Then, I realized I chucked the tubes because I thought they were part of the packaging. Oops Embarassed

Is there a place I can find these or can I order a pair from you?

2) The plan right now is to not recess any of the drivers or the horns. It looks like that's how yours were done, but it's hard to tell in the image. What's your opinion on not recessing? If I don't recess, should I still use some shower pan liner as gaskets? If I did recess, do I need to modify the depth of the cabinet?

3) On your 4 pis, it looks like you painted inside the tuning ports and may have put a small amount of veneer in the beginning of the tuning port. That looks great. How did you pull off this effect? Did you also paint the insulation behind the tuning port?

4) Some people have used strips of wood to brace the edges of their cabinets. If I do this, it shouldn't affect the sound, right?

5) Some people have made their 4 pi front baffles 18 1/2" and then glued the side baffles on the outside of this 18 1/2" (adding to 20" total). I'm thinking that the dimensions you give on the front page of the instructions (26 1/2" x 18 1/2" x 14 1/4") are the total outside dimensions and that I can overlap the edges in any pattern that I like. My current plan is 2 each of 26 1/2" x 18 1/2", 26 1/2" x 12 3/4", and 17" x 12 3/4". Is this the correct thinking?

Thanks!

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