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The EZ As Pie Tower Speaker [message #18547] Wed, 15 February 2006 10:00 Go to next message
FredT is currently offline  FredT
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Registered: May 2009
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I hope Wayne doesn't mind my using the Pie name for this speaker, but it uses the basic Studio One Pi kit in a tower configuration that's easy to build without using a table saw, a router, or any other expensive tools that most people don't own. You can build this speaker using a carpenter's square, a hand saw, a drill, and a screwdriver. A couple of 24" clamps help, but if you have an assistant to hold some panels in place you can get by without them.

Now here's the secret to EZ: Many lumber sources stock 12" wide (they're really 11-1/4") mdf boards in 8' or 16' lengths. Mine stocks 16' lengths that they will cut to a managable length for you to carry. So every panel in this speaker is already cut to the EXACT WIDTH you will need to build the speakers! You only have to cut the correct lengths, which includes eight panels cut to 36", four panels cut to 12-3/4", plus a number of braces cut to about 1-1/2". The finished speaker is 11-14" wide by 12-1/2" deep; not exactly the golden ratio, but in spite of the close dimensions it will still sound MUCH better than anyhing you could get at Best Buy for $500. It's 95dB sensitive, and tube-friendly, and you can build a pair for about $200 total!

I'm sitting at the computer listening to the EZ Towers playing for the first time with my Bottlehead Paramours driving them, and I like what I hear. A quick check with a test CD and Radio Shcack sound meter indicates flat in-rooom response down to 40hz. No they don't have the authority of the 3 Pi Theaters or the treble resolution of the ribbons in my line arrays, but if somebody told me these were the only speakers I could listen to for the rest of my life I wouldn't be at all unhappy.

The link below includes step-by-step directions for building the enclosures. It's too detailed for casual reading, but that's intentional to provide all the information a novice will need to do this. So if you have been wanting to try one of those flea power SET amps, but you don't have suitably efficient speakers or the tools to build a pair from a kit, here's your opportunity.


Re: The EZ As Pie Tower Speaker [message #18548 is a reply to message #18547] Wed, 15 February 2006 11:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Registered: May 2009
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Joined up with a nice GC for 80$ and man you are in audio heaven. Need a portable CD player also. And believe me when I tell you any one with two opposable thumbs can build this whole system with a couple of simple tools and a soldering iron. And there is room for upgrades as the skill level improves with experience.

Re: The EZ As Pie Tower Speaker [message #18549 is a reply to message #18547] Wed, 15 February 2006 12:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
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Groovy!


Re: The EZ As Pie Tower Speaker [message #18550 is a reply to message #18547] Wed, 15 February 2006 17:04 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Bill Epstein is currently offline  Bill Epstein
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Registered: May 2009
Location: Smoky Mts. USA
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Good call.
Somewhere in the archives are the towers I made for the 49 cent PE cones from #2 pine 2X6 and 2X8's just cut to length.
Better yet you can find another post for 4 Pi Theatres made from 18" and 24" widths of laminated pine HD and Lowe's stock in 4' and 6' lengths. Imagine building 4 Pi's w/o a saw!

Presized Lumber [message #18551 is a reply to message #18550] Wed, 15 February 2006 17:37 Go to previous messageGo to next message
FredT is currently offline  FredT
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Registered: May 2009
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You're so right. Most people who would like to build a speaker kit are turned off by the challenge of cutting all the panels to the right width so they'll fit together reasonably well. Bob Brines told me about the mdf boards, which he tells me are also available in 16" width from some sources. Even if you have a good table saw like the Delta Commercial model I use it's still so much easier to trim a 12" or 16" pre cut board to the right width than to lift a heavy 4'X 8' mdf sheet onto the roller table and run it thru the saw. I like the idea of the laminated pine - that would look really nice with just a coat of varnish.

Final Tuning [message #18552 is a reply to message #18547] Wed, 15 February 2006 17:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
FredT is currently offline  FredT
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Registered: May 2009
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Not much can be done here until they have some breakin time, but with the 3" long ports there's quite a bit of midbass. This is great for people who lsiten to classic rock and want a kickass speaker, but I listen mostly to jazz and classical plus some indie artists and prefer a lighter touch. I replaced the 3" ports with 5" ones, and with these the speakers sound a bit midbass shy. I suspect the right length lies somewhere between 3" and 5" but I don't plan to do any more experimenting until they have 50 hours or so on them. Anybody who builds these should order four ports so they'll have an extra pair to experiment with.

Re: Presized Lumber [message #18553 is a reply to message #18551] Wed, 15 February 2006 18:16 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Places sell 12" 5/8ths shelving in 24/36/48" lengths. And you can get it already veneered. Is that what you mean?

Re: Final Tuning [message #18554 is a reply to message #18552] Wed, 15 February 2006 19:17 Go to previous messageGo to next message
akhilesh is currently offline  akhilesh
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Great Link, Fred! Good service to the DIY community.
-akhilesh

Re: Presized Lumber [message #18555 is a reply to message #18553] Wed, 15 February 2006 19:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Bill Epstein is currently offline  Bill Epstein
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Registered: May 2009
Location: Smoky Mts. USA
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This is actually solid, clear pine in full 3/4". Strips glued up. Looks like kinda' like bowling alley. Sold as table tops. I recall enuf for a Theatre 4 was just around $100. Glue it and nail it, no clamps needed.

Re: Presized Lumber [message #18556 is a reply to message #18555] Thu, 16 February 2006 05:29 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Manualblock is currently offline  Manualblock
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Registered: May 2009
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O'Kay; home depot has it. Then again you could get white formica sides if you wanted that retro look in the shelf planks.

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