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Two Pi Towers are HUGE! [message #42856] Fri, 31 October 2003 05:55 Go to next message
GarMan is currently offline  GarMan
Messages: 960
Registered: May 2009
Illuminati (2nd Degree)
I had the panels cut for the Pi Towers last night from a couple of sheets of 1" MDF. I adjusted the external dimensions by 3/4" to maintain the internal volume (by my calculation, the internal volume would have been off by 13% if I used 1" without adjustment).

For the first time, I got a real sense of the size of these speakers and they are huge! I know, I know. I've read the specs many times, but I never bothered to imagine what a four foot tall tower that's 16" wide would look like. Needless to say, my wife's not too please. She's given me two options. The only way something this big is going to sit in the living room is if it ends up looking really nice, meaning it has to be finished in wood veneer and she decides on the finishing. Or two, I cut it down to the "bookshelf" size.

Out of curiosity, do the towers have to be 46" tall? If I decide to cut it down by a foot, would I be able to compensate with adjustments to port dimension? I took a brief look at the Alignment document and was a little confused by it. For the Alpha10, I found that:
Vad = 2.9 ft^3
Frd = 50 Hz
What is Qd? Is that a fixed parametre for the driver, or a variable depending on Ve?

thanks,
gar.

Re: Two Pi Towers are HUGE! [message #42860 is a reply to message #42856] Fri, 31 October 2003 13:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18791
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

You could make the cabinet size anything between about 1.5ft3 and 5.5ft3 and expect good results. As long as the cabinet is tuned to 40Hz, response will be flat down to its lower cutoff. Bass extension is made lower in the bigger boxes, of course.

Re: Two Pi Towers are HUGE! [message #42862 is a reply to message #42856] Fri, 31 October 2003 13:30 Go to previous messageGo to next message
jlharden is currently offline  jlharden
Messages: 94
Registered: May 2009
Viscount
Hi Gar,

I believe Qd is the recipricol(sp?) of qts and is one of three parameters used in the PiAlign program. I'm sure the 2 pi towers can be scaled down from the full sized version with the main sound difference being a change in the low frequency response. The Alpha woofer could be modeled an any simulation program(I like WinISD and BoxMod) to predict results of volume/tuning change. I'm sure you can get smaller and have good sound, though I'd consider building them full size and letting your wife pick your veneer. Doesn't seem like such an unreasonable compromise. Good listening! Jerrod

WAF advice [message #42871 is a reply to message #42856] Sat, 01 November 2003 09:02 Go to previous message
Tightwad is currently offline  Tightwad
Messages: 41
Registered: May 2009
Baron
(1) Get preapproval, always. (Too late for this one.)
(2) Yes, make them look good. I mean, the wife ain't going to go for bare MDF, no matter how big or small the boxes are. I happen to think cabinet-grade birch plywood with clear finish can look very good, in a "Scandinavian design" sort of way. (See photo.)
(3) Offer the speakers as plant stands. A nice big fern or whatever can look really nice on top.

Good luck.

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