What We're Making

[OfficeSpace]

@street Thanks! It's nice to be paid by the electric company rather than the other way around, and the LCD is a big upgrade over the old CRT.

@zinger1457 It certainly has been fun to put together and dial in! Treating the room to eliminate early reflections (walls, ceiling, & floor) revealed comb filtering effects associated with phantom center, but as the left and right towers are Acoustic Research (Teledyne) AR9 circa 1980, the only way to add a center channel speaker that acoustically matches is to build one! I managed to source original or equivalent drivers, used published schematics to assemble a crossover from components (capacitors, inductors, & resistors), and mounted everything to a 3/4" MDF cabinet door left over from a kitchen reno (with a "crock" pet bowl as the lower-midrange enclosure of exactly the right volume; the upper-midrange and tweeter are sealed). It sounds great!

 

[Music Lover]

Wow, that's one hell of a audio/video setup, those tower speakers look impressive, I bet the sound is really good. IMO a good center channel speaker makes a world of difference, really makes the dialogue pop.

I'm in a few bands (I run the sound in all of them) and am picky listening to music, but for the most part I'm fine with just a single pair of tower speakers for both music and movies. But every now and then the dialogue is too quiet to be heard clearly and I've been thinking that a center channel might be a good investment.

 

[Keim]

I lucked into some ASC bass traps at the local thrift store for $50. Was amazed at the difference that bit of room treatment made in my system.

https://www.acousticsciences.com/product/towertrap/

@street Thanks! It's nice to be paid by the electric company rather than the other way around, and the LCD is a big upgrade over the old CRT.

@zinger1457 It certainly has been fun to put together and dial in! Treating the room to eliminate early reflections (walls, ceiling, & floor) revealed comb filtering effects associated with phantom center, but as the left and right towers are Acoustic Research (Teledyne) AR9 circa 1980, the only way to add a center channel speaker that acoustically matches is to build one! I managed to source original or equivalent drivers, used published schematics to assemble a crossover from components (capacitors, inductors, & resistors), and mounted everything to a 3/4" MDF cabinet door left over from a kitchen reno (with a "crock" pet bowl as the lower-midrange enclosure of exactly the right volume; the upper-midrange and tweeter are sealed). It sounds great!

 

[OfficeSpace]

@Music Lover I bet it is fun running sound for your bands. My wife and I attended an event recently where the sound engineer walked around the venue controlling everything from his tablet (vs. having a fixed mixing board setup behind the crowd). I agree that the inability to adjust phantom center levels is frustrating, and as I'm sure you know, the comb filtering effects that result from two sources emitting that mono signal are detrimental to clarity / intelligibility!

@Keim Nice score! Most acoustic treatment products are uber expensive. I need diffusion for the rear wall but everything seems to be made out of unobtanium (given the woodworking projects highlighted in this thread, I bet folks here could make some amazing QRDs!). In the spirit of this thread, I made my own bass traps for the corners using Roxul AFB (simple MDF frame below) and also stuffed a bunch above the drop ceiling front and rear and loaded the front wall behind the foam (as seen in center speaker mounting photo above and the photo below). The listening room is at least as important as the A/V equipment!

 

[Ronstar]

I just finished building a center channel speaker that matches my main speakers (never offered for sale, so couldn't buy) and mounting it behind the screen in my home theater. I retired 2 1/2 months ago and am having a blast learning and doing things I never had the energy to pursue while w*rking.

Very nice!

 

[Music Lover]

@Music Lover I bet it is fun running sound for your bands. My wife and I attended an event recently where the sound engineer walked around the venue controlling everything from his tablet (vs. having a fixed mixing board setup behind the crowd).

I don't have the luxury of walking around with a tablet. During soundcheck I use a long instrument cable that allows me to stand 50 feet in front of the band while I play and listen.

The mix is set before we start but sometimes adjustments have to be made mid-song while I'm playing. The mixer is on stage next to my amp. Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often.

 

[Keim]

Over time I have made my own speakers and amplifiers-with excellent sonic results. I now have a mix of solid state and tube amplification.

Hadn't gotten around to bass traps and other room correction. Couldn't pass the deal up.

@Keim Nice score! Most acoustic treatment products are uber expensive. I need diffusion for the rear wall but everything seems to be made out of unobtanium (given the woodworking projects highlighted in this thread, I bet folks here could make some amazing QRDs!). In the spirit of this thread, I made my own bass traps for the corners using Roxul AFB (simple MDF frame below) and also stuffed a bunch above the drop ceiling front and rear and loaded the front wall behind the foam (as seen in center speaker mounting photo above and the photo below). The listening room is at least as important as the A/V equipment!

 

[Ronstar]

Very nice^ Electronics baffles me.

 

[Surewhitey]

I'm making a few Ulu knives. This one is diamond willow that has been dead for many years. Not done with it yet I applied oil and will reoil than teak finish it.

I've been away for a bit... Missing some cool stuff as usual. Nice & unique stuff.

 

[Surewhitey]

Nothing awesome, just a couple of projects that I recently finished. The slatted doors are for a media cabinet that needed airflow & the ever popular laundry makeover.

 

[street]

Surewhitey, that is very nice! Outstanding!!

 

[Surewhitey]

Thanks, Street... More of a utility, my neighbor is an avid quilter and wanted some thread storage so we 4 did these framed peg boards.

 

[street]

Surewhitey, brilliant idea a great organizer and well done!

 

[Surewhitey]

Customer wanted oversized dressers for their massive closet... Some people just have too much dough to blow.

Also did a short run to Albert Pike in AR. A real gem I never knew was there. I finally got to use my chuck box for cooking /camping.

 

[wmc1000]

Finished a built-in pantry for DD3

 

[street]

Outstanding projects for the both of you! So, much talent here on ER and I enjoy the item that are made.
Thanks for sharing your work.

 

[Ronstar]

Nice work Surewhitey and wmc1000!

 

[Ronstar]

Just finished up a big tool box. And made a video of the build. https://youtu.be/Hn-5BPTTFQ0

 

[street]

Just finished up a big tool box. And made a video of the build. https://youtu.be/Hn-5BPTTFQ0

WOW!!
That was a great video. The work you do is so professional, and you make it look so easy.

Very nice Ronstar.

 

[Ronstar]

WOW!!
That was a great video. The work you do is so professional, and you make it look so easy.

Very nice Ronstar.

Thanks - it was fun - and I did the video with my phone as a test to see how it would do.

And now I need more tools to fill the box up.

 

[chicamuxen]

Wow, that is gorgeous! Great job. And great job on the video. I aspire to be that good at woodworking someday.

 

[street]

Thanks - it was fun - and I did the video with my phone as a test to see how it would do.

And now I need more tools to fill the box up.

That video to me was top quality and extremely well done. Again, very well done and what a great piece of work!

 

[Surewhitey]

Thanks for sharing the video. You have another subscriber...

Very nice work and so many uses for your domino... Who knew?

 

[zinger1457]

Just finished up a big tool box. And made a video of the build. https://youtu.be/Hn-5BPTTFQ0

Great job and video! I'm sure it took a lot of planning to get everything to fit together so nicely, that is one big tool box.

 

[pacergal]

Surewhitey--very clever
wmc1000--gorgeous pantry
Ronstar--great looking tool chest, huge!

What talent everyone has.
I always look forward to seeing things folks build, cook, sew, etc....