freddy333 Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Very interesting & you are definitely onto something. Back in the 80s, I built a pair of tubular-shaped, line-source speakers out of concrete. If I can find a pic, I will post it later, but each speaker contained a series of 6 small (4" dia) full-range drivers mounted vertically. They imaged almost as well as a 'stat, but had alot more dynamic range. Unfortunately, they were lacking in deep bass or the top octave of treble. But within their range, they were pretty amazing. B&W, among others, have used concrete in some of their monitor speakers with good results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpletiv Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Yes, there's always a realistic route for audio gear. Some of those 'tweaks' that are ridiculously priced might work, but are only noticeable with an O'scope so why bother. Thankfully, having also worked in that field, one can have a better real life grasp on what really matters. I think they came out wonderfully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
508-Fanatic Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 I sold high end gear myself for several years. I loved selling to people who thought things were better because they cost more. Plenty of "audiophiles" fell into that group. Funniest story I had from back in the day was going to meet my (then) girlfriend's step father who had about $20k wrapped up in a Linn turntable, Accoustat speakers, and Levinson Amp/Preamp. He asked me what I thought of the sound while he was playing Michael Jackson's Thriller. Told him his low end was rolling off hard below 100hz. He told me I was nuts. Next time I stopped by there was a Velodyne sub sitting in the corner ... Oh man, Velodyne makes great affordable subs. You don't need high-end for MJ, not that I don't love him. I always asked people what they listened to. Metallica got one system, Mahler's 8th Symphony got another... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Oh man, Velodyne makes great affordable subs. You don't need high-end for MJ, not that I don't love him. I always asked people what they listened to. Metallica got one system, Mahler's 8th Symphony got another... He played Thriller because he thought I could 'relate' to it ... Was mostly a classical guy for himself. Was hilarious because he was visibly pi$$ed at me when I said it, and never acknowledged I was right after he bought the sub ... good thing I didn't marry his step daughter. Would have made for ugly family dinners ... I personally loved building inexpensive systems of great quality. Was always a challenge to find different pairings of equipment that worked well together. I normally had a low powered tube amp paired with a Klipsch Heresy, Forte or Cornwall in my apartment during the day. For rock and blues, it was a great pairing. You had a speaker that was designed like most live venue gear, with the edge taken off by the tube amp. There were a lot of small shops putting out great tube gear that no one had heard of. Especially in the UK. I settled on an Audio Research D76/SP14 combination once I bought a house. Audio Research had some great gear, but buying used was the way to go. That stuff held up forever as long as you took care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Far from crude I would say. The result looks fantastic. Really enjoyed reading about something out of the ordinary. Thanks for sharing with us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted February 5, 2015 Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 Fantastic work. How do they sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted February 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2015 I'd say excellent mid range and highs. Bass is a bit weak but expected. Female vocals are superb. Very neutral I would describe them as being very accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 I settled on an Audio Research D76/SP14 combination once I bought a house. Audio Research had some great gear, but buying used was the way to go. That stuff held up forever as long as you took care of it. Back when I worked in the audio industry, I was invited to tour ARC's (& Magnapan's) MN factory. These guys are very hard-core audiophiles, not just corporate engineers. Great gear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerr6 Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Beautiful. Might cost a bit to post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imajedi Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Really cool. Amazed at the intelligence level of the people here. Great to see a bunch of us in one place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomhorn Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Back when I worked in the audio industry, I was invited to tour ARC's (& Magnapan's) MN factory. These guys are very hard-core audiophiles, not just corporate engineers. Great gear! Have been there myself. I actually worked selling high end audio in Minneapolis, so it was an easy trip ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Love how these look. They remind me of those old SGI workstations, with "granite" finish parts. Of course, your speakers are probably a whole lot heavier than those! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted February 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2015 If anyone cares... Crossovers complete. Just gotta wait for warmer weather to build the enclosures. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinamm20 Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 that is a brilliant build dbane883, and a brilliant method to make them in concrete - these would fit in to any living room without complaints from the wife Love the touch with the fossil inlay :-) You really made some cool speaker, and playing with shapes and forms, it is only the fantasy that sets the ground rules you can use Acetone to remove the Styrofoam in hard to come by places in the cabinet. I remember in the late 1980's we, in Denmark, had a company called Avance that made concrete speakers. Also in Sweden there was a company called Rauna that made some pretty cool concrete speakers. keep up the builds - it looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 12, 2015 Report Share Posted February 12, 2015 Very cool! I know that a lot of people are experimenting with "concrete polymer" frames for things like lathes due to the rigidity but I never thought of speaker cabinets! I'm really a wood nut and I wonder how it would work out to cast some panels to use as a "liner" for the interior of a wood cabinet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith Posted February 13, 2015 Report Share Posted February 13, 2015 Interesting build, I like it, been looking to build some new speakers as of late for a new music room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharella Posted February 26, 2015 Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Wohhhh I'm astonish by your work! Are the speakers available for sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted February 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 26, 2015 Ha. They will be this summer possibly when I build another set. But sadly freight will not be cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mendota Explorer Posted March 6, 2015 Report Share Posted March 6, 2015 (edited) Sweet project and those look fantastic. They would pair really nicely with my Bryston components. Funny that Audio Research and Magnepan were mentioned. A few years ago I was trying to help source funding for one of the original founders of Audio Research. He was looking to produce high end audio for the marine industry. It didn't really go anywhere while I was involved, due to the timing being right smack in the middle of the credit meltdown, but things may have happened since then. Magnepan is from White Bear Lake, which is where I grew up sailing. I like their monitors but man, they are just so stinking huge... Edited March 6, 2015 by Mendota Explorer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraggle42 Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Love the look of these. Did you design the internal volume / internal shape / baffles using a speaker design package? I take it the tweeters are closed back? Ported speakers do sound great and give you plenty of bottom end extension but it'll mean they will need to be carefully positioned, limiting their application (thinking of the Wife Acceptance Factor here ) Currently using Epos ES25 floorstanders driven by Bryston 4B SST which I love but the amp is too powerful for the speakers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xpletiv Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 It's never too powerful, just limit yourself. They play cleaner with more power. Nice Bryston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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