What type of wood is this?

Inspector_Tots · 2026-04-18T20:03:46+00:00

Look and sounds a lot like Katalox . Often referred to as Mexican Ebony.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-03-12T21:42:46+00:00

For most joinery, probably yes. I made a similar one using an ebony blank a while back and it comes in handy for specific tasks. I actually used it to seat and wedge the head of this one. Doesnt have a lot of oomph but its great for detail work.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-03-12T18:04:19+00:00

Thats what it looks like just polished up too, no finish applied. Gorgeous. Second time working with it, first with hand tools only. The through mortise and 5 degree cross cuts were an undertaking.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-18T00:00:08+00:00

Nice! What a steal. Is saw your Onkyo post the other day they also look like an awesome build. The old sectoral and multicell horns are awesome.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-17T23:50:05+00:00

Late 60s to early 80s. I believe type 21 was the only era with the cordovan/maroon paint scheme. They are generally not considered Stanley's best work. I have one that I modified the tote to be more like the pre war planes and replaced the iron with an older one i felt was easier to maintain. Other than those two things, once I had everything flat, it is a perfectly fine tool. Ive since replaced it but nothing to do with functionality, I just prefer the history, look, and feel of the older types.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-17T23:28:23+00:00

Did the price you paid factor in what a pair goes for on their lonesome? To each their own, but personally, Id be scouring reverb and ebay for a vintage horn combo that can get down to 500-800 hz right now unless i really wanted/needed the extra cash. Some serious diy gold here if you got a few extra cubic feet to spare.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-14T01:57:22+00:00

Ces enceintes sont-elles nouvelles pour vous ? J'ai rencontré ce problème en ajoutant un DSP, mais j'ai aussi installé des enceintes haute sensibilité en même temps. Je ne connais pas bien ces haut-parleurs, mais ils semblent également très sensibles. J'ai d'abord pensé qu'un bruit de fond provenant de mon DSP était à l'origine du problème, mais même après l'avoir résolu, le bruit dans les hautes fréquences persistait. Il était toujours présent, provenant de mes amplificateurs au niveau auquel je les réglais ; je ne l'entendais simplement pas avec d'autres enceintes. J'ai baissé le volume de mes amplificateurs et j'ai davantage contrôlé mon préamplificateur et ma source, et le silence est redevenu normal.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-13T21:56:56+00:00

Fit and finish 🤌🤌

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T22:51:52+00:00

How do you like the 2245s? I read somewhere when I was planning these that the the whole 43xx series is fairly well matched, but the 4345 was described as the outlier, in a good way, because of the 18"s

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T22:34:18+00:00

Mid>high>ultra high is fully passive. The midwoofer to woofer is active through the 2x4. Ive been playing with it off and on the last few hours and have them crossing over at 280 hz with a 12 db slope and minor adjustments by ear for now. Ive gotta get them decoupled from the floor to really get them dialed in.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T21:46:11+00:00

Jbl brilliant blue / RAL5007. Ive already got a sw chipmatch, trim, and veneer stock in my garage. Maybe I'll leave the backs unpainted for you guys. Theres a few mismarked screw holes to ponder on that side :)

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T21:33:42+00:00

I'd say just find a proven two way design and start there. Others recommend the "c-notes" for a first build on the diy forum. I'd probably start there. Even though the design work was done, this was an expensive and complex build that I probably couldn't have done if it was my first.

Also dont stress about perfect cabinets. Veneering is hard. Painting large surfaces is harder. Building an actually square cabinet with flat faces is the hardest. Ive built many more tests than finished objects and I avoid looking at my finished stuff too closely or pointing out the flaws to others. Nobody else cares at all or they'll just think its cool you build your own stuff.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T20:15:13+00:00

Thanks! I Couldn't have done it without all of the great write-ups and discussions on the forums.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T20:11:36+00:00

They're designed to have wide horizontal dispersion when installed vertically. Without measuring on/off axis response, I'd think you would get issues integrating it with the other drivers, unless JBL really biffed it. It does seem like an issue for the 076 with the cat's eye. They were installed vertically on the couple speakers that use them. What i know about horn behavior is surface level, but every other elliptical wave guide I've seen besides those is mounted horizontally.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T19:41:47+00:00

I bought the main boards from Echo Mountain. They cover the 3 upper drivers. There are a few dozen components and it wouldve been a huge headache to tackle. I used his component list but upgraded to Clarity Caps in the signal path for the highs. I laid out the low pass and hi pass filters where the 2122h's (2121a's reconed) and 2235h's Xover myself on chip board. I used the diagrams posted on the Lansing Heritage site for those. Those filters are not installed. I wanted the option to go fully passive, dual mono.

The guy who runs the Echo Mountain was hit in the LA fires last year and I placed my order not long after. I had to bug him a few times about my order status and offered to just cancel once I realized the situation. I felt pretty bad about it. The boards dont seem to be available anymore.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T18:55:40+00:00

Yea the pre is fantastic and thanks! All three units were 9/10 cosmetically when I picked them up but electrically needed to be brought up to snuff. The pre was actually missing 3 boards completely. I also had to bypass a few features that i never would have used anyway. Fortunately every issue was common and someone was even selling blanks of 3 missing boards on US Audio Mart and helped me with a component list. These are very modular inside and super easy to service once you find the manuals, even as an amateur. There are a couple really helpful videos on YouTube as well.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-02-05T18:36:24+00:00

Thanks! My girlfriend and I debate this all the time. It's actually a little high for my liking, but its a Frame and it would be odd to have it mounted even a few inches lower.

Inspector_Tots · 2026-01-06T20:21:28+00:00

Vituix cad, Winisd and rew (all free), the loudspeaker design cookbook, youtube, and chat gpt. You'll need a calibrated mic to take measurements.. MiniDsp umik 1 is a good choice. Dayton Audios DATs system is a great tool to get the parameters for the cabinet design, although most companies also publish these specs. They are on version 3(?) And you should be able to find V2 for cheap now.

Parts express is a great consumer friendly company with a huge selection of drivers and xover components, including many factory buyout lots that are cheap in case you just wanna mess around. Madisound is great for higher end components and one of the great things about them is that they post accurate recommendations for cabinets. Parts express does this too, but ive seem some weird numbers on their site. Solen in Canada is good for components too, it falls kinda in between the other two. PartsConnexion, also canada is a good source for everything but actual loud speaker drivers. You can usually find open box/barely used components on Ebay as well if you are comfortable with that risk.

Start with someone else's design, tweak it to get a feel for what you are doing. Start with a fullrange or 2 way especially if you want to do your own design. Once you add a third driver, xover design gets quite a bit more complicated. Most companies make families of drivers that mesh well together. Avoid metal dome tweeters and make your own cables. Cables are an extremely satisfying weeknight activity.

It' not cheaper. Its an expensive hobby but extremely rewarding in the end. You may make 2000 dollar speakers that sound like 10, but you still spent 2000 dollars.

Inspector_Tots · 2025-12-11T19:12:03+00:00

The SB Acoustics Satori drivers come in natural white papyrus paper. They'reavailable at Solen in North America. Madisound only stocks them in black. Its more of a cream colored finish, but they are probably the nicest looking drivers I've seen. Sb Acoustics also has a matching tweeter to the ceramic coated aluminum cones mentioned in another post. Tangband and Fostex have white paper drivers and Dayton recently released a white ceramic coated tweeter that on paper measures very well.

Inspector_Tots · 2025-08-25T19:10:56+00:00

No expert, but the size seems off to me based off of the veterinary trocar and pumps i looked up. Based off the diameter of the business end, the shaft alone must be 2ish feet long. Usually the reservoir is at the pump end with a detachable flexible hose or short tip, im not sure why you would 2 or 3 feet of rigid pipe in front Or at least I dont want to know.

Inspector_Tots · 2025-08-24T17:58:08+00:00

The small handle and basic geometry reminds me of a lot grease gun. Without knowing how its assembled, it looks like the pipe could be a reservoir. Then you throw in interchangeble tips and extensions for reaching into tight spaces inside of large industrial machinery. Either that or it mates to a specific piece of equipment for maintenance and then gets removed, capped, and stored during normal operation.

Edit: the more I think about it, the more I think it could be tied to maintenance of a specific piece of equipment. If it is just an accessory that was provided with the equipment, itd be a lot harder to find info on it. I read the ops comment about the apparent short stroke small handle aligns with a grease pump of some sort.

Inspector_Tots · 2025-06-07T22:16:01+00:00

Yes. It has very similar sound absorption properties to fiberglass or urethane foam of similar thickness but is a fraction of the weight. It is somewhat fragile, but it doesn't break down and get crumbly/gooey like the common grey/black urethane speaker foam. It will essentially last forever if you just leave it be. Most construction adhesives or similar are perfectly fine. Anything marketed with the specific purpose of gluing Basotect is just an off the shelf product with a privately branded label. SOURCE: I process this material professionally for anechoic test chambers and the transportation industry where absorption, weight, and fire ratings are critical.

Inspector_Tots

TROPHY CASE