XPRESS SPEAKER DIY-1

X-onken Xpress - 6

Haven't we reached the half-way point? Surely calls for a mini-celebration. No need to break out that bottle of Champagne yet, just a couple of glasses of fruit juice is more than enough to energize you, if you ask me! Be proud of the way the cabinet looks -- as if crafted by a seasoned carpenter, no less! A coat of spray paint and nobody will be able to tell it apart from the real McCoy!

This, in fact, is the charm of DIY. Many experienced builders with power tools had no difficulty finishing builds using MDF. Some others used plywood and finished with vinyl wall paper. A few others got the panels ready cut by CNC shops -- this ensured precise cuts with right-angled edges, and made for easy and Xpress assembly. But I'm happy that many followed the multi-wood example. Most of them told me that they never felt they should build another box from wood or MDF or plywood, as the multi-wood prototype served the purpose well. This was my experience too, and I would suggest that with this experience under our belt, we should take up a few more similar easy and Xpress projects using this versatile material soon. Tell me what you think. Let us see ...

Sealing It Up

X-onken-Front View

You will find that the box, after the glue has dried for a day or two is strong and sturdy and looks good, and makes you proud. Now let us get into another task -- sealing all the joins, which would further strengthen the box. Get a tube of synthetic tile grout, or some wall putty, or, at a pinch, prepare some Fevicol and chalk powder paste. With a gloved finger, infuse beads of the paste into all the inner joins. This would seal minor gaps and imperfactions and also add to the rigidity of the cabinet. Let it dry for a day in the shade.

A critical work remains to be done. I said critical because unless it is done with care and some amount of patience, the looks will suffer. It is the "chamfering" of the front corners. Also, the chamfering minimises diffraction at the edges, which is likely to play havoc with stereo imaging. (Refer to the photos to get an idea how things should look afterwards -- these are the front corners and any imperfection here is not going to look good. So be slow and steady!)

X-onken Top View

On the top and bottom panels, mark out 1.5 inches from the corners and draw a 45 degree line. Using a hack saw blade cut just outside the line. Once all the four corners are cut, using a scale mark the projections of the battens and the sides of the Onken panels, keeping the top and bottom chamfers as guides. Cut these also roughly. Then use a long piece of wood wrapped with emery cloth to grind and level the chamfer. Finish with fine emery. Clean everything meticulously, particularly the insides of the ports. (While at it, think of gathering and saving some of the white multi-wood 'dust'. It is just the right material to seal the back panel gaps at the last stage -- just brush the white powder into the gaps, drop some solvent, and there you are!)

Top-Bottom Panels

Colour It Crimson

No need to take me at my word here ... colour it any colour you fancy! All I would say is that this is the perfect time if you are planning a paint job. For the casual DIYer, a can of spray paint is ample ammunition -- the multi-wood surface is smooth and takes paint very well. Be sure to spray well into the ports to mask the white base colour. Keep the spray can about 6--8 inches away and keep the hand moving while spraying, and you will be surprised at the matt finish you will achieve! (The final coat could wait until after the inside felt pad lining is done and the back panel is glued shut.) The accomplished colorists among us need neither our guidelines nor our permission before they unleash their creativity. I have seen some cabinets with finishes at the 'pro' level. Surely anything is possible in DIY ... the sky, as they say, is the limit to which your imagination could soar!

Absorbing the Unwanted

Note the clear port area

An important step in assuring the perfomance of the little X-onken is bonding the absorbent pads on the inside walls of the cabinet. As we are using a full-range driver, surely the back radiation will contain all the frequencies from LF to HF. Unless they are absorbed fully, the MF and HF radiation could, after reflection, emerge through the cone paper and colour the sound. The inner lining does the absorption part as we all know. Also, we will be sticking a three-layer felt pad to the rear of the speaker magnet, which will scatter and absorb the MF/HF waves near its source.

Start lining the front panel, then the top and bottom panels with the ready cut felt pads and a contact adhesive like Fevibond. It is enough if the felt is anchored loosely with lines or dots of adhesive. No need to cut a circle in the front pad for the speaker driver -- just make a + shaped cut with the scissors, so that the speaker magnet will easily poke through and the felt will mask a little the rear of the driver. Finally line the side panels, taking care to see that the pads do NOT obstruct the Onken port openings at all. Finish with lining the back panel, there also making a + cut in the pad for the rear connector/cable.

Ready for the Driver

Those who are queasy about gluing shut the back panel may plan fixing a batten each on top and bottom and screwing the back panel onto it. Whatever you do, see that the Onekn port area is not affected/obstructed in any way.

Testing ... Testing ...

This is the right time to make a test audition. Wire up the driver and bolt it on, solder the wires to the rear connector, seal the back panel with pins and/or adhesive tape temporarily, connect up the amp and put on some music, ... put the feet up and lean back.

RPi + Allo Boss DAC feeding
Tran-Nova Class-A Monoblocks

I would definitely advocate this step for two reasons. First and foremost -- this is the only way to "convert" sceptics who have not yet come to associate a small box made out of faux wood and a cheap, small driver to work any magic, particularly at the LF end. The second reason is that, if you are using the final driver you are going to use in the build, a few days of listening to music will "break-in" the driver suspension and improve the sound with a few hours/days of listening.

I am not exaggerating, but it is quite likely that the "test audition" will stretch on and on for days, if our own experience is any indicator!

Another Test Audition

Let us take a breather and listen once again to all those fav tracks. Remember the wine glass with the fruit juice (or with something more 'charged'!) to keep you company!

Happy 'test' listening!

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