100W per side stereo cabinet of my own deisgn

[MicFarlow]

Hi All,

Attached below are some pics of an internally powered cabinet I designed.

Pretty straight forward really... simple full range design with (2) 10" Selenium drivers and (2) 1" Vifa dome tweeters. They are crossed over at 3.2k with a first order crossover for a 6db roll off per octave. There is an L-Pad on the tweeters for any attenuation there if desired.

The cabinet is made of 3/4 inch birch plywood with finger joints for very strong corners. The dimensions are 25.5 wide x 13.5 tall x 13.5 deep. It is a sealed cabinet design currently, though I am not opposed to some ports in the front corners... not sure quite yet.

Completed it weighs in around 45 pounds or so. The corners are rounded over with 1/2 radius. All combined, there are over 120 fasteners in this box and there are none in the corners.



The power amp is made by Sure Electronics and is based on the Tripath TP2050 chip. It is a Class D power amp that will take any DC voltage between 12v and 30v. The power supply is made by Meanwell and is 27V 13A.

Currently it is wired for both stereo and mono. Basically, if you plug just into the left input, the inputs are bridged and you get 200 watts of mono operation. If you plug in both, you get 100 watts per side of stereo.

This is my prototype box so I did not go to the extra effort of soldering up all the connections. For any production boxes, all connections will be soldered for maximum reliability.

Simple Tolex covereing, red piping, metal grille, black handle, nickel corners and 4 rubber feet round out the package. The pics do not show it, but on the inside, there will be sound dampening material to eliminate any standing waves.

Sound-wise: I LOVE IT! My cousin currently has it out for its maiden voyage. He is doing a theater gig (West Side Story I think...can't recall exactly) this weekend and he said it sounded great with his Ultra! Once I get it back next week I'll be AB'ing it against my Mackie HR824's. We'll see see how it really stacks up then.

Thanks all for looking and any comments or suggestions are welcome!

Mick

 

[PhillAnselmo]

Nice!

 

[Sixstring]

Very well done... Plans to take any orders or is this just a one off?

 

[MicFarlow]

Thanks Phill and Sixstring.

I actually plan to take orders. I designed this cabinet expressly for the Axe and other... umm... let's say 'less endowed' modelers.

Thanks,

Mick

 

[BCnSTL]

Couple ideas for you: maybe add another handle but put them closer to the edge of the cabinet - length-wise (ala VOX) - could make it easier to lug and provide a flat surface in the middle for the Axe.

What about put the HF drivers more towards the outside of the cabinet - the HF content will provide more of the stereo imaging info of the signal, might help make things sound bigger / wider.

I know eff-all about cabinet construction - just tossing that stuff out there. It looks great! I'm looking for a FRFR setup - and a compact powered stereo cabinet that looks like an amp seems perfect. I'm extremely interested!

 

[Matman]

WWJMS?

 

[claxor]

How about a 1x12 " wedge design as well? Where are you in the U.S., by the way?

 

[Scott Peterson]

Cool!

 

[Michele Guzzini]

Amazing! The only problem is when you use it in stereo IMHO. I use my self made 2x12 (not FRFR but with V30's) and when running stereo effects (Haas effect overall) it's easy to ecounter phase issues. Very well done anyway

 

[burningyen]

Very nice work! Price? Options? Website? Where are you located?

 

[Doug]

WWJMS?

Interested in that as well!

 

[MicFarlow]

Couple ideas for you: maybe add another handle but put them closer to the edge of the cabinet - length-wise (ala VOX) - could make it easier to lug and provide a flat surface in the middle for the Axe.

What about put the HF drivers more towards the outside of the cabinet - the HF content will provide more of the stereo imaging info of the signal, might help make things sound bigger / wider.

I know eff-all about cabinet construction - just tossing that stuff out there. It looks great! I'm looking for a FRFR setup - and a compact powered stereo cabinet that looks like an amp seems perfect. I'm extremely interested!

The way the handle is on there now makes it easy for one hand carry. Not a problem to put on two handles though if that is desired.

Also, if a flat top is desired to accomodate the Axe, I'd probably put in a spring loaded, recessed handle so that you could pop the Axe right on top with no issues.

As for moving the tweeters out to the sides more.. this box is so tight in terms of size, that would be hard to do. I have designed this in such a manner that two would fit across the back seat of most compact cars...

In my jammign with it, I can clearly tell and feel the stereo seperation. That leads me to think that most of that action is happening below 3.2k... not sure how that bears out technically though.... I guess I used my Mackies as a guide there.. if I lay those flat, I put the tweeters to the inside.. not sure if that still applies with the stereo image so close...

WWJMS?

I am interested to hear his thoughts as well!

How about a 1x12 " wedge design as well? Where are you in the U.S., by the way?

I can do a 1x12 design.. no issues there. I am on the East Coast, in the middle of North Carolina!

In doing other sizes and shapes though, I'd have the tendency to design from a "I want to take as few trips into the venue as is possible" approach. That means in a wedge design, I'd look to design a shape that mated well with another one and fastened together and could be wheeled into a venue...

One thing I will be adding to this cabinet is a kickstand of sorts. It is actually a retractable arm on the bottom to kick the angle of the cabinet up a bit for a little better throw across the stage.

Cool!

Thanks Scott!

Amazing! The only problem is when you use it in stereo IMHO. I use my self made 2x12 (not FRFR but with V30's) and when running stereo effects (Haas effect overall) it's easy to ecounter phase issues. Very well done anyway

Thanks Killo! In my playing with it so far, I have not noticed any phase issues. I'm not suggesting that there aren't any, just that if there are, they are not obvious to me.

Very nice work! Price? Options? Website? Where are you located?

Thanks BurningYen! I have not setteled on a final price yet, but I am going to be in the $750 area.. maybe closer to $800... but thats retail... for folks in this forum I'd do a price break because I'd be bugging you for reviews and ideas for improvements.

As for options... well, the box from a wood and finish point of view is pretty stable price-wise. The amp and power supply are fairly consistent to. The speakers on the other hand... well, the sky is the limit there. There are cheaper speakers and some much more expensive... The speakers I have here were chosen for thier specs and the design was done from there. Same for the crossover. I can easily do a 2nd, 3rd or 4th order crossover, it'll just cost more.

I do not have a website yet, but it is in the works.

Interested in that as well!

Thanks Doug! I am as well. Jay is very well respected and I would value his input!

 

[BCnSTL]

I'm right there with you, design goal wise. I love it! Iffy on the kick stand idea tho. Thinking more of an amp stand but I'd love to be able to put the axe(just the axe) in a rack or rack bag on top - assuming it'd be stable.

I just want to hear some spaciousness when stereo stuff is happening - that makes me smile even more when I'm playing - that's the goal, right? I thought phasiness of stereo fx was part of the fun!

At $750 I'd quite likely buy one.