Finishing
The finish I used was Cabots "Cabothane" gloss
polyurethane. I was after a very shiny, and deep look to
the timber and the Cabots was recommended as a good
priced option. My initial thought was to use a two part
marine grade finish, but as soon as you mention "boat"
the cost of any timber finish almost doubles!
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One of the first tasks was a quick undercoat on
the plinths, in preparation for a matt black
spray finish.
I used a sample pot of undercoat
for the job which cost me the grand sum of $3
from bunnings! |
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The first spray coat of matt black. There is a
story behind the unpainted middle section...
I
was initially going to mount the plinths as per
the instructions, so direct to the base of the
speaker, in which case, nothing but the edges of
the plinth will ever be visible. |
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While I was dong the spray for the second coat,
it was on my mind that I wouldn't mind using a
set of spikes for isolation of the speaker...
Hmmmm, how to use the plinth and still use
spikes??
A flick through the Jaycar cat and a
look at the spikes they had gave me an idea. I
could rebate a few holes in the plinth and drop
the spike bases down the holes, and if I did it
properly, still use the pre-drilled holes in the
speakers as markers for mounting the spikes on
the boxes.
I think it worked well, but you can be the
judge. |
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Here is my trusty aide doing the penultimate
coat (number 4) of cabothane to the speakers.
After doing the previous three coats over the
past three days I was getting a bit weary of the
sand, varnish, sand, varnish, sand, varnish,
sand, varnish process.
At this stage the speakers were really
starting to look a million dollars, though the
battle with runs and blemishes was never-ending.
The gloss finish really looks superb, but it is
very unforgiving of any errors or uneven
application. |
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The pair drying after the 4th coat. At this
stage they are a real "dust magnet" and I had
them inside protected from what was a windy
afternoon.
I had thought to put a black spray
through the ports, but anyone that wants to come
into the house and poke around the back of my
speakers and comment about the (lack of) colour finish inside the
ports will get a black eye!!
I really liked the finish at this point and
would have stopped at this except there were a
few runs and blemishes that meant the sander
still had a little work to do. |
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Running the orbital over the boxes for the last
sand. I was using a 400 grit paper for all of
the sanding and found it to work fairly well.
It gave a good sand that smoothed out any runs
and bumps quite easily and was not that fine
that the sanding process took forever.
There were no scratches or any roughing up of
the finish that impacted or remained visible
after the next coat |
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Just a close up of the sanded speaker showing
that even after the sander had done it's work,
the surface was still highly reflective. |
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You'll probably have noticed that I didn't
bother to apply any "black out" paint around
the rebates for the drivers. I had test fitted
the drivers to the boxes before and after the
veneer, and it seemed to me that the fit was
tight and flush enough that the chance of MDF
showing through was going to be very slim.
I
guess in truth, I thought it was overkill and I
just couldn't have been bothered. If it did
become an issue on final fitment, I could
always use a brush and carefully apply some
black paint where needed. In the end, the fit
was as good as expected and it was not an issue.
<<--- Click for bigger pic. |
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The 5th coat of gloss and drying in the lounge
room.
At this stage I was well and truly over the
whole finishing process and was just eager to get them
together so I could have a listen. I'd bought
new speakers to listen to after all, not look at!
I could hardly wait for them to dry... as a
matter of fact I left my finger prints on
the finish for both in my eagerness to test how
quickly, or slowly, they were drying! :) |
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I'm quite pleased with the finish and the fact
that it was a result of my, not forgetting my
trusty aides as well, work, to which I'm thoroughly
grateful.
The picture does not do full justice
to the finish. |
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Finally starting the final step in the process
and have stuffed the cabinets in preparation for
mounting the drivers.
One area of confusion
that I will note down for anyone else reading
this is what appears to be a deliberate phase
reversal on the tweeter.
I was paying particular attention to the
instructions and lining up the lugs with the
stripe to the positive when I happened to notice
that the striped positive for the tweeter went
to the negative pad on the crossover!
This was a bit of a concern seeing as it was
not mentioned in the instructions that there was
a phase reversal. I debated whether it was a
production error on my crossover, and checking
the crossover for the other speaking and finding
the same situation, I decided it must be a
deliberate reversal.
Anyway, the striped lead is going to the
positive terminal on the tweeter, regardless
that it goes back to the negative pad on the
crossover, and the speaker sounds fine. |
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A look at the rear of the speaker with the
binding posts.
The finish on the backs of the
speakers were really superb and it's a shame the
back has to face the wall for most of it's life! |
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All drivers mounted and the speaker ready to be
lifted into place on the plinths and finally be
plugged in for the first listen. Yay! :)
I
have linked a close-up of the front of the
speaker so you can have a look at he finish and
fit and that there is no MDF showing around the
edges of the drivers.
<<--- Click for close-up. |
Final Speakers
After a few days I started to notice a few runs and
blemishes on the speakers, that while I don't think many
other people would have noticed, it was starting to
bother me... A bit like a sore tooth that you can't help
going back to and exploring, even though you know it's
annoying.
I'd pretty much used up my full litre of gloss
cabothane on the five coats to date, and knowing how
fussy it was to get a coat I would be happy with, I
decided to make it easy on myself and do a final
"repair" coat in a satin finish. I know, a bit of a
cop-out, and please don't let my experience deter you if
you want the deep lustre of a gloss finish, but I was
after a solution that would give me a final coat I could
happily life with.
So, off to bunnings once again and much to my
pleasure, I found the cabothane finish in pressure pack
sprays which made things even easier. I pulled the
drivers back out, blanked off the driver holes and
pulled out the sander once again for a quick once over
of the trouble spots. I then did the final coat with a
satin finish cabothane pressure pack, re-assembled the
speakers and am now more than happy with the end result. I might also add that due to it being a nice windy Perth day, I did this coat in the confines of the car garage, and damn near gassed myself to death! Remember this: Safety first - follow the directions on the can and do all spray work in a well ventilated area! :)
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The tops of the finished speakers.
The satin
finish really took the harsh glare off the
finish and still gives the full effect of the
timber.
Where the gloss finish was a little too
smooth and cold to the touch, the satin finish
invites a touch of the speaker and it adds a
little texture.
While the look is not quite as brilliant as
the gloss, I definitely prefer the feel and the
ease of care that the satin finish seems to have
added. |
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Close-up of the driver mounting screws that came
with the kit.
At a distance the screws were
still visible and really stood out from the
drivers, which was not something that I
particularly liked.
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I have a set of Dynamic Audio 3-Way speakers
that do duty as party speakers from time to
time, and I noticed that they had allen-keyed
screws on them that looked like a better match
for the TL6 drivers.
Out with the cordless and
after about 30mins of buggerising around, I had
all of the screws swapped over, including for
the tweeters.
Looking at the picture, you make think that
the original screws were a better colour match,
but I can assure you, the allen-keyed screws
look better from a distance and when up close to
the speaker. |
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A view of a finished speaker in all of it's
glory.
<-- My innovative spiked plinth!! |
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The pair of finished speakers. They are almost
like a new set of babies and I am sure I drove a
lot of friends nuts sending this picture out and
jabbering on about the whole thing!
Actually,
as a result of this picture, a friend queried me
about the speakers, where I got them from, what
they cost and what was involved. I sent him
through the specs and the link to the LSK
website and he then decided to take the plunge
and upgrade!
He sent through a progress picture on his
speakers (He bought a surround system, F5s, C5
and D4s) and he is now debating on what type of
finish to use on them.
Marcus - you owe me one beer!
<<--- Click for bigger pic. |
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Looking down the front at the drivers. |
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Both Speakers.
<<--- Click for bigger pic. |
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The detail on the spikes and plinth arrangement.
It worked very well, and the spikes slotted home
into the indent on the spike bases with no
problems.
How much this adds to sound quality
I'm not sure, but I reckon it looks bonza! |
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Just a detail shot of the spike base sitting
inside the plinth. The rebate for the spike base
goes a good two thirds of the way into the
plinth. |
Grilles
I was debating about making up some grilles for the
speakers, and finally decided, that just for the sake of
protecting the drivers I would add them.
I know the grilles will detract from sound quality if
played with them on, so will make them as quick and easy
to get on and off as I can.
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The frame for the grill is made from a plank of
16mm MDF that cost me $7 from my good friends at
Bunnings.
Here I've just marked out the frame
ready for cutting. I'm making it easy on myself
by using one of the pre-cut edges as an edge on
the frame.
I only had a jigsaw available so it was a
long slow process to cut out the frame and the
internals. I have only finished one as a test to
see what it would look like and I am still
debating the final design.
For the moment I have gone with a full length
grille. But I think that may change to a half
length design so the front timber finish still
gets a show with the grilles on.
The grille cloth is available from Jaycar as
a pre-cut package or from Altronics by the
metre. I got mine from Altronics for $17 a
metre. |
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Here's the rough and ready first look at the
full length grille.
It actually looked a lot
better than I expected it to when it was on and
you look at it from a few different angles.
Off course, in the final version I will spray
the front of the MDF black so that it does not
show through the material as distinctly as it
does here.
< -- I may "scallop" the grille and finish it
at about this level so some of the timber finish
on the front is still visible with the grille
on.
<-- I may also whack a badge on the bottom of
the grille! |
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Another angle of the speaker with the grill in
place. |
Listening
Well, okay you say, that the looks, just what the
hell do they sound like?
To be blunt, I'm biased because I put them together
and did the finish, but I reckon they sound damned fine!
In all of the shopping around that I did, they
comfortably match the sound from speakers from the "big'
brands that were well into the thousands.
I have been running selected stacks of my favourite
discs though them, and though I'm sure having the Azur
and the DIY amp driving them assists with sound quality,
I can quite easily say that I have never heard my CD
collection sound as good as it does now.
Dire Straits leap out of the speakers, Pink Floyd has
detail that I've never heard before and my jazz
collection has come back to life! Diana Krall, Eva
Cassidy, Cassandra Wilson, Norah Jones, and Tracey
Chapman never sounded so good, and Miles Davis, John
Coltrane, Johnny Hartman and Nat King Cole are in the
room with you. I'm listening to Grace by Jeff Buckley as
I type and it is just sublime.
I have a CD called Mule Variations by Tom Waits and
the first track on that is a real test and the TL6s do
it with ease, even with the volume at ludicrous
levels... I've also played my Tool CDs at the ludicrous
settings and believe me, my ears and nerve (I think the
neighbours must wonder what the hell is going on with
all the loud music I've been playing lately) gave out
way before the system did!
In short - I'm very happy!
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