I’m also running 7.5 degrees and shoulder pointing toe in. I may prefer a little more toe in but that’s where it’s set for now.

Toppy,

I would love to see the speakers!

Tooppy,

I looked at your old posts on the F15s and I'm a little confused.  Did you ever run them in a baffle?  I only see that you ran them naked on the floor.

I'm looking forward to seeing the enclosure you are building for them.

Dan Posted:

My Big Betsy's are sounding better than ever with the addition of a "tweeter".  Its not really a tweeter, as its running full range, but it functions as a tweeter in that it adds some sparkle on the high end.  It just seems to make everything better.  The hi end, the "hit" from a snare drum, and even the already huge sound stage is even bigger.  Imaging doesn't seem to suffer either.  Everything just seems better.

It doesn't seem to be real sensitive as to what small driver I use.  I first used the 6.5" Tang Bands that were in my corner horns, then moved to some real cheep 8" coax speakers I had lying around.  Finally settled in on the Dayton 6.5" point source full range speaker that I had an extra pair of on the shelf.  The Dayton is the best of the three simply because it is more efficient and that matched better to the the F15's.  The Daytons are running full range off a second amp (a Zkit60) while the F15's are running off some prototype Zkit60 monoblocks.  Two 15" subs in the corners complete the system and its sounding better than anything else I've ever had in the workshop.  I'd even go so far as to say its matching what Steve is getting out of his OB's - maybe even better because of the higher bass output due to the sub.



I was running the Daytons with a DSP for a while, the $80 DIY unit from Parts Express 230-322.  This allowed the addition of a hi pass filter to keep the lowest bass out of the Daytons and some other peak filters to help flatten out the frequency response of the entire system, but the DSP added a fair amount of hum and hiss that detracted from the super black background I am getting without the DSP.  It sounds almost as good just running full range.



I was able to secure the 12" x 12" plywood baffle used for the 6.5 Daytons to the Big Betsy using the six screws that hold the handle in place, so no new holes in the Big Betsy's.


Dan

Dan,

As far as you add another driver you get out of Steve's idea of a full range OB. I don't mean it is not interesting but it becomes either a two or three ways speakers, different beast all together.
While I went with a different "box" so to speak, because OB didn't fit into my room, I believe Steve's OB is an excellent full range option if you have the room.
I think not many people can hear anything above 12k nor below 40, so a good full range is better than anything else if you don't "imagine" music but listen to it.

Early on Steve made a pair of baffles out of baltic birch.  They are somewhere in that long thread.  A Forum member bought them.

Oh, sorry I missed that it's solid wood.  In my experience, birch is a fairly dense wood.  I'm not sure what baltic birch is like.  Dense and thick seem to be the preferred woods for the big baffles.  I used 1 1/2" hard maple butcher block with great results.

Try looking up wood densities and see where baltic birch falls.  Good results have been had with oak, maple, cherry and the exotics Steve used.  I bet that birch will be great!

Walnut isn't as dense, I think.  Gluing up something would be best for cost and getting what you want but I found even using big blanks the build was surprisingly long and involved.  If I were starting from scratch I'd get 8/4 hickory and go from there.  Hickory is the densest domestic wood I could find.

Hello Steve can you elaborate a bit on the actual SQ difference between the Medium and the Large baffles.  I am at the cutting point and cant make up my mind. While I know the smaller of the 2 baffles would better suit my listening room (space constraints) I would hate to build the medium only to find out there is a large difference and I am losing a LOT of bass performance.  My plan is to use solid Birch that measures 1.75 inches thick. using a Boiled Linseed Oil finish. Your advice / expertise would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for the response. My issue is I only get 1 shot at this. The smaller baffle will be a better fit but I do not want to sacrifice SQ for a better fit. If we are talking about a 5% difference in SQ then its not an issue. If we are talking about a 25% difference then I would always be wondering and having regrets. Unfortunately mind set for me always plays a role in musical enjoyment.

I bought mine from this guy.  I offered less than list.  Some smoothing is required and they come in the white.  I used a "bluing compound" to blacken mine.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-of-9-Large-Rustic-Handles-for-Barn-Door-or-Gate-Pu...

 Aint it the truth

Went with the ZF15M build and finished them today. Never would I have believed yhis kind of bass was possible from a single driver. This has opened up a hole new world of music & gear for me now. I just have to figure out where to store oe get rid of 4 15" emenance alpha pro drivers I certainly have no reason to use bass augmentation now. Steve Thanks a ton for this project  I would add a pic if I could figure out how to

before you were talking about river tables - good projects i have found also here: https://www.epoxidharztisch.de/ you can inspire on their products

https://ibb.co/gdbPpXT [img][/img]

No Problem.

The next time put the web address between the brackets.
Don't feel bad, everyone misses that part, at least at first.
Put the address where I have the asterisk

img] * [img

I had to modify it to show up!

Did you use a router to cut the hole for the speaker?
If so, was it difficult to cut in rod glued wood?

Thank’s! That’s good information before I start.
I plan to glue two IKEA GERTON (60 mm total thickness) together.

https://www.ikea.com/se/sv/p/gerton-bordsskiva-bok-50106773/

Sorry for the Swedish link.

I have followed this thread for quite some time now and I'm still not sure if my main listening space would properly accommodate the 15M size. Nevertheless, I must give Steve credit for relaunching my interest in woodworking.

I've been retooling my shop and stocking up some nice planks of 8/4 maple, cherry, and white oak. Been making outdoor chairs and a few other things, but rediscovering the joys of woodworking has been a real treat.

Thanks Steve and all who have chimed in on this thread!!!

BTW, It's also breaking my bank account but may be cheaper than a new bass boat.

This is such a great thread! So much information, very thankful for that!

Hi Steve,
two questions:
1. is it possible to also post a recording of the 11 min mix for the ZC10M? That would be super helpful to compare to the ZC15L and Lii Reference speakers.

2. Are baffle speaker sensitive to asymmetric rooms? My new living room will have the speaker at one side close to a wall and on the other side far away from the wall?

Thanks!

Hi,

Yes, the plan was to have all of the speakers done by now, and then CoVid19 hit.  Now we're 300% of capacity.   I do have some new drivers coming in to test from Lii, we'll see what they are and how they perform hopefully soon and if any make it into the product line they will be added to the demos.

Steve

Had my ZF15M for a while now and still loving the sound.  One major complaint I have had is HEIGHT I was never really able to get any height. I thought with the Single Driver cone at a mere 19 inches off the floor I was pretty much doomed to listen as is.  Basically face to face with the artist. In a fit of frustration I started moving things by feet instead of inches and stumbled on to Sound Stage Nirvana

Set up is as follows.  Speakers are 10 feet apart with no side walls for several feet goes into open kitchen and hallway on the opposite side. I pulled the speakers out 6 feet off the front wall,  My seating Position is 6 feet off the speakers. No Toe in (firing straight forward) Soundstage is easily 20 feet wide now, artist is 6 feet off the floor, some aspects of the music are now 8 feet high. and as you might imagine Sound Stage is very Deep  ;D

Smoke turds in hell you lowlife Spammer!

Palo,

Why yes feel free to use it.

Anything I do anything "questionable" I always say that I'll smoke a turd in hell for that one.