Jkbtn, Toddverrone, Ozzy & all;
Thanks for the info. Since they're so inexpensive I ordered three of the sizes. The 10mm, 12mm &14mm sizes. 14mm - those are huge! Easily more than a half inch wide! I can see why you would need a 3/8" copper cap. Did you notice if the size of your resonators impacts different frequencies than other resonators? I'm wondering if something that big might have a greater effect on lower frequencies. On the other hand, could their size allow them to help bring out higher frequencies without adding harshness? Do you have other sizes and/or types of resonators?
I was all pumped yesterday because I was finally getting my 1/8" brass caps. Unfortunately, 1/8" brass caps I got are still too large for 1/4" fly fishing cones. I also have a bunch of different kinds of cones ordered, that are larger than 1/4". Hopefully, one of those will fit the brass caps better. All I know is after this experimentation is through, I'm going to have to take up fly fishing.
I was also really hoping that my SR HFTs would have arrived this last weekend. It would have been nice to play with them for an entire weekend before trying alternatives. Unfortunately, the HFTs didn't arrive until Monday. I've always been too curious to wait, so even without the proper parts to assemble some Ozinators I forged ahead and created a bunch of alternative resonators.
I bought some 3/8" & 1/2" wood "buttons" (that's the actual name - button). These wooden buttons look like small, low-rise mushroom heads that are cut off with only about 1/4" of the attached stem remaining. As you may remember I have purchased three sizes of fly fishing cones. I bought the 1/4" cones (the large size) recommended by Ozzy, plus a pack of small sized cones and a pack of extra small sized cones. For the 1/4" cones I bought a package of "linoleum nails" (size 16 x 5/8" long). I used a 1/16" drill and drilled a pilot hole straight down, through the middle of a 1/2" mushroom head and with the aid of a small hammer plus some carpenters counter-sinks I used a linoleum nail to go through the hole of the cone into the drilled hole of the button and securely fastened the cone to the top of the button. When the cone is fastened tight against the top of the button, about 3/8" of the nail will stick out through the bottom of the button. You can either grind that off or use it to attach the resonator to your wall. The nail is so small that pulling the resonator back
out of the wall will leave no noticeable hole. (Before assembly, you can also paint the wood button the same color as your wall so it will be hardly noticeable when in place).
For the small and extra small sized cones I used a similar cone fastening technique, only I used the smaller 3/8" wood buttons. I bought a pack of Wire Brads (size 19 x 1/2" long) and used a 1/16" drill to drill a pilot hole down into the button. With this size brad you can only start the pilot hole - do not drill all the way through the button. The 1/16" drill hole is bigger than the brad so if you drill all the way through, the brad won't hold the cone tight to the button. Only start the hole, drilling down no more than 1/4". Using a small hammer and carpenters counter-sinks, I was able to fasten the cone tight against the button.
To attach them to the walls I used a little pushing force and then finished with the carpenters counter-sinks to drive in the part of the nail sticking out of the bottom of the button, thus securing the resonator to the wall. For any non-wall application I'm going to grind off the part of the nail that sticks out of the bottom of the button, pull the brad and the cone out from the button, and then coat the brad with superglue and reassemble. Then I'll just use my Blue Sticky Stuff to attach them.
This actually isn't a lot of work if you have the tools. Outside of a drill and a bench grinder (which aren't really expensive) everything is low cost and all can be purchased at a big-box store. The buttons will be found in the same area as wooden dowels and small wooden decorative trim pieces. The #19 brads and the #16 nails will be in the nail and screws dept., and a package of three different sized carpenters counter-sinks can be found in the tools dept. for under $8.
So OK, OK, how do they sound? Well, I finished about 16 of the regular cone size resonators, about 10 of the small and 6 of the extra small. In my listening room I have corner bass traps at the top and the bottom of all four corners. They are approx. 18" wide by 16" tall. I started by listening to a couple of songs to get my ears ready. Stopping the music I then attached 8 of the regular sized resonators, one on each side of the 4 bottom bass traps, about 12" up from the floor. With just these 8 cones in place, I replayed the last song. Whoa! While these 8 didn't do much to my soundstage they sure defined my bass response. As an ex bass player I can appreciate a more accurate bass signal so this was a delight. I would say these resonators had about 2/3 of the effect as putting in the bass traps.
Now I had a little more bass than I would like, so on went more of the resonators. Using some of the standard, suggested placements for these kind of tweeks I added 12 more of the resonators on the front wall, the back wall, side walls and 8 more on the sides and tops of all four of my Magnepans.
Now I had a positive improvement on the entire frequency spectrum. The bass was no longer drowning out the rest. The biggest improvement, for me, is that the individual instruments are much more clearly defined and because of that the individual parts are more separate, identifiable, and remain defined. Even complex music now has a reduced tendency to have individual parts sometimes blend together into mush. And this was without using any of the SR HFT suggested placements. I was waiting for the HFTs to arrive.
On Monday, when the 15 HFTs finally arrived I was able to add them to all the HFT recommended spots. With the HFTs in place the soundstage became more exact. Instruments were now much more firmly in one place. This has been somewhat difficult for my quadraphonic system. While the focus of the individual instruments became tighter and more clear I did not notice a big change in soundstage width or height, but since my quad system already has the soundstage and ambiance nailed perfectly (IMHO) I was glad they didn't change much. The only change I did notice was the stage and especially the singer moved closer to me - not something I want. Instead of sounding like I'm in the 30th row of a larger concert hall, which I love, it now sounds like I'm in the 15th row. This might be because I'm playing the music just a touch louder, making vocals sound more immediate. I think I can fiddle with things and get back to my preferred seat in the 30th row.
(Ed. Note - Warning My first degree was an associate degree in music and while my principal instrument was the bass I had studied and was continuing toward my bachelors at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music focused on composition and arranging. I say this so you'll know, I LOVE detail in music. I love all the different timbers, attacks, phrasings and vocal inflections I can possibly get. You may not like this much detail in your life, soooo YMMV.
I used all three sizes of my resonators and 15 HFTs. With all of them in place my initial impression is that the sound is fuller, crisper, more robust (in a good way), more immediate, and much more defined than before. Meanwhile, although I really appreciate the effect these had on my low and mid range frequencies, the upper frequencies became a bit too brittle for me. Not harsh, but instruments and vocals had a bit too much sharpness and lost a little musicality.
Playing with the locations of the resonators and HFTs I found that moving them lower diminished the harshness of the upper frequencies. Moving a few of the high ones to lower positions reduced the upper harshness to where I started to enjoy the music more. I still have more tweeking to do in this area, but my impression is moving these pieces around may make it possible to ultra-fine tune your listening experience in order to hit that perfect position between detailed but not sweet enough, and sweet but not detailed enough. I think I'll be able to come very close to that sweet spot.
A couple of requests - does anyone have any suggestion as to any resonator position that will appear to push my soundstage back away from me? Also, can I attach pictures to any of my messages somehow, or do I have to post them in the system picture area?
Meanwhile, the Postman just delivered a package that contained the extra-large cone heads I ordered. These fit Ozzy's 1/8" brass cap very well. So, the heck with all this writing. I have some Ozinators to build.
Toolbox
