Speaker Enclosures

Subaruguru is right on about the difficulties of working granite, only those with diamomd tipped tools need apply.MDF is just the opposite, cuts and routs absolutely clean with crisp edges and no tearout. Dimensionally stable so takes veneer extremely well. Knowing how it is made will tip you off to its qualities and popularity vis a vis particle board. Both are produced as "loaves" like bread but while particle board is pressed under 5000 lbs. pressure, 30,000 lbs. is used to compress MDF! You might try to find your local Wilson Art dealer as many fabricators are dropping the SSV (solid surface veneer) because of problems with fracture in use. SSV is an 1/8" thick sheet similar in look to Corian which is glued to a substrate (MDF). It could be cheap and works OK with ordinary carbide tools. Don't worry about the fracture problem as it only occurs in horizontal applications like countertops.

Gents, once again, great responses! My first love is wookworking, then audio. Now that the kids are gone, both woodworking and audio keep me busy in my spare time. I initially thought of copying the Theil 3.6's because I have some Theil drivers that I am not using from an old pair of 3.5's, but on second thought I will take your advice and purchase a crossover and driver kit and build the enclosure. You guys have given me sound advice and I am afraid I will have to tap your collective minds one more time. I have heard that you can purchase drivers and crossovers as a kit with plans for the enclosure. Does anyone have any recommendations? Thank you all in advance.

gmkowal-check the threads under diy and look for northstar audio

Gmkowal it's great to hear that you are jumping into our hobby! You are many steps ahead of most of us(me included) in that you are a woodworker. As far as kits go, you have a lot of options. Check out Orca Design's(orcadesign.com) website for some great information. Make sure to request literature from them, as when I have gone there, the designs were nowhere near as numerous as what they used to send me through the mail. Kimon Bellas(GREAT guy) runs the show, and they are the US parts division of JMLabs. Have excellent drivers from Focal, Cabasse, Vieta, Raven, etc. They used to regularly send me a pack of information as thick as a phone book loaded with advice, designs, kits, and parts. The big contributors in this information(in addition to Kimon) were Joe D'Appolito(EVERYBODY uses his designs), Dick Olsher, and the folks from Focal and Cabasse. Next to try is Madisound, they have parts and kits from everywhere. Kits are good for a novice, but you will find the sound quality lacking once you become more advanced. But, Madisound will always remain a resource for you for their parts(real good prices). Check out North Creek design for their excellent ideas on putting together cabinet walls. Their coils(12, 10, & 8 gauge!) are some of the best you can buy. They turned me on to Ohmite wirewound resistors. Take it from me, there is no more cost effective way to improved sound than wirewound resistors. Alpha Core Goertz(same people who make cable) also have nice coils(including silver), but the sound is much different than North Creek's(more forward, less relaxed and sunny). Best large value caps come from SCR, same company as Solen. SCR's sound much better though(use better film and foil). Smaller value caps can come from Wonder, Hovland, or MIT/Rel(my favorite). Get wire from Orca or HomeGrown Audio. And finally, Zalytron is a great resource(assuming you are not put off by Elliot's demeanor). He has as much "real world" knowledge as anyone. You can show him something that looks great on paper, and he'll tell you to forget it. He will then change your crossover values to numbers that don't jive with any chart around. 99% of the time he is right. You'll get excellent crossover designs from either Elliot or Kimon.

Gmkowal: If you have considered trying out SET amps in your system you may want to take a look at the Hammer speaker kit @ hammerdynamics.com - there are also some user reviews at Audio Asylum under the high efficiency speaker section. You can buy moderatley efficient speakers all day long but usually pay a high premium for super high efficiency speakers. They are not a horn design and look very interesting IMO.