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Econowave Build

post #1 of 52
9/9/11 at 2:02pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I should have started this months ago when I actually started the cabs but I just worked on them little at a time while doing framing and other stuff to the theater. The are now finished though so I thought I would share a few pics of the build

The cabs are obviously hand made by me but with close interior dimensions to the recommended parts express cab, I decided to make my own so I can make them shorter and have the woofer right next to the horn while keeping the recommended inside volume.

I used the recommended Dayton DC300-8 woofer, the Selenium D220Ti-8 compression driver along with the Pyle Pro PH612 horn. With all of the parts above including the XO's pieces and the 3/4" "cabinet grade" plywood I got from Home Depot, the build was pretty easy on the pockets and the sound that I've heard from them so far (not much unfortunately) is very exceptional. Enjoy the pictures!

Front baffles cut...



All drivers laid out...



Drivers laid in baffles...



Cabs built...





Cabs painted with Duratex and XO's installed...






Real panels installed and screws painted black for the final touches







Well, thats the picture candy for ya, any questions, I'd love to discuss
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post #2 of 52
9/9/11 at 2:17pm
If I was planning on building some new mains any time soon I would be all over these. They look great and I hope they sound just as good.
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post #3 of 52
9/9/11 at 2:22pm
Looks good!

I like the rational bracing, as opposed to cabinets that fill the inside with excess wood.

What does the pot on the back control? HF level?
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post #4 of 52
9/9/11 at 2:30pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Drisco and DS!

Yes, the pots on the back control the HF level. I actually contemplated for a while on whether or not I should even bother with putting them in, but, they were cheap and easy to hook up so why not, just in case I DO need them
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post #5 of 52
9/9/11 at 3:03pm
Looks great!
I like that you angled the speaker terminal cups in what I consider the proper position. So many people angle the terminals up, which looks awkward when you have the speaker wire plugged in.
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post #6 of 52
9/9/11 at 3:16pm
Those cabs look very solid. Well done!
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post #7 of 52
9/9/11 at 3:20pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CZ Eddie View Post

Looks great!
I like that you angled the speaker terminal cups in what I consider the proper position. So many people angle the terminals up, which looks awkward when you have the speaker wire plugged in.

Exactly CZ, I actually need to do this on my Paradigm's upstairs, it's a natural strain relief as well.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Simonian View Post

Those cabs look very solid. Well done!

Thanks Scott, appreciate it
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post #8 of 52
9/9/11 at 3:26pm
How much was the total cost of the three E-wave's here? Also, those crossovers look really clean. Did you assemble them like that or were they pre-built? If you did that yourself, nice! If not, that's cool too.
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post #9 of 52
9/9/11 at 5:29pm
Thread Starter 
For everything including wood, screws and paint, the total came to less than $600 for all three. Not too bad and they were fairly easy to build. Also, if you buy the parts express pre-built trapezoid cabs (minus screws and glue), the total cost will be a little more but the assembly much quicker

And thank you, I did assemble the XO's myself. They did come out nice, huh?
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post #10 of 52
9/9/11 at 7:21pm
they look pretty badass.

i didn't see any fiberglass go in them though. maybe i missed it, but without absorption, the sound from the woofer reflects off the rear panel and comes back through the cone...muddying up the midrange.
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post #11 of 52
9/9/11 at 8:58pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks LTD. To be honest, I didn't think of filling the cab, two reasons being that the Econowave directions didn't mention it (I don't think) and two, I HATE touching insulation!! If it's a good idea though, can I use anything else besides insulation? Maybe pillow stuffing? The cab is not ported so no worries about anything flying out
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post #12 of 52
9/9/11 at 9:56pm
Polyfill

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post #13 of 52
9/9/11 at 10:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Digital_Chris View Post

the total came to less than $600 for all three.

Nice build, those look much better to me than the Parts Express trapezoid cabinets.

What Paradigms do you have? I still love my 9 se MKIII's, even though they will be old enough to drink in a few years. They have been replaced by 4 Pi's but I cannot bring myself to get rid of them.
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post #14 of 52
9/9/11 at 11:03pm
So how do they sound?

JSS
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post #15 of 52
9/10/11 at 12:00am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NWCgrad View Post

Nice build, those look much better to me than the Parts Express trapezoid cabinets.

What Paradigms do you have? I still love my 9 se MKIII's, even though they will be old enough to drink in a few years. They have been replaced by 4 Pi's but I cannot bring myself to get rid of them.

Thanks, I like them better compared to the PE's as well. Check out this thread, I posted my Paradigms when I brought them home

Quote:
Originally Posted by maxmercy View Post

So how do they sound?

JSS

I only listened to them for one full movie and on partial, they sound very nice. The do sound different than my Paradigms, probably for more than one reason but I am happy so far. They seem to "blend" better I guess, not that my other speakers are more distinct in what side is playing but I can't describe it any other way (shrugs shoulders).
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post #16 of 52
9/10/11 at 12:02am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mrkazador View Post

Polyfill


Yeah, I like that better. I'll check Michael's tomorrow, if I have to I'll take a ride to Jo'Annes. Am I thinking of the correct places to buy this stuff?
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post #17 of 52
9/10/11 at 1:05am
Go to WalMart and get a couple large pillows.

Or go to Home Depot and get some R13 in-wall fiberglass and a 50-pack of plastic surgeon type gloves.
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post #18 of 52
9/10/11 at 5:33am
I would recommend a pillow since it is cheaper and easier to position in the right spot. I think it was only $10 for 5 pillows at Kohl's when I caught a good sale.
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post #19 of 52
9/10/11 at 1:17pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I just got back from Walmart. Found some pillows on sale for cheap and grabbed 3 of them. They were stuffed with your basic Polyfill stuffing. I couldn't find Polyfill by itself so I resorted to the pillows
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post #20 of 52
9/10/11 at 1:46pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, so I just finished stuffing one of the cabs with the Polyfill. I used all of the fill from a standard sized Walmart pillow, I'm new to this so I don't know if I put too much in or not. Will it be in the way of the woofer even though the basket keeps most of the Polyfill away from the cone?
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post #21 of 52
9/10/11 at 8:26pm
Wait, did you take the polyfill out of the pillow case? I just leave it in the pillow so that I don't have to worry about it getting in places it shouldn't be.

As far as the proper amount - I would recommend using just enough to dampen the internal standing waves, which you should be able to see in the frequency response. You've added enough when the big dips go away (it's best to measure outdoors).
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post #22 of 52
9/11/11 at 2:13pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, I did take the Polyfill out of the pillow, it wold have been too big otherwise. Also, I take it I'm going to run a few REW sweeps outside with the mic one meter in front of the speaker? Sorry, I'm new to REW..
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post #23 of 52
9/11/11 at 3:01pm
I would place the mic at least 10ft away on put it on the ground...just make sure the mic is closer than the nearest boundary that could cause reflections. You also need to make sure the speaker is playing loud enough so that ambient noise doesn't show up in the measurement. Basically, if you can turn the mic input down low enough to where the ambient noise is less than -40dB and the measurement is above -20dB, then you should have enough isolation.

Btw, it usually doesn't take much insulation to get rid of the standing waves. The reason you don't want to use too much is that it brings down the overall efficiency of the box.
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post #24 of 52
9/11/11 at 5:31pm
I'm surprised you didn't do it as a ported build -- doesn't it roll off pretty early, or does it model well sealed?

Best,
C.
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post #25 of 52
9/11/11 at 8:10pm
Thread Starter 
To be honest, I didn't choose to do a sealed build, I actually missed the part about ports and filling with Polyfill in the list. Plus, with the ports in the rear as noted in the build, they will be pointless since my cabs will be flush mounted and the rear of the cabs will be sealed off from the listening room... I could do ports on the side or bottom but not sure if that would work
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post #26 of 52
9/11/11 at 10:26pm
Ports on tthe side are fine, try to Penngray's waveguide build thread as his were on the side (best that I recall). I know augerpro's No Quarters are on the side.
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post #27 of 52
9/12/11 at 12:22am
Thread Starter 
Thanks grad, I'll scope them out
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post #28 of 52
9/12/11 at 5:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cerdic View Post
I'm surprised you didn't do it as a ported build -- doesn't it roll off pretty early, or does it model well sealed?

Best,
C.
-3 @ 48hz is not so bad sealed but it does like a bigger box. For home theater it will be fine.
LL
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post #29 of 52
9/12/11 at 7:21am
+1 Mrkazador

After modeling it this AM as well, I agree that it does OK sealed, and porting just seems to make a peakier response especially with this size box. Looks like excursion is held in check up to 80 or 100w as long as he crosses over to the subs at 60 hz or higher.

I'd keep it sealed, too.

Best,
C.
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post #30 of 52
9/12/11 at 7:31am
Comes at a price though, as this econowave variant ends up being only ~90dB sensitive, handling only ~115w.

Of course it's also dirt cheap, combined with the excellent build by Chris a great value. And you can easily upgrade components down the road.
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