# AA Arbiter MTM



## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Hello everyone! I just pulled a pair of my Ascendant Audio POLYS out of one of my cars and wanted to built the AA Arbiter TM that was available a few years ago it seems. I have the Vifa XT tweets that come with the kit, but I do not have a parts list to build the crossover. I was wondering if someone had experience with this kit or could help me by giving me a parts list for the crossover. Thanks all!


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Well, I'm ready to start building the MTM verion of this project. I was told that the speakers should be placed 4ft from the wall. My question is what are the effects of having them closer to the wall. The port is located on the back of the cabinet if that helps any.


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

4 feet? That seems a wee bit much...How big are these things?


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Two 7" woofers and the Vifa Tweet. Cabinet is 9"w x 22"HT x 13"D. Basically a 1.0cuft enclosure with a 3" port on the back of the cabinet.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

I'm 50% done with building the cabinets and stands for this project and before I glue everything togather, I wanted to know if I should stuff or fill the cabinets with some kind of deadener? This is my first home project. I've stuffed sealed sub boxes, but have little experience with ported cabinets. Is this necessary? What are the advantages and disadvantages?


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

It would be a good idea. I have been using the pink fiberglass from Lowes with good effect but if you want to spend money there are other options like lining the inside with a neoprene type of material and then adding filler until it sounds right to you. Personally I would stick with either the fiberglass or the neoprene but not both because all you are trying to do is absorb some of the backwave of the woof and keep the sound from bouncing around like a ping pong ball.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

I ended up buying some eggcrate foam from JoAnns fabric and putting it on the back and sides of the cabinet. Do you think this is overkill? Also, will this stuff do the job (it's just your generic yellow eggcrate foam)?


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

You can experiment with different amounts to get the sound you want. Got any pics of the build?


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

I will post some in the next couple of days.
Also, The original plans called for the port being on the top back of the cabinet, basically, a 5" precision port behind the top woofer. Is there a specific reason for this? I ended up putting the port on the bottom half of the enclosure (not behind any speaker).


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Port location shouldn't make any difference as long as it has enough clearance.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Port has plenty of room to breath. I also changed the name of the thread to MTM since this is what I'm actually building.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Everything is cut and glued into place. I've primed and begun painting the speaker stands and cabinet I've built out o f MDF. I'm using a black textured finish for the project (not the hammered or stone look). My problem is that in the sunlight, I can see shiny and dull spots. I would love to eliminate this and get a great uniformed texture throughout. Does anyone have any suggestions with evening out some of these imperfections? I'm using the ol' spray can method. Should I just take the cabinets to an autobody shop? I need some help guys.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

The shiny and dull spots are from an uneven coat or you're not shaking the can enough. You also have to shake the can every few minutes as you spray.You'll have to lightly sand it down until it looks even and respray to touch it up. Post a pic if you can.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

Thanks for the advice. I will work on that later today.


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## jazzscreamer (Apr 2, 2009)

1.0cuft enclosure. I also padded the side walls as well









3" Precision port. I countersunk the port and used bondo for a nice intergrated finish



























Front view without grill. I still need to do some more detail work on the cosmetics of the enclosure to even out some of the paint flaws.



























Speaker stand built out of MDF. In between the side panels, I put a 3" PVC pipe and filled it with concrete for some extra weight.









Side view of the enclosure. You can't really see, but I still need to put a coat or two and do some more wet sanding and finishing for a nice glossy uniformed look.









Side view of the front stage. This also includes the Cynosure Center Channel that I built in December









Here is the rear Orb Audio Mod2 speakers 









Finished port side. I was going to put the terminals on the bottom half of the enclosure, but because of the crossover height on the botton, they didn't fit. No big deal since you can't really see it from the seated position.

I will give a review once I get some more time to listen to the setup. My Orb Audio 8" sub will be replaced with a 1000w Bash amp + 3 Arsenal 10". More to come on that a little later.


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## JCD (Apr 20, 2006)

That's some nice work. I'm looking forward to your review.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

The cabinets look great. I'm also looking forward to your review. The "Arsenal 10" sounds interesting.


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