# Some of my more recent DIY builds (pic heavy, sorry)



## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

Sorry for the picture heavy post, guys.

"Amach" MTM with MCM 5-1/4" and Dayton RS28:









"Emoticons" Peerless 4" PE buyout and Vifa BC25 tweeter:









Monitors, Peerless HDS and Tangband 28-537SH









2-way, 8" Usher, RS28F tweeter, and true time alignment:









"Genius Choice' Vifa BC25 tweeter and an older Tang Band aluminum cone 4"









"Amara" MCM 5" and Vifa XT25:









"Driscoll" Scan Discovery 5" and XT25:









The next pictures of the daddy/daughter project we did last summer:


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Those all look great. Looks like the finishes all turned out nice! I think pic's are everybody's favorites.


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## Mike0206 (Jul 14, 2013)

^^agreed! Very nice!


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the compliments. I have been meaning to create a post with some of these builds, and finally got around to it. 

The build with my daughter was the best - we used a Tang Band 3" coaxial.


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## dougc (Dec 19, 2009)

Very nice Johnny. How did you go about designing the crossovers? Did they measure well? They all look great!


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## pddufrene (Mar 14, 2013)

Wow! Very impressive, maybe one of these days I'll get around to trying the diy thing. But I doubt they will look anything like yours, those look factory built and finished.


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## Paulcet (Jun 18, 2013)

johnnyrichards said:


> Sorry for the picture heavy post, guys.


That's funny right there! Love the pics.

And a project with your daughter?! Pure awesomeness! 

Thanks very much for posting these. And I also wonder about crossover details, or anything else you would like to share.


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

You have an amazing collection! And that includes the other threads, detailing your subwoofer builds.



Paulcet said:


> And a project with your daughter?! Pure awesomeness!


+1

My parents instilled a passion for music in me when I was very young, and to this day I'm completely addicted to it. Frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way. You've obviously done that with your daughter. Bravo... :clap:


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

Thanks guys, you really are too kind. 

I measure in-box, and simulate initial crossover using spreadsheets written by Jeff Bagby to begin the iterative process of voicing them. 

Typically, I will end up with asymmetrical slopes approximating a 4th order Linkwitz-Reilly topology.

The Driscoll and the Usher 8" are second order LR, with the Usher being close to no phase shift, it wraps around in the upper octa ve. 

The measurement gear I have in-house:

Dayton Audio EMM-6 calibrated by Herb over at Cross Spectrum

Dayton Audio UMM-6 " " " "

I use a Blue Icicle to provide phantom power to the EMM and act as a USB mic to greatly simplify setup and minimize gear sitting around. The UMM takes that one step further by integrating the phantom power and USB output in the body of the mic. 

Otherwise, I do my testing with an Onkyo 809 AVR, my HTPC running Windows 7 64. It is a basic machine, older Phenom 3 core CPU, 6 gigs of DDR2 ram. It is used primarily for watching my DVD collection ripped to a large external drive.

I measure all of them, and in fact many of them can be found on my FB page here (along with a lot of other speaker nerd stuff lol): https://www.facebook.com/GcfCustomAudio?ref=hl Some the designs will have only construction or finish pics, rather than crossover details. The Usher and Peerless HDS posted in this thread are semi-proprietary since they were designed for other people. I am a non-profit, so no worries there  So I transfer the right to post details over to them - some people want a private, non-shared design and I respect that.

Anyways, DIY is a lot of fun and involving my daughter last summer was possibly the most fun I have ever had in the hobby, with co-hosting IowaDIY 2013 a not-so-close second place. 

If you guys are interested in seeing the best of DIY up close and personal, with a chance to meet and question the builders/designers the various DIY events around the country are a superb opportunity for that! There is one coming up the last weekend of May in Ft. Wayne, Indiana that attracts a lot of people, I am hosting a smaller event in Sioux Falls the middle of June, and of course MWAF at Parts Express (although the highly commercial atmosphere can be off-putting to some), and the crown jewel - Iowa DIY. The venue alone is worth the visit to that one. It is held in Grinnell Iowa in the middle of October.


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## TheLaw612 (Jan 17, 2012)

This is really cool! You have some beautiful builds. I recently built some speakers and they don't come anywhere close to what you have done. 

I hope to pass on my love of audio to my children one day... First was born last month.


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## buildsafire (Nov 10, 2013)

Great Job on all the Speakers you've built... they all look fantastic. Awesome that you are building with such variety in drivers! Awesome Job. I like the Time-Aligned Ushers you built... I bet they sound great.


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

The finish quality takes a long time to learn, I had a jumpstart growing up in a body shop so I was wet sanding and buffing since a wee lad lol

Congrats on your first born! An entirely new journey for you, and I am happy that another child will be raised to appreciate good sound!


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

buildsafire said:


> Great Job on all the Speakers you've built... they all look fantastic. Awesome that you are building with such variety in drivers! Awesome Job. I like the Time-Aligned Ushers you built... I bet they sound great.


The Usher build and the Amach were both pretty well received at Iowa DIY. The Amach were designed because those MCM woofers operate at full silence at full excursion, and they are fairly sensitive. They really take a lot of abuse, they were hitting 105+db at 3 meters in the Iowa auditorium, playing "Barbie Girl" lol.

Thanks for the compliments!


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## Paxonator (Feb 21, 2014)

Nice speaker builds I really hope when I build some speakers they turn out that well. I think I'll be in for a steep learning curve though!


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

It does take some to learn how to build to a fit and finish that makes you happy, and a little longer to start grasping the crossover design element. The water's fine, dive in!


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## GusGus748s (Jul 22, 2013)

Awesome builds, and the best part spending some quality time with your daughter.


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## Mattcc22 (Dec 21, 2010)

Nice builds! Would you happen to have detailed how you routed the hole for the RS28 truncated faceplate anywhere? Thinking about trying that on my khancenter build.


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

I used the "round cut-out, back fill" process to do that. I documented quite a bit of the build in this thread over at PETT: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?239515-Un-named-MTM


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

GusGus748s said:


> Awesome builds, and the best part spending some quality time with your daughter.


Her and I get along just fine  In fact, her little 2.1 system made its debut at the inaugural DakotaDIY (fancy name for a couple of friends stopping by for burgers, beers and speakers) and she chose to play Johnny Cash "Walk the Line" as her first demo song. Love that kid!


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## ajinfla (May 10, 2009)

Good stuff there Johnny. What are those woofers in the pic with your daughter kneeling on floor, Infinity's?

cheers


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## johnnyrichards (May 3, 2011)

ajinfla said:


> Good stuff there Johnny. What are those woofers in the pic with your daughter kneeling on floor, Infinity's?
> 
> cheers


Good eye, AJ - they are the excellent 12" drivers from the Interlude series.


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