Visit to Audiophile Bill to hear his horns project

[Audiophile Bill]

Does mahogany go with beech… that added warmth maybe.

Yes it is a very nice combination indeed. All ideas are most welcome! The only reason I didn’t want to use it this time is simple because my other horns are that look so fancied something different haha. Iroko also goes really well.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Loving that iroko! It’s very rich and beautifully nuanced.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Loving that iroko! It’s very rich and beautifully nuanced.

I love iroko too. It is an interesting timber because certain African communities believe it is inhabited with a spirit - and this can be either revered on the one hand and really bad on the other depending on their beliefs. Haha. In a room, it gives off a real glow of warmth. The ribbons in the timber have a lovely chatoyancy. Ideally it needs grain filling (which I did do) before finishing if you want a more high end look.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Bill, your choice of wood matches the Vox Olympian, I believe? I'm assuming this isn't a coincidence.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Iroko as a timber is just so deep and beautifully restrained. I like your idea of keeping it away from being too fancy and perhaps pulling back a touch on dramatic contrast… your detailing is always refined and for me it carrys the day.

 

[adyc]

Apologies for a slight hiatus this end. I received all my timber (at last) to build the big sub horns. In my sims they are still 101dB at 22hz so are likely going to be good fun lol. Yesterday I have been ripping all the sheets down into the different parts. This is an important part of the build because accuracy is paramount. Even 1/2mm out will cause headaches. I use a cast iron table saw from the 1960s - still extremely accurate and an absolute pleasure to use. Wouldn’t change it. Below you’ll see the cut panels - this is 26mm extremely premium beech rotary plywood with every layer solid beech. As a consequence it is extremely strong, very dimensionally stable, and heavy. You will see below a picture
of the cut panels.

View attachment 97538

In my build, I will use a contrasting timber on the front baffle just to break up all the beech and create some design interest. I am trying to determine what to go for now. I am veering in 2 directions - 1 would be walnut and the other maple. Any thoughts your end?

I was over at the timber yard, and like any timber lover, it is a dangerous place for the wallet - kid in a sweet shop type of thing. Anyway I spotted this whacking great single piece chunk of kiln dried iroko in 80mm thickness. Brought it home and made a very large and heavy turntable plinth - didn’t intend to get derailed by this but couldn’t resist lol. I am just finishing the French polishing now. The maple side cheeks were a pain because they were hand carved. It is hard to get perspective on this one because the plinth has huge bevel cuts underneath to make the plinth look like it is floating. In the 2nd picture you can see the bevels and m8 spikes. These can be replaced with any footer of course. Iroko is an exceptionally strong timber and very dense. It is often used now in the boat world as teak substitute. Great resistance to rot or damage. Tonally it is rich and full sounding

View attachment 97539
View attachment 97540

Back to subs. All the joinery is being mapped out now. Quite complex as it uses no screws and nails. Combinations of dados, rabbets, slots, tenons / mortise.

What is the size of your sub? I would go for lignum vitae for front baffle.

 

[Argonaut]

Bill, how about a Heavily spalted timber, I rather like the silver birch example shown here:

Edge of Spalting | Examples of Extreme Spalting on Different Woods

Examples of extreme spalting of different wood species. Photographs included.

www.northernspalting.com

 

[Audiophile Bill]

What is the size of your sub? I would go for lignum vitae for front baffle.

They are 1.95m high x 450mm wide x 626mm deep. 1 each side to main channel.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Bill, how about a Heavily spalted timber, I rather like the silver birch example shown here:

View attachment 97544

Edge of Spalting | Examples of Extreme Spalting on Different Woods

Examples of extreme spalting of different wood species. Photographs included.

www.northernspalting.com

Well I love spalted wood indeed my current horns are spalted beech and I was intending to make the new main channels with a solid spalted beech horn to match the beech on the body.

Funny - I also love spalted silver birch. In fact I have a huge limb of it spalting in my garage right now for bowl building on the end grain. I’ll send a photo of a bowl in due course. The limb doesn’t have sufficient diameter for the horn but I could get some.

For the sub baffle, I could certainly make a full spalted beech baffle which would be totally cool. I will see if silver birch matches beech when I turn the bowl.

 

[DasguteOhr]

They are 1.95m high x 450mm wide x 626mm deep. 1 each side to main channel.

A tapped horn like that? Great to go down low

 

[Audiophile Bill]

A tapped horn like that? Great to go down low View attachment 97573

Hi,

No not a tapped horn. Tapped horns are good for high spl with good extension but higher distortion. Instead, I designed my own properly back loaded bass horn sub with 1 fold. No horrid internal reflective surfaces causing standing waves like that tapped horn either

 

[DasguteOhr]

Hi,

No not a tapped horn. Tapped horns are good for high spl with good extension but higher distortion. Instead, I designed my own properly back loaded bass horn sub with 1 fold. No horrid internal reflective surfaces causing standing waves like that tapped horn either

If you calculate it correctly, there is no problem. I'm curious to see how it goes. It definitely looks nice and promising. If you want a different bass, I can recommend the Monacor sp 15"A. 100db/ 1watt, easy to play in the horn below 30Hz. The best cheap bass for horn or ripol bass

MONACOR: Produkte

PA-Bass, 400 W, 8 Ω Sehr hoch belastbar Langhubig ausgelegter 38-cm-Profi-Tieftöner (15

www.monacor.de

 

[Zeotrope]

Transmission line subs can sound great if designed properly.
These play 20-60Hz ruler flat in my room. They have a small footprint and (at least to my ears) integrate perfectly with the horns.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Transmission line subs can sound great if designed properly.
These play 20-60Hz ruler flat in my room. They have a small footprint and (at least to my ears) integrate perfectly with the horns.
View attachment 97576

Very pretty!

 

[Audiophile Bill]

If you calculate it correctly, there is no problem. I'm curious to see how it goes. It definitely looks nice and promising. If you want a different bass, I can recommend the Monacor sp 15"A. 100db/ 1watt, easy to play in the horn below 30Hz. The best cheap bass for horn or ripol bass

MONACOR: Produkte

PA-Bass, 400 W, 8 Ω Sehr hoch belastbar Langhubig ausgelegter 38-cm-Profi-Tieftöner (15

www.monacor.de

I have done hundreds of models of tapped horns, front horns and back horns before I landed on my choice. Tapped horns never performed as well especially when you go north of say 60hz. I wanted flexibility to play super linear to 80hz and possibility to go to 120hz if needed. Didn’t want a 15” driver either for this due to increased baffle width needed.
I am very comfortable and happy with the sonics of the Supravox and have built and listened to several versions.

 

[Zeotrope]

I’m using Supravox 285-2000EXC for the upper bass in La Scala style horns. 60-600Hz. There’s a resonance at 300Hz but it could be my room.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Hello all. Just checking - been making a lot of progress with the bass horns as previously discussed. One of the main internal “arches” or the main “fold” has slowed me down because I ended up deciding to go the painful direction of making in solid wood by laminating horizontally - obviously this is for me the ultimate approach because it is much more rigid and with more mass. The structure below depicts this in process - trim router will be applied to the “master” now so the overall structure is perfectly smooth and accurate. After that supporting internal tenons will hold it and prevent it from moving. The clamps are just to prevent it moving over night which I doubt it will but belts and braces are always sensible. Hard to get the size, which is why it is on this seat. It is 420mm wide and 600mm deep. As orientation, this will be the roof of tbe



Anyway - on other news this will be my last post on WBF. I have really enjoyed my time here over the years and will miss the camaraderie for sure. I might start my own blog if I find some time where doubtless and crazy musings or creations will be posted. If anyone wants to stay in touch, am sure Ked or Marc would share my private email. For obvious reasons I won’t post it on the thread.

Still looking forward to reading Ked’s report on Mike’s latest updates.

All the very best!

 

[ddk]

Hello all. Just checking - been making a lot of progress with the bass horns as previously discussed. One of the main internal “arches” or the main “fold” has slowed me down because I ended up deciding to go the painful direction of making in solid wood by laminating horizontally - obviously this is for me the ultimate approach because it is much more rigid and with more mass. The structure below depicts this in process - trim router will be applied to the “master” now so the overall structure is perfectly smooth and accurate. After that supporting internal tenons will hold it and prevent it from moving. The clamps are just to prevent it moving over night which I doubt it will but belts and braces are always sensible. Hard to get the size, which is why it is on this seat. It is 420mm wide and 600mm deep. As orientation, this will be the roof of tbe

View attachment 98347

Anyway - on other news this will be my last post on WBF. I have really enjoyed my time here over the years and will miss the camaraderie for sure. I might start my own blog if I find some time where doubtless and crazy musings or creations will be posted. If anyone wants to stay in touch, am sure Ked or Marc would share my private email. For obvious reasons I won’t post it on the thread.

Still looking forward to reading Ked’s report on Mike’s latest updates.

All the very best!

Hi Bill,
It would be a shame to lose you, is it because of the Fleetwood Sound exchanges?

david

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Hi Bill,
It would be a shame to lose you, is it because of the Fleetwood Sound exchanges?

david

Hi David - will pm.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Hi Bill,
It would be a shame to lose you, is it because of the Fleetwood Sound exchanges?

david

Absolutely, Bill you are one of the great assets of this forum… but you are much more than that. I used the word authentic earlier to describe Ked’s approach to writing about his experiences, Bill you are an authentic all over. I love your work and your ethics. Looking forwards to your blog! Very much subscribed if you’d choose this way to continue your fascinating adventure. You are a true gem. I hope to continue to stay in touch which ever way you go.