scratch built Roisin Dearg (a Scratch Built "Modular" Case)

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I didn't feel like tackling any more floor tiles today so I started removing the old speaker system...I should have tackled more floor tiles.  It wasn't especially difficult, just tedious and a bit frustrating, partially because I loved those speakers and hate to see them go.

 

Here is what a mount looks like after removing the satellite it held.

 

 

 

Those wood blocks were necessary because the satellites were too narrow to fit inside. Getting those blocks off were a chore; they were well stuck on. I had to remove the clamps to remove the blocks, which was fun since the screws were so long. Thank God for power tools!

 

 

The regular impact driver (on the bottom) was fine for removing the right side clamp of each mount but the TV was in the way on the left side of the right mount and the closet doors were kinda sorta in the way of the left side clamp of the left mount. To make things easier, I swapped out the heads on my Ryobi multi-tool body. The Ryobi multi-tool comes with a Ryobi body that uses my collection of Ryobi 18v batteries but the multi-tool head is a Ridgid JobMax (top of photo; it still has the scraper blade I was using to remove floor tiles installed).  Ridgid has a large variety of JobMax heads that will fit the Ryobi tool body, including a right angle impact driver (shown installed on the tool body in the middle of the photo; I also have a hammer head and saber saw head). The tool heads can be rotated to four different positions to make using in awkward positions easier. I have a right angle drill but it's not as convenient to use and is rather wimpy for anything other than drilling. The extension at the bottom of the photo was needed to R&R the left mount itself.

 

It took contact cleaner, a telco knife (those knives are designed to take abuse) and a hammer to "gently" encourage the blocks to part company from the clamps.

 

Adding insult to injury, the location of the left mount was going to be too close to the closet doors for the large speakers replacing the old ones so I had to remove it so I could move the mounting plate on the extrusions could be moved to the right. Not difficult but tedious. Again, thank God for power tools (I feel like a female version of Tim the Toolman Taylor from Home Improvement; "More power, grunt, grunt grunt").

 

Here is the left side mount after removing the blocks and moving it to the right. 

 

 

 

The mount was right at the end of the extrusions. This shows how far I moved it over.

 

 

I also had to move the Bulletin board and the TV over slightly. These shots are of the right side mount after removing the blocks (the mount didn't need to be moved).

 

 

Here the clamps are compressed (note how long those screws are)...

 

 

...and fully expanded.

 

 

I still need to remove the old cables (they will not be compatible with the new speakers) and the sub (mayhap later today).

 

 

Of course, I didn't discover the sub had died until yesterday and the warranty ran out on the 4th (mutter, mutter, mumble, mumble), meaning i can't even get a partial refund. At least I got a solid five years out the system.

 

I'm still torn between these two speakers:

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=605500   

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11504&cs_id=1150401&p_id=605650&seq=1&format=2

 

The first one has been around for years and has an excellent track record. The second one is much better quality, based on the specs, but, as of last night, hasn't had any reviews yet. Monoprice warrants both for only one year with no option for an extended warranty. I would hate to pay over twice the price of the first one for the second one and have it die 13 months from now. It's also a bit larger, making for a tighter fit. I'm open to suggestions.

 

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

This log just hit 6666 views. Does that fourth 6 make it extra evil?

 

I'm almost finished with the damaged floor tile replacement. I have to move furniture to get what's left but I should get that done this weekend if we don't get anymore damaging storms (I had to break off to do a temporary repair on some damaged skirting on my mobile home from a particularly bad storm Wednesday evening that also killed power for nine hours (and I got off lucky on both counts!). Once the tile repairs are done, I'll be able to drag the case into the bedroom and start finishing the assembly.

 

In still haven't ordered replacement speakers yet. Seems that no one on two different forums have any suggestions.

[TVwazhere]

2 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

In still haven't ordered replacement speakers yet. Seems that no one on two different forums have any suggestions.

@Max_Settings @Dackzy @SSL

[Lady Fitzgerald]

6 hours ago, TVwazhere said:

@Max_Settings @Dackzy @SSL

Hunh?

[MEC-777]

12 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Hunh?

Those members are probably knowledgeable when it comes to speakers/audio, so he tagged them here and hopefully they'll respond and be able to help you out.  

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, MEC-777 said:

Those members are probably knowledgeable when it comes to speakers/audio, so he tagged them here and hopefully they'll respond and be able to help you out.  

Thanks for educating this senile old lady!

 

On another note, yesterday, I finally finished replacing the damaged floor tiles that would cause problems moving my desk and the night stand the boat anchor...er...computer will be setting on. I also put new felt covered furniture glides on the bottom of the desk and night stand to help make moving them later much easier. Before installing the glides, I saturated and dried the felt with CRS Heavy Duty Silicone a couple of times. That really slicked them up. I'm so glad to see that tedious task behind me!

 

I paid for it, though, and woke up with an unhappy back. It's a bit better now and, if continues to get better, I'll attempt to move the QE2's anchor (aka, the computer case) to the night stand and continue to work on it there.

 

I have a routine doctor's appointment tomorrow and still have some storm debris to clean up so it will be a couple of days or so before I get to work on the computer itself.

 

Now that I have the sub woofer out of the way, I can (and have done so already) use that new little 18v blower of mine to blow dirt from behind the printer, desk and night stand out to where I can sweep or vacuum it up without having to move furniture (my back is loudly and repeatedly saying "Thank You!" right now).

[TVwazhere]

15 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Hunh?

2 hours ago, MEC-777 said:

Those members are probably knowledgeable when it comes to speakers/audio, so he tagged them here and hopefully they'll respond and be able to help you out.  

They're the Audio-centric members on the forum, two have stickies in there for Audio gear

[Rosinbole]

Getting there! It's looking good, fella!

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

23 minutes ago, matias_a_etersen said:

Getting there! It's looking good, fella!

 

Fella? 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, TVwazhere said:

They're the Audio-centric members on the forum, two have stickies in there for Audio gear

Thank you!

[Dackzy]

can I get like a TLDR for the audio stuff? I have dyslexia, so these walls of text are kinda scary.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, Dackzy said:

can I get like a TLDR for the audio stuff? I have dyslexia, so these walls of text are kinda scary.

I had to look up TLDR (I'm a flatulent geriatric who doesn't text). 

 

Here is a digest (hope it helps):

 

The sub woofer on my old Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers died. I was happy with the sound I got from them so I'm looking for a replacement since the SP2500s are no longer made.

 

I like the idea of not having a sub woofer in the way on the floor so I'm torn between these two speakers:

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=605500   

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11504&cs_id=1150401&p_id=605650&seq=1&format=2

 

The first one has been around for years and has an excellent track record.

 

The second one is much better quality, based on the specs, but, as of last night, hasn't had any reviews yet. Monoprice warrants both for only one year with no option for an extended warranty.

 

I would hate to pay over twice the price of the first one for the second one only to have it die 13 months from now. It's also a bit larger, making for a tighter fit.

 

I do not need a thundering bass since most of the music I listen to is classical ripped from CDs. Besides, I can always add a sub later if needs be.

 

I'm open to suggestions.

[Dackzy]

11 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

I had to look up TLDR (I'm a flatulent geriatric who doesn't text). 

 

Here is a digest (hope it helps):

 

The sub woofer on my old Corsair SP2500 2.1 speakers died. I was happy with the sound I got from them so I'm looking for a replacement since the SP2500s are no longer made.

 

I like the idea of not having a sub woofer in the way on the floor so I'm torn between these two speakers:

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=605500   

 

https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=115&cp_id=11504&cs_id=1150401&p_id=605650&seq=1&format=2

 

The first one has been around for years and has an excellent track record.

 

The second one is much better quality, based on the specs, but, as of last night, hasn't had any reviews yet. Monoprice warrants both for only one year with no option for an extended warranty.

 

I would hate to pay over twice the price of the first one for the second one only to have it die 13 months from now. It's also a bit larger, making for a tighter fit.

 

I do not need a thundering bass since most of the music I listen to is classical ripped from CDs. Besides, I can always add a sub later if needs be.

 

I'm open to suggestions.

I mean both of those speakers will start to roll off hard after like 80hz, that is basically just how these kinds of speakers are. I sadly haven't heard either because Monoprice isn't really a brand where I am. My go to speakers for 300 or less is the JBL LSR 305, they are sold individually, but they are also best for when you sit close to them.

 

I sadly can't really help much more

[Rosinbole]

16 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Fella? 

As in the non-standard spelling or 'fellow', reffering to the fact that we both like computers

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, matias_a_etersen said:

As in the non-standard spelling or 'fellow', reffering to the fact that we both like computers

Are you aware I'm a woman? In the SSA (aka U.S.), fella refers to a male. I'm not insulted since it's a common error but I love to tease people who make it.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, Dackzy said:

I mean both of those speakers will start to roll off hard after like 80hz, that is basically just how these kinds of speakers are. I sadly haven't heard either because Monoprice isn't really a brand where I am. My go to speakers for 300 or less is the JBL LSR 305, they are sold individually, but they are also best for when you sit close to them.

 

I sadly can't really help much more

Actually, you have helped a lot. The JBLs are intriguing since they have a slightly better frequency range, according to the specs (and yes, I know that specs don't tell the full story), and what reviews I looked up were very encouraging. What really got my attention was the five year warranty. 

 

I do have one more question before I make up my feeble mind. You said that they are best if you sit close to them (I'll be listenuing from 10' away). How close is close and why (ok, that was two questions in one)?

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Actually, you have helped a lot. The JBLs are intriguing since they have a slightly better frequency range, according to the specs (and yes, I know that specs don't tell the full story), and what reviews I looked up were very encouraging. What really got my attention was the five year warranty. 

 

I do have one more question before I make up my feeble mind. You said that they are best if you sit close to them (I'll be listenuing from 10' away). How close is close and why (ok, that was two questions in one)?

the JBL's are pretty much the go to cheap studio monitors and they are made for close up listening which also means the tuning is made to be flat and precise. You will typically see these being used when you sit 1-2 meters away from them, which is also the range they have been tuned for, so if you move further away from them they will seem more light in the bass region.

The placement of the speakers will ofc affect the response and if you place them close to walls then the bass will go up. I would probably try and move up to the LSR 306p for the distance you are sitting from them, but you can always just turn the bass up a bit with a EQ or something. And yes they EQ fairly well.

 

Ofc a subwoofer would fix all of the bass concerns. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

14 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

the JBL's are pretty much the go to cheap studio monitors and they are made for close up listening which also means the tuning is made to be flat and precise. You will typically see these being used when you sit 1-2 meters away from them, which is also the range they have been tuned for, so if you move further away from them they will seem more light in the bass region.

The placement of the speakers will ofc affect the response and if you place them close to walls then the bass will go up. I would probably try and move up to the LSR 306p for the distance you are sitting from them, but you can always just turn the bass up a bit with a EQ or something. And yes they EQ fairly well.

 

Ofc a subwoofer would fix all of the bass concerns. 

Going to larger speakers is not an option due to weight and limited room; if I get these, I'll need to modify the exisiting speaker mounts to accomodate the height of them (or cut holes in the ceiling?). The rear of the right speaker will be about 13" from the wall but the rear of the left speaker will be somewhat boxed in by a closet wall and the bulletin board and I can't do anything about that other than buying a larger home (and I'm too darned old to be bothered with moving).

 

I can easliy boost the bass with the EQs in the music and video sources in my computer. As I mentioned before, I don't need thundering bass. Push come to a really hard shove, I can always add a sub later but I would prefer to not clutter the floor inside the knee hole of my desk.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

After seeing my doctor and running some errands today, I remounted the speaker mounts to allow for taller speakers. After removing the old mounting system, I bolted a vertical extrusion to the existing two top horizontal extrusions on each end.

 

 

To be able to bolt the adapter plates to the new vertical extrusions, I had to drill and countersink a new mounting hole in each plate.

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of the adapter plates being mounted to the vertical extrusions (sorry!). After mounting the adapter plates to the extrusions, I remounted the speaker mounts to the adapter plates.

 

 

 

 

Besides lowering the mounts so taller speakers would fit without cutting big holes in the ceiling, this new configuration will allow me to adjust the height up and down as needed. I have some additional brackets on order to ensure the vertical extrusions won't slip under the weight of the new speakers (once I decide on which ones to get).

 

I bought a new toy...er...tool today: an extra long pair of long nose pliers. I've lusted for something like this for some time but never really needed them. I recently tried to connect my new TV to my old speakers and had one heck of a time reaching the audio out port behind the TV. These pliers will make reaching it far easier.

 

 

I found out the JBL LSR 305s have been discontinued (for some goofy reason, JBL still has them on their website). However, they have been replaced by the 305P MkII which are pretty much the same speaker. JBL also has a 6.5" speaker now, the 306P Mkll. The bigger one is tempting but, besides being a tight fit, it is heavier and I already have a lot of weight hanging off my wall. I'll sleep on it a night or two before deciding.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I overdid it yesterday, going to the doctor, running (ok, driving and waddling) errands, then remounting the speaker mounts, and I paid for it this morning (I slept off most of the morning). I need to see a specialist about the trigger thumb I developed after my last CA trip. At least my blood work results were better than they have been in a long time, especially my blood sugar level (I'm stoked about that). I haven't heard back on my bone density test yet.

 

I was still sorely tempted by the 6.5" JBL speakers since they have better frequency response that pretty much guarantees I wouldn't need a sub someday so I cut up some of the leftover foam I insulated the window with to make a mockup of the 5" speaker and the 6.5" speaker (I now wish I had used cardboard or scrap 1/4" plywood; cutting that stupid foam made one "mell of a hess" that took well over half an hour to clean up  ).

 

Here is the 5" mockup in the right channel mount (yeah, I know it isn't very pretty, to put it mildly...OK, it's butt ugly), but it doesn't need to be pretty for my purposes).

 

 

 

There is plenty of room for it and it doesn't look too outrageously large.

 

The crowded spot was on the left channel mount so I stuck the 6.5" speaker mockup there.

 

 

 

It looks really huge in there but what really bothered me was the amount of front end overhang (yikes!).

 

 

This lousy shot shws the difference between the two sizes.

 

 

For excrement and merriment, I removed the 6.5" monstrosity and replaced it with the 5" mockup.

 

 

 

The front overhang is considerably less and doesn't bother me any.

 

 

Here is the long shot.

 

 

That looks one "heckuva" lot better (someday, I'll learn to hold the camera level...maybe).

 

I had some serious concerns about the added weight of the speakers, especially the 6.5" speakers. The 5" speakers are 10.5 lb. each and the 6.5" speakers are 13.5 lb. each. Keep in mind that the speakers are cantilevered off the wall around 18". The monitors, TV, and bulletin board are at least 100 lb., the monitor stand is around 30 lb., and the "bridge" is 75 lb. Since much of the weight is cantilevered off the wall, I'm guessing there essentially is the equivalent of at least 300 lb. of weight being held to the wall with fourteen 1/4" x 3" lag screws (I would have used more screws but I was concerned about splitting the two 2" x 4" studs they are screwed into (seven lag screws per stud; yes, I drilled pilot holes first).

 

Between the extra 6 lb. of the 6.5"  speakers and the lack of room for the left channel speaker, I've finally made up my feeble mind to get the 5" JBLs. I can order them from directly from JBL but I'm going to shop around to see if anyone else may have them on sale (with my luck, what will actually happen is someone will put them on sale two weeks after I pay full price for them  ). I already have the cables on order.

 

I tried to move the computer case the other day and couldn't handle the weight (I have good days and bad days). I'll have to get someone to help me move it to the bedroom later where I can finish putting it together and try to get it working (that last part has me as nervous as a squirrel in a dog park).

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I pulled the trigger on the speakers last week and they should arrive later this week. I almost didn't order them. I called uo JBL to inquire about the speakers' warranty. I was concerned that the short screws I wanted to use to ensure that the speakers didn't get knocked off or otherwise fall from the speaker mounts would voi the warranty. I found out two interesting things.

 

1. The five year warranty advertised online is actually five years on the transducers only, three years on the electronics, and only two years on the case. I almost didn't order the speakers just because of that until I remembered that even two years on the case was twice as long as on the Monoprice speakers.

 

2. The clown I talked to kept talking about how fragile the case was if using screws. I wasn't able to get him to fully understand that the speakers would be setting on a platform, which would be taking all of the weight, and the screws would only be for preventing the speakers from shifting and they wouldn't even penetrate the case. He did suggest using Velcro.

 

I was torqued off enough by then (I have a low B.S. threshold), I just thanked him, said I would look at someone else's speakers, and hung up. I later remembered he did suggest using Velcro so it was back to the drawing board.

 

The surface area of the mounts I have are significantly smaller than the base of the speakers, leaving little area for Velcro, so I made a couple of aluminum trays with an aluminum angle lip riveted to the front to make sure the speakers didn't slide forward. The trays will be screwed to the mounts with three 6-32 x 5/16" screws and nyloc locking nuts. This will provide plenty of surface area to stick some velcro onto. Between the Velcro and the mounts' clamps (which I may also Velcro), the speakers aren't going to go anywhere unless I want them to.

 

 

 

I'll probably paint the trays tomorrow morning. I'll also pickup the Velcro from Home Despot and the new speaker cables from my mail service (I also have other errands to run drive and waddle tomorrow).

 

I did a Michael Mouse test to see how much above my head the "sweet spot" of the speakers was going to be when lying in bed and found I didn't need to lower the speaker mounts much to get them in the ideal place so I lowered them as much as I dared.

 

Here is one of the adapter plates I forgot to photograph in a previous post after I lowered it.

 

 

 

Once the adapter plates were lowered and cinched in, I reassembled everything except the final piece the trays will be screwed onto.

 

 

 

Now, it's hurry up and wait for tomorrow morning. It's too darned hot for painting right now.

[Rosinbole]

...but why that old table? Everything else looks great

[Lady Fitzgerald]

9 hours ago, matias_a_etersen said:

...but why that old table? Everything else looks great

Thanks! Table? What table? The furniture consists of a set of plastic drawers that holds the printer, my daughter's old desk, and an even rattier looking nightstand that the printer and the flatbed scanner will set on. The latter has been heavily modified to also hold my ADF duplexing scanner. I haven't seen any replacement furniture that would fit and look halfway decent (yet). Besides, furniture replacement is low on the priority list for this project.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I haven't gotten much done the past week. Something I got a hold of (food? bug?) got a hold on me (I'll spare you the delightful details) so I was laying (literally) low.

 

I picked up the new speakers, cables, reinforcing brackets, etc. yesterday from my mail service while I was driving and waddling errands, spraying weeds, and other mundane tasks around the house. During all that, I managed to get the new trays painted with two coats of primer and three coats of color before the weather could turn on me (again; I swear the weather here in AZ is becoming more changeable than TX). I have them hanging inside to finish drying.

 

All I got done with the speakers yesterday was to unpack them to check for visual damage. I'll try later today to temporarily hook them up to my notebook to make sure they will actually work.

 

 

 

The cable jungle on top of the speakers are the speaker cables themselves, the 120v power cables, and an adapter to connect the two speaker cables to a 3.5mm stereo connector (I'll use the headphone jack on the notebook to test the speakers but will use a Dragonfly Red DAC to connect them to the computer).

 

I had a rough night (I have good days and bad days; yesterday was not one of my better days and it took the starch out of me) but I went ahead this morning and installed the reinforcing brackets on the pieces of extrusion I used to lower the speakers. Each drop down extrusion is held on the wall mounted horizontal extrusions by only two 5/16" screws and tee-nuts. It's basically a friction fit on limited surface area which makes me a bit nervous. Adding to my discomfort with that is alumium can cold flow slightly under pressure so I would feel more comfortable if there were a couple more screws holding the drops. The only way to get that was to use a couple of angle brackets on each drop. Here is where I put them.

 

 

 

 

 

I really like 80/20's framing system but I swear they are completely clueless when it comes to designing their roll-in tee-nuts. This is an example of the first tee-nuts I tried.

 

The rabbets on the side the tee-nut keeps the nut aligned in the tee-slot of the extrusion. The spring on the backside keeps the nut pressed against the inside top of the tee-slot until a screw can be threaded in. Roll-in tee nuts are used when a tee-nut needs to be added where another nut blocks access with slide-in tee-nuts. This means some slop is needed in the roll-in nuts to get the nut through the narrow top of the tee-slot. The spring is needed to take up that slop after the nut has been rolled in.

 

Unfortunately, that spring exerts pressure from one side so the tee-nut tends to get cocked to the opposite side inside the slot. Getting the nut back into place was a real bear (polite term). That drove Rick and me insane when were building the bridge. To hopefully avoid that problem, I ordered some of a different kind of tee-nut.

 

 

These use a spring loaded steel ball embedded in the nut to provide the pressure neded to keep the nut from cocking. I originally passed on these nuts because I was concerned the off centered screw hole might cause some clearance issues. Since the spring loaded ball is centered I figured this nut would be less likely to get cocked in the slot. I figured wrong. For some stupid reason, 80/20 didn't put the rabbets on the sides of the top of the nuts so the nut tended to slip and slide all over the inside of the tee-slot, letting them get cocked even easier than the other ones. What were they thinking? Oh, wait. My mistake. They weren't thinking! Yeesh! 

 

At least, the new nuts were easier to uncock when they got cocked. Still, it took me an hour to get all four brackets into place. Same as I did on the existing screws holding the drops in place, I let my impact drivers (I used both my right angle and straight impact wrenches) hammer away on the screws holding the brackets to make sure they were tight as possible. Those suckers shouldn't go anywhere (fingers crossed).

 

I'm going to have to reat for a while before I even think of trying to do anything else today (not to mention I didn't get my nap out last night). Putting in eight lousy screws took the starch out of me and didn't do my old shoulders any good. Besides, it's lunch time.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

There will be a delay before the speakers can be tested. Some moron ordered the wrong speaker cables (oh...wait...tht would be me  ). I just ordered new ones; they should come in Tuesday. If it isn't one thing, it's two others.