Sonus Faber Guarneri DIY pics

[Moreants]

JUst finished these. Just finished. Used Usher drivers.


more pics.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=246853

[wingnut4772]

Purdy. :p

[ohskigod]

you build these from scratch? I'm just wondering why they are "sonus faber DIY" a kit?, did you build the cabs on your own? can I ask any more stupid questions? :D

[F1nut]

Yes, inquiring minds want to know.

[karpiel666]

:eek:

[Moreants]

you build these from scratch? I'm just wondering why they are "sonus faber DIY" a kit?, did you build the cabs on your own? can I ask any more stupid questions? :D


:p Yes they are built from scratch. Stands too.

[F1nut]

In that case, fine looking job. How do they sound? What finish did you use on the cabinets?

[hoosier21]

ya man, you can't drop a bomb like those and not give details, nice

[Moreants]

ya man, you can't drop a bomb like those and not give details, nice


Speakers------

Made the top, bottom, front and rear baffles out of 1 1/8" mdf.

Filled 1/2" pvc pipes with sand and plugged them with dowel plugs.

PVC pipes were then lined up vertically and glued with pvc adhesive around the curved sides.

Aluminum screen stapled to front baffle and stretched to rear where it is stapled there.

Bondoed sides and sanded, and bondoed and sanded and sanded and....

Skim coated top with bondo.

Rear was made by same technique covering a rudderlike frame. Painted w/Rustoleum Professional Black spray paint.

Faux finish is with hobby paints with several coats to imitate SF red color. 3 coats of Minwax gloss poly 1/2 diluted with mineral spirits rubbed on and sanded between coats.

Finished speaker is 15" high and weighs 35 lbs.

Grill covers------------

1mm black stretch bracelet cord wound around 3/8" threaded rods to form even spaced design. Pvc adhesive to secure in place.

Rods then placed in 1/2" aluminum panelling channel. Channel ends folded up and drilled to accept threaded rod ends. More pvc glue. Channels painted black and covered w/black vinyl.

Stands--------

1/2" pvc pipes lined vertically for sides.

Center support is 4" x 4" composite fence post (only front of it showing). 3/8" threaded rod through post and top/bottom.

Base is 2 1 1/8" mdf panels stacked and painted with Rustoleum Bleached Stone simulated paint.


That's mostly it. Simple.

[thehaens@cox.net]

That's mostly it. Simple.

Uh, Yeah simple, I'll tell you what I got a 50 spot for you, plus the cost of materials....... :D

Scott

[F1nut]

Very cool!

[Moreants]

In that case, fine looking job. How do they sound? What finish did you use on the cabinets?

They sound great. Usher 7" kevlar painted black (arghh!) and Usher 9950-20 tweeter with PE designed x-over. Highly recommend Ushers esp. the tweet.

[Pablo]

Very nice. That faux looks great.

[VR3]

Awesome job..beyond awesome...

[michael_w]

Spiffy... so now that we know they're freakin beautiful, what do they sound like? If you're unhappy with them I'd gladly take them off your hands ;)

How much time did you chuck into these?

[pjdami]

Awesome. I always wondered how they made those curved speaker sides. The finish looks like real wood (at least in the pictures); great job with those. I bet those took a few days to build.

[dorokusai]

Now that's a speaker project!

[janmike]

Very nice job.

[amulford]

Outstanding. Very nice job on the faux finish. Nice work on the poly finish, also.

Lotta time in those...

[Shizelbs]

In my Homer Simpson voice;
'They look good... but not that good.'

Just kidding. They look very, very nice. You must be very happy with the results.

[Moreants]

Thanks everyone. Yes it was a lot of work and MESSY but was well worth it in the end. They sound fantastic though I wouldn't go so far to say as good as the originals, which btw I've never seen nor heard.

Attached are some more mid-construct pics and previous finishes I experimented with. In the end, the Italians were right concerning the style of the stand and speaker finish.

Any more construction details I'd be glad to answer.

[polkatese]

Very nice, indeed!

[Moreants]

Spiffy... so now that we know they're freakin beautiful, what do they sound like? If you're unhappy with them I'd gladly take them off your hands ;)

How much time did you chuck into these?


I've got about 2 months in these. The last couple of weeks just for finishing/refinishing. Bondo is amazing stuff but really messes up your garage, clothes, house, pets, neighborhood .... :o

[Mazeroth]

EXCELLENT job! I'm glad you posted the Bondo pic so people can see what it takes to get a speaker to look like yours! Bondo literally saved my last speaker project. I was ready to throw it in the dumpster.

As for your crossover, you say it's a Parts Express designed crossover? Do you mean one of the pre-made ones? If so, you should really look into getting a custom made crossover for those. You can build one yourself or send a speaker to Madisound and they'll do it for a fee. It will sound leaps and bounds better with a crossover suited for it.

[Moreants]

EXCELLENT job! I'm glad you posted the Bondo pic so people can see what it takes to get a speaker to look like yours! Bondo literally saved my last speaker project. I was ready to throw it in the dumpster.

As for your crossover, you say it's a Parts Express designed crossover? Do you mean one of the pre-made ones? If so, you should really look into getting a custom made crossover for those. You can build one yourself or send a speaker to Madisound and they'll do it for a fee. It will sound leaps and bounds better with a crossover suited for it.


X-over is custom designed by PE. I wouldn't use an off -the- shelf one with the amount of work I put in these. And yes they do sound great. I put my Lsi9's back in their box after hearing these. They are bass shy compared to the Polk's and they really benefit being toed-in but this is what I read about the originals too.

[george daniel]

Sweet,, :) :)

[schwarcw]

Absolutely beautiful! What did you inscribe on the base of the stands on the little gold plate?

[Moreants]

Absolutely beautiful! What did you inscribe on the base of the stands on the little gold plate?

Thanks! The brass plates are blank. Only did it to mimic original stands and besides it looked bare without them. I tried using a larger brass plate (see attached) but in the end I couldn't improve on the factory look.

[schwarcw]

I would sugesst that you put your name and date on them. These works of art are someting to be proud of. Enjoy the sound and congtratulations on the nice job!

Carl