Overnight Sensation WWTWW CC Build

[jeffantastic]

This is my build log for my first-ever speaker build. I've chosen the Overnight Sensation Centre Channel design by Paul Carmody and ordered from Meniscus. I decided on the OS CC because I have a decent Sony HTIB receiver but have been very disappointed in the supplied speakers. I mostly use the system for watching movies and have found the dialog audio the worst. I eventually intend on doing a complete 5.1 system of Overnight Sensations but am starting with the centre channel to get clearer dialog and cus it's only one speaker so I assume that it will take less time.
Being new to DIY speaker building, I began by surfing the net for information and after a couple weeks I kept coming back to Paul's website. https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy His site is very helpful for beginners and was immediately interested in the Overnight Sensation. I liked that they were inexpensive, had a number of different options (MT/MTM) and the copper-coloured drivers looked great. When I eventually determined that I wanted to do a centre channel, I happened upon this page kind of hidden on his site https://sites.google.com/site/undefinit ... lewhatwhen And that led me to Meniscus. I ordered the parts March 13, they arrived March 22, and I began the build on the 23. I'll get photos and a log up as soon as I can.
Jeffrey

[jeffantastic]

As posted above, I received the kit last Friday and was very pleased with how quickly it arrived and what I found in the box.

[jeffantastic]

I assembled the crossovers on Saturday. I had spent the week prior designing possible layouts while I was waiting for the package to arrive. Since I wasn't sure how big the components were my attempts were just exercises in deciphering schematics. My guess was that I was going to want to split board into two parts. So I wasn't surprised when the kit came with instruction on how to optionally layout the board for for two boards. Meniscus even supplied two choices for one of the resistors! The woofer openings are going to be very small, so compacting the layout was important. I mostly followed the suggested layouts. Although the two boards will be separated by more than 20cm, I still wanted to flip the orientation of one of the air core inductors to be safe and I used the saved space to use the larger 10W resistor.

[jeffantastic]

After putting together the crossovers, I was excited to get a first listen. I temporarily connected all the wires to the drivers and connected the centre channel output from my receiver. The made noise, which was a relief. I also could detect that the sounds appeared to be appropriate filtering to the correct drivers. In this MMTMM design, the outer two woofers are have an additional filter so they play only a lower potion of the range handled by the inner woofers. Without the cabinet, they didn't sound great of course, but they already sound much better than my existing centre channel. Ha! I only tested using some electronic dance music but when I switched back to my old centre channel my wife described the difference as the old one sounding static-y. I can't wait to get these in a cabinet.

[jeffantastic]

Day two-April 20, 2013
Began the cabinet build. Cut for 1/2" MDF per the instructions. I used a circular saw with the Kreg rip guide. It went pretty quick. I decided to use glue and screws for the butt joints on the sides top and bottom, but am only gluing the face on for aesthetic reasons. I also rabbeted the two side pieces on the back so that the back piece will have something to rest against when I insert it. I've routed out the holes and chamfered the back. I countersunk the holes and also rounded the entire face piece. I'm pretty happy with the results.

[osd1]

keep the pics coming. looks good so far. how do you plan on finishing it?

[jeffantastic]

keep the pics coming. looks good so far. how do you plan on finishing it?

Yesterday, I painted the cabinet using Canyon Black spray paint with a satin finish. It looked pretty good. I'll post pics tonight hopefully.

[jeffantastic]

Quick question. Most builds I've seen finish the cabinet first, then put the xo's in through the driver openings and mount the drivers last. Since the driver openings are so small on this project, I'm planning on mounting the drivers first with the back panel open, soldering everything together, then putting on the back panel last. Any issues with this procedure?

[jeffantastic]

After about three or four coats of paint, the cabinet looked like this:

It's not super smooth but I'm pretty happy with it. I glued the crossovers in with Gorilla glue, ran wires through the driver openings and soldered on the drivers then screwed them in. Once everything was in place, it looked like this:

I had a lot of trouble soldering the copper wires. Is there a trick I need to learn? Solid metal seems to solder quickly and easily but not the twisted copper.
I sure do love the look of this design.

[jeffantastic]

Before closing the back panel, I wanted to give it a listen to make sure I got it all right. Listened to Moby Play. Even with the back panel open it sounded nice. Better with the back on though. And once I got some stuffing in behind the woofers it sounded great. I ended up using all the stuffing that was supplied with the kit. Satisfied, I glued the back on.

[jeffantastic]

The build is complete and I hooked it up to my HT system last night for a listen. Since, the intended use of this speaker is to watch movies and TV, it replaces the centre channel that came with my Sony HTIB. I started off listening with the sub turned way down so I could get an idea of what range came from the the centre channel. I put on The Transporter. I definitely noticed a lot of clarity. The dialogue was much more easily heard along with the SFX of the car chase. When I turned the sub back on the two seemed to mesh very nicely. I could not distinguish where the sub was coming from and it blended seamlessly with where the centre channel picks up the mid-range. I also watched an episode of Arrow. Unfortunately, unlike the Transporter, Arrow was a digital file not a Blu-ray. I could detect some sibilance that I did not like. I assume it was due to the poorer recording. I will be watching for that on other recordings though.
Overall, I love the design, sound and looks. Thank you to Paul Carmody for the design, Meniscus for the kit, and my wife for the router for my birthday.

[mattsk8]

Looking good Jeff!

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I always try to leave some way to access the crossovers once they're all assembled. The main reason for this is in case something goes wrong. For instance, I learned when I built my first pair of speakers that hot glue all by itself doesn't hold inductors very well; I had a rattle from one of the inductors bouncing around in the cabinet. Now I ziptie all my crossover components to the crossover board.

Just some food for thought! Hope you're enjoying the experience

[jeffantastic]

Looking good Jeff!

Sorry I didn't get back sooner, but I always try to leave some way to access the crossovers once they're all assembled. The main reason for this is in case something goes wrong. For instance, I learned when I built my first pair of speakers that hot glue all by itself doesn't hold inductors very well; I had a rattle from one of the inductors bouncing around in the cabinet. Now I ziptie all my crossover components to the crossover board.

Just some food for thought! Hope you're enjoying the experience

Thanks. I can't wait to start the L/R channels. How do you make the crossovers accessible while still sealing the cabinet? Screws and weather stripping?

[ludespeedny]

I like how yours turned out! I will be starting my first build and decided on this CC.
What all did you do for the finish on your cabinet?

[stephenkatz9]

What trouble did you have soldering the multistrand wire? It may be that you weren't getting all of it hot enough.

Steve