Moose Monitors for my Morrison Micro

Vaughn

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I've started building a small pair of monitor type speakers which I've dubbed "Moose Monitors" in honor of Scott Lindgren (aka ScottMoose on diyaudio). Scott typically designs larger and more complex cabinets for full range drivers but worked up a small bass reflex for the Mark Audio Alpair 12P.

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I struggled with the decision of which cabinet to build for these but finally decided I wanted these to be imagin' champeens. I've found a small stand mounted speakers can really excel in this regard.

I cut my panels from whatever I had on hand, 1" baltic birch for front and back baffle, 3/4" for top and bottom and 5/8" for the sides. These are quite small so I'm not going to install any bracing.

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I removed some material in the inside edge of the driver hole to promote airflow.

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They will be veneered with quilted maple, which I think will look very nice with the blue grey cone of the 12P.

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Nice work!

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. I've been leaning towards this cabinet for my pair of 12's. Is there a cut list for these?
 
Can I get a tentative and somewhat premature "hell yeah!"?:D

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Absolutely! That's looking great!

What fasteners will you use to mount the drivers? I'm going to need something nice soon for a project of my own, and I want something nicer than your run of the mill phillips head screw...
 
Thanks Nate:)

I've gotten into the habit of using threaded inserts for my speaker building. Over time I've found that these cause as many problems as they solve. Long story short I'm just going to use the screws Mark supplies. I need to look at them but I believe they are a socket head (Allen) wood screw similar to those I've seen on the Infinity Kappa series of speakers.
 
Thanks Nate:)

I've gotten into the habit of using threaded inserts for my speaker building. Over time I've found that these cause as many problems as they solve. Long story short I'm just going to use the screws Mark supplies. I need to look at them but I believe they are a socket head (Allen) wood screw similar to those I've seen on the Infinity Kappa series of speakers.

This is one of the areas of speaker building that just doesn't have a clear, perfect choice for the long term... what don't you like about the threaded inserts, though?
 
This is one of the areas of speaker building that just doesn't have a clear, perfect choice for the long term... what don't you like about the threaded inserts, though?

The threaded inserts are a good idea if you are planning on installing and removing the driver many times. I just plan on listening to these!:D A few times I've had a threaded insert come loose inside the cabinet and removing the driver is a huge pain. I've found with the right size pilot hole + a good screw into baltic birch and I can install and remove the screw as many times as I care to without the hole being stripped. I do prefer a screw that locks well with the driver, i.e. square drive, torx, allen etc.

Nate... http://www.igraver.com/rosette.shtml

Vaughn, that quilted maple is just the right touch. Preston

Thanks Preston, those engraved screws are amazing. I can see an entire cabinet with a gun stock theme. I'll be using a two part finish on these that starts with a wax free shellac to seal the maple followed by a Birchwood Casey gun stock oil.
 
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finished veneering and started the sealing process. One more light sanding and then I'll use an oil intended for gun stocks. I got this tip from a local guy who builds beautiful electric guitars.

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Wow, and you don't even need 3D glasses! :)

Good job! I think some Mark Audio drivers already have built-in baffle-step compensation, is it the case with yours or will you have to implement another solution?

az
 
Beautiful Vaughn.

What glue are you using?

I've thought about the gun sock oil, but found it had a strong smell and wondered if it would ever go away. It should really make the figure pop.
 
Wow, and you don't even need 3D glasses! :)

Good job! I think some Mark Audio drivers already have built-in baffle-step compensation, is it the case with yours or will you have to implement another solution?

az

:scratch2: I haven't seen any reference to BSC being required with these but now you are making me wonder. I believe Scott would have included that with the dimensional data.

Beautiful Vaughn.

What glue are you using?

I've thought about the gun sock oil, but found it had a strong smell and wondered if it would ever go away. It should really make the figure pop.

Thanks Gary, just regular old Titebond wood glue. I'm a bit of a neophyte when it comes to applying veneer. I think this is my 4th veneer job. Honestly, it seems to be a bit of a moving target for me:sigh: I've never used the gun stock oil and would be totally open to an alternatives! I certainly don't like the idea of stinky:no:

:yes::D

droolworthy!

I was wondering what that moist sensation was:D

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...






Dibs.

Duly noted Sir:)
 
Title bond and lots o clamps works good for me.

I bought some gun stock oil a while back. Tried it on a sample piece and the smell was pretty strong, but really made the wood POP! From memory the stuff dries after a bt and the smell subsides. Give it a go, I'll bet they look great.

Just remembered that I bought the oil for the Reso builds. Lots of info about this stuff being used in instrument building.
 
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:scratch2: I haven't seen any reference to BSC being required with these but now you are making me wonder. I believe Scott would have included that with the dimensional data.

Looking at the Alpair 12P response, it is pretty flat from bass to HF, so it might need a bit of BSC once mounted on a small baffle, but this might depend on room placement and your own tastes of course. This Mark Audio driver has a much stronger motor than the other ones I know of and these normally have a certain rise in response, but the 12P does not exhibit it, so in a way it has some amount of built-in BSC. I think their weaker-motor drivers actually have a small drop as frequency rises.

I have yet to try or even hear any MA product, but they look pretty good.

az
 
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