Eton S7 build log

[Rebel975]

Eton S7 kit

$729 (drivers + crossovers + accessories package). *Keep in mind that it defaults to upgraded crossover components, which I will not be purchasing.


Just thought I'd put up some pictures of the progress I'm making on this speaker build. I won't be able to afford the drivers/other parts for a while, but it's going to take me a bit to get the boxes completed anyway.

[Rebel975]

Knight Toolworks cut out the wood for me. They are located in Portland, so it was a 2 hour round trip for me to pick up the wood. When I left without one of the pieces Steve mailed it to me free of charge, and even double boxed it to protect against shipping damage.




Here's a shot of the raw wood.

[Rebel975]

Sealing the MDF with a 3:1 wood glue to water mixture. That's my GF's hand, btw. Not mine. She put one coat on the inside, and I put two coats on the outside.





Here you can see that the CNC machine was using a bit that was just a tad too small, so the pieces were left with a tiny little lip.




I used some 100 grit sandpaper to smooth out the lips.

[Rebel975]

Prepping the baffles to have the sides glued on.




This was the best way I could think of to glue everything together, as the pieces have 45 degree cuts. I used a pair of clamps to hold the sides against the baffle, and then used the back piece (unglued) just to keep the sides squared up. It would be way easier to glue everything together if the pieces had square cuts, but apparently painting the cut ends of MDF is a PITA. The 45 degree cuts means that I don't have to deal with any cut ends- it seals up perfectly.



You can really see how yellow the wood is with the glue/water sealant. Hopefully two coats was enough on the outside to keep the paint from soaking in.

And yes, I'm using pizza/cereal/etc. boxes to protect the floor. lol




That's it for now. I can probably finish up the gluing tomorrow, and then start the process of painting them the next day.

[RagDoll_Effect]

That looks like very high quality wood The cabinets will be great, are the speakers going to be ported?

regards,
RagDoll.

[Rebel975]

Originally Posted by RagDoll_Effect

That looks like very high quality wood The cabinets will be great, are the speakers going to be ported?

regards,
RagDoll.

Yep. They are one woofer + one tweeter + one port per speaker. Hence the 3 holes you can see on each baffle. Also, you may notice that the drivers will be recessed - something I would have never been able to do myself. CNC machines are awesome.

BTW- I used the wood glue/water mixture to seal the wood to keep it from absorbing a ton of paint. Lots of places recommended shellac, drywall compound, etc., but wood glue/water seemed like the easiest solution. I went through a lot of glue, but whatever. Glue is cheap.

I'm thinking I'll go with a black baffle and dark red for the rest of the cabinets. I've got a bag of spray paints/primer/clear coat at my disposal.

[gridiron whirlw]

Nice project.....looks great...I will keep an eye on this thread.

Good luck with the build.

[Rebel975]

Small update: I dropped one of the pieces and it landed right on the corner. Fortunately it's just a back piece, so I oriented it such that the damage will be on the bottom side on the back.

I've reinforced the damage with a bunch of wood glue and am hoping that several coats of primer and paint will mostly cover it up.




Gluing on the back pieces.





Edit: I think I might sand out the damage and then use some wood filler to smooth it all out. The more I look at it in its current state the more it bothers me.

[Mufflore]

Looking good! I'm glad they did the driver recesses.

Unfortunate with the knock.
You can get plastic wood in a tube to fill in gaps like that.
I definitely recommend using this.

[Rebel975]

Gluing the tops and bottoms on. I'm almost done assembling them.

[flimbo]

Looking good. Wouldn't mind having a go too.

[Rebel975]

Something to power the speakers with... (just got this in the mail).





This thing is a beast! It almost takes up the entire extension on my desk.

[INSTG8R]

Looks pretty good so far. The recessed holes will really make them look tight. I wasn't understanding about the Crossovers tho. You were just getting the Standard ones not the Upgraded ones?

[Rebel975]

Yep, exactly. When you first go to the Eton S7 kit page it defaults to a $145 crossover components upgrade. I won't be getting that upgrade.

[Mufflore]

Originally Posted by Rebel975

Something to power the speakers with... (just got this in the mail).

This thing is a beast! It almost takes up the entire extension on my desk.

Hehe marvelous.
The size is defying, I hurt my knee picking up the XPA-2, it weighs 38Kg with the box!

I'm dying to get the XMC-1, if it wasnt coming out I'd get the UMC-1.
But the offer they have is madness, if you buy a UMC-1 for $500, they will give you $600 off the XMC-1.
So you get the XMC-1 for $100 cheaper and get a free UMC-1 to play with first, effectively!
So I might get the UMC-1 anyway, i have to play dice with my finances (shipping cost and taxes etc arent cheap), the decision needs to be made soon if I want the current 10% discount as well

Offer is here
http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/.../products/umc1

Did you know?
The processor upgrade certificate that you get (at no additional charge) when you buy the UMC-1 will get you 40% off the new XMC-1 when it’s available. Full price of the XMC-1 will be $1,499; with the upgrade certificate you get it for $899. That's $600 off! Invest in your future..

Dammit, there are too many toys I want to buy right now.
Do you know when the 10% off offer finishes?
I cant find the info other than it lasts 2 weeks.

[Rebel975]

That 10% offer can't be applied to the UMC-1 as it's already heavily discounted right now. My UMC-1 will be delivered on Friday.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Was just looking at all this, there's a catch, and I know why they have reduced the price of the UMC-1. It's only HDMI 1.3a compliant HDMI 1.4 is the current standard and that means it's not very future proof in my opinion. The rest sounds great.

regards,
RagDoll.

[Rebel975]

1.3a is fine if you don't have any 3D stuff as far as I'm aware. I don't have/want 3D, so it doesn't matter to me. Besides, like Mufflore said you get a 40% off card for the XMC-1, which is 1.4 compliant.

I think they reduced the price as they are getting ready to release the XMC-1. I also read some rumors of a UMC-100 (or whatever) to replace the UMC-1.

They just want to clear out their current inventory.

[Mufflore]

Originally Posted by RagDoll_Effect

Was just looking at all this, there's a catch, and I know why they have reduced the price of the UMC-1. It's only HDMI 1.3a compliant HDMI 1.4 is the current standard and that means it's not very future proof in my opinion. The rest sounds great.

regards,
RagDoll.

You can send HDMI 1.4 video direct to the TV and send 5.1/7.1 audio via analogue to the amp.
(If you have a quality BD player like the Oppo BDP 95, connecting audio via analogue would be the preferred method anyway as it has a great DAC)

If you are after the XMC-1, you effectively get a free UMC-1 and another $100 off the XMC-1 !
You can sell the UMC-1 as well, crazy deal

I am seeing if I can afford to buy a XPA-5 and a UMC-1 so I only pay one shipping charge, then get the XMC-1 later.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Originally Posted by Mufflore

You can send HDMI 1.4 video direct to the TV and send 5.1/7.1 audio via analogue to the amp.
(If you have a quality BD player like the Oppo BDP 95, connecting audio via analogue would be the preferred method anyway as it has a great DAC)

If you are after the XMC-1, you effectively get a free UMC-1 and another $100 off the XMC-1 !
You can sell the UMC-1 as well, crazy deal

I am seeing if I can afford to buy a XPA-5 and a UMC-1 so I only pay one shipping charge, then get the XMC-1 later.

Only thing with that is, the OSD won't be displayed on the tv. Also, you run into sync problems if you ever use 3D... It's fine for 2D though

regards,
RagDoll.

[Rebel975]

Finished assembling the boxes and sanded them smooth.




Sanded out the damage on the corner and filled it in with putty.

[Rebel975]

I used some scrap cardboard to prepare the boxes for priming/painting. I didn't want to be spraying the insides with a bunch of paint.




At this point I have put a layer of primer on the boxes, but will likely need 2-3 more coats as there are some weird spots that need to be covered up.

I guess if I can't get the paint to the level of quality I want I can always try veneer. Although, veneer isn't exactly easy to apply either.

[RagDoll_Effect]

Looking good Make sure the Drivers are installed well, most important and the crossovers and dampening done right, also the port and it's all good to go

regards,
RagDoll.

[Rebel975]

All primed and ready to be painted.

BTW- the box isn't actually crooked like it seems it is in this shot. The table it's sitting on is kind of unstable.

[Mufflore]

Cool

Before applying the coloured coat, be sure to sand the front face so it is very flat/smooth.
It looks like there is some paint run on the edges.