LXmini Speakers Final Assembly

[@polylight]

Best looking LXmini's yet! I would say Linkwitz would be proud, but maybe not...he was a bit of a curmudgeon about speaker aesthetics. He told me speakers were "tools not furniture", and if he didn't understand Wife Acceptance Factor it was because he had a very lovely and supportive wife.

[@BestUnderPressure]

I really enjoyed this project. The accent rings were an excellent addition. I can only know the true sound if I were to hear them in person but through my system, they seem to sound good.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

For the true listening tests, I want to use an audio recorder, I was just using my lapel mic, which isn't necessarily suited for this type of recording. The audio recorder I have does a much better job.

[@gizmobowen]

Fun project. Thanks for showing us how it went. I like the trim rings and think something similar would be nice to fill the gap around the woofer. Something with a nice quarter round in the same color would provide a finished look at the woofers. I also like the pattern on your acoustic panels behind your speakers. Might try to replicate that on my CNC router for some panels for myself.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks! I was thinking of adding more trim rings around the drivers like you said, but it seemed to be too much. I didn't play with it enough though. The idea is to maybe make speaker grills for the woofers. OR just keep them as-is.

[@dansv1]

What a great series, and a very nice finished product.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks! They turned out great I think. We have them in our cabin and they sound great and fit the space well.

[@djsbriscoe]

Are you going to share (or sell?) the stl files for the 3d printing?Thanks.

[@TheJohdu]

amazing project. did you have to do any ground noise management with your DSP AMP?

[@MrDksmall]

I do the same with heated inserts, no special tools. Depending on the filament, like nylon, I find that the insert starts getting pushed out as the filament cools. So I use needle nose to initially guide the insert in, then cap the insert so it can’t walk out during cooling. Great looking project!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks! I found that screwing in a fastener a couple threads lets me 1) align it while it's still hot and 2) acts as a heatsink to cool it down quicker. It takes a couple seconds and aligns and cools it down all in one step.

[@bami2]

The accent rings look great, it's a small touch but as you said it just completes the whole look. Especially in the last shot it would just end up as a undefined black blob without them. Also great that you checked polarity, I can't count the amount of times I was listening to a music system and realize one of the speakers is out of phase, it can really screw with your head if you get deadzones in specific spots in a room from the waves (partially) cancelling each other out. 11:44 I think your speakers are passive though (no amplifiers inside, they would use XLR plugs for audio and mains connector for power usually), but the Speakon connectors are designed exactly for this usecase. I just love them: super rugged, can't accidentally pull them out and blow up your amplifier from it falling onto ground or anything and they beat using bananaplugs, jackplugs or even (ugh) screw terminals by a metric mile. Perfect choice!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Eh, they're passively active? I WAS going to put the electronics inside, but it would have been more wiring. There is zero crossover and they absolutely need the amplifier/controller to work, so they're kinda active speakers (seeing as each driver has a dedicated amplifier). But the electronics are just outside the speakers.

[@bami2]

@@RobertCowanDIY The way I understand it, a speaker requiring one or more external amplifiers to work would qualify it more as a passive speaker. I don't mean the entire setup is passive (as the external amplifiers/controllers are certainly not), but they aren't part of the speakers themselves. The active/passive distinction has to do with the level of the audio signal coming into the speaker and if it has electronics inside to amplify it to usable levels. If you had put the power amplifier inside the speaker as you originally wanted, it would be an active speaker but like you said it's more wiring, more chance of noise since you need to bring power cables into it and if you're unlucky the amplifier can overheat from the lack of airflow inside a closed speaker. If you feed a speaker line-level (~2V peak for professional applications, more like 0.5V for consumer) or lower like microphone/instrument level (~0.02V or lower), it would need active electronics (power amplifier) and external power supply to boost the level up to something the driver(s) can work with. Benefit of this is that all the hardware is contained into a single unit so you usually see street-performers or low-quality DJ setups using those, but there are very good quality active monitoring speakers as well. But if you feed it speaker-level (~20V or more if you have a powerful amplifier), then the speaker doesn't need any external power at all and can do most things like EQ and crossover (but none of that is required) just off the signal level, then that would be a passive speaker. Even if it requires an external crossover and two different power amplifiers outside it to power each of the drivers on it, the speaker itself would still be passive since it's just connecting the drivers to the input. Honestly I prefer passive speakers as you can select your own amplifier and change/upgrade it if you don't like the sound while keeping the speakers and because of the higher voltages there is a lot fewer issues with long cables killing presence or picking up noise, with an active speaker it's all integrated so whatever comes out is what you're going to get and you don't have to deal with connecting each speaker to mains or a power adapter as they are just fed through the speaker wires.

[@kiserleti4d4s]

Beautiful assembly! :) If I am understand it correctly, lxmini kit leaves a room for lot of personalization, so it is not a step-by-step guide. Have you thought about selling the metal parts or make the stl-s public?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Correct. They do have step-by-step plans, but they look awful. It's meant to be for people that have zero DIY skills or tools. Many people like to take the design guidelines and 'dress them up' a bit, like I did. Unfortunately, they (Linkwitz Audio) seems pretty litigious, and I don't think sharing the design would be a good idea. You need to buy the plans from them, and by providing the STLs, it would give away the dimensions of the speaker, since the drivers are known. You could then just buy the drivers and the crossover and not ever buy the design license. Otherwise, I would absolutely share it.

[@kiserleti4d4s]

​@@RobertCowanDIY That totaly reasonable, lxmini is not an opensource project. Sad though.

[@stevendoesburg6555]

@@RobertCowanDIY There are closed sections of the official oplug support forum for people who have purchased the plans where you could share the stls if you wish. There are a number of people on there sharing their creations and derivatives of the linkwitz designs.

[@aserta]

Make yourself a dedicated driver for those inserts where there's an endstop (of a high temp resistant plastic). I used teflon and use an iron with temp settings, where the highest temp is +1 degree over the required melting point for that specific plastic (made some test pieces and have them written down). So much easier to drive inserts with the end stop. Mine's threaded, so that the teflon washer can be changed for custom ones where for example i have to drive the insert in the bottom of a recess, and i just cut a positive shape of that recess as the end stop. One last tip, using a threaded driver (just enough threads to engage the insert) and using the +1 degree temp allows me to slightly twist the insert inside the plastic, which gives it even more strength. This wouldn't be possible without the endstop, it makes a mess of the plastic around without it.

[@aserta]

8:10 i actually have a lower bench for "precious" items as i call them. Whenever i do assembly or work on things that could be damaged by drops, that area of the shop is specifically made to prevent damage. I have lips on the benches, about 2 cm high to prevent things from rolling over and the floor around is foam. I sit on a bean bag at that table, even the surface table is a Firestone rubber mat. Because it absolutely sucks when you get jelly fingers and you drop a valve body to a half a mill hydraulic machine. I'd rather sit at the kiddy table than suffering that. :)) edit: i think they came out great!!!

[@haraldpost]

Stunning build! This is the best use of a 3D printer I've ever seen to be honest. I imagine this needed a few pounds of filament? Is it perhaps possible to pay for access to these plans on your Patreon?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks! If you can prove you purchased the license for the LXMini, I can send you the files for free.

[@unpopular_mechanics]

With heat inserts, I push them 95% of the way down with the soldering iron, then remove the iron and push the fitting the rest of the way down with a small aluminum block, it pushes the fitting down to make it perpendicular and flush to the surface and also pulls out some of the heat. Works well for me.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

HA! That's exactly what I was doing towards the end, but using one of the fasteners (since they're long). The fastener removes some of the heat like you said. It's a good trick!

[@unpopular_mechanics]

@@RobertCowanDIY I find that using a fastener can still throw it off square and also melt into the part. For me, I have scrap of aluminum that is machined on all sides, maybe 1x1x2" that I keep on the bench and press it flat at the very end.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@unpopular_mechanics Gotcha. I don't always have a situation where I can access the face of the insert, sometimes it's in a pocket, or there's something around it. I'd say 90% of the time it's straight with just the iron though. But I liked using the screw, since with nylon it tends to squish back out when it's still hot.

[@jetwayartisman]

Nice build, Are you sharing the stl files for the build?Thanks

[@LukeQuin]

Speakers look great.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks!

[@RyanStone143]

Was waiting for this video, they turned out great!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Thanks so much!

[@jvburnes]

Amazing. It's like NASA fabricated this. Siegfried would be proud!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Ha, thanks! Did these videos get posted somewhere? I'm getting a lot of new comments on them.

[@jvburnes]

@@RobertCowanDIY I don't know. I was just searching for lxmini videos. You're obviously an engineer or something very close. Do you do fabrication for a living?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@jvburnesHuh, interesting. I just saw a lot more traffic on the video lately. Either way, thanks for watching!

[@michaelsegel8758]

They do look good. Are you planning on selling / sharing the stl files? ( You didn't answer ) They do look much better than the kits from Madisound ( fi you didn't go drivers only. ) Its been ~7 months ... did you 'burn' in the speakers? How do they sound in place? Did you figure out your cost of the speakers and the DSP/Amps?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I will freely share the files with anyone that purchased the official plans. They still sound wonderful, but they're at our second house so I haven't listened to them since last summer. They're well suited for the smaller room, I'm quite happy with them overall. Check out the first video in the series, I go over more details. The final cost was around $1500 for everything.

[@michaelsegel8758]

@@RobertCowanDIY Thank you for the response. I saw the 521's at AXPONA and was blown away by the sound. Am looking at the smaller kit and love your upgrades. Thx

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@michaelsegel8758 They're QUITE surprising. I don't think a lot of people really understood when I demoed them next to my Wilson Audio Sashas. Those are speakers in VERY different price classes. The LX521s really do sound quite good, they just need a smaller room.

[@JonathanRansom]

Did you make those sound panels in your living room? They are 😙🤌!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Those are from GIK acoustics.

[@JustasM]

Is there any chance you'd share the stls for the printed parts ? Really tempted by the minis

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Of course, you just need to prove to me that you own the license and I can send them to you.

[@JustasM]

​@@RobertCowanDIY Great! I'll come back to you when I get the license...still contemplating whether to build them :) Thanks

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@JustasMThey so sound surprisingly good. At the end of the video you can hear them compared to a ~$35K system and I feel they really hold their own, except for overall dynamics, but it's a relatively large space.

[@JustasM]

@@RobertCowanDIY I'll message you when I do (and I think I will take the plunge some day :D ) Thanks

[@JustasM]

@@RobertCowanDIY just bought the plans. I wrote you a message on Facebook. Thanks 👍

[@Eric_Wolfe-Schulte]

Doggo cameo!

[@JoshCarlsonftw]

I'm surprised you didn't mention that the fasteners in the Neutrik NL connectors use a PZ1 screw head, so skip the Philips

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I guess I missed that.

[@JoshCarlsonftw]

@@RobertCowanDIY it's all good. I'm in the audio industry and see the green guys struggle with these all the time. Same applies to most European flat-pack furniture like Ikea haha

[@eformance]

NEFFEX has some decent YT permissible audio, he has some good songs you might recognize from other videos.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Nice, I'll have to check that out!

[@PaoloCaminiti]

with their subs it would be a fairer comparison on scale

[@RobertCowanDIY]

You're absolutely correct. I probably could just just put a crossover on the Wilsons so they both played down to the same frequency. We now have them in a much smaller room (their final home) and they sound much better. Not that they didn't sound great before, but they certainly like a smaller room.

[@SmedleyRudolf-w4k]

Anderson Kevin Rodriguez Kenneth Harris Jose

[@HowDareYouu]

this guy is rich

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I guess it's all relative.

[@HowDareYouu]

@@RobertCowanDIY look at your house, look at your speakers, just don't get divorced

[@RobertCowanDIY]

@@HowDareYouuWhy? My wife and I are equal financial contributors.

[@HowDareYouu]

@@RobertCowanDIY good answer, you would not want to upset her (wink, wink)

[@SmedleyRudolf-w4k]

Jackson Kenneth Garcia Karen Young Kenneth