Taking A $150 Speaker Kit To The Next Level- Let's Build The C-Note Speaker Kit!

In this video we'll be building the Parts-Express C-Note speaker kit. You can find this kit and many others at Parts-Express.com
Thanks for watching!

[@PAC-fp9hy]

I have done a lot of veneering for both furniture, cabinet work and hifi speakers, including a reproduction mid-century console stereo. If you want to be quick, by all means use contact glue, but be very careful with your choice of veneer. A veneer like Walnut appears to be flat, but will ripple when applied. You can see this in the video. The same goes for Oak and other hardwood varieties. These veneers do not finish well with contact glue because there is no compression involved on the grain and contact glue never sets, it remains tacky throughout its life. It is meant for countertops that have a hard phenolic veneer, that lies perfectly flat. Also, with some wood fillers it will react and cause swelling, particularly if you have screwed the panels anywhere. There is no substitute for cold press veneering using standard wood glue. You just need a fast setting wood glue, a few clamps and some old board to flatten the veneer. Make sure that both the veneer and the MDF have a layer of glue. Two coats of glue on the veneer is optimum. You can do opposite sides to save time. The finish is perfectly flat with no 'float' or softness to it. If you can afford it, buy a trim router with a flush bit - this takes off the excess veneer perfectly. Whiteside also have a bit with a very small head that allows you to trim the cutouts to the depth of the speaker plate.

[@DIYhyfy]

Thanks for the tips! I do have a trim router and will definitely be using it in the future. Thanks for watching!

[@danielh12345]

Can I ask what your opinion is on the iron on veneer method? Do the same pitfalls apply there or should the results in general be similar to cold press veneering? I've previously done the ironing method where I apply glue with a roller to both surface and veneer let it dry, then roll the surface to be veneered again and let dry until tacky. Then use a iron and apply pressure, right after that I use a veneer roller while its still hot and roll until flat and cool. Working from inside out and with the grain. On the oak i had some very minor splitting which after sanding and finishing was not visible. On the ovangkol (the first veneering I did) I did not have this issue. My theory was the the veneer was just not very well cut but maybe my method was just sub par? I would appreciate you sharing your opinion and experience of your craft :)

[@BogdanWeiss]

Looks like a beginner "first DIY adventure " - not saying there's anything wrong with that, but " I was going to ask whether "Next Level " is coming in episode 2 ??? And the wave-guide is seriously NOT flush with the enclosure - 100% creating a response ripple. Since when is basic construction considered "Next Level " am I missing something ??

[@rakitakhan]

Nice build. I'm glad you know how to solder. So many "experts" online just melt the solder on the joint without heating the work itself. Damn fine job !

[@toecutterjenkins]

Some finish tips. In the raw veneer, use a damp sponge to pop the grain llet dry and sand. Then thin the poly and use a rag to put super thin coats and lightly sand between. You can get a glass like finish I have put together gr research kits, and they sound amazing for the price of these diy speakers.

[@hervedelplanque2841]

Nice job ! I built the Classic II with my son and I was blown away by the sound.

[@stuartkennedy4202]

You done these so effortlessly and what a saving. I know they sound excellent from previous reviews. Great job.

[@PeterMumford]

Very inspiring! I liked that you built it out of the box, with no mods, and I liked your demonstration of veneering the cabinets. I would have liked to see how the veneer wrapped around the radiused corners on the front. In any case, nicely done.

[@ole9421]

Building all the kits? Awesome, I'll be here for the ride. Looking forward to the floor standers.

[@DIYhyfy]

Yep that's the plan. They're all sold out right now, so I'm having to improvise.

[@lights80088]

Great job young man, coming from an old man. Nice to see you exercising your passion.

[@DIYhyfy]

I appreciate that!

[@Mike-vr4lw]

Very cool . Looks like fun. 👍

[@cnnlive10]

I already own a pair and have been very impressed from the first day I had them set up. After watching this, I plan on tearing mine apart and putting some money into the veneer, setting up an external crossover with "Hi End" audiophile type componets, using some damping material on the bass driver and cabinet walls and maybe a few internal bracing pieces. Great video and thanks for posting!

[@DIYhyfy]

Yes they're worth a little investment into the finish. They really are great for the money. Thanks for watching!!

[@veroman007]

I would recommend lining the inside of those cabinets with some sort of damping material. You really don’t want to have bare wood in an enclosure. Beautiful finish however

[@matthewtaylor7355]

Do all speakers need to b damped

[@ngl750k]

do i also need damping material in a sealed sub box?

[@C-man553]

@@ngl750kNo

[@robertpolka630]

If you want to paint MDF you can use a sealer (2-3 coats with sanding ) then paint or use 1-1 glue /water mix and use the same way as a sealer. Good Work!

[@jordandominy7295]

I’m currently building a set of these, too! I’m almost finished. I’m using walnut veneer and painting the fronts white. (I was also planning a video on my build 😂)

[@DIYhyfy]

Nice!! They sound great given the price point. Good luck!

[@arturomty9969]

Great work! Although I generally prefer a flat finish, I must admit that they look fantastic. I've liked and subscribed!

[@DIYhyfy]

Yes I'll be using different lacquers coming up. Flat, satin etc. Thanks for watching!!

[@DIYAudioGuy]

Exellent work!

[@deathandtexas2016]

Nice build! I found that I had to shim the tweeter out for it to be perfectly flush with the front baffle (something my OCD demanded). I used slightly compressible felt tape to achieve this.

[@Silent-Lucidity]

Nice job!

[@johnbarker8504]

I'm sure someone else has said this already, but - Acoustic foam (egg-carton-style stuff) to line the cabinet and then some loosely-stuffed wadding will help damp internal reflections. Don't let the wadding obstruct the back of the woofer or the reflex tube.

[@johnbarker8504]

[@look8234]

Great job!

[@hi-fihaven2257]

EXCELLENT video Man! 😎

[@DIYhyfy]

Thanks! 👍

[@davidsecord6412]

I've built these. My mods include: 1. I routed the inside of the face board to take the woofer from the back. 2. I replaced the elements of the crossover with military-spec, including conductive plastic potentiometer for a treble control I added on the back and capacitors and resistors. Air core inductors came with the kit and I used them. 3. No nails in MDF. I just used glue with corner clamps. 4. Finish is red oak veneer from our friends at Rockler. 5. I used a cup with four-way post connectors to take the wires from the amp on the back. 6. Used wood sealant on the MDF so that it is easier for a good bond for the contact adhesive to adhere the wood veneer. As I love the look of natural wood, I finished over the red oak with seven coats of Varathane. I recommend trimming the veneer with a veneer bit on your router. Using a tacky cloth to take off really fine saw dust can really make the difference in your finish. I like to apply the polyurethane with a disposable foam brush. I built covers using the supplies from Parts Express. My only complaint is that the woofer is not mounted in a routed mount as their intention is to have it overlay the tweeter flange. I think that my build looks better and comes closer to having the focus of the voice coils for the woofer and tweeter line up. I also recommend using the foam seals Parts Express sells to make sure that the drivers are airtight to the face. If you look at the finish in this video, you'll see imperfections, due to the lack of 800 grit sanding in between coats. The more coats you do (sanding and using a tacky cloth in between coats when dry) the nicer the finish is. Spraying it on is really the best way if you have a ventilated area. Pax.

[@MichelLinschoten]

Military spec 😂

[@johnbarker8504]

Sound like you spent more on 'bits' than on the kit itself!

[@fonkenful]

Ever experimented with iron on yellow glue method for veneering? Definitely not as quick as contact cement, but allows for easy adjustment and alignment of grain figuring. And for finishing of finer veneers like walnut or Sapele mahogany, aerosol spray bombs of lacquer can look luscious.

[@DIYhyfy]

I have a little bit. I will likely use it in future builds

[@bpalpha]

Nice work dude. Handsome speaker. C-Notes are a great entry level speaker, especially with prices going haywire these days. Better still, you can customize this speaker towards your own sense of aesthetics.

[@dippitydoinit]

Nice video. I see you have some raw MDF showing around the tweeters. I recommend spray painting Black around any recessed speakers before applying veneer. Since yours are complete I would use a black marker or add an additional layer of speaker gasket tape to bring the tweeter forward more.

[@DIYhyfy]

Nice tip! These were sent to a friend of mine. I removed drivers and painted recess after filming. I was too anxious to get it filmed, that I rushed and forgot!

[@johannjohann6523]

I liked that the drivers were made in Taiwan not China. I definitely prefer Taiwan made goods over Chinese, especially in electronics and audio. So two thumbs up Dayton Audio!

[@daviddavila249]

such an awesome video!

[@DIYhyfy]

Thanks for watching!

[@llee4225]

It would be great to get a video on the 3 way speakers that you have. It was looking for a fuller range speaker!

[@DIYhyfy]

Unfortunately I didn't film that build, but I can definitely do some measurements and a walk around!

[@michaelsegel8758]

I like the idea of your plan on building all of the speakers. Have to ask... did you consider adding some dampening material in the cabinet?

[@DIYhyfy]

Yes, these were for a friend. I filled them in prior to shipping them out. Unfortunately didn't have it on hand for the video.

[@perlman7376]

Thank you. Looking forward to the next video.What stands are those?

[@DIYhyfy]

These are the cheap dayton 20" I believe

[@JR-ho5qm]

Just found your channel. 👍🏻 have you seen the GR Reserch Brutes? I think that would be a fantastic build for you,and could draw allot of attention to your channel 👍🏻🔈

[@DIYhyfy]

Yes I love their videos. I definitely have looked over their kits. They look great, but are a bit pricey for the time being. Hopefully in the future!

[@crztrn1]

nice job on video. I bought the same speakers and yet to put them together

[@MrBeblis]

You should have substituted better resistors and tube connectors in the place of those binding posts. Rest of the components are nice, also maybe more bracing and insulation.

[@BostonMike68]

OK Danny those tube connectors cost more than that whole kit

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

Would be interesting to listen to the speakers without any veneer finish! Great video, thank you.

[@DIYhyfy]

Good idea, I'll include that in the next project!

[@mikeeygauthier2959]

@@DIYhyfy I only mention this because I have a pair of Focal Alpha 65 (older ones), and remove the plastic sides and scraped off the stuckon rubber pad. Gave a more open and detailed Sound. Recently upgraded the fuses to Synergistic orange (used) and again much better Sound.

[@BS513]

Nice vid. Would like to see your build of hivi 3.1

[@iyona14granturismogt6gtspo7]

Arm chair Quarterback here,uh...if you put both speakers together, you could have an extended surface to run sander back and forth without fear of rounding edge.

[@markwhite9459]

Looks good ! Did you not use any dampening material ?

[@DIYhyfy]

I did not, but may in the future

[@Walkercolt1]

I have these and I used a 1" convoluted mattress topper from Big Lots (dirt cheap!) for lining. I think it clears up the midrange some, but without it, in a "soft room" (like living rooms or such), you shouldn't hear much difference. Half-inch foam carpet pad from a big-box store (the cheap stuff is usually softer) will work fine too. I don't think I'd want to use typical 2" convoluted speaker foam-it would cut the EFFECTIVE enclosure volume too much and hurt bass. BTW, you just need lining on the vertical sides and back at most.

[@chinmeysway]

Oh what are those other 3-way type speakers? Looks like another build of yore but didn’t see a vid on it.. thanks :-)

[@DIYhyfy]

Stick around! Those are the Swans from Hivi. I've got a video on them coming this week.

[@AntonioGarcia-xk6jd]

can you list all the tools i would need to build these speakers...... i love your video's 😊😊😊😊

[@DIYhyfy]

Going to do my best: Wood glue Clamps (ideally 4+) Soldering Iron Sand paper Screw drivers Drill Bit (terminal holes)

[@02honeydew]

Ive read that they cut the relief for the tweeter like 1/16th too deep, causing the tweeter to sit slightly too deep behind the woofer and the face of the speaker. I guess people use a tiny shim to bring it back to the surface. Maybe you could try it out and see if it makes any difference

[@davidsecord6412]

The depth is intended to allow the foam adhesive edge seal to make an airtight and non-rattling connection between the flange of the tweeter and the face board.

[@02honeydew]

@@davidsecord6412 Oh, I see. Whatever post I read about it, they said they found the sound to improve, but I'm unsure how exactly they said that was, and I can't remember anything else. I just thought it was odd in one of the angled shots in this video, you can see the bare mdf very slightly around the tweeter which I thought was odd. But if they meant it that way, where the tweeter is actually supposed to be that far back, then that's cool too. I just thought it was odd that it sat back so far.

[@DIYhyfy]

Yea I used gasket, as it was audible without

[@johnbarker8504]

The tweeter should be flush, so yes - some kind of gasket to bring it forward just a tad.

[@BostonMike68]

​@DIYhyfy every one are experts they watch a couple of gr research videos and they are armchair s engineers. I stopped posting my speaker designs on diy groups because people get so negative and most people never actually have ever tried to build anything. I am actually sitting in front of an mtm with 2 6.5 designers in a solid wood cabinet on top of mdf it's heavy but I like mass loaded cabinets . They are nice heavy mid woofers for the money

[@dannyblaha9344]

looks good i like to see how swans from amazon build and sound

[@DIYhyfy]

Hit subscribe! I've got a video on the Swans coming early next week! Thanks for watching!

[@justinmanny86]

Has anyone compared the c-notes to the c-sharp, overnight sensation, and sambas? I've only build an 18" gsg marty so Im brand new to the DIY bookshelf speakers. I'm looking to build a pair but I'm not sure which generally sound the best. Im going for more clarity than bass since I'm already in way overkill with bass. Id love to hear everyone's opinions!

[@DIYhyfy]

If you're after detail, I highly recommend the Hivi Swans 3way. They're a bit more pricey (around or under $300). The c-sharp are just an actively powered c-note to my knowledge. The Overnight Sensations are a go to for many. Lots of good options. These c-notes sounded great for $100.

[@chinmeysway]

Nice. Wish it came in bamboo so that at least one major component could be sustainable

[@BostonMike68]

Make your own cabinets out of bamboo

[@user-ez3vj7xv5e]

bonjour, vidéo de très belle qualité pour l'image et le son.......... belle fabrication des boites, sauf le placage, il aurait peut-être fallu mieux soigner la découpe du placage dans les angles......... et surtout pas de vernis polyuréthane, juste teinter et cirer...............

[@impuls60]

The tweeter really should be flush with the baffle to not make any early reflection points.

[@ThresholdZhor]

I pointed that also, those difractions lower the coherency and thereby the image

[@robertjdejong]

9:20 we “don’t want to round the edges” 9:29 Proceeds sanding the edge on a 45 degree angle 😆

[@kkrobertson1]

Great build but don't like the poly finish. Should be lightly sprayed on and polished not brushed.

[@marksweeney7327]

$150 speakers never looked so good!

[@crossoverchef]

put a gasket under the tweeter to bring it up a bit and make it flush.

[@DIYhyfy]

Good idea

[@DIYhyfy]

Also: grandma called and said stop eating all our steak, and ruining everybody's lives!

[@Walkercolt1]

If you don't have a fancy speaker gasket,several layers of painter's tape will do fine. Big name/big price speaker builders use tape for gaskets!

[@surround1969]

this veneer will look much more awesome if matt paint ... not glossy

[@sabresys45]

You can VASTLY improve the polyurethane finish if you would employ better application technique, the easiest way would be to learn to apply by wiping on by thinning the poly and sanding and steel wool between coats. You'd be much happier with the results.

[@DIYhyfy]

Interesting, thanks for the tips. I've always thought wipe on poly looked easier! I'll definitely give it a shot going forward.

[@sabresys45]

​@@DIYhyfydon't bother with the wipe on poly, it's just regular poly thinned with mineral spirits, buy regular poly and thin it yourself, it's cheaper and you can control the thickness to suit your situation. Several thin coats with sanding or ateel wool between will give a nice result.

[@CapraHiFi]

​@@sabresys45can you do the same with water based poly by adding more water? I'm also interested in this wipe on technique.

[@frankd.b.9233]

Too bad you didn't round [ bevelled ] the inside of the speaker seat And an iron works great when installing veneers

[@ThresholdZhor]

I made my first speaker at the age of 16, in those days these kits don't even exist, personally I don't like the gloss coat you put on the veneer, I prefer semi matte, the woofer is over the tweeter edges and is a bit inside, is better to separate the woofer 1 inch to avoid diffractions, the tweeter polarity should be inversed because capacitor retards the phase 180 degrees, besides everything good job

[@cillyede]

👍👍👍🇩🇪

[@DIYhyfy]

Thanks for watching!!

[@vicg5323]

What’s the next level?

[@DIYhyfy]

Rocket boosters, coming soon!

[@peterlyk]

You dont have any damping ind them

[@DIYhyfy]

That's true. I would always recommend using it.

[@matthewtaylor7355]

Those caps r basic.. Mundorf betta than those bennecs

[@C-man553]

90% appearance talk, 3% babble, 2% … describing performance. Driver model numbers, xover quality, nothing. The finish really Pops-Sounds like a tv review.

[@DIYhyfy]

Glad you enjoyed it!