Dr. K’s MTM – Tower Version
Designer:
henhez
Project Category:
Tower Speakers
Project Level:
Intermediate
Project Time:
20+ Hours
Project Cost:
$100 – $500
Project Description:
This is a version of Dr. K’s MTM, in a ported 41″ floorstanding enclosure
Design Goals:
I wanted to build a furniture quality speaker that would rank highly on the WAF. I also wanted to use paper-backed real wood veneer for the first time.
Driver Selection:
Drivers are identical to Dr. K’s MTM.
Enclosure Design:
Enclosure is made of 3/4″ MDF with three window pane braces and roughly 1/2″ roundovers on the baffle and rear.
Enclosure Assembly:
I wanted to build the entire cabinet without using screws, nails, biscuits or any other fastener except wood glue. I cut a rabbet on all four sides of the baffle and rear panel so they would slot right in.
Crossover Design:
The crossover is identical to Dr. K’s MTM.
Tips & Tricks:
You can use regular Titebond to apply the veneer. I rolled a thin layer on the cabinet and on the veneer then let it dry for roughly 30 minutes. Then I used a dry iron to melt the glue and apply the veneer, see pictures.
Conclusion:
I am very pleased with the way these speakers look and sound. It took me nearly 6 months to finish them but, it was worth every minute!
About the Designer:
I’ve built half a dozen projects from Parts Express but I’ve never made anything that looks and sounds as good as these!
Project Parts List:
|
Part # |
Description |
Qty |
|
295-364 |
Dayton-Audio RS180S-8 7″ Reference Shielded Woofer 8 Ohm |
4 |
|
275-131 |
Dayton Audio RST28A-4 1-1/8″ Reference Series Aluminum Dome Tweeter 4 Ohm |
2 |
|
#004-7 |
Dayton Audio DNR-7.0 7 Ohm 10W Precision Audio Grade Resistor |
1 |
|
#005-2 |
Mills 2 Ohm 12W Non-Inductive Resistor |
1 |
|
#027-415 |
Dayton Audio DMPC-2.2 2.2uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor |
1 |
|
#027-430 |
Dayton Audio DMPC-12 12uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor |
1 |
|
#027-432 |
Dayton Audio DMPC-15 15uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor |
1 |
|
#027-436 |
Dayton Audio DMPC-20 20uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor |
1 |
|
#091-1246 |
Dayton Audio BPA-38NI HD Binding Post Pair Nickel |
1 |
| #255-198 | Jantzen 0.025mH 18 AWG Air Core Inductor |
1 |
|
#255-220 |
Jantzen 0.33mH 18 AWG Air Core Inductor |
1 |
|
#255-238 |
Jantzen 0.70mH 18 AWG Air Core Inductor |
1 |
| #255-404 | Jantzen 0.33mH 15 AWG Air Core Inductor |
1 |
|
#255-632 |
Jantzen 1.2mH 16 AWG Copper Foil Inductor |
1 |
|
N/A |
Paper-backed Sapele veneer |
1 |
Very nice work. I know what you mean about the sound of the MTM configuration./ In the nineties, I built such a system using Focal drivers. The MTM consists of two Focal 5K013L and the Focal TC90 tweeter. This section is high pass filtered at 125hz, the lower section is a pair of 15 inch floor firing woofers loaded in a pair of 7 cu.ft. ported enclosures.
Again, very nice work. Congratulations.
Robert
Wow! That’s an amazing build. You truly have put in the effort and yielded something to be proud of. Bravo good sir.
Very nice work! I hope they sound as good as they look!
They look great! Do you have the dimensions for the boxes and the port?
Thank you
Sorry for the delay! I don’t get notifications. The boxes are 41″H x 9″W x 12″D. However, the Baffles are 41″ tall and the rear panels are only 39.5″ to achieve a roughly 11 degree tilt. I think it adds a nice aesthetic (and perhaps sonic) benefit. I have drawings of the box construction. If you give me your contact info I’d be happy to provide them.
Here is the info I used to choose the port (from the original Dr. K’s post) I did the 4″ option, I believe they were 5″ deep:
“A larger “extended bass” version of the tower would be approximately 1.7 cu. ft., tuned to 35 Hz via a 3″ x 6-1/2″ port. Again using 3/4″ MDF, this cabinet would measure roughly 9″ wide, 40″ tall, and 12″ deep. Note for these larger cabinets, a 3″ diameter port is preferred, and a 4″ port is an option if you are going to be running the speakers at high power.”
They look purdy, kind of like my Cambridge Soundworks Towers. How would you describe the sound? Anything you can compare them to?
I wish I could but I honestly haven’t heard enough speakers to make a comparison. They sound good but you can tell they are lacking in the lower registers. Maybe I should have gone with the 3″ port instead of the 4″.
Beautiful!! I built a pair of Wayne J”s Eros in mid 90″S. They used a pair of Vifa premium 7″ woofers and a
Scan speak D2905-9500 in each tower with series crossover, and were like Dirk Diggler. They could play soft or loud and just rocked out and made me smile. I miss the 90″s, my old speakers and my redhead :-). But I wouldn’t trade Class d and Spotify Streaming for any old technology, period. Enjoy….
Beautiful!! I built a pair of Wayne J”s Eros in mid 90″S. They used a pair of Vifa premium 7″ woofers and a
Scan speak D2905-9500 in each tower with series crossover, and were like Dirk Diggler. They could play soft or loud and just rocked out and made me smile. I miss the 90″s, my old speakers and my redhead :-). But I wouldn’t trade Class d and Spotify Streaming for any old technology, period. Enjoy….
I love MTMs! I have built a few myself.
Your wood working skills far exceed mine though!
I recently bought a pair of the Dayton RS180s and definitely think they are a nice sounding driver, I also have 2 sets of the tweeters, the original version also great sounding!
Enjoy them and dont lose the passion to create new designs!!