Auratone DIY

[imo]

Thanks A!
I'm hoping to keep pretty in line with the Auratones in purpose. As far as i know they don't have any corrective eq. Did you implement that in your build?
You are saying that the fostex is a step up from the Maplins? yes?

 

[aronaut]

The Fostex has more low and top end (they go up to 25k), thus they sound more 'hifi'. I followed Thomas Barefoots Killatone project plans but used the FF125wk driver because the 127 is unavailable. The auratone has no bsc circuit, correct.

It's hard to do this project not having an actual Auratone to compare with, someday I will grab one and compare with some drivers. My gut feeling is the Maplin 'might' be sonically close. this one looks interesting to try too: http://www.simplyspeakers.com/replacement-speaker-full-range-f-701.html

but honestly I'm giving up on this until I get a real auratone to compare to.

In any case the concept of these drivers will get you in the ballpark as far as the type of mixing experience they aid in, and all speakers need to be 'learned' to be useful anyhow...

 

[hop.sing]

HI
Today I have built a pair of auratone alike speakers. I used two drivers originally used in the bose 901 series1 since I got them cheap and I read that they are identical to the original auratone driver. I have an auratone (the one with the brown speaker), so I can compare them. I can savely say that the bose driver and the brown Auratone driver are not identical in response. The auratone is amazingly flat on axis from 200 to 8000 Hz but as soon as you are listening just a tiny bit off axis it gets dull. The bose has a hf lift from 3k onwards, but gets pretty linear off axis.
I do like my new pair of speakers, they do what the auratones are supposed to do really well (high bass, midrange) but are brighter in a good way.
Attached is the frequency response of the auratone and the Bosetone.
Tobias
PS.
Auratone is blue, Bose is green

 

[hop.sing]

The old auratone and and one of the new speakers.

 

[omeiko]

Hi,
I made a pair with bose drivers also.  I noticed that the slats around the baffle had an effect on the high frequency response especially off axis so I included them. I think they're very useful little speakers and I love mixing on them.

Okko

 

[joaquins]

I'm too far away for them, but...
U$41 by now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/auratone-speakers-/300927702008?pt=US_Pro_Audio_Speakers_Monitors&hash=item4610b053f8#viTabs_0

and U$ 0.99 by now
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auratone-5c-pair-working-perfectly-rough-cosmetic-condition-/251297405712?pt=Vintage_Electronics_R2&hash=item3a827e1b10

JS

 

[hop.sing]

Hi,
I made a pair with bose drivers also.  I noticed that the slats around the baffle had an effect on the high frequency response especially off axis so I included them. I think they're very useful little speakers and I love mixing on them.

Okko

Beautifully done!
I did not include the slats, but rounded the corners a little, maybe that is part of the difference  from the original.
But since I had two coils with 0.8 mH here anyway I experimented with some baffle step compensation yesterday and it turned out really nice. The coil paralleled with a fat 8 Ohm resistor did the job. I like the original detailed and bright sound from those speakers , but now they are more in the tonal ballpark of the original auratone which I dig even more.
When I switch from my event opals to those little bosetones the colour of the midrange stays very much the same except all the deep bass und ultra high treble is gone, but the imaging of those little toys is really incredible, much better than the big speakers. I guess they will be a very useful tool for me.
Blue is no baffle step compensation (as you can guess )

 

[ricardo]

When I switch from my event opals to those little bosetones the colour of the midrange stays very much the same except all the deep bass und ultra high treble is gone, but the imaging of those little toys is really incredible, much better than the big speakers.

How do you like the Event Opals?  What else did you listen to when you bought them?  Comments about the sound?

 

[hop.sing]

How do you like the Event Opals?  What else did you listen to when you bought them?  Comments about the sound?
[/quote]
I like them quite a bit. They are not the perfect speakers, but those would be at least double the price (Geithain, PSI, ATC).
We used to have old K+H o98 and o300 and older Genelecs in our studio, still have the ns10 and PSI a215. The Opals are better than the o300 (read: I can mix faster and easier on them), but not as good as the a215, PSI are really incredible speakers, but those are more than double the price of the opals.
The opals go plenty loud before distorting, I guess my ears distort first  ;D and go so low, that I do not need a sub. Treble might be a little bit harsh or metallic for some, but seems to be correct, I can listen for a long time on them without ear fatigue, but I mix on low volumes anyway. The midrange is where those opals really shine IMO, proof is, that it sounds very much like the auratone midrange, even though there is a crossover right there but I cannot hear it. The auratone is actually a very precise speaker, only band limited, but within its frequency band it is close to perfect.
When I bought those opals I listened to a whole range of midpriced speakers in the shop, K+H, KRK, Adam, Genelec and the opals sounded somehow most real and neutral to me.
It is hard to talk about sound, but I hope I helped a bit.

 

[fitzj]

Hi
How did you work this calculation out>
I calculated the internal volume of the Auratones to be 2.23Litres and they a have a 1 inch lining of BAF on the walls. I used the wadding from an old duvet!  Auratone dimensions are 6.5x6.5x5.5inches deep.

 

[rainton]

This project looks great - and also simple!
If it wasn't for the incapability of Maplin to ship stuff outside of the UK
I really don't get why they don't even ship within the EU...I mean it's 2013 right

Anybody here from UK that I could have the speakers from Maplin shipped to and who could then forward them to my address in Germany?
I would pay the shipping fees upfront to reduce the hassle...

Thanks!

Martin

 

[rainton]

anybody?

 

[12dbLow]

Hi fellows,

I am currently building two Davetones. While considering how to do it exactly, I didn't find too many pictures from the build process here, so maybe someone is interested in my pictures:

Best,
Adrian.

 

[12dbLow]

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[12dbLow]

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[12dbLow]

This is the primer, after that it will be sanded again and the small gaps are filled in.

 

[rainton]

Hello Adrian,

First of all, Sehr schön!!! Can you tell me what kind of driver you are using, cause I'm strugling to find something good here in europe!

Cheers!

Yeah nice
I'm pretty sure Adrian used the drivers from Maplins too, right?
I tried to find somebody here from the UK that would help me get a pair but to no avail...

Now I could finally build some Davetones myself thanks to a friend from the UK who helped me out and forwarded me the drivers from Maplins - just before she moved to New Zealand.

I also had a hard time finding some decent build pics, so here is what I can contribute to the thread:

step 1

 

[rainton]

step 2

 

[12dbLow]

Hello Adrian,

First of all, Sehr schön!!! Can you tell me what kind of driver you are using, cause I'm strugling to find something good here in europe!

Cheers!

Hi,

I am using the original Maplin driver that Dave recommended. I know its hard to get them in Europe.. I let them send it to a friend in the UK, she forwarded it to me.

PS: Ah, same with you, rainton. Viel Erfolg

I was actually inspired to get it on now, because the guys from DIY Recording Eqipment have started offering a kit:
http://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/store/kits/tone-cube-studio-monitor-kit/
It looks very nice and the price is really ok (If you're in the US) but for me that would have been about 80€. So I calculated a little bit, went to buy the wood and let them cut the pieces ready for me (2,80 € - believe it!)