Building the Ergo E-IX mini-monitor loudspeaker system
- Thread starter James
- Start date
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
This is a good point. Danish Oil is never intended to be a film covering like poly, shellac or paint, so overdoing it can defeat the appearance of a hand-rubbed, oiled finish that gives the grain a certain lustre.
Bourneendboy
pfm Member
Regarding finishing, my preference would always be a 2 pack A/C lacquer for a perfect very durable finish.
However, I had a customer that insisted on Danish oil for some solid Oak furniture I was making for them. There was a chap in a workshop just down from me that only ever used Danish oil and he had finished every piece of furniture he had made for the last 25 years using it.
He had one tip for me, apply the first coat with a brush, nice and thick, allow to dry for at least 3 days and cut back hard with 240 Silicon Carbide paper. Apply further coats with a rag.
I used this method on the 7 pieces of furniture I made, including a large 4 door wardrobe and it worked perfectly. 1 brush coat and 4 ragged coats gave a lovely depth with almost a glass like finish.
However, I had a customer that insisted on Danish oil for some solid Oak furniture I was making for them. There was a chap in a workshop just down from me that only ever used Danish oil and he had finished every piece of furniture he had made for the last 25 years using it.
He had one tip for me, apply the first coat with a brush, nice and thick, allow to dry for at least 3 days and cut back hard with 240 Silicon Carbide paper. Apply further coats with a rag.
I used this method on the 7 pieces of furniture I made, including a large 4 door wardrobe and it worked perfectly. 1 brush coat and 4 ragged coats gave a lovely depth with almost a glass like finish.
Today, I dismantled my Ergo IX again to complete the finishing and try to glue a leather to front face. So I hooked back my Mission 751 to my system. Now I realised that so much is missing from the Mission compared to Ergo...lack of bass that I feel enough before, lack of top end details and midrange sweetness from ergo. Now I already miss the Ergo sound. Luckily this is just temporary...
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
When I first applied Danish oil to the backs, I was definitely in learning mode. I finished the second coat on the main bodies last night, and I'm doing a much better job this time through. They're looking lovely so far!
I should be done in a couple of days, then early next week I'll put the crossovers and drivers in. (The replacement screws should arrive by then.) I'm very excited!
I should be done in a couple of days, then early next week I'll put the crossovers and drivers in. (The replacement screws should arrive by then.) I'm very excited!
Mike, yes, similar to me, the 1st time is learning, made mistakes and try to make better next time...
Today I try to apply glue on the front baffle for the leather cladding and I failed big time. I have to remove the glue, sand it again and try again tomorrow. tonight (yes, it is already evening in Malaysia), back to watch youtube and learn again the method of applying leather to wood..
Today I try to apply glue on the front baffle for the leather cladding and I failed big time. I have to remove the glue, sand it again and try again tomorrow. tonight (yes, it is already evening in Malaysia), back to watch youtube and learn again the method of applying leather to wood..
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
Azman, your E-IXs look just like the original pair I built.Today, I managed to glue the leather to baffles. This is 0.7mm thick sheep leather.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
It's a small contribution to the great community that is PFM. I really must bring my E-IXs out of retirement too, having recently reinstated the E-IIIRs over the NS-1000Ms.
Yes James, I tried to follow the original look. I like the look of wood and leather...Azman, your E-IXs look just like the original pair I built.
Thanks again James for the excellent design.
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
Well, I finally finished applying all the coats of coats of Danish oil (7 on the main body, and 9-10 on the backs). I also received the new screws for the woofers, so I can finally listen to them. All I can say is WOW!
I don't have stands, so I plonked them on some bench grippers with pins on top of my Royd RR3. This puts them quite high, but the tweeters end up at ear level with me sitting on my office chair. I'll probably get stands made for this height.
Sonically, they image crazy good! It's solid whether I sit in the "sweet spot", or up against my desk (which puts me almost between the speakers).
The bass is tight and controlled, although the extension isn't as deep as the RR3 (which is ported). As might be expected, though, they don't seem to suffer from bass resonances like ported speakers often do.
They are fast and communicative, never losing the plot. They also seem to handle volume better than the RR3 (and are slightly more efficient). However, the RR3 sounds exceptionally good at low levels, and the Ergo IX doesn't quite match it in that respect.
I do think they need some breaking in, because they sound a touch shouty and ragged, but not unbearably so (except for brief moments here and there).
I'm going to leave them where they are while I get some stands made up, which should take a few weeks. Then I'll try to go back to the RR3 and see how they compare after the Ergo IX has had a chance to break in.
BTW, I'm driving them with Avondale Voyagers (with Benchmark DAC2 as pre).
So far I'm very impressed. Thank-you, James and Stefan!!!
I don't have stands, so I plonked them on some bench grippers with pins on top of my Royd RR3. This puts them quite high, but the tweeters end up at ear level with me sitting on my office chair. I'll probably get stands made for this height.
Sonically, they image crazy good! It's solid whether I sit in the "sweet spot", or up against my desk (which puts me almost between the speakers).
The bass is tight and controlled, although the extension isn't as deep as the RR3 (which is ported). As might be expected, though, they don't seem to suffer from bass resonances like ported speakers often do.
They are fast and communicative, never losing the plot. They also seem to handle volume better than the RR3 (and are slightly more efficient). However, the RR3 sounds exceptionally good at low levels, and the Ergo IX doesn't quite match it in that respect.
I do think they need some breaking in, because they sound a touch shouty and ragged, but not unbearably so (except for brief moments here and there).
I'm going to leave them where they are while I get some stands made up, which should take a few weeks. Then I'll try to go back to the RR3 and see how they compare after the Ergo IX has had a chance to break in.
BTW, I'm driving them with Avondale Voyagers (with Benchmark DAC2 as pre).
So far I'm very impressed. Thank-you, James and Stefan!!!
Congrats Mike, you have completed yours.
From my experience, it do need proper break in. Initially it a bit bright, after few days it will mellow down and the bass & midrange also improving. Initially I thought I have wrongly wired the crossover. After confirming with James, there was nothing wrong. So after 2 weeks, they sound very2 good. The bass is tight and can go very deep with certain song. I positioned it right against the wall, just enough to clear the speaker terminals. They are superb in producing double bass note. Even my floorstanding using Scan 18W8545 failed to do that (ported desifn). My ergo is driven by diy power amp using Naim 250 boards with Avondale Cap6 power supply. Pre amp also diy based from Naim 321 boards.
Now sit down and enjoy your music Mike.
From my experience, it do need proper break in. Initially it a bit bright, after few days it will mellow down and the bass & midrange also improving. Initially I thought I have wrongly wired the crossover. After confirming with James, there was nothing wrong. So after 2 weeks, they sound very2 good. The bass is tight and can go very deep with certain song. I positioned it right against the wall, just enough to clear the speaker terminals. They are superb in producing double bass note. Even my floorstanding using Scan 18W8545 failed to do that (ported desifn). My ergo is driven by diy power amp using Naim 250 boards with Avondale Cap6 power supply. Pre amp also diy based from Naim 321 boards.
Now sit down and enjoy your music Mike.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
The E-IXs need about a couple of weeks to run in. Take care not to thrash them. Whilst the Scan-speak mid-woofer has very generous travel, it is still only a 5.25" driver, so take care when trying to extract subterranean bass @100dB from them. They will break, eventually.
After two weeks or so, if they should still sound a touch bright, it is a simple matter to increase slightly the series resistor with the HP-section of the crossover.
After two weeks or so, if they should still sound a touch bright, it is a simple matter to increase slightly the series resistor with the HP-section of the crossover.
James
Lord of the Erg\o/s
That looks decidedly precarious.
Mike Hanson
Trying to understand...
Don't worry, they're stable and no one will go near to accidentally bump them.
Also the RR3 is screwed to its stand around back, which is a rather intriguing mounting design.
