Markus Sauer said:
I'm extremely sorry, James, but after a couple of days of thinking about this, I feel this design is visually less succeesful, to my eyes, than your previous ones.
No need for apologies, Markus. I agree that it is different visually, but in this case I'm far more concerned with function than form. If a wide baffle works in the manner that I expect, you can be certain that I will build another, with more curves and better aesthetic. This is really more of an experiment, hence the reason for the removable sub-baffle. But just in case it sounds superb, it needed to be domestically acceptable. So solid wood it had to be. All work in progress, I'm sure.
The problem seems to be with the wood strips you have running on the sides. I can see that they are necessary with your method of cladding MDF carcasses with solid wood, but they create shut lines with the top and side boards. Also, they create grain discontinuities.
The shut lines are featured on all Ergos with solid wood. Mind you, on these they are a smidge wider and hence more obvious. Sapele, with its strong grain, is a bitch to match and perhaps this design calls for a more plain timber such as Beech or Maple.
The fact that you have a black center and wood sides tends to draw the attention to the width of the speakers.
Given that narrow and deep loudspeakers have been the norm for the last couple of decades, anything wide is going to grab attention. I like the E-VIIIs to be proud of their girth, and not try to hide it.
I think that it would be interesting to see your speaker with a reversed colour scheme, black sides and a wood center.
Or possibly using a much darker wood.
The trapezoidal mounting plate you have chosen for the mid and tweeter is also a bit problematic since its angles are not taken up elsewhere in the speaker. How about making the angle of the trapeze the same as for the sides, IYSWIM?
I hear what you are saying, but my earlier point about this being an experimental design should explain what I've done. If the Morel/PHL combo works to my expectation and this design is replicated, there will be no need to have a separate sub-baffle.
It is with some regret that I learnt how to cut curved surfaces (repeatably) on flat boards after, and not before, I had prepared the Sapele boards. The next wide-baffle design I'll build should have less flat panels and more curves, which should soften its lines considerably.
James
