Rich and Jim have their cool single driver stuff they're doing - this is way less so. But, it's a great starting point and the cost is really cheap.
This is where it all started for me, to have something I could use with a Clari-T I had to buy. Here's the original recipe:
http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/bfb_e.htmlAs a starting point, Google tells me 45 liters = 1.6 cubic feet, or about 2,765 cubic inches which translates to a 14" cube. Of course, don't build a cube but that gives an idea.
I think they are most un-boxy sounding and tremendously dynamic. They aren't the last word in sparkle or subterranean bass but they are surprisingly adept at both ends and are not outclassed in my Altmann/Lamm/RWA setup.
I built mine with a slanted front baffle which was a pain to build but works great to utilize floor reinforcement in the bass and still "aim" the driver at the listener.
They are ugly critters but solid as a tank. I stuffed the box around the driver to further minimize back wave energy. I have speaker wires soldered directly to the driver, so it's amp-direct - no interceding anything.
Let's say I have the utmost respect for real cabinet guys.
This photo shows with the Fostex 206E which was recently replaced by a used, first-gen Omega driver. I picked mine up used. I asked Louis a while back if I could buy some from him, but he said the drivers were OEM only. So, I'm not sure what the best driver option would be. That would be a beneficial direction for this thread to take.
Anybody interested in the single driver idea wanting to try it out, I wholly recommend this as a starting point. In fact, that's exactly what I did with these very boxes. These speakers changed everything for me. Since building these, I abandoned my previous direction. What these do well, namely micro- and macrodynamics, big time instrumental tone, and coherency are the stuff music is made of.
A sheet of mdf or plywood, a little sweat equity and a pair of drivers and that's it - they punch WAY above their price class.
A while back, when the Fostex drivers were in the system, I did a little experiment with these and the Definition Pros. I took the main cable leads off the front arrays of Defs and hooked them to the Yamamoto and these guys. I left the 500 watts and 8 - 10" subs connected, adjusted levels, and ya know what? They blended pretty freakin' well. The subs were EQ'd to the room so obviously that had a big part in it.
I'm using these as my main speakers right now in place of the Pros which were sold last w/e. That was tough. Anyway, these with their paper drivers and higher efficiency are great stand-ins and are more similar than different, which I suppose is a tribute to these AND the Pro's.
They aren't outclassed by the electronics at all, in fact they really let the character of them shine through (listening, Rollo?). I'd guess the total system budget allocated in this rig to the speakers at 2%. Really.