3D Printed Speaker Adapters

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by mid_life_crisis

So how did they sound? If they worked, what are the chances of a generic design for other tweeters?

Initial quality on the tweeters is excellent! Good presence and sparkle. The midranges are going to cover most of the treble range, and these are top-octave only.

It's worth noting that an acoustic lens is really only good for ~1 octave of sound... so I would advise against using them in a 2-way system. The design is good, but there's room for improvement (narrow the horizontal spread and widen the vertical spread).

The 2" midranges are absolute champs. Female vocals, guitars, and most instruments sound very lifelike. The volume is consistent as they overlap with the 7" door woofers, but you can tell there are phase issues (time alignment needed).

The 7" woofers are definitely more comfortable than the stock speakers for low-end extension (~80 Hz). You still need a sub to support the bottom octave though.

[mid_life_crisis]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

It's worth noting that an acoustic lens is really only good for ~1 octave of sound... so I would advise against using them in a 2-way system. The design is good, but there's room for improvement (narrow the horizontal spread and widen the vertical spread).

I'm glad to hear that the system sounds good so far. I'll be interested to hear what it sounds like with time alignment done, if you decide to go that far.
As far as my question was concerned, this is what I was looking for. I have a good set of 3 ways that dropped into the factory locations, but they have a metallic dome tweeter which is harsh to my ears coming off the glass. I'm really trying to avoid getting crazy with this and I'm wondering if something like your lens would reduce that effect.

Edit: I'm getting old. Turns out the tweeters were soft domes. What does that tell you about this car as a musical environment? I got lucky. I went back to where I had my system installed and asked for any unused tweeter pods and they gave me a pair of nice sleek looking pods intended for a Focal system. They even threw in some double sided tape. I put them outboard of the midranges to spread the soundstage a bit and, after experimenting, ended up with them aimed at the opposite door window. Excellent off-axis sound, far better than aimed directly. I'm loving my stereo again.

[Shankenstein]

Quick update for pics


And yes, I got a new registration sticker. I kept the Texas sticker, for sentimental reasons.

[mid_life_crisis]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

And yes, I got a new registration sticker. I kept the Texas sticker, for sentimental reasons.

So are you leaving Texas to try someplace new or are you going home to Massachusetts? I ask because I'm originally from the Boston area and ran away from the snow over a decade ago.

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by mid_life_crisis

So are you leaving Texas to try someplace new or are you going home to Massachusetts? I ask because I'm originally from the Boston area and ran away from the snow over a decade ago.

Born in New Orleans, lived in Louisiana/Texas/Oklahoma for 25+years.

The wife finished up at Rice University and got a great post-doctoral fellowship up here. Dana-Farber and Harvard School of Public Health. We're probably only here for another year or two (until she gets a tenure-track professor position).

I'm pretty happy with the area. Excellent running/biking/hiking and a good SCCA group. I'm working at Bose Corporation in the automotive product development division. Boredom is beginning to set in... but the people here are awesome.

The snow is pretty miserable though. We bought the FR-S a couple months before we got her acceptance letter. I was "that guy" who kept a sleeping bag in his car and barely made it through most blizzards. Never got completely stuck, but 5" of clearance turns you into a plow, real quick.

After one winter, we got a 15 year old Honda Accord. Installed a Yellow Top, vinyl wrap, and Michelin X-Ices. "The Blue Turd" is pretty awesome.

[mid_life_crisis]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

Born in New Orleans, lived in Louisiana/Texas/Oklahoma for 25+years.

The wife finished up at Rice University and got a great post-doctoral fellowship up here. Dana-Farber and Harvard School of Public Health. We're probably only here for another year or two (until she gets a tenure-track professor position).

I'm pretty happy with the area. Excellent running/biking/hiking and a good SCCA group. I'm working at Bose Corporation in the automotive product development division. Boredom is beginning to set in... but the people here are awesome.

The snow is pretty miserable though. We bought the FR-S a couple months before we got her acceptance letter. I was "that guy" who kept a sleeping bag in his car and barely made it through most blizzards. Never got completely stuck, but 5" of clearance turns you into a plow, real quick.

After one winter, we got a 15 year old Honda Accord. Installed a Yellow Top, vinyl wrap, and Michelin X-Ices. "The Blue Turd" is pretty awesome.

Congratulations to your wife. That's impressive.
Bose? Not a huge fan of their products, but that sounds like a great job. I think I'm jealous.
Two cars, both low to the ground, amazing the difference between FWD and RWD in the snow, eh?
Have you and your wife had the chance to go "leaf peeping" yet? New England in the fall is pretty spectacular. There's a term called "scenic overkill" that I think someone invented for it. It's when you're driving along and come around a bend and see something so pretty you have to stop for a better look. You keep doing that until you're convinced that it simply can't get any better, but then around the next bend...

[dem00n]

I'm assuming you're using ABS material? Is it holding up in the summer?

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by dem00n

I'm assuming you're using ABS material? Is it holding up in the summer?

It's doing OK. Boston had a few "heat waves" that got up to 35 C (95 F).

The tweeter lens has a thin ring around the bottom-front. That has bent slightly. It appears to be relaxation of some residual stresses... rather than melting.

ABS has a glass transition temp of 105 C and a melting temp of 220 C. Realistically, we're probably seeing 70-80 C (150-170 F) at the dash. Since ABS is amorphous, that kind of temperature will make it easier for residual stresses to settle out, without the part physically softening.

[GSpeed]

Looks like the printing went well. Glad to see there's some other 3D printing enthusiasts here. I've got a machine I've been making for our shop that we're planning on releasing as an open source design. Think people on here would be interested? I haven't had the free time to finish making it or start a build thread for it.

Jake

[dustmann]

@PST I would be interested.. I haven't been printing much since I just moved, but I'm looking to get my printer up and running again this weekend. I'm a rather 3d noob, but so far it's been very interesting

[meWant]

@Sharkenstein did you ever get the sub mounted in the back?

Curious to hear your thoughts on that

[Shankenstein]

Originally Posted by meWant

@Sharkenstein did you ever get the sub mounted in the back?

It's been a slow-going project.

I've epoxied the speaker ring (3D printed) in place. Body filler was used to fill the gaps between the ring and fiberglass piece. Also spent many hours sanding and smoothing with body filler.

Next step is to wrap it in leather/alcantara (not sure yet).

Over the holiday weekend, I got to install some pieces.




This amp mounting location keeps the weight low and has an easy ground location (threaded nut for the spare tire bolt). If you're willing to spare the spare tire, it's got alot of advantages over the sides of the trunk (my preferred mounting location).

Most of the wires were routed and connected. There's still a couple hours of work before it can get fired up. Then, the fun of tuning a 4-way active system.

[Chimera]

Originally Posted by Shankenstein

It's been a slow-going project.

I've epoxied the speaker ring (3D printed) in place. Body filler was used to fill the gaps between the ring and fiberglass piece. Also spent many hours sanding and smoothing with body filler.

Next step is to wrap it in leather/alcantara (not sure yet).

Over the holiday weekend, I got to install some pieces.




This amp mounting location keeps the weight low and has an easy ground location (threaded nut for the spare tire bolt). If you're willing to spare the spare tire, it's got alot of advantages over the sides of the trunk (my preferred mounting location).

Most of the wires were routed and connected. There's still a couple hours of work before it can get fired up. Then, the fun of tuning a 4-way active system.

Anything new happen with this project?

[smith59]

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