Posted by brashgordon (A) on October 21, 2005 at 14:34:55

I've been gleefully listening to my AirForce MK II's for several months now (after a painfully long and tedious break-in period) while otherwise occupied with the issues we encounter in everyday life.

In the last couple of weeks, (since the weather began to change), I'd noticed something less pleasant about my system. I suspected EVERYTHING except my speaker system (bought about $500.00 in footers, suspension tweeks, CD treatments)...and not a lot of improvement (or degradation)

The other day, I opened up the shades and the sun (which NEVER shines directly on ANYTHING hI-fI) did something funny on my piano black treble horns....that it didn't do to the rest of the baffle...

To my HORROR, I noticed some WARP-AGE.... across the top and along the length (height) of the baffles...each one slightly different, and differences on each top and side.

My question is this:

Can I use some channel steel / aluminum / brass (like shelf brackets) on the back edges of the baffles... to correct this warp-age ?

And if not, what is the thickest solid wood baffle I can use to avoid this problem in the furtue?

Bent-out-of-shape !!!

Dogs will be DAWGS...

• Re: Baffles warping - driguy 13:33:20 10/22/05 (0)
  In Reply to: Baffles warping posted by brashgordon on October 21, 2005 at 14:34:55:

  Hello,
  The problems usually arise from using too thin of a material. Did you use 3/4" material or 1" stock? Did you use MDF or plywood.? Are your baffles floor standing or do they rest on the subs?
  Most people make the mistake of using 3/4" material because that is what is commonly available. Please contact me with details of your setup and I can let you know what you can do about it. Usually though, once wood or even MDF has warped that's the end of the ball game. I can send you photos of my thicker baffles that have a routed relief from the back so that the driver is at the proper depth. At anything more than 1" thick you have to be able to put a relief in the back.
  

  • http://www.audiospecialtiesofnm.com   (Open in New Window)

  
  

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• Re: Baffles warping - Robert Bastani 15:32:23 10/21/05 (1)
  In Reply to: Baffles warping posted by brashgordon on October 21, 2005 at 14:34:55:

  Hello,

  i don`t know if my English is good enough to understand what happened. Is the warp in your diy- baffles or in the tweeter- horns?
  Or is there a gap in the baffle which also results a broken horn?
  When the warp is in the baffles i expect you used massive wood. Massive wooden platters have lots of problems regarding changing humidity in the room and also regarding changing temperatures, this also depends on the thickness, the type of wood, how and to which percentage it was dried and also to the structure of the platter. There are a few quality- dried hard- woods you can use, every other massive wooden platter will not stay flat over the time without supporting techniques. I think the best possibility to get competent help with your baffle- problem is to ask Tony: http://www.audiospecialtiesofnm.com
  He is a specialist in massive wood and also manufactures beautiful hardwood- baffles for Prometheus.

  Important:
  Please remove the widebands as soon as possible from your baffles to avoid that the baskets of the drivers (they follow the wood) become oval which results a defect!

  Regards
  Robert Bastani
  

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  • Re: Baffles warping - brashgordon 14:34:08 10/28/05 (0)
    In Reply to: Re: Baffles warping posted by Robert Bastani on October 21, 2005 at 15:32:23:

    Well, I got rid of almost all of the twisting / bowing in my baffles...adding a lot of weight in so doing, including adding 6 lbs of brass footers along the way, and in my opinion they came through quite well. The extra weight anchors them solidly and the widebands produce more and punchier (slam ?) bass (only down to 80 or so, of course). I've only had 4-5 hours to listen critically (involved in an amp stand project) so I don't have a lot more to add...but they're still my favorite "bang for the buck" speaker system...and I'm glad I could "bring them back" until I get around to re-doing them completely.
    Dogs will be DAWGS...
    
    

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