My Zaph Audio ZA5.2 Build

[manniraj]

I was looking at trying out on a DIY bookshelf speakers. Hence got the opportunity to get a kit from US through a friend who agreed to carry it for me :clapping:. I got this Zaph Audio kit from Madisoundspeakerstore site. This is a 2-way kit and comes with the full kit expect the cabinets. Got it shipped through FedEx 2nd day delivery as my friend was supposed to travel to a different place in US apart from the check-in hotel. He was there only for a week, hence less luggage to carry. Promptly got delivered on the 2nd day morning at my friends hotel and as per my special instructions they made sure that the package was as small and light as possible but sturdy . I followed this thread and as well as this one.

This kit was lying with me since couple of weeks and was looking around for a carpenter to do the cabinet build. But as usual for this kind of work none was ready or either did not want to try. Enough of requesting and went ahead of doing this completely myself. So searched around for the 19mm MDF but unfortunately only the 17mm available. Got the same and cut into 2 halfs to fit in my car. Then the hunt for the shop who can do the baffle cuts. Fortunately I found one wood carving/furniture shop nearby who agreed to do this work and also at a very cheap rate.

Got the circular cutter and did the markings and cut the wood as per the Zaph audio website with the PDF diagram. This panels did not come out as perfect as I was expecting as this was my first attempt in this kind of complex wood work. But was workable. Thanks to Bijin I got some 1" foam sheet (from a mattress shop) and was able to line the interiors. Completed the build without the finish in couple of days. I connected them to my Denon amplifier and listening to them for the last 2 hours. They sound so nice/crisp/clear and too good to believe that I made them. Thinking of veneering them in the next couple of weeks as I need to do some sanding on the uneven edges.

Overall very tiring job but at the end of the day the efforts are worthwhile :clapping::yahoo:. Sorry for having so less pictures but was so immersed in doing them that I was doing till late night yesterday.

Damages:
Kit cost = $259.86
Shipping/Customs = Nil
Wood = INR 1400
Circular Cutter = INR 1700
Baffle Cuts = INR 80
Miscellaneous = INR 1000

Will surely post the inner pictures when I remove the drivers for the final veneer finish.

You can see the complete set of pictures here.

 

[spirovious]

Congrats Manniraj,will love to get detailed review from you,cheers.

 

[vivek.saikia]

If it is not too much of a pain for you, you can do a flush mount of the drivers, purely for aesthetic reasons.

 

[doors666]

If it is not too much of a pain for you, you can do a flush mount of the drivers, purely for aesthetic reasons.

flush mounting of drivers is not only for aesthetic but also acoustic reasons. follow the designers instructions... if he says flush mount them, u do it.

 

[AmitKumar]

Congratulations my friend!

Speakers seems to be coming up well, After veneer finish they will look very good and will go well with your interiors.

i am surely going to trouble you in future for more details on this project.

now enjoy the music and share a detailed review when possible.

regards, Amit

 

[manniraj]

If it is not too much of a pain for you, you can do a flush mount of the drivers, purely for aesthetic reasons.

The drivers cut-out from the wood carving fellow didnot come out well as expected. So I had to use the hard sandpaper to rub and make it a perfect circle for the drivers. It did come out well but lots of effort is involved in using the sandpaper

flush mounting of drivers is not only for aesthetic but also acoustic reasons. follow the designers instructions... if he says flush mount them, u do it.

Yes I just followed exactly as per the designer instructions for the cabinet construction. No deviation as I am not an expect in making my own design. This is my first build so going with the design instructions.

Congratulations my friend!

Speakers seems to be coming up well, After veneer finish they will look very good and will go well with your interiors.

i am surely going to trouble you in future for more details on this project.

now enjoy the music and share a detailed review when possible.

regards, Amit

Thanks Amit you are most welcome.

I am planning to do the veneer matching to my interiors as it is my own apartment and will not be shifting, hence going with the look of interiors should not have any problem. But was also looking at the black color or some other walnut finish.

 

[koushik]

The drivers cut-out from the wood carving fellow didnot come out well as expected. So I had use sandpaper to rub and make it a perfect circle for the drivers. It did come out well but lots of effort is involved in using the sandpaper

Next time try to get the driver cut out from an electrical shop. The people who make holes for the electrical switches and plug point on switch board cover. They have perfect tools to do it and it will be dead smooth.

 

[manniraj]

Next time try to get the driver cut out from an electrical shop. The people who make holes for the electrical switches and plug point on switch board cover. They have perfect tools to do it and it will be dead smooth.

Thanks for the tip will surely try this out and some electrical shop would oblige. Just out of curiosity I had seen the tool that they use to cut the switches and as the switch board is made out of some sort of molded plastic its very smooth but would these tools work for wood cutting as well.

Congrats Manniraj,will love to get detailed review from you,cheers.

I am not an expect in writing down the reviews but nevertheless the speakers are performing better than my Yamaha NS-F140 floorstanders :lol:. Very good/tight bass with such a small size. As of now I have placed them on the isolation pads which I got from technoguru.in site and was using with Energy speakers. It looks like a good match with my Denon 510 amplifier and with the music-pc+ODAC combination the music has improved a lot. The instrument separation is just too good to believe. When the music is being played it is very lively and I feel that there is only one speaker which is making the sound rather than 2 which I was missing from my NS-F140. I can only hear them separately when there is any actual L/R music reproduction in the source. I have put the source direct option on my Denon and hence with Foobar2000 set to high priority using FM malvai's tip the music has come alive.

So all in all a super VFM speakers for less than 20k.

 

[koushik]

Thanks for the tip will surely try this out and some electrical shop would oblige. Just out of curiosity I had seen the tool that they use to cut the switches and as the switch board is made out of some sort of molded plastic its very smooth but would these tools work for wood cutting as well.

Yup it does ... There are few points that I would like to mention here -
1. Cutting MDF board is easier than molded plastic.
2. In yester-years, the switch board use to be wooden on the wall, if you remember. They use to work on that as well.
3. The most important point is, I got them to do it for me

 

[kapvin]

If it is not too much of a pain for you, you can do a flush mount of the drivers, purely for aesthetic reasons.

+1.

but countersinking of the tweeter at least is absolutely required for purely acoustic reasons.

edit1: just saw doors666 post and your reply.

Zaph is absolutely fanatical about countersinking. you can find an article on his site where he talks about the ills of not countersinking. this design is definitely meant to be countersunk (at lease do it for the tweeter; there will be big difference in your response)

edit2: found the article..

http://www.zaphaudio.com/mtg-surface.html

 

[manniraj]

+1.

but countersinking of the tweeter at least is absolutely required for purely acoustic reasons.

edit: just saw doors666 post and your reply.

Zaph is absolutely fanatical about countersinking. you can find an article on his site where he talks about the ills of not countersinking. this design is definitely meant to be countersunk (at lease do it for the tweeter; there will be big difference in your response)

Yes planning to do that this weekend hopefully for the both the tweeter and woofer.

Thanks

 

[kapvin]

Yes planning to do that this weekend hopefully for the both the tweeter and woofer.

Thanks

great, all the best!

would love to hear your listening impression post. Have heard a lot about the Zaph woofer but never actually heard it...

 

[manniraj]

great, all the best!

would love to hear your listening impression post. Have heard a lot about the Zaph woofer but never actually heard it...

Please check the post#11, I have given a brief review based on my listening impressions. But would try to give a detailed explanation once i am done with the finish and also the burn-in period of the speakers. But as of now I have connected the speakers to the Denon amplifier in B and my Yamaha FS in A and since the build never intending to switch the A speakers :clapping:.

Thanks

Ok here are some of the work in progress pictures for today. Panels have been doubled on all the sides. Flush mounting will be done hopefully next weekend. I did the dry fit and played it again today. With the heavy cabinets the sound has improved compared to the last. Planning to get it teak wood veneered next week after the flush mounting of the drivers.

Thanks

 

[quad]

Nice work.
One way to get a countersink effect is to paste another
1/4" (6mm) thickness ply sheet on the baffle, with the holes cut to the
outer diameter of the tweeter and woofer.

 

[manniraj]

Nice work.
One way to get a countersink effect is to paste another
1/4" (6mm) thickness ply sheet on the baffle, with the holes cut to the
outer diameter of the tweeter and woofer.

Yes quad I am planning to do that only as my carpenter was suggesting to use the OST (one side teakwood) veneer kind of a sheet which would be around 4mm thickness. I am planning to cut this sheet with the outer diameter of the drivers and this should automatically make the flush mouting.

Thanks for the tip.

Some WIP pictures. Planning for a some blackish glossy finish. Should be ready by this weekend.

Ok the polish has been done and re-installed the drivers and sealed the port tube. The sound is superb, crisp and hard to believe that I made them. Definitely @20k this should equal any commercial made speakers more than this value.
My first DIY effort has been exhaustive learning but definitely has given me the confidence to do much better in my next build :clapping:
And now the finished pictures:

Thanks for looking...

You can see the complete set of pictures here Zaph Audio Build.

 

[olly42]

Congrats maniraj

 

[AmitKumar]

these speakers have come up very well, looks very neat.

Enjoy music on new speakers. Congratulations!

Regards, Amit

 

[jls001]

@manniraj: I am sure they would sound wonderful. Please write a bit more detailed listening impression since this build is new to the forum. They look very well finished. Is that teak veneer?

Do play around with speaker placement if you have the room to play around with. It is sometimes surprising what improvements different placements can bring.

Also, try placing your speakers on brass cones. They help to focus the sound better. The ones from Sound Foundations - Homepage are really good.

 

[manniraj]

@manniraj: I am sure they would sound wonderful. Please write a bit more detailed listening impression since this build is new to the forum. They look very well finished. Is that teak veneer?

Do play around with speaker placement if you have the room to play around with. It is sometimes surprising what improvements different placements can bring.

Also, try placing your speakers on brass cones. They help to focus the sound better. The ones from Sound Foundations - Homepage are really good.

Planning for making a DIY speaker stand (sand filled) with the left over wood. If not definitely will go with the some kind of spikes. Placing them on the stands should improve the sound as the current placement is very restricted and I am not able to adjust the angles because of the TV in between.
It definitely has a nice sound and I am really loving it far far better than my Yamaha FS. Surprisingly nice crisp bass for a BS with the front port.
My internet radio stations have come alive with AR Rahman station giving out nice instrument separation with clear vocal and bass reproduction. With the break-in it should get better. They are room filling with the volume knob at around 11 o'clock position on my Denon amplifier.
I have used OST (one side teakwood) 3mm veneer sheet with the flush mounting of the drivers and then polished with the Turkey Umber color to match my interiors.

Thanks
Edit:
Ok update regarding my DIY speaker stands.

Here are the work in progress pictures. Planning to polish them with the left over OST of my BS build. The stands are made out of 1" plywood sheet of the left overs from my carpenter. The insides are pasted with all the left over red/black/white laminates of my carpenters last wardrobe build. I thought of laminating them as I am going to fill the fine sand for this and the laminate will be durable for the moisture content.
The top panel is just screwed so I think it is taller for my listening position. May be I need to ask the carpenter to reduce the height by another 2" as I need to put the spikes.

Regarding the dimensions:
L = 28" (still need to adjust for my listening position)
Base panels = 9-1/2 by 10" and 10-1/2" by 11"
Top panel = 9-1/2"

Thanks

 

[sgmane]

Ok update regarding my DIY speaker stands.

Here are the work in progress pictures. Planning to polish them with the left over OST of my BS build. The stands are made out of 1" plywood sheet of the left overs from my carpenter. The insides are pasted with all the left over red/black/white laminates of my carpenters last wardrobe build. I thought of laminating ....

Thanks

Looks Good! Awaiting for your final polished stuff. Your BS are looking good too!