The Speaker Project - Owners & Discussion Thread

[Fidelity Hi]

I’m an avid reader of many forums and thought I would join stereonet to share my recent project.

 

I recently completed a build from a local Australian company – The Speaker Project and thought I would share the story as it was such an enjoyable process and I’ve spent the last 6 months in awe of how good the speakers are.

 

I had been looking to upgrade my B&W CM5’s and going from one forum to another to youtube and back, I decided to go down the DIY path.

 

I researched many of the main DIY providers globally and reached out to Atlas from The Speaker Project. Atlas immediately put my apprehension of speaker building at ease and we talked through what I wanted to achieve, a significant improvement over my current set up.

 

Atlas took the time to understand my requirements and shared how he developed the Trohets, his reference quality speaker. Everything you need comes in the kit with instructional videos on how to assemble. A relatively easy process and Atlas was on hand with any questions I had, over and above anything I had expected.

 

I went for the Alder timber finish, which is a key difference between other kits. It is real wood on top of marine plywood, rather than veneer. Easier for the DIYer to complete and looks so much better. I bleached my timber and also rounded the edges, whilst also lining the insides to reduce resonance (a tip from Atlas). Assembling the crossovers and final speakers is relatively easy whilst following along in the videos.

 

The key question, how do they sound? They sound amazing, I couldn’t be happier with them. The CM5’s were touted for their bass, the Trohets have more bass and it is so much tighter. They make the CM5’s seem muddy in comparison. The mids and highs are also impeccable, so enjoyable even over longer listening sessions and a significant step up from my previous set up. The timber in vocals and the tone of acoustics give you goosebumps when listening. I now have many listening sessions a week, rediscovering favourites or going on the journey of  finding new tunes.

 

Atlas also helped me choose partnering gear, Music Fidelity M6si amp and Bluesound node. Atlas is a genuinely good bloke, has helped me find a new hobby and I’m enjoying music so much more as a result.

 

In summary, a rewarding experience via learning a new skill, unbelievable sounding speakers whilst supporting a local brand that is helping drive the hifi passion. I couldn’t recommend Atlas’ Trohet course more highly.

[Fidelity Hi]

A few more pictures of the build. 

 

 

[mwhouston]

13 hours ago, Fidelity Hi said:

A few more pictures of the build. 

 

 

Love the build and love the blonde wood. For me with such a small speaker I would have left the tweeter in the middle. Bigger boxes would allow the tweeter offset and look good but here doesn’t quite look right. Not going to change how good it sounds but. Love to hear them.  Good work. 

Edited February 2, 2023 by mwhouston

[Peter_F]

They are remarkably similar looking to the Zaph Audio ZD5 DIY speakers.

 

[RoHo]

12 hours ago, mwhouston said:

Love the build and love the blonde wood. For me with such a small speaker I would have left the tweeter in the middle. Bigger boxes would allow the tweeter offset and look good but here doesn’t quite look right. Not going to change how good it sounds but. Love to hear them.  Good work. 

Yes the finish does look nice.

Having the tweeter offset like this is technically the most optimum design.  For the least cabinet edge diffraction you want the distance from tweeter to all four edges to be different.  But it does look a bit "off".  Whether the gains in performance make up for the aesthetic issues are debatable.  Look at most commercial speakers and you know what the manufacturers and consumers think!

[SonJay]

Thanks for sharing Fidelity Hi, they sure do look nice! I'm keen on giving this a go and will probably wait when they get the Mahogany back in stock.

 

I just had a look at Alder timber on Google and can see it's a lot more brown that your speakers. When you say bleached, Just simply added household bleach?

[Fidelity Hi]

18 hours ago, mwhouston said:

Love the build and love the blonde wood. For me with such a small speaker I would have left the tweeter in the middle. Bigger boxes would allow the tweeter offset and look good but here doesn’t quite look right. Not going to change how good it sounds but. Love to hear them.  Good work. 

Thanks! The colour came out really well, Trohet means accuracy in Swedish and I think it is fitting they came out blonde! 

Absolutely understand it is personal preference. But when you see offset tweeters as a pair flanking your system, I really enjoy the look of them. My other system has regular tweeter positioning, so I get the best of both worlds.

[Fidelity Hi]

Thanks @RoHo for providing the science behind, I can confirm they sound great.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Fidelity Hi

[Fidelity Hi]

2 hours ago, SonJay said:

Thanks for sharing Fidelity Hi, they sure do look nice! I'm keen on giving this a go and will probably wait when they get the Mahogany back in stock.

 

I just had a look at Alder timber on Google and can see it's a lot more brown that your speakers. When you say bleached, Just simply added household bleach?

It is a two ingredient (readily available) solution that you use after the sanding process. Atlas provided me the information and a video on how to do it. I really like a light colour wood, so was happy with the outcome. 

[Fidelity Hi]

16 hours ago, Peter_F said:

They are remarkably similar looking to the Zaph Audio ZD5 DIY speakers.

 

Great spot. They are off the shelf drivers, so I'm assuming there will be many similar combinations out there. But it would all come down to implementation and cross over design where they would all be different. To my humble ears, these are implemented very well and I'm very satisfied with how they sound.

[Phil M]

Ive come across this thread and thought I would reply.

 

I also have completed a TROHET home speaker build.  I came across SpeakerProject through the initial stereo net article.  I ordered the project as something to do across the Christmas break, I was interested to see how a speaker was put together and also to support a small Australian company.  

 

Honestly my expectation of the end product was not very high.

 

To say that I was stunned by the imagery of the speakers as I moved through my vinyl collection that night, and that the soundstage became deeper and warmer as the speakers ran-in over the coming weeks  is an understatement.  I have speakers of ~ 2.5K comparison at home and they are blown away.  I have had them side by side with B&W 705 S3 and its hard to split them.  The surhan swift mu2 eclipsed them, but they retail for ~ 7K.

 

The time spent making these speakers was great fun and I would do it again.  

 

My lesson is not to ignore DIY projects - they can produce amazing results.

 

Phil

 

 

 

 

[Fidelity Hi]

Great to learn about your experience comparing the different speakers @Phil M. They certainly made my current set up seem ordinary.

 

It would be great to see a few photos of your finished Trohets.

 

Happy listening!

[Timster]

I didn't build the Trohet, but took the cost effective route and purchased the "Copenhagen" kit to build some monitors for my office.  I echo completely the experiences above with the kit and the communication & support from Atlas @ The Speaker Project.  The Copenhagens, too, exceeded my expectations!   I'll start another thread for the Copenhagens and share my build pictures, but here is the finished item on my desk and in use for some more "involved" listening.

 

The Trohet is on my wish list 

 

 

[Fidelity Hi]

@Timster great pictures and partnering gear in the Willsenton. Very cool with the tubes and I'm assuming an impressive soundstage?

 

 

[Guest DrSK]

On 03/02/2023 at 10:47 AM, RoHo said:

Yes the finish does look nice.

Having the tweeter offset like this is technically the most optimum design.  For the least cabinet edge diffraction you want the distance from tweeter to all four edges to be different.  But it does look a bit "off".  Whether the gains in performance make up for the aesthetic issues are debatable.  Look at most commercial speakers and you know what the manufacturers and consumers think!

 

Might perhaps be to get the most diffraction across the frequency range, rather than the least. This minimises beaming and lobing.

 

The sharp edge of a speaker cabinet creates a sudden discontinuity in the wave propagation and a reflection back to the centre of the speaker. Eg much like the expansion chamber in a silencer or the end of a pipe. With a centred tweeter each edge coincides with the same frequency for maximum bad effect.

 

More diffraction would mean more sound gets wrapped around the speaker and is better dispersed off axis. This is the aim in speaker design, getting an even response into the room through the frequency range. The base driver with lower frequency (more accurate/descriptive than saying large wavelengths in this instance) doesn't have this problem and even know the edge of the cabinet is there and disperses evenly in all directions.

 

Another way to deal with this issue is to round or chamfer the cabinet edges around the tweeter. This allows more diffraction and more even dispersion by reducing the sudden change of a square box edge. Think of it as a bit like a horn designed to prevent sudden changes in acoustic impedance by the design of the flare.

[Peter_JS]

Trohet Speaker build

I have recently completed building some speakers designed by Atlas from The Speaker Project.

The speakers called Trohet are their high end speaker kit.

The kit is availability with all speaker components including cabinet panels that are CNC cut ready for glue up & if required all tools needed.

I decided to build my own cabinets so I ordered the speakers & crossover components only.

Fully detailed working drawings were supplied to build the cabinets &

assembly videos were available online & were very easy to follow along at my own pace.

The speakers cabinets were made from 18mm birch plywood with American walnut veneer on both faces.

I mitre cut all edges & joined with domino’s to strengthen the join.

Prior to gluing together 3mm rubber sheet was glued to all internal surfaces

to further dampen the speaker cabinet from vibrations.

After glue up I then cut the corners out 6mm x 6mm and glued in solid 6x6 American walnut.

This allowed me to add a small radius to all corners which I sanded by hand.

After sanding all over I then oiled the cabinets using Osmo Polyx to bring up the grain & they look stunning.

I used a table saw to cut all mitred edges, router with circle jig for speaker holes, & Festool domino for cutting the domino holes.

It was a lot of work to build the cabinets but well worth the effort.

Unless you have the tools & experience in woodworking, I would order the kits with pre cut panels rather than build your own.

Cross overs had to be assembled and soldered together.

It was then a matter of gluing in the crossovers, filling with acoustic insulation & finally assembling the speakers.

I thoroughly enjoyed building the Trohets and Atlas was very helpful available if I had any questions.

[Peter_JS]

On 2/2/2023 at 7:31 PM, Fidelity Hi said:

A few more pictures of the build. 

 

 

Nice job, they look good 

[Timster]

2 hours ago, Peter_JS said:

Trohet Speaker build

I have recently completed building some speakers designed by Atlas from The Speaker Project.

The speakers called Trohet are their high end speaker kit.

The kit is availability with all speaker components including cabinet panels that are CNC cut ready for glue up & if required all tools needed.

I decided to build my own cabinets so I ordered the speakers & crossover components only.

Fully detailed working drawings were supplied to build the cabinets &

assembly videos were available online & were very easy to follow along at my own pace.

The speakers cabinets were made from 18mm birch plywood with American walnut veneer on both faces.

I mitre cut all edges & joined with domino’s to strengthen the join.

Prior to gluing together 3mm rubber sheet was glued to all internal surfaces

to further dampen the speaker cabinet from vibrations.

After glue up I then cut the corners out 6mm x 6mm and glued in solid 6x6 American walnut.

This allowed me to add a small radius to all corners which I sanded by hand.

After sanding all over I then oiled the cabinets using Osmo Polyx to bring up the grain & they look stunning.

I used a table saw to cut all mitred edges, router with circle jig for speaker holes, & Festool domino for cutting the domino holes.

It was a lot of work to build the cabinets but well worth the effort.

Unless you have the tools & experience in woodworking, I would order the kits with pre cut panels rather than build your own.

Cross overs had to be assembled and soldered together.

It was then a matter of gluing in the crossovers, filling with acoustic insulation & finally assembling the speakers.

I thoroughly enjoyed building the Trohets and Atlas was very helpful available if I had any questions.

 

AND???

How do they sound?

Enquiring minds want to know 

[cheekyboy]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:59 AM, Peter_F said:

They are remarkably similar looking to the Zaph Audio ZD5 DIY speakers.

 

 

Hello Peter,

 

Are they Krutke's standmounts or floorstanding ZD5s pictured? I built a pair of the BR floorstanders and they were in a Jarrah veneer very much like yours there. They are a sensational loudspeaker and that Scan Speak mid woofer is one of the best drivers available IMHO.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by cheekyboy

[Peter_JS]

1 hour ago, Timster said:

 

AND???

How do they sound?

Enquiring minds want to know 

Hi Tim

For relatively small speakers they far exceeded my expectations.

They are positioned in a family room with dining & kitchen open plan and do not struggle to fill the family room area.

I was thinking I would need a Subby but the bass is fantastic & the subby has been put away.

[Peter_JS]

48 minutes ago, cheekyboy said:

 

Hello Peter,

 

Are they Krutke's standmounts or floorstanding ZD5s pictured. I built a pair of the BR floorstanders and they were in a Jarrah veneer very much like yours there. They are a sensational loudspeaker and that Scan Speak mid woofer is one of the best drivers available IMHO.

 

Cheers,

 

Keith

 

 

Hi Keith

they are very similar, even with the offset tweeter which some people struggle with.

mine are from The Speaker Project designed by Atlas Gouverneur.

they are based in Sydney.

[Timster]

23 minutes ago, Peter_JS said:

Hi Tim

For relatively small speakers they far exceeded my expectations.

They are positioned in a family room with dining & kitchen open plan and do not struggle to fill the family room area.

I was thinking I would need a Subby but the bass is fantastic & the subby has been put away.

Thanks.  They are on my list to get at some point.  I have made the Copenhagen kit (and very happy with it as well!).  The Trohets would be a big step up I think.

Nice work on the cabinets too. 

[Peter_JS]

30 minutes ago, Timster said:

Thanks.  They are on my list to get at some point.  I have made the Copenhagen kit (and very happy with it as well!).  The Trohets would be a big step up I think.

Nice work on the cabinets too. 

You won’t be disappointed 

[Fidelity Hi]

Just an update on the system.

 

I purchased the Geshelli J2 DAC (AKM version) around 3 months ago, it has changed the tone of system to much more my liking. Everything that was good about the Trohets is now improved. The DAC presents a very coherent sound, that retains the lovely top end, but adds much more to the bottom end. The mids and bass are far more robust. The listening experience is even more enjoyable than it was before – I’m very happy with the Trohet + J2 pairing!

 

I also upgraded the J2 with Sparkos Labs opamps, it adds greater depth and texture to the sound. Making it sound even more lifelike. I’ve been able to complete back to back testing using the balanced output (TI1612) vs unbalanced (Sparkos) and it slightly improves an already wonderful product.

 

Geshelli is a small/family run business, their customer service is absolutely fantastic. Sherri and Geno were amazing help and so passionate about hifi. It was much like my experience The Speaker Project. Highly recommend the DAC, I just wish I ordered it earlier!

 

 

 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Fidelity Hi

[Peter_JS]

Nice set up