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OND's other projects
Ond:
Just a comment before some small update pics. Other than speaker systems in game cabinets I don't generally build speakers from my own designs, that is, cabinets, crossovers or driver selections. I only build stuff from proven professional designers. If I'm going to spend all that time woodworking not to mention money!, I want to be very sure of the outcome. Whilst I'm quite capable of designing my own as a theoretical exercise, there are plenty of tried, tested and reviewed designs out there to choose from.
A glimpse of the floor-standing Artisan speakers, angle cut, primed and some walnut veneer applied.
The Carrera bookshelf speakers also angle cut and primed ready for veneer. These are heavy for the small size they are.
Whilst I'm concentrating on my vpin right now, I will return to these in the next few weeks. My goal is to finish at least two pairs and maybe three, before Winter arrives and its too damn cold for workshop projects.
Ond:
I've been chipping away at speaker building since my last post ages ago. Winter has been and gone and we've moved into a new house. It's holiday time and my new workshop is usable. Yay! To kick off spending time building ... anything, once more, I chose to take on the crossovers for the high-end Sasandu speakers. Building a pair of these will be the most challenging DIY speaker project I've ever attempted. If what you see in this thread seems confusing, complex, WTF!, etc, just keep on checking in now and then. Like a mystery whodunit movie the different elements will assemble and make sense at some point ... ;D A recap. In my search to find a DIY kit or similar for some really nice high-end music speakers (as apposed to AV speakers) I found the Sasandu kits/plans/parts. You can buy the finished (empty) cabinets and various parts and build. I'm a capable cabinet builder/woodworker so I decided to build the cabinets myself and maybe save a few dollars. More on that later. Even the crossovers for Sasandu are expensive. Crossovers are the electronic components in a speaker that divide the audio signal into different frequency ranges, directing each range to the appropriate speaker driver ( woofers and tweeters). In some speaker setups this may just be a capacitor or maybe a few resistors and capacitors. Crossovers can get complex, especially ones designed for 3-way systems. You may be thinking why bother at all? Why not just buy something nice instead of building your own. Because money that's why.
So, here's the commercial crossovers for sale online:
Rather than buy these, I got the schematics and put them through KiCad, got the PCBs made up and assembled my own. The parts on the commercial version are good. The parts on mine are better. In the end I still saved on the price and (hopefully) end up with an equivalent or better crossover. The risk is that I'll ---fudgesicle--- them up somewhere and they won't work. For practice, I first built simpler designs for other speakers with good results (see my earlier posts).
The bare PCB ready to go:
Electronic components all soldered, zip tied and hot glued in place. The big woofer coil was so heavy I used a stainless steel zip tie on that puppy:
Adding cables:
Rather than using risers to mount the PCB, I 3D printed these support parts and glued them on, stronger, less vibration:
Here are the completed crossovers mounted on the bottom panels:
I wanted to make sure after all that effort that they actually work. I mounted a set of drivers into a front Sasandu panel (baffle), connected up a crossover and then connected up to my amp. Thankfully, they work as they should and sound great which is a huge relief! Next post should cover joinery of the first few panels.
bobbyb13:
Always love a good Ond post.
Man, those crossovers of yours are beasts!
Nicely done.
Look forward to seeing how you feel about the sound split in action.
And then also to learn when we can buy a pair of boards and a BOM!
These are for the floor towers I must assume?
I really need to look up that Sasandu stuff.
Never would have considered myself a true audiophile but I really do enjoy expansive music so this is a great thread.
Ond:
--- Quote from: bobbyb13 on December 23, 2025, 03:42:04 am ---Always love a good Ond post.
Man, those crossovers of yours are beasts!
Nicely done.
Look forward to seeing how you feel about the sound split in action.
And then also to learn when we can buy a pair of boards and a BOM!
These are for the floor towers I must assume?
I really need to look up that Sasandu stuff.
Never would have considered myself a true audiophile but I really do enjoy expansive music so this is a great thread.
--- End quote ---
I'd love to see someone else who is capable build a pair of these. I mean it when I say they are at the far edge of challenging in terms of woodworking! I found this great picture of a pair of white ones:
They are more commonly seen in black but I love the look of the gloss white. We can talk about a BOM and board availability down the track :D
Here are some links to Sasandu:
https://www.artisanacoustics.net/products/sasandu
https://sbacoustics.com/product/sasandu/
They use the Satori drivers which are used in various high end speakers. The tweeters are nutz expensive but best in class. I finally received my delivery of custom machine screws and threaded inserts I'm using for these so.. ready to roll. The whole audiophile thing, yeah I guess I'm one too. If I ever start crapping on about about 'transparent soundstages' or other subjective rubbish just stop me right there! I'm posting for the build, the DIY fun, not walls of text about the best speakers in the universe I ever heard :blah: :blah: :blah:
Xiaou2:
Awe... I guess you want some attention. *hugs*
As for Audiophile Terminology... I didnt invent it. You can find the same types of terminology being used by the
very speaker designers, that you Admire so much.
Paul from "PS Audio" has many videos on the subject. Hes explained several times, for example.. the way that
a very high end speaker "Vanishes". The sound is simply "Holographic", seeming to be without a projected source.
If you dont care to listen to a guy whom designs and sells $35,000 speakers, custom amps, and other high end
Audiophile equipment... you are more than welcome to listen to the Thousands of other Audiophile Designers,
Owners, and Hobbyist.
Now... Ive never heard Pauls speakers, so I cant tell you what I think of them. I like that they use a passive radiator,
and I like that they have custom designed + custom built woofers, rather than "Modifying" Cheap Chinese drivers.
I like that they design, build, and test their own crossovers. I like that they they are Hyper Critical about both
observable measurements... but at the same time.. still fine tune things by Ear.
Im not a big fan of putting a rear tweeter on a speaker. But that said.. I think Planer Drivers have an issue with
spreading out the sound in a wide field.. and that might help with that issue. (its also an optional thing, with an
adjustable level)
Interestingly enough... Paul used to work for Genesis. Genesis Physics were the ones whom bought EPI, and sold
speakers deep into the 80s, using EPI designs + drivers. I dont know if Genesis Physics, was the same company
as the More Modern "Genesis" that most people might know today.
All I can say... is what matters most: Great Sound
And of course, for me... Price has always been a major factor. Just because you want to try the $1000 headphones,
doesnt mean you can ever afford.. or justify that kind of cash.
That said... there is a law of Diminishing Returns, when it comes to high end audio. The difference between a
$50 headphone... and a $120 headphone, can be quite Extreme. VERY easily noticed (unless they are b0se).
However... the Differences between a $1000 headphone, and a $5000 headphone... can be so small.. that most people
might Struggle to tell them apart.
The same is true of Audiophile Speakers. When you get into speakers costing more than a Car... its not actually
going to be "That" much different from a speaker that costs a fifth of its price. But if you have plenty of Cash to burn...
then why not have the Best of the Best? Its hard to argue with that reasoning.
On the other hand... Just because something is expensive, and very pretty... does not mean it puts out a sound that
everyone enjoys, or prefers.
This is why companies like Sennheiser, had many different lines of headphones... that are tailored to different sound
qualities. For example.. the HD650.. might be very accurate and balanced... but theres almost no soundstage at all.
Meanwhile, the 590s had a MASSIVE 3d soundstage... but the bass was a bit Anemic, in certain frequency spectrums.
(they needed a high end recording, or they would reveal the smallest of recording issues / bit-rate quality, in a very
audibly negative way)
Anyway, If I didnt say it before.. nice woodworking skills, and skills to put the crossovers together.
One can always admire anothers works.. even if they agree to disagree on things
Though, I dont really think this is an issue of a Disagreement.. Just merely a bruised Ego, for some reason, when it
was never intended. Im a very passionate person.. for sure. It can rub people the wrong way, even if not intended