Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Need idea for VP150 shelf?

I know that someone out in audio forumland has an eD A7-900 sub that he wrapped in Rosewood veneer he ordered from av123. It looks gorgeous.

Here is the thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1021774

and just the pic linked

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=108138&d=1208803745

He bought unfinished I see. I would imagine veneer would be the simplest option, but I don't know if you could find a veneer glue that sticks to vinyl.

If you have someone else do it who has the proper tools, they could probably make 1/4" solid wood pannels that they assemble over the speaker. The front baffle would be an issue because you don't want to recess the drivers. I would imigine that would seriously change the acoustics of the speakers.

Agreed. I'm thinking of .5 to .75 inch hardwood plywood - birch, mahogany or cherry. Like the B&W 800s, I was thinking of leaving the front baffle as is, and wrapping the speaker from the back - think of a taco shell with the front baffle sticking out the top. That should keep the harmonics of the baffle the same. My hope was that the shell would only make the box more inert, thus not harming the sound. If I am going to do it, I'm going for the 800's curves, with the Vienna's or Sanos Faber wood patterns.
I don't want to upgrade my towers just for better boxes, but my appreciation for wood work and lack of fondness for black boxes is driving me to change. This could keep the cost down – if it works!

Thanks Jake, glad to know I'm not too far out on a limb here.

Actually, I have been toying with the idea myself which is how I came upon the sub pics. I have natural maple in my basement and the light maple doesn't match close enough for my wife's liking. It's either a full trade up for ~$1000 or I try this idea of doing a veneer myself. As you are covering up the outside anyway the vinyl can be removed with a heat gun and some patience, even if the outside gets damaged a little, it won't matter. Then the veneer could be glued on as usual.

I can't see why that would not work. My goal is a bit more problematic in that I want to change the shape of the speaker cabinet. Thus I need a frame to add curves to what is now a rectangle. But in your case, if you can get better vinyl or real wood veneers that match you other woods, it should not be that hard to permanently attach those to your cabinet. And it should look great, as those photos you found show. At worst, it should not cost too much for a local carpenter, etc., to do the job professionally for you. You are not talking about much work to simply add a veneer to a rectangle.

You know Zimm, it might be easier to have new cabinets built given what you want to do. You would need to know the internal cabinet volume of the current speakers.

No need to make it too hard, you just add a few firring strips or newly created outer housing to wrap around the present cabinet to give the outside a new shape, the inside will remain untouched and just apply the new veneer.

That's the plan - like a hard taco shell sandwiching the old cabinet in the middle. The only change to the old cabinet would be the four or eight holes needed to very strongly connect the new shell to the old cabinet. But that is a minor problem if the grand plan works. Thus the sound should be 100% the same, but appearance should be 100 times better (IMO, which is all that matters for this project!). If the plan does not work, I'm going to need some new speakers. Anyone recommend a brand? I hear Bose makes a nice speaker. Any thoughts...on second thought.

Here is my guide, just imagine the sphere in my case will be the rectangular head of my current speaker comming out the top. Not as nice, but similar presence - if I do it right. B&W 800D

Oh, that was you? For some reason, I thought it was from someone who posted those pics and went by the way side!