The long-awaited HUMAN 81 DK is now available.
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81+ Kit: Story and Photographs
In the Spring of 2022 Ben built this pair of 81+ - actually 81D - speakers. The "D" refers to the extra deep cabinet with the retained small baffle. The equivalent HUMAN product is the 81 DK, of course, with the "K" denoting my speakers' oak finish.
From here on, the words are his.
Hey Huw,
This is Ben. I have officially finished the project! You sent me the parts a while back, in October, and here is my journey.
This was my first woodworking project, I had no tools or experience with them before this undertaking. I wanted to be as budget friendly as possible with this project, so I did not use a table saw for this. I used a circular saw with a guide instead and that worked quite well!
First, I made a box. For the dimensions, I knew I wanted to go bigger than the standard 81 so I could get a bit more bass out of these, so I built them 9.5" by 13.5" by 18".
I used a router to flush the edges of the box with great success. After a lot of experimentation with drilling speaker holes, I was ready to take the router to the boxes.
I am glad these went well because if I had messed up, I would've had to rebuild a box! Definitely rout the holes before closing the box off!
After that came bracing. I probably should have put the bracing in before I closed the box off, but I did not. It turns out that braces can very effectively be added from the woofer hole (to my luck!) Using the rest of the MDF I had and a miter saw, I made myself a good amount of dowels. Then I put them through the woofer hole and with light taps from a hammer and glue, I snuggly fit them into place.
I decided to veneer with a beautiful American walnut. I used the contact cement method.
I then stained them with multiple coats of Tung Oil Varnish.
I then applied weather stripping around the crossover, tweeter, and woofer.
And now they are speakers!
Here is some of his feedback after settling in to listening to his new speakers:
Even with a cheap(ish) amp ... They are absolutely gorgeous in their sound. The sound is accurate, immersive, intimate. I absolutely love these.
And a week or two later this update:
I have now hooked up the speakers to a quality amp from NAD. These really shine on this amp! The sound is silky smooth, powerful and balanced. I am very pleased with them, you do beautiful work with your parts!
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