DIY music centre

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karatestu
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DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

No we aren't back in the 70's :grin: I have been busy starting to make my music centre.

It started as in the pic below. A chest of drawers made by my grandfather or great grandfather probably back in the 30's or 40's.

Image

Made from pine wood and it is definitely well aged. Somebody painted it dark brown and later white. It used to reside in the house in a large room with large wooden freezer that pigs and lambs could be hung in. Then it went in the workshop and had assorted tools stored in it. It's had a hard life but has sentimental value and is the ideal size for what I need - 100cm wide, 50cm deep, 70cm tall.

To be continued.......
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slinger (Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:12 pm) • Fretless (Fri Sep 16, 2022 8:22 pm) • Tony Moore (Sun Sep 18, 2022 9:34 am)
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karatestu
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

I sanded it back to bare wood. A few knots and rough bits but I like a bit of rustic. Sanded back it looked like this.....(with drawers removed)

Image

It was slightly too wide to fit in the recess at the side of the chimney breast so I had to chop 5cm off the end :shock: That went OK. There was still much work to be done.

The plan was that all the psu's for my whole system were to go at floor level and spaced out as much as possible cos things sound better when there is space between different transformers. I know this from having transformers not fixed down and moving them about and listening. But there is greater benefit from having transformers as tar away from the circuitry they are powering as possible. Yes I've done the work and listening.

So the sensitive circuitry is going to be at the top of this music centre, as far away from the transformers and charging loop (transformer to rectifier to smoothing capacitor) as possible. Source components will be on top of this converted chest of drawers in full view. Nothing else will be seen apart from speakers, speaker cables and a single mains lead.

But in getting this distance between psu's and everything else I have a lot of dead space. So a brainwave came up with why not using that space for storing LP's - you know those things that your mum used to play back in the 70's.....

TBC
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Fretless (Sat Sep 17, 2022 7:28 am)
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slinger
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by slinger »

karatestu wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:19 pm ...

But in getting this distance between psu's and everything else I have a lot of dead space...
TBC
You could chuck a couple of breeze blocks in there, Stu. Everybody knows the heavier something is the better it sounds. Or perhaps some completely unnecessary damping material? :lol:
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antonio66 (Sat Sep 17, 2022 5:14 am) • karatestu (Sat Sep 17, 2022 8:16 am)
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karatestu
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

slinger wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 10:44 pm
karatestu wrote: Fri Sep 16, 2022 9:19 pm ...

But in getting this distance between psu's and everything else I have a lot of dead space...
TBC
You could chuck a couple of breeze blocks in there, Stu. Everybody knows the heavier something is the better it sounds. Or perhaps some completely unnecessary damping material? :lol:
I have a big choice of unnecessary crap that could go in there but LP's seemed thd logical choice. Concrete blocks are heavier than breeze blocks by the way ;)
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slinger (Sat Sep 17, 2022 12:35 pm)
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

So it has gone from this....

Image

To this....

Image

A few things repositioned and added. Used as much of the original wood as possible. I removed the bottom strip of wood as it was a bit battered and replaced with two pine lengths from an old bed. Nothing bought to make this apart from wood glue, screws and sandpaper.

The two small drawers at the top had their fronts removed and positioned in their holes. Handles are removed and they will be rigidly fixed in place (false drawers). I have new pine knobs for the front of those two drawer fronts, except they will be the volume control and input selector knobs - disguised as draw handles :lol:

The wood used in the two larger drawers was reused and are now the bit that encloses ths LP storage section. The drawer fronts are what the LP's will sit on and the drawer bottoms are now the sides, back and top of the LP storage part

TBC
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

Another few pics

Image

There is about 15cm (6") below the bottom shelf to house all the psu's. That shelf and the back panel of the LP storage part are fully removable for servicing etc.

Image

All the wiring from the psu's to the amp boards, phono stage board, turntable and cdp will run hidden in the void to the rear of the LP storage or to either side. There is a 12cm space at thd back and I made sure there was room to the sides for wiring .

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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

Nobody will be looking at the back but here it is....

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There are two stainless steel grilles at the top which are for ventilation and to let the heat produced by the amp boards to escape. Used a couple of old shelves from an unused bathroom towel storage unit. Cut and bent them myself to snuggly fit in the hole along the top. Turned out really well.

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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

Here it is with the original top on. It needs cutting down a bit and there are some interesting knots in it.

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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by karatestu »

Have been experimenting with scorching wood with a propane plumbers torch. Gives an interesting effect but is going to take some practice

Image

Did a scrap of wood which is sat on the cabinet top which I also started to burn but that is gonna take more work
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slinger (Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:04 pm)
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Re: DIY music centre

Unread post by Fretless »

Lookin' good, Stu. :clap:
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karatestu (Sun Sep 18, 2022 7:35 am)

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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