AudioTechnology ATS-4-HE, built by David
Copyright 2021 © Troels Gravesen
Hi Troels,
After following your site for a couple of years, the itch to build a new
pair of speakers started to become unbearable. The past 1.5 years I have
been building your amazing ATS-4HE design. They are finished now, except
for the mesh metal grills on the sides near the 12-inch woofer. I have
not been able to find the mesh needed on the Caribbean island where I am
currently living. The building took quite some time and was very
challenging since I never even touched a router or saw table before this
project. So, the building process also involved learning how to use
these power tools. My previous speakers were also DIY, but everything
was pre-sawed and pre-routed. Doing everything yourself from scratch is
much more rewarding!
I have included some pictures of the process and the final outcome. I
have used black “water resistant” HDF because of the humid coastal
climate here. Furthermore, I installed some small but powerful magnets
in the front panels to hold the grills (in order to improve the WAF;
woman acceptance factor). At first my wife was not happy with these
“monsters” but after seeing and hearing the final result, she is ok with
them. I also choose to keep the filters external; not my initial
intention but after changing the Alumen Z caps for the tweeter for
Jantzen Amber Z and Duelund tinned copper caps, they were too bulky to
fit properly. Since I probably need to move the speakers a couple of
times in the future, this also makes handling them easier.
They sound amazing! I took me some time to fine tune the bass level
using the software for the plate amps and a measuring microphone to get
is right. But it was well worth all the effort! At first you may think
“is the bass unit working?” but when there are low frequencies in the
recording, you can not only hear but also feel them, up to the point
that the windowsills started rattling during a movie scene. What I also
love about these speakers is how voices sound. Awesome! Best way to
describe the sound is “brutally honest”; these speakers let me
experience fantastic recordings in a way I never heard them before! But
crappy badly mixed tracks sound just like that; like garbage. Bottom
line probably one of the best, if not the best speakers I have heard.
Thank you for sharing your amazing designs!
Best regards,
David
