Cube Audio Nenuphar Single Driver Speaker (10 inch) TQWT Enclosure

@charles1dad Thanks also for fortifying my thinking about the Yamamoto -- we in the low watt SET camp have to tread very carefully with our speaker selections, so it’s good to know I’m not ’off in space’ thinking this would be a nice combo.

@djembeplay thanks for the details. Probably you know that every material used in audio has a sonic signature. One can test by introducing different materials under equipment and listening to the change in sound. I haven’t tried building cabinets yet but considering. Some say spruce is better than birch ply, mdf giving the least good results. Apart from the plans on Cube, I understand that Scott at Woden Designs has undertaken some designs for Cube drivers.

@toetapaudio Likewise, I’m new to building speaker cabinets as well -- but, I have decades of woodworking and cabinet building to my credit, so I’m all ’tooled up’ for the job.

I just had a look at the Woden Designs page and found a design based around the Magus driver, called the "Rubik". I couldn’t load any info about it though. I’m not sure how it would play compared to Cube’s own design... I’d probably take the conservative route and opt for the latter, in the face of the unknown.

I like the idea of bamboo. I’ve been gathering what info I can about it over the past few weeks. It’s extremely stiff, while still being modest on weight (although not ’lightweight’ per say). It’s also high on the Jensen scale, so ’tough’. It’s harder than red oak, yet very dimensionally stable when constructed as a 3 or 5 ply. Aesthetically (totally subjective of course), I really like the look as well. Particularly, I love the way the edge grain can look like intricate inlay work if finished to showcase this, and this also is an ’easy’ cut to make. Oh, also, if purchased as a ’carbonized’ version, where it is pre-colored, this is accomplished through a baking process. This means the color is uniform through the entire piece, making sanding and cutting and finishing that much easier because consistent color will be maintained as we ’dig in’ to the material.

The vertical / edge grain ply has a unique look that grew on me, while the stranded grain appears a bit more like a traditional solid hardwood (and it’s even stiffer / more resilient than raw bamboo). As far as having a nice look but also being available in stable ply construction and available in standard 4x8’ sheets, this seems to be one of the better options. I usually work with solid hardwood, but of course it’s too dimensionally unstable for this application.

On the downside, the bamboo ply is pretty expensive... I might pay around $1k in materials for this in total. I’m good with it, though -- I want to shoot for something really top notch on this job, both in form and function. Economically I’d still be coming in at around half the cost of a new set of Nenuphars, I figure... instead, I pay through sweat, maybe some tears, but hopefully no blood :0.

On the downside, the bamboo ply is pretty expensive... I might pay around $1k in materials for this in total. I’m good with it, though -- I want to shoot for something really top notch on this job, both in form and function. Economically I’d still be coming in at around half the cost of a new set of Nenuphars

If I may humbly interject , Go for it with the Bamboo cabinets. Make this project special and beautiful. You are going to be utilizing a world class single driver that will sound fantastic with proper execution.

You certainly have the prerequisite skill set and experience to pull this off. Many do not. Take advantage of your know how and talent. Please keep us posted.

Charles

Please keep us posted

Will do!  Thanks for the kind words, and all your input throughout the thread.

My progress with this will be slow -- I'm just starting the preliminary work (planning, research).  I'm in a good situation for taking my time on this one, as I'm already quite smitten with my Omegas.  Eventually, I should have a well informed comparison between the two.