Soffit mounting?

Stuart Are you happy with your adam A7 sofit mounted ? I'm planning to do the same with A7x ! Thanks -fx

I haven't doe the final soffits yet, but I have played around a bit with simulating them (various bits of wood), and I'm happy with the results so far. I'm confident that they'll sound pretty good once the room is done. I'm also using them with an Adam Sub-8 to fill out the bottom end, and that works well, but I do see a slight dip at the crossover point (about 3dB). I haven't looked into that yet, as it isn't a deal breaker at present, but when I get around to it I'd like to know where its coming from, and if there is something I can do about it. But without the Sub-8, just the A7's by themselves do a pretty decent job, considering their small size. You do have to fiddle with the rear controls a bit to get the response right. Not sure how I'm going to do that once they are in place, though: maybe I'll take off the rear panels and mount them on the front wall, down low somewhere, for easy access to those controls. Work in progress! But so far so good. So I'd recommend them, based on experience to date. - Stuart -

Ok nice :)

I wonder how do you guys make a decent mix on A7s alone? I find these monitors very scope on the bottom. I just had a pair of A7 in my studio and I find them like having a hi pass filter engaged. Dunno, maybe soffit mount will improve this issue. All the best.

Hi it depends on the music you are mixing. But for any kind of rock, I think there is enough bass on the A7. Me I own the a7X, that are supposed to be improved in that domain ! -fx PS : are you the same Purusha that makes rack panels ?

Yap, thats me :wink: I guess my personal expectations regarding the bass frequency levels coming from the monitors must be very hi. If it works for you then there is no problem.

Don't know, maybe they had a problem, or something like that. Sure you will find more bass on a sub, but the A7x can be painfull to listen loudly, as they are powerfull and bassy for my personnal taste ;) -fx

To me the standard A7 doesn't sound very useful. Probably they fixed the lack of bass in the new ones.

Dunno, maybe soffit mount will improve this issue.

Yup. That is the entire point of soffit mounting, after all!

Probably they fixed the lack of bass in the new ones.

Nope: they recommend completing the system by also using a matched sub-woofer, such as the Sub-8.

Sure you will find more bass on a sub, but the A7x can be painfull to listen loudly, as they are powerfull and bassy

Any speaker is painful to listen to loudly! :shock: The A7X is actually very smooth, clear and precise, and is getting rave reviews from the real experts. - Stuart -

Soundman2020 wrote:

Nope: they recommend completing the system by also using a matched sub-woofer, such as the Sub-8.

The A7x have a newly designed speaker, and a new amplifier with twice the power, so they can handle bass very well, I for what I can hear in my non treated room, they are precise in the low frequencies :) But for some kind of music, maybe it's not enough, anyway :) -fx

fxdfxd wrote:

Soundman2020 wrote:

Nope: they recommend completing the system by also using a matched sub-woofer, such as the Sub-8.

The A7x have a newly designed speaker, and a new amplifier with twice the power, so they can handle bass very well, I for what I can hear in my non treated room, they are precise in the low frequencies :) But for some kind of music, maybe it's not enough, anyway :) -fx

The thread is about flush mounting. Andre

True... sorry, ma fault :o

I know this is an old post, but my question seems to fit here. With regard to the diagram of 'soffit' mounting, a clear path is shown for air flow through solid wood panels, but not through the insulation. In particular regard to a rear ported speaker, should a 'tunnel' be fashioned in the insulation directing the bass into the hanger trap compartment or not?

yes, leave a space through the insulation. a formed chicken wire or highly perforated mesh or pipe.

Something like this perhaps..

OK thanks, ... and this will not have a negative impact on the function of the hanger compartment?

You don't need the chicken wire where the hangars are: its only real purpose is to keep the insulation from closing off the airflow: it's just a shape to hold the insulation in place, and leave that "duct" for the cooling air. You only need it where you have insulation. The hangers already have enough airflow between them. - Stuart -

I don't want to start a new thread for this, so.. Has anyone tried soffit mounting Focal Twin 6's? Those are going to be my monitoring solution in conjunction with the Sub 6, and I have some doubts about soffit mounting them.. However, if anyone here has better info, I'd be more than glad to hear it. Thanks! - Funk

Funktion wrote:

I don't want to start a new thread for this, so..

Why? The thread title is clearly generic soffit mounting, and you are asking about one specific model. Andre

AVare wrote:

Funktion wrote:

I don't want to start a new thread for this, so..

Why? The thread title is clearly generic soffit mounting, and you are asking about one specific model. Andre

Allright, sorry.. I browsed through the topic and noticed quite a few questions about specific speakers so I thought I'd put the question here. I'm new on the forum, so I don't yet know if it is better to start a new topic or just use an existing general topic where people have also ventured into specific models. But I'll start the topic then if this thread isn't suitable. EDIT: The topic is up. viewtopic.php?f=12&t=15780

Hey guys, So I have a question regarding soffit mounting. My monitors will go in a mdf box mounted on top of a brick pillar. I will use 50mm pvc pipe to vent air in and out as per Johns design because the monitors are active. I have two questions. Is it ok to build the entire thing as a superchunk? Just stack the insulation right through top to bottom of the corner. Or should I superchunk the top (above speaker box) and make hangers for the bottom (below speaker), is there a difference? The second question is about the face of the soffit. I seem to be misunderstanding how it works. If I read this thread and all the talk about how they used to put speakers in the ground to test them that makes me think the face should be a solid material ie drywall board or MDF? I understand the thinking in making the bottom an absorbent trap as it is below the "desk line" so then do I make the section above that (around the speaker) with a solid face or is this also just fabric over the insulation? Thanks G

I seem to be misunderstanding how it works.

:) The front panel of the soffit should be as large as you can possibly make it: Floor to ceiling and as wide as will fit across the diagonal. It is trying to be an "infinite baffle", so if needs to be "infinite": OK, so "infinite" is a bit hard to do, but your should at least aim for "very large". And it all needs to be massive, heavy, rigid and thick: It needs to be unmovable. Some folks use a few layers of wood, others have been known to use brick and concrete. Yes, the bottom part of the front panel can be covered with absorption, but it isn't a superchunk : it's just a layer of absorption on the front of the panel, below the level of the desk. And yes you can put hangers inside the bottom part, BEHIND the front panel. In other words, the go inside the cavity under the shelf that holds the speaker, in which case that bottom part must be separated from the top part: the hangers are not inside the same space as the speaker, but rather in a separate cavity, below it. If you do that "hangers in the bottom" thing then don't take the front panel all the way to the floor. Leave a gap of about 15cm across the full width of the soffit at floor level. In other words, there is an empty space right at the bottom, and the soffit panel only starts 15 cm above the floor, then continues all the way up to the ceiling. So there is no superchunk above the speaker either. If you really wanted to you could stop the panel a bit short of the ceiling and put a small bass trap in there, but you cannot use the cavity where the speaker itself is, since that is part of the soffit.

So I have a question regarding soffit mounting. My monitors will go in a mdf box mounted on top of a brick pillar.

I would suggest keeping the brick pillar but replacing the "box" with a proper soffit. MDF is fine for the front panel, but make it very thick.

I will use 50mm pvc pipe to vent air in and out as per Johns design because the monitors are active.

You could do that, but 50mm doesn't provide a lot of cross section for cooling. A common way of doing the vent shaft is to just fashion a rectangular shape out some chicken wire, so you can make it as large as needed for good ventilation. The vent shaft doesn't need to be super strong: chicken wire is fine. It is just there to keep the insulation from blocking the shaft.

so then do I make the section above that (around the speaker) with a solid face or is this also just fabric over the insulation?

Very, very solid face, and definitely not "fabric over insulation". You could cover the

panel

with fabric if you want, for aesthetics, but the panel still needs to be large, thick, rigid and massive. - Stuart -

Hey again Stuart, Thanks I am understanding it alot better now! Just a couple things quickly...

I would suggest keeping the brick pillar but replacing the "box" with a proper soffit. MDF is fine for the front panel, but make it very thick.

If I understand correctly, this is what i must do. Brick pillar with shelf on top (shelf to fill the entire footprint of the soffit but without touching/coupling to the front panel) - speaker on top of the shelf. Second shelf above the speaker - insulation above the second shelf. So essentially the "soffit" is an empty cavity? assides from the hangers underneath the shelf? And possibly insulation above the speaker? I originally thought the entire thing must be packed full of insulation (hence the superchunk question) Will 32mm MDF be ok for the front? Or should I maybe look into making it a single brick wall with a 16mm MDF board on the front (MDF purely to make it easier to neaten up the hole) Im thinking I will use 100mm flexable ducting for the airflow instead of chicken wire, purely because I allready have some I can use. Thanks man, your helping me so much with this build! G

If I understand correctly, this is what i must do. Brick pillar with shelf on top (shelf to fill the entire footprint of the soffit but without touching/coupling to the front panel) - speaker on top of the shelf. Second shelf above the speaker - insulation above the second shelf.

All fine, except for the second shelf: skip that. Not needed. The entire top section is one single cavity, right up to the lid, and all of it is filled with all your scraps of left-over insulation. The speaker itself is often housed in a box, with rubber all around the inside to completely isolate the speaker from the box. If your speakers are active (built-in amplifiers) then you also need to cut large slots in the top and bottom of that box, for ventilation, and make the chicken wire mesh "chimney" inside the cavity, leading up to a slot in the front panel of the soffit. That's to prevent the insulation from blocking the ventilation path. so there's a clear path right through the soffit for air to flow past the back of the speaker and keep it cool.

So essentially the "soffit" is an empty cavity?

Well, two cavities: the bottom part has the hangers in it, and the top part is stuffed with leftover insulation, dirty washing, old carpets, pillows, mattresses, bodies, etc. :) (Joking! Just insulation).

I originally thought the entire thing must be packed full of insulation

It is, but it's not a superchunk since the insulation is not exposed to the room at all: its just there to damp the cavity. It is surrounded on all sides by MDF, plywood, drywall, etc. If there were no front panel on the soffit, then it would be a superchunk. But then it would not be a soffit! :)

Will 32mm MDF be ok for the front?

That would be fine.

Im thinking I will use 100mm flexable ducting for the airflow instead of chicken wire, purely because I allready have some I can use.

As long as it is big enough to cover the entire slot on the top of the speaker box, and has a large enough cross section to provide good air flow, that would be fine.

Thanks man, your helping me so much with this build!

:) :oops: :!: - Stuart -

Hey Stuart, Thanks man. That pretty much solves all the confusion I had about soffits. I think I can build em pretty good now. Basically going to build them exactly as discussed then. Just one more question.... Can the speaker box be made of fabric? What I originally did was build a wooded frame and covered it in fabric, as opposed to building a solid box around the speaker. I mean the purpose of the box is purely to keep the insulation and the speaker apart is it not? So ill take out the top shelf in my design and put hangers in the bottom cavity. Thanks again mate G