# Active Classix
**URL:** https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739
**Category:** DIY
**Tags:** dsp, 2-way, active-xover, kabd-430
**Created:** [August 29, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739 "2026-08-29T18:41:21Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/1 "2026-08-29T18:41:22Z")
A friend from California visited recently and heard the [Dactives](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/the-dactives-using-a-dayton-audio-kabd-430-dsp-board/366) and wanted a pair for his shop. The woofer I used was NLA and the cost of shipping speakers to California is prohibitive so we came up with a plan.
We would use the same tweeter and use the Dayton Audio DC160-4 woofer (which I already had) and both buy the same knock down cabinet. He lacks test equipment and a wood shop so I will cut the driver cutouts from my cabinets front baffles, measure the drivers in box and program the KADB board. Then I will ship him the front baffles and configuration file for the amp. I will make myself another set of front baffles.
[DC160-4 Woofer](https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-DC160-4-6-1-2-Classic-Woofer-Speaker-295-309?quantity=1)
[SB Acoustics SB19ST-C000-4](https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/soft-dome-tweeters-sb-acoustics/sb-acoustics-sb19st-c000-4-3/4-dome-tweeter-4-ohm/?)
Paul Carmody used the woofer in a version of his Classix and the woofer models well in a .6 cu. ft. box.
Cynergy Audio sells a nice .61 cu. ft. knock down cabinet.
[Denovo Cabinet](https://www.cinergyaudio.com/collections/diy-speaker-cabinets/products/denovo-ultracab-knock-down-mdf-61-cu-ft-bookshelf-speaker-cabinet-75-630)
A pair of cabinets came shipped 2nd day air for $85. Amazingly 2nd day air was the only shipping option.
The cabinets came well packed.
Unpacked parts.
Gluing in the bracing.
Gluing in the tops and bottoms.
Gluing the sides.
Ready for the baffles.
The cabinets came with all the dado’s cut in the back panel and everything fit. The panels even have a slight overhang so it will be easy to do a little sanding to get the clean corner joints. I used [Titebond Speed Set](https://www.titebond.com/product/glues/1f1dafb3-eec8-4f9a-87fe-06f40d4c47df) glue and really like it. They claim 15 minute clamp time and once it was dry the glue squeeze out came off the MDF easily with a chisel.
More to come.
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### Author:  [@Hobi](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Hobi)
#### Post date: [August 29, 2026, 9:12pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/2 "2026-08-29T21:12:02Z")
Interesting that the 3/4" SB19 has a much lower Fs than the BC25TG which was used in the Classix II. Paul now uses a different tweeter in that design (a Dayton, I think) but I thought the Vifa version sounded fine, as should the SB19.
The four ohm DC160 is supposed to be 2dB more efficient than the eight so it will be nice to get a bit more output from that design.
We can’t get knock down cabinets like those Denovos here, which a real obstacle to people doing DIY speakers. Shipping (even by ship rather than air freight) from the US is prohibitive.
Nice project!
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### Author:  [@6thplanet](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/6thplanet)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/3 "2026-08-30T00:31:04Z")
Neat glue! I’ll have to try some out.
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### Author:  [@Ani](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Ani)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 2:47am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/4 "2026-08-30T02:47:09Z")
What’s the working time for the glue? Is it too tight. Usually it takes a bit of wiggling to get 5 sides squared and glued, braces also need some pulling and pushing.
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### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 4:32pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/5 "2026-08-30T16:32:21Z")
Titebond says 2-4 minutes open time. This is the first time I’ve used it on a big project and since everything fit so well I really didn’t have to worry about open time. I discovered this glue in a video where they were putting down short strips of wood by just putting them in place side by side without clamps. One of the things I liked was that it’s thinner than standard Titebond. It comes out of the bottle easily and is easier to spread out.
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### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 4:43pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/6 "2026-08-30T16:43:41Z")
My DATS derived sim measurements came up with 88db 1w/1m. The amp board is rated 30W but since it’s a chip amp 15W is closer to what it can do cleanly. The sim predicts 99db at 1 meter which is identical to the Dactives and they play loud enough.
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### Author:  [@PWRRYD](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/PWRRYD)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/7 "2026-08-30T20:07:32Z")
Cool project Ron. You have some lucky friends 🙂
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### Author:  [@Hobi](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Hobi)
#### Post date: [August 30, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/8 "2026-08-30T20:40:32Z")
As many builders have noted, apart from the bass, a key attribute of the Classix is their smooth, slightly ‘laid back’ sound, much of which, I guess, is down to the characteristics of the DC160. It worked particularly well with my 60s and 70s music and older classical recordings and didn’t need a sub.
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### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/9 "2026-09-08T03:06:27Z")
I’ve made a little more progress.
With the thickness of the speaker flange and a 3D printed trim ring there would only be 1/4 inch left from the 1/2 inch baffle for the screws. I set about making the baffle thicker with some 3/8 inch Baltic birch.
Cutting out disks.
The cabinet is too narrow so I truncated the disk.
Cutting notches in the disks because the cabinet braces are in the way.
Cutting port holes in cabinet backs.
The first tweeter hole I cut was an inch off. The centerline of the cabinet and the distance to the top of the baffle were different by an inch. I cut a disk that was friction fit with a little help for a big c-clamp and a hammer and filled the cutouts where the tweeter terminals fit with wood filler.
Finished repair.
Cut the new tweeter hole and woofer hole.
A few brief words about the Shaper Origin I used for a few of the cuts above. The router has a front facing camera that uses the domino tape to calculate where the router is in 2D space. The domino pattern has to be there and it has to be on the same plane as the router. When I cut out the disks I cut several same size rectangular pieces of wood that I put in front of another piece of wood that had the domino’s applied. I could then cut a disk, swap in another piece of wood and repeat until I had 5 disks.
I used the SO with an optional accessory called the Shaper Plate. It’s set up so that you can easily register the plate to several different points on your work piece. Once the plate has been scanned anything that will fit in the cutout in the plate can easily be replicated repeatedly. So once I have designed a tweeter cutout all I need to do is put centerlines on the work piece, align the plate to the center lines and cut the hole. The same thing is true for the port hole in the example shown. If you look closely at the port hole you can see 4 dimples where the screw holes go.
If you have questions about the SO I’d prefer to start another thread. I’d prefer not to highjack this one.
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### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 7:34pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/10 "2026-09-26T19:34:14Z")
A little more progress this week.
I lined the boxes with foam and denim before I glued the fronts on.
I normally cut my driver rebates after I finish the cabinets. I put a block of wood behind the tweeter hole with double stick tape and 3D printed a disk to seal the woofer hole so I don’t fill the cabinet with sawdust.
Ironed on quarter sawn oak veneer.
Stained the oak veneer with medium dark walnut Watco Danish oil.
Now I have to wait 72 hours for the Watco to cure before I apply some wipe on poly.
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### Author:  [@tajanes](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/tajanes)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 7:56pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/11 "2026-09-26T19:56:08Z")
Looking nice !
That denim is nice absorbing / damping material (kinda a pain to cut).
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### Author:  [@ron\_e](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/ron_e)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 9:25pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/12 "2026-09-26T21:25:20Z")
I use this pair of shears. They barely open wide enough and even with them there are tough to cut spots. I need to find a better way.
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### Author:  [@KenRhodes](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/KenRhodes)
#### Post date: [September 26, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/13 "2026-09-26T23:22:08Z")
I usually squish it with a board and cut through it with a utility knife.
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### Author:  [@6thplanet](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/6thplanet)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 12:31am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/14 "2026-09-27T00:31:50Z")
I have an old school set of Wiss scissors freshly sharpened by a local German cutlery shop that makes short work of it.
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### Author:  [@Wolf](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Wolf)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 12:47am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/15 "2026-09-27T00:47:29Z")
I use these… Westcott Carbo-Titanium.
> **[Amazon.com : Westcott Heavy Duty CarboTitanium-Bonded 9" Bent Scissors - Durable...](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B019JD3M6C)**
>
> The Westcott Heavy Duty CarboTitanium Bonded 9" Bent Scissors (model number 16445) are engineered for durability and efficiency, making them an essential tool for crafters and professionals alike. Featuring a CarboTitanium bonded coating, these...
I have a set in the garage and a set in the house. Wally stocks them too.
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### Author:  [@Ed\_Perkins](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Ed_Perkins)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 1:30pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/16 "2026-09-27T13:30:38Z")
I use the Westcott scissors too, but from our local Walmart. Great scissors for denim and sonic barrier from PE.
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### Author:  [@Ani](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Ani)
#### Post date: [September 27, 2026, 11:12pm UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/17 "2026-09-27T23:12:13Z")
The come apart easily if you tease pull apart with hand, but it’s not as clean as with a shear
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### Author:  [@Analogkid455](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/u/Analogkid455)
#### Post date: [September 30, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://discourse.midwestaudio.club/t/active-classix/739/18 "2026-09-30T00:40:24Z")
In kind, I use Pro Sheers, to cut things as such.