Speakers and glue......

Why not put a dehumidifier in the room and just shut it off during playing times..This way you can buy any type speaker you want.........It is also more healthy to boot....

I have never heard nOrh speakers , but a few years back there was a lot of positive feedback about them.

Best regards,

Rich

Thorman

A dehumidifier would be great except for a couple of problems - I can't find one anywhere in Brazil (believe it or not), plus, I am only there for a few months in the year and the house becomes musty during my away time.

Its not the glue it,s actually the wood expanding. If it was fastened with mechanical fasteners or even glued with polyurethane it would just crack and split at the joint or at the fastener. Dehumidify or aluminium cased speakers ? Cheers

Has2 be

Good answer - you are right, soft wood from here does tend to go wonky. The wood from Brazil though is incredible. It is as heavy as lead and you can pummel it with a hammer and not dent it. Pity speakers weren't made from Ip'e.
I had read on an ex-pats site some people talking about their furniture (that they brought from the US) falling apart and desk drawers not opening. Some mentioned glue, but I agree with you it could well be the wood now that I think about it.
Thanks

Look for a birch plywood cabinet. MDF or HDF will exsorbe mosture and mold just loves to grow on it. I had a scrap pile with MDF HDF some baltic ply. Had a bit of a water problem it got wet. I pulled it up to clean 2 days later and mold had already completely covered the HDF MDF. The ply was still well formed no mold the MDF HDF looked like a puffed sponge.

can't u order a dehumidifier from Walmart,Target or go on Ebay?

Your not going to want to run a dehumidifier for the 9 months of the year you're not there.

You should contact a manufacturer that will make a speaker for you bsed on your needs. I know of Tekton Design who would make you any configuration using the wood of your choice.

Quick question. I'm very interested in vacationing in Brazil for maybe 12 days or so. If I were interested in a vacation based around seeing live music, could you recommend a city? I know the country is as big as the U.S. and you pretty much have to fly if you want to cover the country because there's not much for trains, so I was hoping for a place that would offer some interesting sights fairly close by but also a very lively music scene. I'd plan on doing this just about one year from now, and hopefully getting a chance to see one of the all time greats like Milton Nascimento, Lo Borges, Jorge Ben etc.

Why not just buy outdoor speakers? Unless this is going to be used for critical listening, there are tons of manufacturers that make speakers that are salt and fog resistant and made to be outside, so the humidity inside would do nothing to them.

B&W XT
Vienna SCHÖNBERG

seems like they are mostly metal. I also recall that there were some Lucite or acrylic models out there. I recall seeing some show report that had a clear glass or plastic cabinet with only electronics and drivers installed. that should work a treat as well. bit of Windex and bang-zoom!

Hey, if budget isn't an issue, what about Wilson's? They definitely aren't wood.

I've used commercial EV and Infinities outdoors for many years without any problems. They sound good but aren't "high fidelity".

Just sniff the glue and you will be happy with a transistor radio

If money isn't an issue, the Anat Reference II's are made of aircraft aluminum but cost $107,000. Most who have actually had the luxury of listening to them prefer them over the Wilson's.

Donjr

I have plenty of recommendations. For music only - Sao Paulo. Great city, but that is all it is. If you want beaches, great scenery and music - Rio. Better still, a little place three hours outside Rio - Buzios. This has to be the most idyllic place on earth. Twenty three beaches, hundreds of restaurants, good nature, plenty of music for its size and very safe. Google "Buzios" for an insight - you will be impressed.
And if you don't plan on being there with a wife or girlfriend you will be in heaven - Brazil has the most beautiful women in the world hands down!

Anwyay, stay in touch with me closer to the time and I am sure I can help you when you start to narrow it down a bit, but you won't go too far wrong with Rio as an all-rounder.

Shipo - They don't have Target or Wallmart in Brazil.

Everybody else - I prefer to buy a well reviewed speaker. I really would like big Maggies but I believe they would fall apart due to the glue.

Aluminium is starting to look good - what decent (up to about $12,000) speakers, classics if pos, would fit the bill?

How about looking into sealing the wood with a good wood preserver/sealer, such as Thompson's Water Seal or some such?
I have used it to good affect on wooden windows in the past, that were prone to constant moisture and plenty of rain.
Just a thought.

Gawdbless

I am hoping to find something I don't have to mess with, still not sure if they even use glue inside the speakers these days which might be a problem. Rather than having speakers made or putting time (that I always seem to be short of) into it I would prefer to just buy, hold my breath and hope they hold up.
I have some nice metal Pass Labs amps and I hate to imagine what is going to happen to the finish on those things within a month or two.

I believe both Green Mountain Audio and Mark and Daniel both make speakers of a cast composite material (no wood). I have not heard either, but both have been well reviewed here and elsewhere. They are also reasonably priced and would seem to be an option worth exploring.

Thanks for the Brazil information Thomastrouble.

Cabinet can be built with composites or metals. You shouldn't have much trouble finding such. I wouldn't worry so much about it. Your homes holding together I hope. So should most loudspeakers.

Why not just put air tight bags over the equipment when you are not there? That is why in shipping all the equipment is always sealed, to prevent moisture coming in. Just get some nice heavy vinyl plastic bags and seal the hell out of all your stuff......bag em and leave em.

That's a great idea Acurus. You'd have to be careful though, right? They would have to be totally air tight or you could end up with moisture in the bag. (and trap salt in there)You could put silica gel packs in there but what if they dry the speakers out too much?

I wouldn't sweat it up so much, I would throw in the silica bags and they will be fine. I am not sure they can be too dry..

You wouldn't believe how that salt air gets into things. I have some of those big Pelican cases that seal and apparently are watertight. Come back after a while and anything leather has turned to thick mold. The idea is to open your windows every day, but of course when you aren't there......

Thomastrouble. Csmgolf mentioned the Mark and Daniel line of speakers. The enclosures are made of compound marble. They look very nice and get great reviews.The Apollo II is in your price range. They're fairly large at 4' tall and weigh 170lbs each. They offer smaller models of floor standers as well, such as the Muse Ia at 85lbs, $5500 and also made of compound marble. They look very nice. I've never heard them but I'd like to after browsing their web site.

Donjr

I have a couple of pairs of aluminum studio monitors laying down there now. They have been there for about a year, so I am going to open them up when I get back and see if there is any corrosion damage inside. If so, I think I will get some smaller monitors that I can seal up when I leave as one of the posters mentioned above.
Did you get a chance to Google Buzios yet?