The BEST DIY Kit on Amazon: HiVi Swans 2.2A

That was a bit of a fail. I will regroup and try again!

Other items shown in the video*:

This DIY kit is amazing, not only is it the best on on amazon, it is the best one period. Get yourself a HiVi Swans 2.2A today!

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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Unboxing
02:15 Enclosure Assembly
04:05 Crossover Assembly
06:53 Vinyl Wrapping
08:56 FAIL!

[RetroResurrectionAI]

Good old hot glue works great for holding down parts on a PCB's. It's whats used pretty much everywhere. To remove the hot glue you can just use isopropyl alcohol, spray some on, and the glue pops right off making repairs easy.

[celticwoodworking]

I have been woodworking for over 45 years, and working with veneer is an art all it's own. Do not feel bad. There are many, I repeat many, special tools used when working with veneer. The contact cement was the correct call, and yes the Bessey strap clamps are the way to go. I enjoy your videos and look forward to more.

[DANIELDEWEESE-br]

The Overnight Sensation set is really nice.

[endall]

I use hot glue to hold crossover components to the board. Made many, no issues.

[zacharyybarra]

I recently bought the same kit but the 3.1a version with the 3 way design. Love these speakers. I almost dont need a subwoofer in my small office.
I did find them somewhat bright out of the box but after the "perfectionist crossover mod" they are much more tame in the highs. Would recommend.

[zarboaudioprojects]

It's fantastic that you showed the whole project so far, warts and all. Being a successful woodworker is just basically getting good at fixing mistakes. : ) That 'covering' looks pretty nasty to deal with. If you, who have experience carpeting cabinets and veneering, etc had trouble with it, I think it must just be a bugger to apply.

[JoshM]

You live and learn. Mistakes are part of the journey. The important thing is learning from the mistakes. Sometimes it's better to "Just do it" rather than never try in the first place.

[jacobzwikelmaier]

I commented on the shorts video also. I built the 3.1 kit from them several years ago. Absolutely the best value in DIY kits. Awesome quality, everything Included and Sounds amazing. Not sure how they manage to offer these kits so cheap but my advice to anyone who's interested is go for it you won't be disappointed!!!

[KGrasso]

I have never worked with veneer but I have tinted my own windows on my truck and in my home. Cutting the pieces down to size first made my projects go from exactly like yours went to excellent

[natskar]

This kit looks pretty awesome. Most people don’t have the time or resources to custom make the whole thing so this gives someone that wants to diy a chance at accomplishing something. Cool

[quikspecvd]

I have a pair of Swan M3A powered speakers and I absolutely love them. They are beautiful too. This looks like a nice kit.

[Ghostviperz]

i love that you are honest about the pcb stuff so genuine

[stopher]

I use rope caulk, it stick great and it’s removable with 0 mess or damage removing components if you wanna upgrade your parts

[Vegas_Baba]

Making a mistake leads to discovery. That discovery leads to a more refined skill set.

This mistake is leading to another video which shows us how to refinish something that was in need of repair or cosmetic upgrade. 💪🏽

[glennmorgan]

Use a hair dryer to return the veneer to flat and use a marble dough roller to push out the air bubbles.You can also use a metal edging roller as it has a rounded edge on one side. You'll also find that spray adhesive from 3M will give you a more even application.

[walterbkeen]

Now you should build the Swan 3.1 kit and compare the two.

Also bending the crossover component wires outward helps hold them in place until you can solder everything in at once while being generous with a good no-clean flux. Can clean up the residue later, but it isn't required. Hot-glue is the defacto standard for holding down crossover components, but you should only really need it on the coils.

Nice work...

[getinthespace]

Working with stuff like that black veneer is difficult.
My experience is to go slow and try to prevent the bubbles from getting laid down in the first place.
Using a plastic squeegee or hand applicator helps.
Keep tension on the veneer and hold it vertical while using the applicator to slowly press the leading edge into the glue and lay it down.
Patience helps alot.
Sometimes you can squeeze out small air pockets afterwards but it is not guaranteed. Depending on the glues and materials you are using.

[abdomination]

I totally want this kit. It looks just as good if not better than another bookshelf kit that was really famous a few years ago because of z-reviews.

[steveschwartz]

I’ve built these and the Swan 3.1’s, skipped the vinyl and used DuraTex. Not as classy but after putting a ½” radius on the 3.1’s and a ½” chamfer on these, it came out nice. I also changed out the tweeter CAP w/Audyn Caps of the same value, Dayton Audio PMPC for the mids and Dayton Audio grade resistors too. The caps and resistors cost me less than $30 delivered, well worth it in my book. Exceptional outcome in both cases.

[edwardcase]

The two resistors in a voltage divider make a big difference. especially since the values are very different. The L-pad is a voltage divider. The value from ground to the middle of the divider is the 'level' of the output to the tweeter