Custom-crafted, high-performance audio

Veracity of the month...

— every so often this page will highlight a truly unique
"Special Edition" Veracity project...

June # 1

The Story

When Frank VanAlstine (Audio by VanAlstine) purchased a pair of HT3's to demonstrate the prowess of the high-end electronics he builds, one of his employees (Patty) saw them and just had to have a pair.

Patty was adding an addition onto her house and was creating a new listening room. She wanted something very unique and intended to decorate the room based on the look of her new HT3's.

Just a few weeks earlier, I ran into a batch of very unique red gum veneer. Half the sheet was very light sapwood and the other half nicely colored heartwood. Normally I discard any sapwood when splicing veneer. But in this case, the sapwood was so nice it gave me an idea.

I did a sample book-match splice with the heartwood at the center, maintaining as much of the sapwood as I could at the edges.

I then sent Frank and Patty a picture. She loved it and wanted to proceed. So the only thing left to do was to find the right wood for the front baffle, etc.

We tried bird's eye maple, Mexican primavera, coral maple, black limba and a few others. In the end, cherry seemed to be the best match. So we went with it and here are the results.

It just so happened that I was taking a trip to Minnesota about the time these were finished, so I was able to deliver these speakers in person and had an enjoyable time visiting with both Frank and Patty - really nice people. Patty already had some great decorating ideas and I'm sure her listening room will turn out just as nice as the speakers.

Happy listening Patty!

What's next?

The re-make of a classic. Stay tuned...

archives

Here are links to past Veracity of the Month projects: