DIY Speakers?

[1nf1n1ty]

I was reading up on this and wanted to know if there is a guide anywhere...

I'm kind of noob and wanted a few questions answered, but It might be better if someone could direct me to a forum or a thread that deals with these builds with more depth.

Thanks....

 

[Herbal]

Try www.diyaudio.com for speaker building.

 

[NiceCans]

Years ago a boyfriend and I built speakers and since we used JBL drivers we were able to take advantage of their engineering expertise.

They provided formula's, tables, graphs and other data to aid in selecting and matching components and building suitable enclosures.

I'd imagine they still provide such information and since I have an affinity for their "house sound" I would say you certainly can't go wrong if you start there. I was provided the info by my local audio dealer who sold me the drivers, you may find this available online perhaps.


btw - Radio Shack used to sell a decent paperback book on the subject of designing and building speaker enclosures. It provided a few basic speaker plans, some 'elements of design' info, formulas to help design your own enclosures, as well as some handy construction tips.
It may be worth looking for.

 

[1nf1n1ty]

sounds like alot of math involved...I like it...

Ill try that website a go....and find out if they still have that book..and maybe I will start ordering some drivers

 

[ezkcdude]

I used the book by David Weems, "Designing, Building, and Testing Your Own Speaker System: With Projects". That was a good introduction. There is another pretty decent book by John Murphy, "Introduction to Loudspeaker Design", and Vance Dickason's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook" is sort of a classic, but I'd still recommend Weem's for a starter. You can pick it up used very cheaply.

I also recommend browsing http://www.madisound.com for some of their projects. They will even calculate box volumes and such for you, and design and build crossovers using LEAP software. That's what I did for my two projects, and it made it painless.

 

[dBel84]

I think it is great fun building speakers, here are a few links to get you started.

1. my favorite DIY speaker designer
2. The speakers that I set out to build originally
3. Good kits (Madisound has already been mentioned)
4. & 5. Just a few more resources

there is a fantastic resource but I am not on my computer and can't seem to find the link , just remembered the name FRD

..dB

 

[jonnywolfet]

my favorite speaker designs : troelsgravesen.dk
and my future speaker : Poor Mans Strad

these are some gorgeous speakers!

 

[digitalmind]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnywolfet /img/forum/go_quote.gif my favorite speaker designs : troelsgravesen.dk and my future speaker : Poor Mans Strad these are some gorgeous speakers!

Do you have a view on what the Poor Mans Strad would cost?
It looks awesome, and I suppose it sounds just as good.

 

[jonnywolfet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by digitalmind /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you have a view on what the Poor Mans Strad would cost? It looks awesome, and I suppose it sounds just as good.

have you seen the sonus faber stradivari? the sound of the PMS is said to be that of a dipole in soundstage, with a very wide sweet spot.

i will be building these as a highly efficient speaker to compliment 20w of push pull valve amplification, especially since there is said to be a synergy between paper cone and tube.

i have an idea it would cost £4-500 total.i will be ordering the seas drivers from madisound in the usa, and sourcing the mdf locally. i think the recommended x-over components are from a company in the Netherlands but im not sure. if you wanted to, im sure you could keep the cost below £350ish, but i want these to be perfect
the article never got totally finished and the wording is a little vague at times. a couple of clarifications if you are considering this project (from what i have researched).

1, Troels vaguely mentions a port for the midrange enclosure, the info on port size and stuffing is there, but difficult to notice.

2, the enclosure design would really benefit from additional bracing and strengthening. an extra couple of litres of extra volume wouldn't hurt either, especially because more bracing will take up more volume.

there is an exel-driver variation of the PMS that would cost more, sound more aggressive and analytical at cost of efficiency and expense. there is a link on the PMS page.

other than that all the info you need is there! no trouble with x-feed design or anything!

 

[luvdunhill]

If you like the sound of the Sonus Faber speakers look at the Audio Technology drivers, which are used in many of the SF designs.

 

[1nf1n1ty]

when we are talking about the volumes of space for the drivers....can it be any shape?...or do they require specific shapes for them to follow?

 

[jonnywolfet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1nf1n1ty /img/forum/go_quote.gif when we are talking about the volumes of space for the drivers....can it be any shape?...or do they require specific shapes for them to follow?

its not that simple, volume of cabinets is calculated from driver parameters. to get these specs, you need to carry put some tests, for that you need a decent mic and special software. then you need to decide what cabinet design you want to use according to what trade-offs you are prepared to take, what baffle size, porting and rear-wave cancellation are all things you need to consider.

thats why its best to make a speaker that has already been designed and troubleshooted by someone experienced. otherwise its a massive (expensive) undertaking.

 

[1nf1n1ty]

Ya...that sounds really complicated...someone recommend a pre-designed speaker that is around $100 per pair...So maybe about 30-40 per driver?...or maybe tweeters can be added?...those are for highs right?...Guah...maybe just tell me what to build..and Ill do it...

 

[ezkcdude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1nf1n1ty /img/forum/go_quote.gif when we are talking about the volumes of space for the drivers....can it be any shape?...or do they require specific shapes for them to follow?

The formulas for volume don't usually take into account the shape of the box. However, the most common rule of thumb is to simply use the golden ratio: 0.62:1:1.62. Nowadays, this ratio specifies WDH (width:depth:height), but in the 70's and 80's, it was usually DWH, which gave kind of ugly wide speakers. Soundwise, it probably doesn't matter all that much, but I prefer the modern WDH look. Also, note that the volume for the box usually refers to the biggest driver (ie woofer) or the sum of multiple woofers. Tweeters can generally be ignored.

 

[1nf1n1ty]

hmm...thats nice to know that the golden ration looks good too...but If I were to say spend around $100 per pair...what would I be looking at?...decent speakers?...what would the equivalent cost be for a retail model of equal standing performance wise?