chisoxpurdue Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I am someone who knows what I don't know. I don't know the basics of speaker building. Crossovers are the first thing that gets me. I have seen the different networks and stuff. As only a civil engineer, my knowledge of basics circuits is even lacking (we skipped circuits and barely covered in physics). I know basics, but I want to learn more. In particular, I want a book about building speakers, subwoofers and crossovers. I need to understand what I need. People talk about flat response to 40 HZ. What are we using to test this other than an SPL meter? (I have never used one) I want to get the basics for what I need to learn how to measure. I read and comprehend rather quickly. But for someone who wants to enjoy music, I feel I would like to tinker more and know I need more knowledge for that. I just thought this would be a good spot to ask for recommendation on resources that I can read up on. Thanks to all for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axz Hout Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I feel there's plenty to learn by trying to squeeze every ounce of performance out of a design. Great primer here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/18976774/Yamaha-Sound-Reinforcement-Handbook-Ll Honest to goodness speaker design has its roots (pun intended) in control theory. So unless you're really up to speed on linear algebra and transforms, speaker design technical literature is not going to prove all that insightful. [:^)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 16, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2013 An oldie but good reading. Got a copy in 1972, still have it. Speaker Enclosures, By Alexis Badmaieff and Don Davis. chris I had that book in the 70's, I actually built a speaker from it, years later after finding klipsch it turns out it's within a 1/2" of a Cornwall, and with a mid and high freq horn also. [Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axz Hout Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 This often mentioned http://www.amazon.com/Loudspeaker-Design-Cookbook-Vance-Dickason/dp/1882580478 Your local library might not have it or the previously mentioned book. But remember: You can go to your local public library (or school library) and and ask for the reference librarian and ask for "an interlibrary loan." Thru this system you can get any circulating book from any library in the country. It may take a few weeks to arrive but there is usually no charge. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 16, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2013 Back in the day that book as $3.50. However nothing in it about subwoofers. chris Nope nothing about them, I never tried one until I got the past pro logic stage for movies, would have never thought of it for music back then, just didn't know about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted February 16, 2013 Moderators Share Posted February 16, 2013 This often mentioned http://www.amazon.com/Loudspeaker-Design-Cookbook-Vance-Dickason/dp/1882580478 Your local library might not have it, or the previously mentioned book. But remember: You can go to your local public library (or school library) and and ask for the reference librarian and ask for "an interlibrary loan." Thru this system you can get any circulating book from any library in the country. It may take a few weeks to arrive but there is usually no charge. WMcD I forgot about that, good idea, I did that once to get books about a few different things, it's very slow sometimes but you can books you would never find anywhere locally, works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxx Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 There are some excellent ideas in this book: You can find it on Amazon.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 This often mentioned http://www.amazon.com/Loudspeaker-Design-Cookbook-Vance-Dickason/dp/1882580478 Your local library might not have it or the previously mentioned book. WMcD Excellent book. Brush up on you math and if you are wanting to get into crossover design, do some digging into Electrical Reactance. Building boxes is an art in itself, especially the finishing. Problem is, excellent drivers and bad crossover will sound bad. Cheap drivers and good crossover and design implementation can sound very good. PWK was always criticised for his inexpensive driver choices (compared to today at least) but the crossover and design implementation makes the speaker. Just very good drivers many times does not work well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chisoxpurdue Posted February 17, 2013 Author Share Posted February 17, 2013 I can do my Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. Thanks for the suggestions so far. Crossover and design implementation are important and that's why I want to learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet_Hollow Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I can do my Linear Algebra and Differential Equations. Sweet! Then I might recommend these two sources to supplement the aforementioned: Loudspeaker Handbook by Eargle and Intro to Electroacoustics & Audio Amplifier Design by Leach Hope you find what you're looking for. [8] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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