33klfan Posted February 27, 2006 Share Posted February 27, 2006 Hi guys. It's been a while. I just really haven't had much to talk about lately, until a new idea popped into my head. I know it's probably a challenge, but i like challenges. Where should i get started? In about 6 months at my tech school we'll be able to build anything for cabinetry i think. I'm not sure if speaker cabinets qualify. If not, i would like to try it in the near future. I just didn't know where to start reading. I'm guessing it involves some reading but i'm really fresh with this, and i figured you guys could help me out. I basically want a starter speaker i'm sure, to begin with. I would like the cabinet to be average size like a rf-25 size for estimation. I just need resources on how to do this and with what drivers and crossovers. I don't know how much goes into this really, but i am willing to learn. I basically know what a speaker composes of but there's probably much to know. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 I have been reading about some designs, but most of it is overwhelming. The cabinet, for me, should be the easiest. The crossovers and stuff is where i get lost. If there was a company that came with detailed step by step it would be ok, but most assume you have done it before. Maybe i'm making more of it then it is, but i don't know. I still look forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 lol, what exactly are you asking for info on? Surely you don't expect to sit down and learn how to build a good sounding speakers in 2 weeks? Heck, I've been at it hardcore for over 4 years and I'm just starting to figure out which direction I want to go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 The cabinet, for me, should be the easiest. The crossovers and stuff is where i get lost. If there was a company that came with detailed step by step it would be ok, but most assume you have done it before. Those are readily available... easy to follow plans including matching x-over designs. If you look around at some retailers you will notice that they offer speaker kits (drivers and crossover parts, without the enclosure) and their corresponding plans. Solen.ca and Madisound are two such retailers which come to mind... but there are many others. The latter even has a forum to discuss the designs. The same buyer criteria apply to whether you are choosing a kit speaker or a regular store bought one (sound preference, size, required efficiency, etc...). Most start with a kit speaker, and then move to tweaking and finally designing their own. Good luck... ROb PS: there is are more DIY'er in the "updates and modification" forum BTW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 Well, i know you can't do it in two weeks. I probably won't be able to do it for a few months yet, but i wanted to get a head start with what to know. I guess that speaker cookbook is a good start but i don't know if it's for beginners. I mainly want where you can install the drivers and crossovers and all the insides and put all of it in my made cabinet that will be taken from a proven design. I noticed dayton, vifa, and peerless are some good driver choices. This is what i am mainly concerned about. I mean, i want these to sound pretty decent. I am not into building my own speaker as in everything manually like making the crossovers and planning out the cabinet. I will take it from a proven design for a first project. I would think this would be best. I want smoother mids and highs, and defined yet adequate bass. My music preference is mainly rock, but i want more refined sound. I'm not sure if i can accomplish a good speaker or not compared to the sf-1's. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Well all DIY projects start with the budget and size constraints...from there you'll be able to narrow it down to a few drivers to select from and then the driver selection determines the crossover. If you go with a kit then all that thinking will already have been done for you and all you do is pretty much connect the components and you're finished (kinda boring if you ask me, but you gotta start somewhere). Since it's your first time, I would start off with a sealed 2-way bookshelf design - it will be the easiest and cheapest to build. Then once you finish it, you can go about putting the same components into a ported cabinet. This will involve some designing of your own, but you'll be able to use the same drivers and crossover. From there you might consider going with a 2-way dual woofer floorstanding speaker (similar to the synergy/reference). Or you might even consider expanding to a 3-way design like the cornwall... Can you beat the performance of the SF-1's? Yes. Are you going to do it while spending less money? Probably not. Are you going to do it on your first try? Probably not. Klipsch just has way more capability to milk every last drop of performance out of cheaper drivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 I thougt the bookshelf would be easiest, but i should have considerable amount of time in my tech school to do this, if the project gets approved. Depending on how much time i have will factor if i do bookshelf/tower for difficulty purposes. I am pretty keen on woodworking skills, therefore if i get plans for a tower/bookshelf, i shouldn't have a problem. If i get a proven tower/bookshelf plan design, could i use different drivers then the ones they used or would it be best with what they used? I was thinking i could get a tower design and then i could probably ask the guy at my local dealer with help on drivers and crossovers and all of that, unless i do a kit which takes that worry out of it. At the future time, $500 or so could be my budget, unless i could get a nice speaker built for less, that is comparable or better than the sf-1. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Well the idea behind starting with a sealed bookshelf speaker is that you can easily turn it into a ported floorstander, without having to change your drivers. I'm thinking more of the learning experience...and the ability to compare directly how the cabinet design influences the sound (because the sealed bookshelf and ported floorstander is going to sound way different). I really wouldn't start out trying to beat your SF-1's...weren't they like $300/pair when you bought them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 "I really wouldn't start out trying to beat your SF-1's...weren't they like $300/pair when you bought them?" Yeah, gee, good memory. Regular, they were $500, but i got them on sale. I think it would be cool to do this because i like making things myself. One thing though, if they aren't too comparable with my klipsch, i'm not sure the reason of building speakers myself other than experience. I thought you could get more out of a diy speaker for less that is comparable to more expensive speakers that you buy in a store or isn't this true? I don't know what budget that is. I don't know where $200 or more gets you in drivers and crossovers, but it seems adequate for beginner. I do want them to sound good though, no doubt about that. How far do you have to go to beat the sf-1's, just for curiosity sake? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted March 1, 2006 Share Posted March 1, 2006 Ya, DIY doesn't usually win out at the lower price ranges... I did a quick search on partsexpress for some options and came across something close to your price range: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=290-454 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=264-226 http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=264-316 In a 5 cubic foot cabinet with two 4" ports of 5" length you're looking at a maxSPL of 110dB and a frequency response of 50-18kHz +-3dB, but you'll have nasy beaming at the higher frequencies and it's not exactly the best woofer, or top end for that matter. I would augment it with a tweeter: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=290-536 but that pushes you well out of your price range (with the tweeter it's $600 worth of drivers). So far I haven't even touched the cost of the crossover or the cabinets...you're probably looking at $900 total for a pair. One thing you might consider would be to take the HF section out of your SF-1's and then build a new cabinet with better woofers. Maybe something like four of these bad boys: http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=295-366 (In an 8 cubic foot cabinet you'll need two 4" ports of 8" length, which will get you close to the 94dB sensitivity of the SF-1 tweeter and a frequency response of 30-20kHz +-3dB). And since it sounds like you'll have cool machinery to your disposal, you might consider surrounding the tweeter with the four woofers and then angling them all in towards the middle so as to reduce comb-filtering at the higher frequencies. Or just go with a normal tall array like the newer RF stuff. And then later on down the road you can save up for a real nice tweeter that can handle 2-20khz and outperform the SF-1 tweeter. You might be able to swing the Beyma CP-25, but they go for $150 each. As you can see there are a lot of very different options out there...and I came up with these two ideas after only a few minutes of searching... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted March 1, 2006 Author Share Posted March 1, 2006 Thanks for all the help. I did some researching to, but i really didn't know what goes with what and know like what to pick like you did, but then again you have much experience with this so thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
33klfan Posted March 2, 2006 Author Share Posted March 2, 2006 I checked out that 8" dayton before, and it caught my eye. One of those with ??? midrange and ??? crossover probably wouldn't be too shabby. A lot of the crossovers by dayton don't connect the hz well without losing some hz. I don't know good companies for crossovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 here is a speaker DIY site full of plans for down loading. http://zmatek.jinak.cz/diy/ My first speaker project was in the 7th grade (wood shop), a book shelf single driver full range unit made of solid oak (tung oiled). Served it's purpose for many years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted April 26, 2006 Share Posted April 26, 2006 adire has some awesome speakers out there www.diycable.com has some kits http://www.diycable.com/main/default.php?cPath=24_92 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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