DIY Speakers - a noobs approach

GeniX

Active Member

Making my own speakers has come and gone in my mind for months and months. It has come around again :)

I wont ask for 'where do I start' pointers as there are a number of threads here detailing this down to books & websites.

My query is two-fold :

Do speakers take a lot of time to make? (months/weeks?)
Are they do-able (even if by DIY kit) with no knowledge of electronics and very limited acoustics knowledge?

I guess depending on the time taken to make them, Im trying to weigh up without having made them whether I will look back at wasted time, or look back thinking 'they sure do suck, but i love 'em'


 
Genix,

Building your own speakers can give one a real great sense of satisfaction if they turn out sounding good. The beginner can buy a kit, or look around and settle on a design from the many plans available on the internet. After you have decided on a design and dimensions, and know what drivers and crossover to put inside the big challenge is really going to be cabinet making. The success and look of the finished product will be determined on your ability as a woodworker, and also the tools you have at your disposal. For example it is nice to have a tablesaw but if you have a power saw and clamp a straight piece of angle iron to the sheet of MDF or plywood you wish to cut first as a guide you can get cuts that rival a table saw. This is actually what I have to do because a table saw is one power tool still on my to-get list.

If you are not confident that you can build a cabinet then I'd suggest looking for a kit that includes the cabinet already cut ready to assemble, or already built. In the latter case there isn't much to making the speaker than simple assembly and at that stage you just might want to forgoe the building and just buy premade speakers that you can listen to before you reach for your wallet.

I have begun building speakers this year from scratch after almost 30 years since my last set as I now have an interest in manufacturing and selling speakers (this is going to make my table saw a necessity quite soon), and I sure can say from personal experience that there is a terrific satisfaction from seeing in my own case a design out of my head actually come alive after crafting it and some tuning and experimentation in the lab (I have the necessary test equipment).

I guess you need to begin by deciding what kind of speakers you want based on the receiver or amp you plan to use and the kind of music you like to listen to, and the room you wish to fill with glorious sound. Budget is also a basic guiding factor.

I'm sure there are folks here that would be happy to try to help answer any questions you might have as you proceed towards your goal.

Rob
 

Thanks rob!

I guess the music I want to play, and room size for the speaker and all that are at this time not a concern. I have already a home theatre setup, and a 2 channel setup which I really enjoy. Making a pair of speakers is not out of nessecity, but rather the next step in this hobby.

My goals would be simple:
a) something I have made
b) something from which I can hear the music in whatever quality it results (preferrably something than can be considered listenable)

The issue for me is that if they take a lot of time and hard work for little return then I may not be so keen to start. OTOH if I can make a box from 6 pieces of wood with holes for the driver and tweeter and have it work - thats good enough.

Simply put, I want to try a simplified experience that wont take too much time (defined as more than 2 or 3 weekends). If I enjoy it, then Ill look at reading up and aiming for quality.

I have already checked out driver prices. Locally they will rip me off about $50US for a pair of tweeters and a pair of midrange (the cheapest I have found in my short search time) - rated 8ohm, 10watts each. The drivers are a lot more expensive than I imagined for cheap ones.

Woodwork tools see electric drills, jig-saws, and maybe an electric sander at my disposal (collective equipment from friends). Should be enough to make a cabinet of some cheap material? Ofcourse my woodwork skills are almost zero - but the way I figure it is that its all about design and exact measurements before hand.

--

even DIY could fast become expensive. I checked out the highly acclaimed ScanSpeak drivers.. woah.. expensive - one would need a really well designed (and constructed) cabinet to even start reaping any rewards offered by such drivers.

 
A good way to look at it is that there are a lot more speaker builders out there than there are driver manufacturers. Most builders use the same drivers. If you are using SS with some power that makes things a lot easier as it is easier to get less efficient drivers. Since you are in NZ you might want to see if someone has picked up the line of Tang Bang out of China. Not a lot of money and I heard some little 3"ers that had great voicing and would make good sealed, ported or isobaric speaker drivers.
 
Hey Genix,

How long do DIY speakers take?...long if your me ;)


What kinda speaker are you looking to build? do you want something small to start...or larger? How much would you like to spend?

A decent kit, with good sound for the money, is the HE10.1Signature Deluxe Driver/Crossover Kit at $450.00


You can also go with PiSpeakers

At Pi...you can upgrade or downgrade your drivers to suit your wallet. Check out the forum at Pi also...there are some helpful people there...and some good info.

No matter what you do do...keep us updated on what you decide!
 
Originally posted by Thatch_Ear
....Since you are in NZ you might want to see if someone has picked up the line of Tang Bang out of China. Not a lot of money and I heard some little 3"ers that had great voicing and would make good sealed, ported or isobaric speaker drivers.

Thatch,

I've seen those Tang Band (Bang was a funny pun:) ) now are being offered at www.partexpress.com and am impressed with what I've seen. I haven't had a chance to hear one yet though. The prices are very attractive. I'd love to try the little 4" job that goes from about 65 Hz up to 20 KHz in my new horn design instead of the unknown 3-1/2 inchers I'm experimenting with currently.

Rob
 
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Just go for it!!

As far as time and money in and the return. You get what you pay for. If you get poor quality drivers it is over before it began. You also cannot skimp on the cabinet material either. I use MDF it's cheap and works well. You can get it in easilly manageable 2x4 sheets and you can brace it easilly with 1x2 or 2x3 depending on the cabinet size.

If you do your homework and have some wood working skills don't worry. You can always practice on scrap or have the lumber yard or a friend cut the panels for you. There is so much information and software available for box design plus you can get help in so many places including this forum. There are so many reason to do it!!


You will have fun!!

You won't care how long it takes when you get going.

There is no rush you can take as much or as little time as you want to complete them.

You will learn a great deal just by doing the minimum required to get it working.

There are some very good kits where you can buy a cabinet if need be.

Have Fun

Rob2:)
 
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Yes I noticed that Parts Express had picked up the line. For Those of you on the other side of the world here is Tang Bangs home page to help you locate a dealer you can use.

<www.tb-speaker.com>
 
Here's my take on building speakers. (LOL which don't mean one whole hell of a lot) When I set out to embark on my new main speakers I wanted a more cost effective, hands on experiance. I grew up with an older brother and his friends that were into audio more than most might be so a lot of common sense things rubbed off on me.

A kit speaker was the way to go for me. Didn't have the wood shop to build a cabinet properly. I searched and searched the internet and found TONS of kits. But my looking was dictated by common sense issues. I finally found the speaker to fit the bill. A dead cabinet is important in sound reproduction. It really helps for the detail. My speaker cabinet is 1.5 inch MDF, extreamly tank like. The cabinet design was not by someone unknown but by Joe D'Appolito so I knew I was safe there. In fact this paticular design is used by many and is "road tested". Drivers were not "off the wall" brand but Focal units, a manufacturer used in many quality speakers. But the main selling point for me was the Raven Ribbon tweeters! Pricey maybe but ohhhh baby, I knew about Ribbon tweeter sound. It is the most realistic. I built the crossover with jewlers silver wire and mounted it externally to keep it away from the driver magnets and the strong sound wave inviorment of the internal cabinet. This speaker I used is very efficient too, 95db so it fit well with my future tube plans. I didn't want the orgy of bass sound waves messing up my mids and highs so these speakers were bought with that in mind. I knew with some work I could properly integrate an audiophile grade sub woofer into my system allowing my main speakers to give me amazing detail of sound. It's how I like it and believe me, it is outstanding ;)

So to answer your question I say YES, it is "do-able" and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get there. I beleive you will be prouder of the speaker and a kit typically won't take you long to build at all, mine didn't. Often kit suppliers are very helpful and will answer questions. I love my kit speakers and I think they have a better build than ready made factory stuff coming out of China and the like.

My next speakers will be a "ground up" project as my new neighbor has a nice wood shop that he built next to his house. Said I can use it any time. I am excited about building my own cabinet this time! So do your homework. Decide what fits your needs in sound. Use common sense and have a BLAST!! I can't see how you would regret it... :yippy:
 

Well guys, I chatted to some people after church today, and sourced a circular saw, sander (if needed), jig-saw and some other odd bits.

People seemed to be a little disbelieving (or maybe just my perception) that I would do a 'ground-up' cut and make the cabinet myself approach. This has only fueled my desire from a 'maybe' to a 'definately'.

THUS, I come now to the crux of it. I need to source the material sizes I can get hold of, as this will probably determine the shape of the speaker. Ill have to find out (probably by copying someone else! shshshshhs :) what kind of internal volume Ill be needing to attach to a small driver. It will have to be small by any account as the MDF I can get hold of is 18mm thick, and I read online that it vibrates way too much. I figure this will also mean Ill look for a small driver (3 - 5" maybe?) with hopefully a very tight rubber so it doesnt move much.

Furthermore, I want to seperate the tweeter's area mostly from the drivers space (ideal position for some horizontal wood to stabalize things). I dont know if this is a good idea or not, but to my limited knowledge it seems to make sense.

I have a plan - dimensions need to be sorted first tho'. The only issue I may have will be a crossover. I know *NOTHING* of electronics. I may be calling on you guys to tell me how to do the most basic crossover electronically possible.

--

Any help with sourcing drivers ( & tweeters) would be good. Im hoping US$10 per driver (or thereabouts), and very cheap shipping if I cant find a source within NZ.

Cheap? Yes. But its my first ever project of this nature, and any quality in the drivers would merely be wasted in this attempt. I just want something that sounds like a cheap boombox. I would be happy - although that may be too much to hope for.

We'll see :)

 
Hello

18mm or 3/4 is just fine you just have to brace it. The smaller the cabinet the stiffer it is anyway. There are no mail order speaker houses in NZ???? There has to be something!!! Why pay for shipping from the US?? How about Australia?? I see some stuff on Ebay and the people I have spoken to there are as crazy as we are. Get a copy of WINISD. It is a freeware program. All you need are the Thiele Small parameters for the driver you are looking at to build the box. For crossovers just do a search and you will get tons of information to help explain things. A good site is

http://xsspl.tripod.com/Audio/Sound.htm

You can down load the site to view off line as HTML.

Well the worm has turned for you.

Rob2:)
 

I stand corrected! From the DIY Audio Speaker FAQ:

The tweeter is indepentently sealed and doesn't need it's own chamber.

Oh yeah - initial web searches on google (using 'site:.au' and 'site:.nz') dont show any immediate results in the search pages for 'diy speaker driver buy' for places actually selling speaker drivers.

US based places so far (parts express and madisound) either want mail order, or phone order! (ARGH NO ONLINE ORDERING). Well I certainly dont wanna be calling the US.. ill pay as much for the damn phone call as I would for the purchase...


 
Did you try the Tang Bang site? With their 3 and 4 inchers you only need one driver since they are basically tweeters that can go lower than most. As for crossovers all you need is a capasitior to insure it does not go to low and burn itself out.
 

Thanks very much Rob2 !

I swear! I did a search and went thru 5 pages of results and those did not come up! :eek:

At the moment Im looking at Audax as they do some cheap stuff.

I told the guys at work - it was a source of some amusement. They dont reckon Ill even get the cabinet cut, nor propper measurements if I do. I reckon Ill at least get an okay cabinet - there are calculators online to tell me the best volume and cabinet dimensions given the (is this correct?) Theile Small parameters.

 
Glad to help

Hello GeniX

Try WinISD. This is a freeware program for the box dimensions/volume. It has a good preloaded database of drivers. You can also add drivers. It has a very good tutorial to help you get started.


http://www.linearteam.dk/

Regards Rob2:)
 
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