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Can this be done????

iloveitloud

iloveitloud

Active Member
Say I wanted to build my own custom speakers. could I use car audio speakers? I was thinking something like 6 or 8 6x9 full range speakers, in each cabinet, with no additional crossovers. Would I want to have separate enclosures for each speaker inside the main boxes? Also, I don't know much about ohm loads, but I don't think I can just hook up a bunch of speakers in parallel, can I? If not, could I just BI-amp, or TRI-amp to get the proper ohm load on each amp? The main enlosure would be about a 5 foot tall hexagon, with speakers distributed on the 3 front faceing sides, at different heights. The diameter of the hexagon would be determined by the baffle requirements of whatever speakers I ended up choosing. If any ports were required, they woud go on the back side of the hexagon. Obviously, one could just go by some nice speakers for less money, and less time than this would take. However, I have lot's of time and love to do "one of a kind" stuff like this. Any help or ideas on this are apprciated.
 
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For all your ambitions and willingness to work on all aspects you are really selling yourself and your speakers short if you think car audio speakers will get you there.
 
a friend once built a pair using 4 car 6x9's in each box. they were jensen coaxials. the cabinets were pretty big, and didn't sound half-bad! remember that most car speakers are rated at 4 ohms, while most home equipment is rated for 8 ohms. two 4 ohm speakers in series equals 8 ohms, two 4 ohms speakers in parallel equals 2 ohms (ouch). using 4 per cabinet, you could wire 2 in series times 2, then wire the pairs in parallel to end up with 4 ohms. using 8 per cabinet, you could get 8 ohms. maybe octagonal speakers?
 
So... I could wire 4 speakers in series twice, then the pairs of 4 in parallel, and end up with an 8 ohm load? That sounds easy!? If wired in series, would all 4 of the speakers be provided with equal power? Or, would the power drop off over the series of 4 speakers? Also, would both series of 4 speakers get equal power from the parallel arrangment? If this can work this simple, would it also be safe to assume that the input power rating would be the total of all the drivers in each cabinet? Or would the parallel settup make the input rating only the total of one bank of 4 speakers?:scratch2:
 
Contrary to popular belief, other than physical shapes and mounting properties to fit a particular spot, generally what makes a car speaker a car speaker is, it's in a car!

They are usually of a lower impedance, and they mostly don't come mounted in a pre-designed enclosure.

6x9 speakers have been used for quite a few non-automotive applications including PA columns and organ cabinets.

Series parallel two pair in each box and your nominal impedance will be the same as a single speaker.

I say go for it! Some full range 6x9's sound darn good!
 
I recall something called the Sweet Sixteen, 16 5" speakers in a cabinet. A co worker built one, said it sounded like 16 5" speakers.
 
The whole idea is to make something like the concept of a BOSE 901--only on steroids, and with good enough speakers to point forward. The idea is to "flood" the room with sound.Plus, if done nicely, they could look really cool. I know many AKer's don't like that type of speakers, for alot of good reasons. However, I listen to music like VAN HALEN, METALLICA,and MOTLEY CRUE. I don't need, or want the accuracy, and definition some people on this sight strive to achieve. Also, I enjoy building things-especially things I can use. One big question I have come up with is will all the magnets from the speakers effect each other by being crammed together in a small space, or don't I need to worry about that? Overall, I'm hopeing this design will make a "big" sound.
 
iloveitloud said:
Say I wanted to build my own custom speakers. could I use car audio speakers? I was thinking something like 6 or 8 6x9 full range speakers, in each cabinet, with no additional crossovers. Would I want to have separate enclosures for each speaker inside the main boxes? Also, I don't know much about ohm loads, but I don't think I can just hook up a bunch of speakers in parallel, can I? If not, could I just BI-amp, or TRI-amp to get the proper ohm load on each amp? The main enlosure would be about a 5 foot tall hexagon, with speakers distributed on the 3 front faceing sides, at different heights. The diameter of the hexagon would be determined by the baffle requirements of whatever speakers I ended up choosing. If any ports were required, they woud go on the back side of the hexagon. Obviously, one could just go by some nice speakers for less money, and less time than this would take. However, I have lot's of time and love to do "one of a kind" stuff like this. Any help or ideas on this are apprciated.
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Yes you can but what is their intended use going to be?
 
Bob Orme said:
Contrary to popular belief, other than physical shapes and mounting properties to fit a particular spot, generally what makes a car speaker a car speaker is, it's in a car!
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Bob pretty much nailed it there. Only thing I would add is that car speakers, in general, tend to have a high Qts as they're designed for essentially infinite baffle applications (like the rear deck). Knowing that, you'll probably need either a big enclosure or an IB/OB arrangement...or you could just sacrifice the low end and add a sub.

I've done car speakers in the house before and had decent results with decent speakers. Oddly enough, just like "home" speaker drivers.

Car subs will tend to be optimized for smaller enclosures and higher cutoffs because they benefit from much more cabin gain (room gain if you're inside). They also can work inside but you have to look at the design a bit differently.

Ray
 
My input would be that it's not worth it. You'd have a huge amount of interference with all those tweeters playing the same program material from different locations, and in order to make the impedance a workable load you'd need to series-wire the drivers, which brings more issues since each of these (presumably co-axial or tri-axial) drivers will have a crossover network involved.

Big sound? You might get it. Accurate, clean sound is not likely.

If you're doing it to amuse yourself, go for it.

je
 
merrylander said:
I recall something called the Sweet Sixteen, 16 5" speakers in a cabinet. A co worker built one, said it sounded like 16 5" speakers.
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:lmao:

I understand the "march to the beat of a different drummer" thing very well. I'd say go for it, just make sure you get the wiring right so you present the right load to your amp.
 
iloveitloud said:
I don't need, or want the accuracy, and definition some people on this sight strive to achieve. Also, I enjoy building things-especially things I can use. ... Overall, I'm hopeing this design will make a "big" sound.
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This hobby we all share is about entertainment, enjoyment, fun. For the reasons you stated, you should build them. We can all speculate about what the results might be, but that says little about how much enjoyment you'll get out of it. At the very least, you're sure to learn something in the process. And have fun doing it.

How can you lose?
 
spartanmanor said:
Why not look into using full range drivers for home audio applications such as Fostex or Lowther.
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Or for that matter, some of the significantly less expensive but still pretty good drivers from Tang-Band, Dayton, Hi-Vi, etc. With Fostex, he'll be sinking a large investment (in the 1,000-2,000 range methinks) in an experiment that could turn out to be a complete bust (although he could probably recoup some losses on ebay)
 
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