DIY Speakers

[TnT]

I'm considering getting a speaker kit and doing my first DIY speaker setup. The kit is from a local company that is going out of business, so I have to decide if I want to get it soon. The University's music school uses some of the same speakers and I was impressed (but I'm no audiophile). My roommate has some experience doing woodworking with his dad and we can use the University's Craft Center.

Anyways, any advice, tips or suggestions you guys can give me? Links to some resources would be helpful.

Thanks,
Thien

[az]

Have fun

Do you know how to solder and are all parts (ex enclosure, which should be made of MDF) included in the kit, including directions?

AZ

[TnT]

Instructions are included. I'll have to either go home and grab my parent's soldering iron or the guy said he could solder the crossover for me for free, is there anywhere else I'd have to do soldering?

The kit comes with 2 woofers, 2 tweeters, 2 crossovers, 2 terminal cups, gasket material, screws and wires.

[az]

If the parts are not too small, you should do the soldering for yourself - you learn something, and you will have built it yourself. What kind of iron do your parents have? Those pistol thingies are no good.

AZ

[Wombat]

You should definitely get Greebe's input. He does/did this kind of work professionally for a while. Knows how to do it quite well.

[az]

I actually disagree

While Greebe knows lots and lots about all this, what you're building will be a relatively simple circuit, with instructions. Greebe will tell you a thousand ways to optimize, which is nice, but will confuse you Also, doing it all by yourself without much help from us will be much more satifying. Be confident!

You can always return here when/if any actual questions arise, and I'm sure Greebe and others will be there to help you

AZ

[Fluff]

it's a shame that a digital crossover cant be created by using the outputs of a 4 channel sound card, e.g. front channels for the bass, rear channels for the treble. Run it to 2 cheap power amps. and use the computer to play the cd's.

It would negate the need to a crossover in the speakers. and might sound excellent. as you could tune the crossover frequency
with ease. Maybe i'm on a tangent.

I'm just imagining.

I would love to do the same thing. It is quite a good thing to learn, and the speakers you build may sound better than many more expensive ones. Also the amp should have greater control over the speakers.

In the UK there are quite a few good DIY hifi magazines.

give this a go btw.

http://home.earthlink.net/~etunstal/diy.htm

[Greebe]

need to know several things... what type of speaker setup, intended use and type of music you listen to... also a dollar figure

fire off an email to me @ greebe@matroxusers.com

[Wombat]

Originally posted by Fluff
[B]it's a shame that a digital crossover cant be created by using the outputs of a 4 channel sound card

There's no reason this can't be done, and somewhat easily. It would be up to your sound program to create the 4 channels.

[TnT]

This is fairly low end - $126 after going out of business sale discount. Then I'd have to get the MDF boards and cover fabric.

I'll only have those two speakers in an apartment living room. It'll be hooked into a very old Yamaha 450 watt stereo amplifier. Which then goes to an old 25" TV, cheapo DVD player and possibly a HTPC, if I ever get around to that. I may get a new receiver in the future, but that money is going to a Radeon and processor now.

I listen to all types of music - jazz, classical, metal, rap, pop, classic rock, oldies, ... I'm no audiophile, but I do have an idea of what speakers sound better than others. So I'm probably just above average. I live in an area with a bunch of other students, so neighbors won't care if the apartment is thumping at appropriate hours.

[az]

You do not need cover fabric. It's mostly thee for estetical reasons, and a little protection. If you don't plan to throw up at your speakers, and if you like the look of their drivers, you can go without it and spare some money and effort. Of course, there's not much to be said against using it, either

AZ

[Greebe]

I've only used covers when not listening... They are tho very good at keeping curious fingers from trashing cones/dust caps... with that atmosphere am sure you'll want.

With that price point you'll be hard pressed to find decient drivers...

$126/2 (stereo pair) = $63/speaker
(omitting the cost of the cabinette/grill/terminal/materials to build and S/H+tax that'll help alot)

$63 must then be divided up between a woofer/tweeter and passive crossover (basic 2-way setup)
you come out with:
~$30-woofer
~$20-tweeter
~$13-crossover

[Greebe]

OK I've got a basic sub / satellite setup that looks promising...

consists of a 12" dual voice coil sub, Vifa (made for JBL) 4.5"midbass and a Tang Band 1" cloth dome neodymium tweeter w/ damped rear chamber for a nice responce of ~35-20k and a power handling of 120watts/channel, 180w max (not peak)

working on the crossover aspect now...

[az]

See what I meant about Greebe confusing the heck out of you with more information that you can digest now?

AZ

[skinrock]

I didn't know they used DVC's for home systems.