Hi guys,
I have nothing to do for the rest of the summer, so I think building a speaker is a pretty good idea. I've done some research on the internet and learned a little about what parts you need and stuff, but I don't really get the concept of crossovers, or what you need etc.
Could some of you guys kinda get me started on doing some planning and learning how it's done? I have a budget of 100 at most I'd say.
Thanks everyone
I have nothing to do for the rest of the summer, so I think building a speaker is a pretty good idea. I've done some research on the internet and learned a little about what parts you need and stuff, but I don't really get the concept of crossovers, or what you need etc.
Could some of you guys kinda get me started on doing some planning and learning how it's done? I have a budget of 100 at most I'd say.
Thanks everyone
Hi grebstein,
Relative noob myself but I'm finding crossover building well worth the research time and effort.
A crossover allows only frequencies (or sounds) above a certain value to pass through to a speaker.
Try the link below for some basic tips and a good capacitor, inductor calculator:
3 Way Crossover
e.g. if you have a woofer and a tweeter you could set the crossover at 3000 Hz. Low frequencies (bass and low voice) would go to the woofer, and high frequencies above 3000 Hz (drum cymbal and high voice) would go to the tweeter. For this crossover, assuming both woofer and tweeter are 8 ohm rated (this is important to know for calculation) you would need a capacitor of 6.63 µF and an inductor of 0.42 mH. See crossover calculator for circuit diagram on how to wire it up.
For a budget, stick to a first order crossover between speakers. These crossovers would need 1 capacitor and 1 inductor, so will be cheaper but still function well.
You have to decide at what frequency (Hz) you want to cross the speakers.
Is your design going to be 2-way or 3-way? Or 10-way.....?
That calculator should give you the right capacitor value (µF) and inductor value (mH).
Cheers
Relative noob myself but I'm finding crossover building well worth the research time and effort.
A crossover allows only frequencies (or sounds) above a certain value to pass through to a speaker.
Try the link below for some basic tips and a good capacitor, inductor calculator:
3 Way Crossover
e.g. if you have a woofer and a tweeter you could set the crossover at 3000 Hz. Low frequencies (bass and low voice) would go to the woofer, and high frequencies above 3000 Hz (drum cymbal and high voice) would go to the tweeter. For this crossover, assuming both woofer and tweeter are 8 ohm rated (this is important to know for calculation) you would need a capacitor of 6.63 µF and an inductor of 0.42 mH. See crossover calculator for circuit diagram on how to wire it up.
For a budget, stick to a first order crossover between speakers. These crossovers would need 1 capacitor and 1 inductor, so will be cheaper but still function well.
You have to decide at what frequency (Hz) you want to cross the speakers.
Is your design going to be 2-way or 3-way? Or 10-way.....?
That calculator should give you the right capacitor value (µF) and inductor value (mH).
Cheers
Hi grebstein,
Crossovers are more of a handful than you might imagine. You have to know the drivers and all the parameters. You also have to know what the actual impedance of the drivers is at the point you wish to XO. Using a figure of 8 ohms will only start you down the wrong path as this is not likely to be the actual impedance. If the drivers are of different sensitivity you need to know about L-pads. Depending on the size of the woofers you have to know at what point you encounter beaming and cone breakup. You have to know the Fs of the tweeters to ensure you don't cross them too low. You also want to consider zobel networks to maintain a decent woofer impedance as the frequency rises. There's also notch filtering to consider should the graph show an uneven response. Oh ya, there's the order you have to consider and whether you can use a 6, 12, 18 or 24 dB/octave filter.
Have I confused you enough yet? Not trying to but I think you get the idea that it really does take a person with know how to get it right.
I am going to suggest you find yourself a kit and build that. No, it's not the same as a complete DIY but at least someone has done the groundwork for you and you still get to build cabinets and assemble everything. The part you don't get is the heartache when you spend all this time and money and it sounds bad. Trust me on this one.
Tell us how big you want the speakers, what kind of amp you have, the listening environment, type of music etcetera and let's see if we can help.
Crossovers are more of a handful than you might imagine. You have to know the drivers and all the parameters. You also have to know what the actual impedance of the drivers is at the point you wish to XO. Using a figure of 8 ohms will only start you down the wrong path as this is not likely to be the actual impedance. If the drivers are of different sensitivity you need to know about L-pads. Depending on the size of the woofers you have to know at what point you encounter beaming and cone breakup. You have to know the Fs of the tweeters to ensure you don't cross them too low. You also want to consider zobel networks to maintain a decent woofer impedance as the frequency rises. There's also notch filtering to consider should the graph show an uneven response. Oh ya, there's the order you have to consider and whether you can use a 6, 12, 18 or 24 dB/octave filter.
Have I confused you enough yet? Not trying to but I think you get the idea that it really does take a person with know how to get it right.
I am going to suggest you find yourself a kit and build that. No, it's not the same as a complete DIY but at least someone has done the groundwork for you and you still get to build cabinets and assemble everything. The part you don't get is the heartache when you spend all this time and money and it sounds bad. Trust me on this one.
Tell us how big you want the speakers, what kind of amp you have, the listening environment, type of music etcetera and let's see if we can help.
I have yet to use a crossover in my speaker systems.
I buy tweeters that dont mind low frequencies.
I let the inductance of the bass speaker reject the higher frequencies.
I let full range speakers have the whole amplifier output.
Never had a problem with bad sound.
I rely on a tone control to control the frequency response.
I buy tweeters that dont mind low frequencies.
I let the inductance of the bass speaker reject the higher frequencies.
I let full range speakers have the whole amplifier output.
Never had a problem with bad sound.
I rely on a tone control to control the frequency response.
Hi,
Read the first site at least and see how you get on.
Within budget is : Overnight Sensations - undefinition
/sreten.
Paul Carmody's DIY Audio Projects - undefinition
Zaph|Audio
RJB Audio Projects
Speaker Design Works
HTGuide Forum - powered by vBulletin
Humble Homemade Hifi
Click below to go to
Quarter Wavelength Loudspeaker Design
Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design
Music and Design
Read the first site at least and see how you get on.
Within budget is : Overnight Sensations - undefinition
/sreten.Paul Carmody's DIY Audio Projects - undefinition
Zaph|Audio
RJB Audio Projects
Speaker Design Works
HTGuide Forum - powered by vBulletin
Humble Homemade Hifi
Click below to go to
Quarter Wavelength Loudspeaker Design
Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design
Music and Design
Last edited:
There are also lots of well-sorted designs where XO has been designed, you'd just need to gather parts and assemble.
Or do what i (mostly) do. Go for a 1-way speaker (no XO at all).
dave
Hey guys
Allow me to jump here as the subject still seems fresh. After spending most of... you know, "budget that is ok with the wife" on our living room system (which sounds great BTW), the sound coming from my 30$ - 7 years old computer speakers in the basement looks like a real torture. I'm thinking about embarking into the journey of building speakers myself, mainly for cost reasons, but also because I want them to have a specific look. I'm pretty confident in building the cabinet but need some help with the choices I'm making. So if any wants to jump in, it would be much appreciated! Keep in mind I'm not planing to use this as my main system!
After a bit of reading here and there, and founding most of the stuff at a small shop nearby, I was thinking going with a 2 way system composed of:
Tweeter : HiVI T25 (HiVi TN25 Fabric Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com)
Mid/Bass : HiVI D5G (HiVi D5G 5" Kevlar/Paper Woofer | Parts-Express.com)
OR the HiVI M6A (HiVi M6a 6" Aluminum/Magnesium Midbass | Parts-Express.com), which is cheaper...
So I was wondering; I' reading everywhere that a 2.5Khz crossover is the norm, but is it really? Would I be better with a 2Khz if I go with the D5G (D5G is 45-2,500Hz, the M6A is 47-4,000Hz)?
Also, what kind of wiring should I consider? And finally, since this the source will be a computer, what kind of poweramp should I go with? The D5G is outputting a 120W (8ohms), so I guess I need to go with a poweramp able to drive that, right?
Thanks. I know it's a lot of question, but when you start reading about it, It's hard to find answers to such simple questions... All you see everywhere is how to build your crossover and a couple of graphs about frequency I'm not sure I completely understand!
samm
Allow me to jump here as the subject still seems fresh. After spending most of... you know, "budget that is ok with the wife" on our living room system (which sounds great BTW), the sound coming from my 30$ - 7 years old computer speakers in the basement looks like a real torture. I'm thinking about embarking into the journey of building speakers myself, mainly for cost reasons, but also because I want them to have a specific look. I'm pretty confident in building the cabinet but need some help with the choices I'm making. So if any wants to jump in, it would be much appreciated!
Keep in mind I'm not planing to use this as my main system!After a bit of reading here and there, and founding most of the stuff at a small shop nearby, I was thinking going with a 2 way system composed of:
Tweeter : HiVI T25 (HiVi TN25 Fabric Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com)
Mid/Bass : HiVI D5G (HiVi D5G 5" Kevlar/Paper Woofer | Parts-Express.com)
OR the HiVI M6A (HiVi M6a 6" Aluminum/Magnesium Midbass | Parts-Express.com), which is cheaper...
So I was wondering; I' reading everywhere that a 2.5Khz crossover is the norm, but is it really? Would I be better with a 2Khz if I go with the D5G (D5G is 45-2,500Hz, the M6A is 47-4,000Hz)?
Also, what kind of wiring should I consider? And finally, since this the source will be a computer, what kind of poweramp should I go with? The D5G is outputting a 120W (8ohms), so I guess I need to go with a poweramp able to drive that, right?
Thanks. I know it's a lot of question, but when you start reading about it, It's hard to find answers to such simple questions... All you see everywhere is how to build your crossover and a couple of graphs about frequency I'm not sure I completely understand!
samm
Hi,
The tweeters you linked to would a require a 3kHz crossover or higher. The general rule is an octave above resonance (Fs). It is possible to get lower, but you can run into a lot of problems.
If you had enough amplifiers, you could use an active crossover on your PC (you'll need a multi-channel sound card), and bi-amp them. The main advantages are that you'll get better sound from an active crossover, you save money on the actual crossover components (can be a lot if you like to tweak).
The down side is that you need 4 channels of amplification.
Based on quoted frequency response, I'd go with the 6" midbass, as making a tweeter go lower than it should leads to a compromise in power handling.
I'd go 2nd order on the crossover, again for the safety of the tweeter.
Chris
The tweeters you linked to would a require a 3kHz crossover or higher. The general rule is an octave above resonance (Fs). It is possible to get lower, but you can run into a lot of problems.
If you had enough amplifiers, you could use an active crossover on your PC (you'll need a multi-channel sound card), and bi-amp them. The main advantages are that you'll get better sound from an active crossover, you save money on the actual crossover components (can be a lot if you like to tweak).
The down side is that you need 4 channels of amplification.
Based on quoted frequency response, I'd go with the 6" midbass, as making a tweeter go lower than it should leads to a compromise in power handling.
I'd go 2nd order on the crossover, again for the safety of the tweeter.
Chris
Hey guys
Allow me to jump here as the subject still seems fresh. After spending most of... you know, "budget that is ok with the wife" on our living room system (which sounds great BTW), the sound coming from my 30$ - 7 years old computer speakers in the basement looks like a real torture. I'm thinking about embarking into the journey of building speakers myself, mainly for cost reasons, but also because I want them to have a specific look. I'm pretty confident in building the cabinet but need some help with the choices I'm making. So if any wants to jump in, it would be much appreciated!
After a bit of reading here and there, and founding most of the stuff at a small shop nearby, I was thinking going with a 2 way system composed of:
Tweeter : HiVI T25 (HiVi TN25 Fabric Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com)
Mid/Bass : HiVI D5G (HiVi D5G 5" Kevlar/Paper Woofer | Parts-Express.com)
OR the HiVI M6A (HiVi M6a 6" Aluminum/Magnesium Midbass | Parts-Express.com), which is cheaper...
So I was wondering; I' reading everywhere that a 2.5Khz crossover is the norm, but is it really? Would I be better with a 2Khz if I go with the D5G (D5G is 45-2,500Hz, the M6A is 47-4,000Hz)?
Also, what kind of wiring should I consider? And finally, since this the source will be a computer, what kind of poweramp should I go with? The D5G is outputting a 120W (8ohms), so I guess I need to go with a poweramp able to drive that, right?
Thanks. I know it's a lot of question, but when you start reading about it, It's hard to find answers to such simple questions... All you see everywhere is how to build your crossover and a couple of graphs about frequency I'm not sure I completely understand!
samm
Hi,
Are they going to be computer nearfield speakers or just general speakers ?
It matters. Any decent amplifier > 30w amplifier will do say, around 50W.
ZX Spectrum - undefinition
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
the picture is not the full height, its around what a sealed version version would be.
for your sanity copy (or at least base your design on) an existing design.
The aboves impedance is very amplifier friendly - the cheapest source
would be a used receiver, cheaper and you get a tuner thrown it.
If you actually want to do yourself see the 1st link below and :
FRD Consortium tools guide
rgds, sreten.
Paul Carmody's DIY Audio Projects - undefinition
Zaph|Audio
RJB Audio Projects
Speaker Design Works
HTGuide Forum - A Guide to HTguide.com Completed Speaker Designs.
Humble Homemade Hifi
Click below to go to
Quarter Wavelength Loudspeaker Design
The Frugal-Horns Site -- High Performance, Low Cost DIY Horn Designs
Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design
Music and Design
Last edited:
If you actually want to do yourself see the 1st link above and :
FRD Consortium tools guide
Still use the M6A but a better tested tweeter :
Zaph|Audio
The Hi-Vi SD1.1 is a better choice :
HiVi SD1.1-A 1" Textile Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com
rgds, sreten.
FRD Consortium tools guide
Still use the M6A but a better tested tweeter :
Zaph|Audio
The Hi-Vi SD1.1 is a better choice :
HiVi SD1.1-A 1" Textile Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com
rgds, sreten.
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Ditto ! I'm in the middle of a project myself and Let's just say if it wasn't for the Kind and Gracous support of a Friend a member here I would be lost WRT to the crossovers and other things that Cal had listed.Testing every driver,and so on. I have to say $100 hardly can buy the wood these days.But good luck with it.
Hello, I'm new to DIY... I look for something simple for a start.
I've got this old Genius SP Q16 desktop speakers with broken case so I want to build a wooden box, MDF or Plywood for them. There are two 7cm speakers, default amp with volume/tone controls and power/"3d" buttons. I'm going to make a separate box for amp and controls.
Can anyone help with wood selection and dimensions of a box for this speakers?
I've got this old Genius SP Q16 desktop speakers with broken case so I want to build a wooden box, MDF or Plywood for them. There are two 7cm speakers, default amp with volume/tone controls and power/"3d" buttons. I'm going to make a separate box for amp and controls.
Can anyone help with wood selection and dimensions of a box for this speakers?
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