Novice looking for first design

[aps]

I’m thinking of building my first set of DIY speakers but am a complete novice and am looking for advice on the right design. The speakers are to go into a small 12 x 16 x 10ft (WxLxH) room that is shared with others and full of bookcases / furniture. These constraints mean that that speakers must fire down the length of the room, can at most be 3ft from the front wall and 8 ft apart (which, in practice, sees them being close to the sidewalls.)

The goal is for speakers gets voices right, has outstanding excellent dynamics and an open, spacious, sound. My other criteria are that the speakers be relatively compact (as the room is full of books), simple to build and look good enough to live with. Also, it’s important that the speakers deal with the room as past attempts to install comprehensive room treatment haven't past muster in the shared room.

The idea of a full-range single driver speaker is appealing as it’s both simple, efficient and sufficiently different but I don’t want a speaker with a massive footprint in the room. Open baffles are also appealing in dealing with room issues but it’d be hard to get these far enough from the front wall. If necessary, then I'm prepared to budget for expensive drivers.

Another thought is that, given the fact that I’m an absolute novice, with few tools, the best starting point might be to use a DIY kit or just have the timber pre-cut to order for a well-known design. One option that is available in kit-form here in Australian Jordan Systems - JX92S but I’m not sure about the open / spacious sound as others seem to report that it’s quite directional.

Any and all advice is welcome.

Regards,
APS

[rotaspec]

While I have no experience with them, the Jordan seems a popular and versatile driver.
If your space permits, a MLTL enclosure might be the best option as it is easy to build.
Look here for one variant that has a ribbon tweeter that may take care of an beaming:

Jordan with a Ribbon MLTL

[rotaspec]

I just noticed you have what looks like a NZ flag.
Have a look on
D-I-Y - AudioEnz Forums

I think username "batdan" has a Jordan MLTL built up.

Gary

[rotaspec]

Found it:
Completed Jordan Full Range Speaker Build - AudioEnz Forums

[bearberry]

Check out the designs here:
planet_10 hifi

Dave, Chris, and others associated with Planet10 are major contributors to this full range forum. There are a wide variety of well-illustrated plans on the site for a good assortment of drivers. Many of the plans have build threads here. Enjoy!
bb

[markaudio]

Hi APS,
Following on from Planet 10, here's a simple box design, these just completed in Oak-wood for the Alpair 7 and could be built using almost any wood based material. The box design is available for other drivers. A complete set of plans are on the Planet 10 and Markaudio sites:

planet_10 hifi

Markaudio News | Markaudio

This may be of interest to beginners because of its simplicity and easy room set-up. Also, more experienced DIYer's may wish to try Scott's "Damped Air Concept".

I'll fit these cabs out over the local holiday period next week and play them at home

Cheers

Mark.

[planet10]

As well as the plans on the planet10-hifi site, check out the frugal-horn site (link below). Even the smallest of these is not all that small.

dave

[aps]

Wow. Thanks for all the help. I’ve taken a look at web-sites and some of the (very long) threads. My overwhelming impression is that people don’t build speakers but become speaker builders – perhaps the right answer is to just build something as a starting point. The initial thought was a kit-set but some of the speakers look intriguing so I’m thinking of getting someone local to cut the timber at which point I can then do the assembly.

Some of the designs I’ve excluded as being too complex or having too large a footprint (Metronome, Ron’s Horn, Daleks) which leaves the JX92S in one of the TL variants or simple box cabinets, Frugel-Horn, Spawn and/or BIB speakers as options. My major concern though is matching the speaker to the room which demands that speakers are located close the sidewalls (built in bookcases) and listening position is quasi near-field (8 to 9ft to speaker). So some questions:

• Which, if any, of the speakers will work located close the sidewalls?

• How far does one need to sit from the speakers for bass/mid/treble to be coherent?

• And, Dave, does Planet-10 have people in Australia who can product the flat-packs?

Thanks,
APS

[Ty_Bower]

Originally Posted by aps

The goal is for speakers gets voices right, has outstanding excellent dynamics and an open, spacious, sound. My other criteria are that the speakers be relatively compact (as the room is full of books), simple to build and look good enough to live with.

Lots of good suggestions so far. You might also take a look at building a Makizou clone.
Makizou, I finally did it.

As you've noted, one does not so much build a speaker as become a speaker builder. The Makizou falls short in the bass department. There's little below 110 Hz, and nothing below 70. Even still, I'm tickled every time I listen to mine. Try a set and see if you like them. They're easy to build, and the skills you develop will help you when you make a larger set of something else.

[batdan]

Where in NZ are you ?