Speaker materials advise

[sensei]

Hi all, excuse the lack of knowledge in speaker building, but Im considering using the either of the following designs as computer speakers:

μFonken
mFonken

I think that mfonken might be slightly large, but given that the μfonken speaker will be slightly harder to find. depending on what i can find.

Also can I plug these straight into my imac to drive them. Or do i need an amp?

ive spoken to a few speaker builders locally and one have recommended marine plywood; but as a sucker for australian hardwood, im considering using tasmanian oak.

Can anyone advise if tasmanian oak will be suitable?

Thanks in advance!!

[planet10]

Neither of the drivers for those are any longer available.

There are similar milliSize boxes for CHR70, EL70, A6p, A7, CHP70. The uFonken can be fitted with Fountek FR88ex (with minor changes). I should have samples of the new FF85wk arriving tomorrow. FF125wk may work in mFonken, it is backorded.

There are A6p & A6m boxes of similar size, but different aspect, to the uFonken.

You will need an amplifier.

dave

[sensei]

thanks for that!!

as i will be using this as computer speakers, could i use something like the mini^3 to drive it?

[planet10]

That is designed to drive headphones, even into a quite efficient speakers, you will likely be current limited.

I'd suggest a minimum of 2-5 W into the speaker load. More wouldn't hurt.

dave

[Jack Caldwell]

Originally Posted by sensei

Hi all, excuse the lack of knowledge in speaker building, but Im considering using the either of the following designs as computer speakers:

μFonken
mFonken
ive spoken to a few speaker builders locally and one have recommended marine plywood; but as a sucker for australian hardwood, im considering using tasmanian oak.

Can anyone advise if tasmanian oak will be suitable?

Thanks in advance!!

If the oak is solid plank I would advise against it, as even kiln dried hardwoods can "work" due to changes in temperature and humidity, sometimes leading to cracks in the joints or in the wood itself.

Much better to go with the marine plywood or Baltic-Birch plywood, especially of you can find the variety that has 15 to 20 plies in a 3/4" or 1" thickness. This type of material has much better long-term durability and very often is audibly less resonant. Then if you still want oak you can veneer over the Birch.

Best of Luck!

[AJ Wykes]

I've been using Tassie Oak for my speaker cabinets for years. From my understanding, even though it's called Tasmanian "Oak", it doesn't have much in common with northern hemisphere oak. Tassie Oak is dense but quite a bit softer than northern hemisphere oak, so it's very nice to work with. I like the way it doesn't split if you over tighten a screw or push a 4mm screw into a 2mm hole. I would recommend sealing the cabinet inside and out.

AJ

[THORNSPAWN]

I agree with Tas oak being fine for speaker building as long as it's not too thin.

[sensei]

Originally Posted by Jack Caldwell

If the oak is solid plank I would advise against it, as even kiln dried hardwoods can "work" due to changes in temperature and humidity, sometimes leading to cracks in the joints or in the wood itself.

Much better to go with the marine plywood or Baltic-Birch plywood, especially of you can find the variety that has 15 to 20 plies in a 3/4" or 1" thickness. This type of material has much better long-term durability and very often is audibly less resonant. Then if you still want oak you can veneer over the Birch.

Best of Luck!

The oak will come in the following sizes:
1200 x 110 x 12mm
900 x 135 x 12mm

But im considering marine plywood as it will be easier to chop up without having to make any joints.

Ill do some research before jumping into it.

Originally Posted by AJ Wykes

...I like the way it doesn't split if you over tighten a screw or push a 4mm screw into a 2mm hole. I would recommend sealing the cabinet inside and out...

Thats one of the reasons why I choose tas oak, because of its properties. i intend on "sealing" the cabinet, but leaving the possibility of using screws so that I can remove the back panel for repairs if need be. I dont like the idea of sealing the box completely and having to break the box should I need to repair anything.

Originally Posted by THORNSPAWN

I agree with Tas oak being fine for speaker building as long as it's not too thin.

If going down the tas oak route; I will be using 12mm thickness for majority of the panels. And 19mm thickness (as its wide enough without having to join panels together) for the right and left side panels.

[planet10]

From a discussion on StereoNet it became clear to me that when the original settlers came they named trees with familair names that (at least often) had no relation to species. We were discussing Australian Cedar. Turns out it is decidulous (one of very few, if not the only one) trees in Oz. The Cedar species is a conifer, so its not really a cedar. And the bit about only deciduaous would make Tasi Oak a conifer. The species oak is deciduous, so not really an oak.

But we have the same here... Douglas Fir is actually a pine, and yellow cedar is not a cedar.

dave

[von.ah]

Dave wins for the most awesomely confusing post of the day.

From the all-knowing Wiki-god: "Tasmanian Oak (or Australian Oak) refers to the hardwood produced by three trees: Eucalyptus regnans, Eucalyptus obliqua or Eucalyptus delegatensis, when it is sourced from the Australian state of Tasmania.
When sourced from Victoria, the wood of Eucalyptus regnans and Eucalyptus delegatensis is called Victorian Ash."

"Australian Red Cedar (called also Toon, Suren or Indian Mahogany), Toona ciliata is a forest tree in the family Meliaceae which grows throughout southern Asia from Afghanistan to Papua New Guinea and Australia. It is one of Australia's few native deciduous trees. The timber is red in colour, easy to work and very highly valued."