Enclosure recommendation for cheap drivers

[asvisn]

Got these generic looking 10W drivers from an old Mitsubishi TV. Never built a speaker enclosure before. Anyone have any recommendations? Just want to play around a bit.

[wigginjs]

Cardboard box? =)

[Caferacer]

Since we don't have the specs for the speaker a good bet would be a simple sealed box. Less than 1/4 cubic foot for that small a driver. Maybe 9"h by 7"w by 6"d or something like that.

[asvisn]

Easy enough. Does the placement of the driver matter at all. I'm guessing no in this case..

[Cal Weldon]

Put it off center maybe 1/3 from one end.

[PeteMcK]

I'd just put them on a baffle of some sort and see how they sound; you could download the "Edge" to give you an idea of placement, and "Synrta" to get an idea of the frequency response.
If they've got a small dia. voice coil, they might be good fairly high up, I doubt if the response will be too smooth (but you never know...)

[DcibeL]

You could hook them up to a wall socket and watch a little fireworks show.

[John Busch]

OK.....



Judging from the reply's up to now... most do not see much potential in the driver you have.... OK... it is a very inexpensive medium range .... inexpensive driver that the maker ... likely got more out of that makes sense.... but much to learn here....

So... we need to quantify.... qualify what we have... It may turn out to be a sleeper mid-range... part of a larger 3 way.... with maybe an equally inexpensive 8" woofer and a five buck 2" cone tweeter... easy to make the hundred buck each drivers sing... more to learn to do it with simple low buck drivers....

So.... I love this kind of challenge... tell us what you have in mind?

Think about what you want to do.... achieve... it can be amazing what you can accomplish as you take a sows ear and transform it into a silk purse...

Look forward to your reply..... BTW.. courage and conviction can move moutains!!

Best...

[FUCHSAUDIO]

I always liked PVC tubing. You can use the angle to face it forward, a little cement or sand or plaster of Paris to weigh down the bottom. Think of an inverted letter 'L' , with the speaker on the short end.

A little cotton batting or fiberglass insulation (use gloves) is cool too. Cheap, available at Home Depot, or any building supply place.

If your "anal" (and hate resonances) use a cement tube (used for sewage and water supply), and perhaps a wood baffle to mount the driver. Wish I was kidding, but I've seen and heard them. Very cool.

[mashaffer]

If you can't measure the fs and Q then this is what I suggest. take chunk of plywood, particle board or whatever (even cardboard in a pinch) about 3'x3' or so and see how it sounds. Vocals and brass sound good? Is the midrange clear? Any bass at all?

If the answer to all of these is yes then there is potential as a OB fullrange to be supplemented on the bottom end. Next step is to build a sealed box maybe20 to 30% larger than the average commercial speaker with that sized driver. Just eyeball it as it is not critical. Make sure that it is really sealed (i.e. air tight) but make the back removable. Throw some fiberglass of pillow stuffing in there to damp things a bit.

Now play some music. Is the bass boomy? If so try a bigger box. If not the open up the back and put something solid and rectangular in there to take up some space. More music, better? Worse? keep adjusting the volume like this until you find the combination with the best bass response without becoming boomy. Now figure the internal volume by subtracting the volume of the stuff you put in there (not counting the damping material) from the initial internal volume.

Now build two boxes of that internal volume and another open baffle like the first one. Try listening to both with good stereo sources and see which you like the best as regards imaging, dynamics etc. If the OB needs some bass support that is certainly doable if the other characteristics are good.

You now know which one to build in the pretty mode.

Without specs don't even worry about trying a ported or other augmented design as it would be a miracle if you got it right by trail and error.

Good luck. Some amazing results have been gotten with cheapo junk drivers (though more often with older units) so give it a try.