Hello, and First Few Questions

[kp]

Hello

My name is Chris, and I am a noob to the board, and speaker building in general.

I am very interested in learning to design my own speakers, since I enjoy listening to music quite a bit

I have been looking at the Speaker Workshop program (with the Jig II and Wallin Preamp), LspCAD lite, a couple of books, and browsing the internet.

I have low amounts of cash, so I need to be very careful in how I approach this fun looking hobby...

Computer Skillset: super genius
Electrical Skillset: novice
Woodworking Skillset: ZERO

So, on to the first few questions I have:

1) I am a condo dweller. Are there any kind souls on this board who live in SoCal, have woodworking tools, and are willing to share their garage, tools, and knowledge with me? Obviously, I would bring consumables with me (MDF, glues, saw blades, beers, steaks, etc...) as I try not to be a super leech

2) Anyone used Speaker Workshop? Does it work at all? Does it work under WinXP? Sound Card recommendations under XP if it works at all? What about with the Wallin Jig II and Preamp? If I am gonna spend $100 on the jig/preamp, I would enjoy hearing your experiences first...

3) Same question as 2, but regarding LspCAD lite - is it any good for the high price ($100+)?

I do have a multimeter that measures capacitance, inductance, and resistance, along with volts/amps/etc.... I also have a laptop, so I think I can drive to a wide-open space to perform speaker impedance and frequency response measurements.

I plan on taking lots of pictures and posting a detailed blog for my first attempt. I am looking at purchasing 2 inexpensive Vifa tweeters and 4 Sammi Sound 4-ohm 5.25" drivers for my experiment (Madisound sale stuff). I hope to create 2 MTM speakers, with crossovers, as a learning experience.

If I can find the woodworking help, and some knowledge regarding Speaker Workshop, then I shall give this a go

Thanks for listening to me ramble, hope you have a sweet day