Need some help on designing my speakers!

[Boscoe]

After reading a fairly help guide to building your own speakers from PartsExpress.com I now know a little more on speaker design. However I still not confident in building my own just yet. I think the guide was good it just didn't explain why they were using a particular volume for that speaker and what F3 is and what -3dB down point at 55Hz is!!!???

So I want to use Hi Vi M4N drivers with a tweeter I haven't decided on yet (any suggestions!) But don't know what to do for volume hole size or anything like that. I would like to make a center channel with two 'M4N's in it with the tweeter to use with my TV then build up in the future for a surround. I need to know some basic things like why you would use a particular volume cabinet for that speaker and things like that. Can someone give a quick suggestion of what I should do and why. Thanks.

[Studio Au]

http://www.mh-audio.nl/spk_calc.asp#sealed

If it helps, there are lots of calculators on this site.

The loudspeaker basics and theory section is pretty good start.

I need to get windows installed to try and model my next project, WinISD springs to mind, unsure if there is newer/better software out.

[Boscoe]

Nice thanks

[Loren42]

Originally Posted by Boscoe

After reading a fairly help guide to building your own speakers from PartsExpress.com I now know a little more on speaker design. However I still not confident in building my own just yet. I think the guide was good it just didn't explain why they were using a particular volume for that speaker and what F3 is and what -3dB down point at 55Hz is!!!???

So I want to use Hi Vi M4N drivers with a tweeter I haven't decided on yet (any suggestions!) But don't know what to do for volume hole size or anything like that. I would like to make a center channel with two 'M4N's in it with the tweeter to use with my TV then build up in the future for a surround. I need to know some basic things like why you would use a particular volume cabinet for that speaker and things like that. Can someone give a quick suggestion of what I should do and why. Thanks.

How far down the rabbit hole do you want to go?

The F3 question is a good one and one I struggle with. In a nut shell, the F3 represents the point on the frequency response graph where the response level is 3 dB down in level from the speaker resonance point is. The definition is pretty easy, but the meaning of F3 can be a little more ambiguous.

There is a lot of math involved with calculating cabinet volume and there are different equations for different kinds of cabinets designs called alignments. Most people know of ported (vented) and sealed, but there are many variations of each plus a few other types of cabinets.

There are many software design packages available (some are free) to help the task of designing a cabinet and the associated crossover.

Vance Dickason has written an excellent book called The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook that is a virtual bible on the subject. It gets pretty deep and takes some time to comprehend the subject matter.

Another tact for beginners is to build a kit speaker that someone has already done all of the math and design. This way you can jump ahead and get started with the construction knowing that the end result is pretty assured. It is a good way to get your feet wet, particularly if you don't know how far down the rabbit hole you want to go.

[PeteMcK]

a basic overview of ported boxes: The Subwoofer DIY Page - Ported Systems
next step is to download WINISD and learn how to use it - easy
(you put in the parameters of your driver & design your own box)