Size of Enclosure compared to drivers

[Graemed14]

I am building a Center channel speaker and wondering how large I should build the enclosure if I'm using 3 to 4 inch drivers. I'm leaning towards these - Tang Band W3-593SF 3" Driver I'm new to this so I have no clue how the acoustics and frequencies work, etc.

[Arty]

the size of the cabinet is not drictly related to the drivers size.
it is based on a set of parameters.

before you purchase anything at all read. read a lot, as otherwise you will purchase something that is not ment for the task you would need to be done. or even if you pick the proper driver, the cabinet will fail to work as intended.

buildning by guessing things is just as succesful as lottery. has a chanse, but not a high one.

[707kevin]

Tell everyone what mains your using, budget your working with, size constraint on the center channel due to placement, preference, furniture, etc, Room size, and anything else about your current setup and someone will help recommend a good plan to build from, or tips to go about building your own if your dead set of 100% from scratch.

Personally, I don't have time or energy to learn the depths of crossover modeling and box sizing, so I build other peoples designs.

[CharlieLaub]

For small drivers and anything but the lowest frequencies, the size does have some bearing on the response but it is also the shape of the enclosure as well as the location of the driver(s) on the front baffle that effects the response. This is often called the "baffle step response".

For larger drivers (like a subwoofer) and at resonance and below, where cone motion is large, the volume of the enclosure influences the distortion the driver will experience purely from the non-linearity of the air-spring inside the box. The larger the better in this case.

-Charlie

[Graemed14]

I'm working with about a $200 budget. I'm hoping to fit it on my desk, so it should be fairly small. The biggest I could go is probably 16" x 10". What are the downsides of a smaller enclosure? My mains were built by my dad in the late seventies. I recently had them re-coned and tweaked. They sound surprisingly great. I'm planning to replace the mids in these as well. From what I understand it's ideal to have the same drivers in your mains and center channel? The main drivers are Discontinued Philips 2" dome mids I believe.

[Graemed14]

Any suggestions?

[planet10]

How big is small?

dave

[Graemed14]

16" wide by 10" deep.

[planet10]

That is pretty big for computer speakers. You could almost accomodate a set of Mar-Kel70 (with CSS EL70 or EL70eN) which are capable of surprising bass and reach up to 20k.

The Golden Ratio version would satisfy you requirements easily if you can accomodate 18" high. If not the shape could be morphed to suit.

Mar-Kel70 in Sweden probably best to start near the end.

[Graemed14]

I'm just building a center channel speaker. I already have L/R channel speakers. Those are on the floor, I'm just putting the center channel on my desk near my monitor.