DIY first project! choosing drivers

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jerll

Member
Joined 2013
Hey guys!

I've been doing some research in order to build my first pair of bookshelf speakers.

Here are the drivers that I am looking at and hopping to get some advice!

Woofer:
SB Acoustics SB13PFC25-08 The Madisound Speaker Store
or
Peerless 830656 Peerless 830656 5-1/4" Paper Cone SDS Woofer 264-1078

Tweeter
Vifa BC25SC06-04 Vifa BC25SC06-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter 264-1028
or
Hi-Vi K1 The Madisound Speaker Store

1-What are the main things to look for when trying to match a woofer with a tweeter?
2-What's the big difference between ported and sealed cabinet?
3-Any advice you guys have to make the best first speaker possible.

I don't want to buy a kit I want to make something from ''scratch''

Thanks a lot :)
 
G

Generic George

Member
Joined 2011
[stock reply]
If you are new then you want to start out with an established design and not start off with designing something from scratch.

There are a nigh infinite number of ways to build a bad speaker and a much, much smaller number of ways to build a good speaker. There are a surprising number of little fiddly bits that you need to learn, in terms of just the physical process of building a speaker and little pieces you will need that are not immediately obvious.

Should you still wish to start experimenting, an active crossover such as a MiniDPS or that in a Behringer iNuke amp, will make this LIGHT YEARS easier and quicker. You will however need one amp channel per driver and they have their own quirks and issues.

You will also need to invest in some measuring tools like a good USB microphone (preferably calibrated). Your ears are NOT a good guide to how a speaker is performing or what issues it may have, except at a very gross level.

Seriously, it's not just as simple as saying "How well does Driver X work with Driver Y". Read some of the more detailed design threads that go into how they developed, tested and refined a design over potentially years. If you want something complicated and high end, try poking around here first.
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm
[/stock reply]
 
S

sreten

R.I.P.
Joined 2003
jerll said:
3-Any advice you guys have to make the best first speaker possible

I don't want to buy a kit I want to make something from ''scratch''
Click to expand...

Hi,

The best first speaker you can make is
never usually something from "scratch".

But it is doable, with the right attitude.

The SB driver looks pretty good and is not
difficult, seems a very good value driver,
a much better choice than the Peerless IMO.

Best cheap tweeter now is probably this :
HiVi SD1.1-A 1" Textile Dome Tweeter 297-416
http://www.zaphaudio.com/tweetermishmash/

I imagine if you got it all right the end result
would be very good, but that is not easy.

rgds, sreten.

http://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy
(see if nothing else, the excellent FAQs)
The Speaker Building Bible
Zaph|Audio
Zaph|Audio - ZA5 Speaker Designs with ZA14W08 woofer and Vifa DQ25SC16-04 tweeter
http://audio.claub.net/Simple Loudspeaker Design ver2.pdf
FRD Consortium tools guide
Designing Crossovers with Software Only
RJB Audio Projects
Jay's DIY Loudspeaker Projects
Speaker Design Works
Great free SPICE Emulator : SPICE-Based Analog Simulation Program - TINA-TI - TI Software Folder
 
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D

dumptruck

Member
Joined 2010
Generic George said:
[stock reply]
If you are new then you want to start out with an established design and not start off with designing something from scratch.
[/stock reply]
Click to expand...

sreten said:
But it is doable, with the right attitude.
Click to expand...

Maybe, but also yes. If you're in it to learn how to do it, over years, just buy some parts, and measurement gear. Probably don't spend a lot, but if you feel like that motivates you and don't mind an expensive poor result, go for it (I kind of did). Trying in vain to make ill-advised choices work (or slightly-ill-advised choices work really well) is a really good way to learn, if you have the patience for figuring out what's going on. I spent over a year messing around with nothing to show for it. Eventually I got to a sort of tipping point where I could throw something pretty decent together pretty quickly and know why (or why not), but if I were waiting for that payoff from the start, it would have been agonizing.

vinylkid58 said:
Yes, way easier, and will quite often embarrass decent 2-way speakers. Just but don't tell the multi-way guys that, they hate to hear it.;)
Click to expand...
I've never heard this happen. Maybe I need to start going to audio events (I've only been to a few in my entire life, and none since I <more or less> learned how to design speakers). The single-driver speakers I've heard in my travels of buying gear from strangers have ranged from teeny to gigantic, and all I ever heard I'd review between "horrible" and "pretty okay if you don't need realistic SPL and don't need treble outside the sweet spot, but could probably be a lot better with a tweeter". I'm honestly not closed to the possibility of liking one, though.
 
A

Absconditus

Banned
Joined 2013
Should you still wish to start experimenting, an active crossover such as a MiniDPS or that in a Behringer iNuke amp, will make this LIGHT YEARS easier and quicker.
Click to expand...
Not only will an active DSP crossover make the process easier but if used as an active, you WILL get better sound reproduction over a passive design.

As for full-range, they are good if you want a souped up clock radio.
 
S

sreten

R.I.P.
Joined 2003
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