cheap DIY PA speakers for garage/shop?

[khaosman]

First off, hello!

I was wondering if you guys had any good ideas or designs for some PA type speakers for our garage/shop area. Definitely need to build some speakers to listen to while building more speakers

Basic requirements:
Get loud and take abuse of the environment (room size = 2 car garage)
Cheaper is better. $200 max, not including wood.

That is about the only requirements I have. I'll probably get a cheap stereo receiver to power them. I saw a MTM design using Dayton 8" woofers and a Dayton tweeter that looked good. Tim from here suggested PA type speakers and I thought that was a good idea.

Let me know what you guys think!

Thanks
Patrick

[454Casull]

Somebody on this board has a open baffle line array of $1 full-range drivers. You might want to check that out.

[jjdche]

Parts Express has a line of budget PA speakers from GemSound in 10", 12" and 15" models. They'd all be less than $200 for a pair (without shipping). If you're looking for something cheap and durable, these might be a good bet.

I don't know anything about pro sound gear, but based on the prices of the stuff at Parts Express you could probably get some seriously cheap PA speakers if you could find a local shop that sells used equipment.

my $0.02

[Bill Fitzpatrick]

Originally posted by khaosman
I saw a MTM design using Dayton 8" woofers and a Dayton tweeter that looked good.

That's what I would get.

[khaosman]

Originally posted by 454Casull
Somebody on this board has a open baffle line array of $1 full-range drivers. You might want to check that out.

That would definitely be interesting. Being as this is a garage, I could probably easily swing something like. I'll have to search for that.

Originally posted by Bill Fitzpatrick


That's what I would get.

I found the link... http://www.wadsnet.com/~dtenney/dayton_8MTM.htm
Heh, they almost sound too "good" for this application

I'll look into PA stuff locally... building something is more fun though!

[Timn8ter]

I think you found a good starting point with the Dayton MTMs. After all, you and the designer appear to have the same goal.

[dangus]

I'd just go with yard sale or thrift store speakers and receiver. With some luck and patience you should find something for less than the shipping alone on new drivers.

But a PA/instrument woofer like an MCM Audio Select 15" should be more efficient and handle more power than most home speakers. There's an even cheaper Audio Select 12" that gets good reviews.