After doing quite a bit of research I have become familiar with many of the terms and ideas behind loudspeaker design. I would like to now start building my own speaker. However, I don't wish to reinvent the wheel. What are the steps that are necessary to go through while building a loudspeaker? If you can give me a list I would be very appreciative.
Just keep in mind that the drivers that I will be using are Morel, solely because their factory is about 5 Minutes drive for my house. It would be very convenient for me to use them. About the design, I'm not sure I want a two-way speaker or three-way speaker. I am open for suggestions. I'm kind of leaning towards two-way because this is my first project.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.
Just keep in mind that the drivers that I will be using are Morel, solely because their factory is about 5 Minutes drive for my house. It would be very convenient for me to use them. About the design, I'm not sure I want a two-way speaker or three-way speaker. I am open for suggestions. I'm kind of leaning towards two-way because this is my first project.
Anyway, thanks for the advice.
Stage one: Decide on your target. What are you looking for as far as off axis response, on axis response, low frequency limit...?
Stage two: Choose drivers that will meet the criteria decided on in Stage one.
Stage three: measure the driver impedances and frequency responses on a baffle roughly the size and shape you're considering.
Stage four: using some sort of speaker CAD program (I use Calsod, but there are a lot of other good ones), simulate the drivers' impedances and on-axis responses.
Stage five: With all this in hand, decide on appropriate crossover slopes and frequencies.
Stage six: Using the CAD program, design appropriate crossovers.
Stage seven: Build the prototypes, then measure them to see if they hit the target. If not, tweak and adjust values until they do.
Stage eight: Listen and listen some more. Then go back and start tweaking until you're happy with the sound.
One more important thought:
Stage zero: Have a copy of Dickason's Loudspeaker Design Cookbook and d'Appolito's Testing Loudspeakers on hand. Read them and understand them.
Stage two: Choose drivers that will meet the criteria decided on in Stage one.
Stage three: measure the driver impedances and frequency responses on a baffle roughly the size and shape you're considering.
Stage four: using some sort of speaker CAD program (I use Calsod, but there are a lot of other good ones), simulate the drivers' impedances and on-axis responses.
Stage five: With all this in hand, decide on appropriate crossover slopes and frequencies.
Stage six: Using the CAD program, design appropriate crossovers.
Stage seven: Build the prototypes, then measure them to see if they hit the target. If not, tweak and adjust values until they do.
Stage eight: Listen and listen some more. Then go back and start tweaking until you're happy with the sound.
One more important thought:
Stage zero: Have a copy of Dickason's Loudspeaker Design Cookbook and d'Appolito's Testing Loudspeakers on hand. Read them and understand them.
SY has given a great list if you are planning to design your own speakers. Have you read LDC or D'Apolitto's Testing Loudspeakers? They are required, IMO, if you're planning to design your own speakers. Then there is the significant investment in software and testing equipment.
As a first project, I would suggest building a kit by a recognized designer. You'll get your feet wet with the woodwork and crossover assembly and likely have something that will sound pretty good at a signficant cost savings. You can then evaluate the experience and see if you want to take it a step further by designing your own.
Here's a morel kit, if you're interested:
http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/ipl_m4_5_litre_shielded_compact_.htm
As a first project, I would suggest building a kit by a recognized designer. You'll get your feet wet with the woodwork and crossover assembly and likely have something that will sound pretty good at a signficant cost savings. You can then evaluate the experience and see if you want to take it a step further by designing your own.
Here's a morel kit, if you're interested:
http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/ipl_m4_5_litre_shielded_compact_.htm
I cannot disagree with Bill or conscious. If you don't want this to be an enveloping project but just want a decent set of speakers, look around for a kit or similar already-worked-out design. If you go the design-it-yourself route, plan on a year of weekends, a few hundred dollars in testing tools, and an amazing learning experience.
A more realistic method of approach for those of us that are married.
1) Bring roses home.
2)Take wife out to restaurant. Fill with wine. get permission to spend money. Negotiate largest maximum value allowable.
3) Involve wife with physical design. Get an ideal of shapes, finishes etc that she thinks will match room and furniture. Also location, as this determines if open-back allowable.
4) Build rough cardboard model. Paint for appearance. Repeat until wife satisfied.
5) Measure internal volume and shape. Determine what this allows, eg full range, 2- or three way etc. This also determines maximum size of woofer (and midway if allowed box big enough)
6)Search manufacturer's lists for possible drivers that fit size and cost criteria. Woofer most critical, so choose a selection of these first.
7) Model each of these for available size enclosure. Use MJK's worksheet. This determines enclosure type (TL, reflex, sealed), for each option.
8) Read all relevant DIY threads re enclosure types. Get thoroughly confused. Choose a pin and select woofer.
9) Read DIY threads to select matching tweeter. Get further confused. Choose a pin ........
10) Read DIY threads re crossover. Get even more confused. Choose active as easiest to implement, then discard on grounds of cost.
11) Take wife to nearest HiFi shop.
1) Bring roses home.
2)Take wife out to restaurant. Fill with wine. get permission to spend money. Negotiate largest maximum value allowable.
3) Involve wife with physical design. Get an ideal of shapes, finishes etc that she thinks will match room and furniture. Also location, as this determines if open-back allowable.
4) Build rough cardboard model. Paint for appearance. Repeat until wife satisfied.
5) Measure internal volume and shape. Determine what this allows, eg full range, 2- or three way etc. This also determines maximum size of woofer (and midway if allowed box big enough)
6)Search manufacturer's lists for possible drivers that fit size and cost criteria. Woofer most critical, so choose a selection of these first.
7) Model each of these for available size enclosure. Use MJK's worksheet. This determines enclosure type (TL, reflex, sealed), for each option.
8) Read all relevant DIY threads re enclosure types. Get thoroughly confused. Choose a pin and select woofer.
9) Read DIY threads to select matching tweeter. Get further confused. Choose a pin ........
10) Read DIY threads re crossover. Get even more confused. Choose active as easiest to implement, then discard on grounds of cost.
11) Take wife to nearest HiFi shop.
Actually, part of my comment above was meant seriously.
Choose a system size/type that matches your room and musical tastes. And the only sure way I know of doing this is to borrow and trial various types of speaker (ie bookshelf, 2-way floorstander, big TL, bipole, etc) in the location you want to use.
However you can get some idea from the types prefered by others, provided you know for what type of location they were designed. As a gross generalisation, the best medium-level British loudspeakers typically are stand-mounts, or slim floor standers suitable for smaller rooms. The equivalent American ones often use much larger bass units, for good reason. The listening rooms differ.
We recently shifted house, and my large TL's that sounded magnificent in a volume of approximately 12 metres by eight metres by five metres, (soft damped and well broken up by dividers), sounded terrible in a room still 10 by 5 by 3 metres, but with all hard surfaces. 70% of the walls are glass, the wood floor and wood ceiling are both polished, and furnishings are minimal. They became bass heavy and woolly sounding with blurred treble.
Substituting a pair of old Jorden-Watts, (a full-range forbearer of the JX92) gave immediate improvement, but of course not ideal.
I am now designing a new pair of speakers, using modern smaller drivers and adjustable bass characteristics.
Choose a system size/type that matches your room and musical tastes. And the only sure way I know of doing this is to borrow and trial various types of speaker (ie bookshelf, 2-way floorstander, big TL, bipole, etc) in the location you want to use.
However you can get some idea from the types prefered by others, provided you know for what type of location they were designed. As a gross generalisation, the best medium-level British loudspeakers typically are stand-mounts, or slim floor standers suitable for smaller rooms. The equivalent American ones often use much larger bass units, for good reason. The listening rooms differ.
We recently shifted house, and my large TL's that sounded magnificent in a volume of approximately 12 metres by eight metres by five metres, (soft damped and well broken up by dividers), sounded terrible in a room still 10 by 5 by 3 metres, but with all hard surfaces. 70% of the walls are glass, the wood floor and wood ceiling are both polished, and furnishings are minimal. They became bass heavy and woolly sounding with blurred treble.
Substituting a pair of old Jorden-Watts, (a full-range forbearer of the JX92) gave immediate improvement, but of course not ideal.
I am now designing a new pair of speakers, using modern smaller drivers and adjustable bass characteristics.
This project was recently posted. It uses Morel drivers, has plans online, and a modest cost. If this is your first homebrew speaker, it will be much less frustrating than trying to design from scratch.
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/morchellas/index.htm
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/morchellas/index.htm
The ten steps of speaker building:
1. Convince yourself that you are going to save a lot of money and get a much better speaker by DIY.
2. Buy a bunch of expensive parts.
3. Build a box (your first ever woodworking project) - It looks like crap.
4. Buy a bunch of expensive woodworking tools and rebuild the box - It still looks like crap (but a slighter higher quality crap than in "3")
5. Convince yourself that looks don't matter. Only shallow people care about anything but the sound.
6. Put it all together and listen to it - convince yourself that it sounds great. No need to measure as your ears are the only true test of quality.
7. X weeks later - realize your speakers look and sound like crap.
8. Follow all the steps the other guys listed to build a credible speaker.
9. Realize that building your speaker cost N times more than it would have cost to buy a (probably better) speaker.
10. Convince yourself that this is a hobby and was never about saving money.
1. Convince yourself that you are going to save a lot of money and get a much better speaker by DIY.
2. Buy a bunch of expensive parts.
3. Build a box (your first ever woodworking project) - It looks like crap.
4. Buy a bunch of expensive woodworking tools and rebuild the box - It still looks like crap (but a slighter higher quality crap than in "3")
5. Convince yourself that looks don't matter. Only shallow people care about anything but the sound.
6. Put it all together and listen to it - convince yourself that it sounds great. No need to measure as your ears are the only true test of quality.
7. X weeks later - realize your speakers look and sound like crap.
8. Follow all the steps the other guys listed to build a credible speaker.
9. Realize that building your speaker cost N times more than it would have cost to buy a (probably better) speaker.
10. Convince yourself that this is a hobby and was never about saving money.
dhenryp said:
the person who said that probably do not have home built 20m2 lab with lspcad ,beyer dynamic microphonesand other toys. . try to build high end speaker usig hard to control drivers goes to unpleasant full of resonanses 3 or 4 way designs sounds and after 2 days listenings deside to get off.. my 2cents- buy the expensive drivers scan speak,dynaudio esotar, etc if you can go to accuton -do it. simulate x overs, - tiuning it for a half a year until you get the 100% from drivers- and you will have your own ideal speaker.
do not do any positive/negative conclusions in first month. if you do job by yourelf and get parts at 50-60% prices you can calculate total cost and ad twelve or more times bigger sum. I have built 20-26pairs of speakers and most of later designs was pretty suscesfull.I was not trying to offend. I was making a joke but I was serious about one point:
If an average DIYer was to add up all the cost (and I mean ALL including wood, parts, etc broken or scrapped, plus the cost of all books, tools and measuring equipment) before you got your first "good" speaker. Then take that same speaker and see what the market would be willing to pay for it (considering, sound, design, workmanship) if it had a big brand name associated with it. I'll bet the more times than not, we would have spent many times the selling price to build it.
I'm not trying to insult anybody or complain (I am in that boat in spades).
If an average DIYer was to add up all the cost (and I mean ALL including wood, parts, etc broken or scrapped, plus the cost of all books, tools and measuring equipment) before you got your first "good" speaker. Then take that same speaker and see what the market would be willing to pay for it (considering, sound, design, workmanship) if it had a big brand name associated with it. I'll bet the more times than not, we would have spent many times the selling price to build it.
I'm not trying to insult anybody or complain (I am in that boat in spades).
yes I know, but if he wrilly wants to build good spekers the main thing is drivers and box, most comercial speakers ,has no seriuos tweak in xover region, unless parts quality but not basic xover design (probably they do not invest in parts quality,but do not save on engineers salaries ) the diference in mid hi fi speakers( 1000-2000usd) comparing with state of art speakers is huge. no angels ears need here. but when you buy very gooddrivers and build very good enclosures, to tweak filter/port can anytime. to tweak filter is much more cheaper than replace drivers and box. I herad some designs with premium drivers but not good filters( mainly simple 1st orders.. tonal balanse for sure bad and drivers seems to be working on bad regions) but theese speakers has no coloration from membranes and sound is overall not wright but I wouild better live with bad x overs in this case for a while.. good luck in project..
) the diference in mid hi fi speakers( 1000-2000usd) comparing with state of art speakers is huge. no angels ears need here. but when you buy very gooddrivers and build very good enclosures, to tweak filter/port can anytime. to tweak filter is much more cheaper than replace drivers and box. I herad some designs with premium drivers but not good filters( mainly simple 1st orders.. tonal balanse for sure bad and drivers seems to be working on bad regions) but theese speakers has no coloration from membranes and sound is overall not wright but I wouild better live with bad x overs in this case for a while.. good luck in project.. 
The newbie way of building.
1. Decide amount of money willing to spend.
2. Decide on frequency responce, if you have a subwoofer or not is important.
3. Pic the appropriate drivers for frequency responce and money.
4. Figure out the biggest the speakers can be, and be sure to design smaller than that.
5. Use cad software to model frequency responce with different enclosures and different sized enclosures.
6. If space saving is important, choose the design that has the best responce and is small enough.
7. If you have the money, build test boxes, this way you can try different designs and see which you like more.
8. Build the enclosure and crossover
9. Finish the enclosure
10. Sit back and enjoy a nice beverage while listening to the wonderful speakers you just built, and sing along to your favorite music.
Hint: search the forum for Morel loudspeakers that have been built, and use that thread to help you.
Josh
1. Decide amount of money willing to spend.
2. Decide on frequency responce, if you have a subwoofer or not is important.
3. Pic the appropriate drivers for frequency responce and money.
4. Figure out the biggest the speakers can be, and be sure to design smaller than that.
5. Use cad software to model frequency responce with different enclosures and different sized enclosures.
6. If space saving is important, choose the design that has the best responce and is small enough.
7. If you have the money, build test boxes, this way you can try different designs and see which you like more.
8. Build the enclosure and crossover
9. Finish the enclosure
10. Sit back and enjoy a nice beverage while listening to the wonderful speakers you just built, and sing along to your favorite music.
Hint: search the forum for Morel loudspeakers that have been built, and use that thread to help you.
Josh
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