Getting started

[Sandy M]

I’m a furniture and cabinet maker. I would like to build my own speakers (making the boxes out of Oak) but know nothing about which drivers and gear to buy.
I don’t have time to study the subject of speaker design as I understand from reading various web sites that selecting drivers it’s not at all straight forward.
So, can anyone tell me how to get advice, or suggest a web site?

I’ve looked at the Eminence Designer (http://www.eminence.com/) Software. It looks OK but a little pricey and technical for what I need. Would this be any good for the likes of me?

Thanks
Sandy

[DIY_newbie]

Originally posted by Sandy M
I’m a furniture and cabinet maker. I would like to build my own speakers (making the boxes out of Oak) but know nothing about which drivers and gear to buy.
I don’t have time to study the subject of speaker design as I understand from reading various web sites that selecting drivers it’s not at all straight forward.
So, can anyone tell me how to get advice, or suggest a web site?

I’ve looked at the Eminence Designer (http://www.eminence.com/) Software. It looks OK but a little pricey and technical for what I need. Would this be any good for the likes of me?

Thanks
Sandy

Sandy,


I'm also new to the speaker building hobby and the best advice I got was to recreate someone elses project first or build a "kit" that has all the design work done already...

That being said, I ignored this excellent advice and decided to start my own project...

part1: JP2 Project Suggestions?

part2: JP2.0 project continued

part3: JP2.0 Project Part 3 A.K.A PR170s sound amazing.. And a few questions!

I can guarantee that It would have been alot easier to copy an existing design. However, I think the pride of designing my own is going to be well worth the blood, sweat, and tears that have already been shed during this project

Whatever you decide to do, good luck and make sure you listen to lots of speakers to decide what type you like and want to build..

Some things to think about:

What type of sound do you like?

What types of drivers do you like the sound of?

What types of source material do you want to listen to?

Are there any space/equipment/significant other requirements?

etc..

Hope this helps, and good luck in your adventure

--Chris

[Dave Jones]

Real wood can present sonic problems. MDF is generally prefered. Of course you can put veneer on it.

There is a lot to know about loudspeakers - far, far more than "selecting speakers." I've been DIY-ing loudspeakers for about a year, and I'm still on my learner's permit. Old pros may work on a crossover design for a year or more, using mysterious, arcane equipment and theories.

First determine what your requirements are - cost, size, SPL, etc. Then ask here about well-regarded designs that match.

[ralph-bway]

I agree with Dave & DIY.

Primary is understanding that everything in building a speaker is a trade off. More of something is usually less of something else.

From the fact that you're a skilled furniture maker I would guess you want to build something ascetically pleasing that sounds good.

It's easy to find interesting cabinet designs and ideas. Look at this site for some very off the wall ideas (keep hitting next, the site is 30+ pages).

http://www.exoticaudio.org/Exotic_Audio2.html

Look our own system pictures thread for some interesting ideas.

System Pictures & Description

If you can go into a high end audio store and listen to a variety of quality speakers with a CD of music you know well. After you find stuff you like ask here & quite a few folks can point you in the right direction of DIY projects that you should like.

BTW Bose has many landfills of money building speakers that people think sound good untill they compare them to quality speakers. Do not use Bose as a basis of quality sound. B&W, KEF, Martin Logan are more in the vein of stuff you want to listen to.

Best of luck & happy hunting.

[TerryO]

If I understand the original post he's looking to build his own speakers, but I get the impression that he's not necessarily interested in pursuing speaker building as a hobby. If this is in fact true, then I would recommend using a high-quality design and just building the cabinets.

OTOH, if you're just starting out in what you see as a long time hobby, then I'll just pass on the advice that Dan Wiggins of Adire Audio made some years ago on the old Bass List. Dan stated that a person should get some good measurement software and an assortment of cheap (MCM?) drivers and go for it. He seemed to feel that you'd learn more in a few months of hands-on than you were likely to if you read every book on speaker design and acoustics.

This is good advice, and you can learn a great deal. From time to time I've read comments that sound like the person has done a lot of reading and has very little practical experience. I'll take a practical Handiman over the Philosopher every time, preferring "pretty good" now over "bleeding edge SOTA" someday.
YMMV.

Best Regards,
TerryO

[Sandy M]

Thanks guys!

I appreciate you spending the time to help.

Does anyone have any experience with http://www.eminence.com/ ?

[joensd]

Hi,
I think that WinISD or Unibox are nice freeware programs that will get you started.
http://www.linearteam.dk/
http://www.pvconsultants.com/audio/boxmodel/unibox.htm

For more complex enclosure like transmission lines and horns you will need other software like the mathcad sheets from Martin King for example.
http://www.quarter-wave.com/

To get a good start you need to know what you roughly want.
For example small 2-way bookshelf, big floorstanders, an addtional subwoofer......
Finally the room plays a role as well as does the music you prefer to listen in some way.

greets+happy building

(of course nothing holds you up from downloading the demo version from Eminence but don´t just purchase "something")

[paulhfx]

How much is this eminence software?

Paul

[DcibeL]

Why is it that the Eminence software looks exactly like BassBox?

I have used both WinISD and BassBox, and WinISD has been able to do nearly everything that Bassbox can do (for free), except calculate your box dimentions. Bassbox does a great job at calculating box dimentions, and includes many exotic box shapes as well.

The articles at Elliot Sound Products are a great help, exspecially his article about Passive Crossover Design.

[Dave Jones]

Originally posted by Sandy M
Thanks guys!

I appreciate you spending the time to help.

Does anyone have any experience with http://www.eminence.com/ ?

Whether your aim is to build one good set of speakers, or it is to learn about DIY loudspeakers as a hobby, you're headed down the wrong path. What is your goal?

Learning this stuff is not easy. There is no software program that will see you through. There is no one good book on the subject. Your best resource is this very bulletin board.