Pix of new diy 10" Active Booth Monitor...

[lunchmoney]

...in progress anyways. I'm using this as a self-powered booth monitor for dj'ing.

Here's the nitty gritty:

-Parts Express Plate Amp, 150w RMS into 8 ohms, 250w RMS into 4 ohms, 1 line level input (XLR/Unbalanced 1/4"), 2 mic inputs for all you Karaoke freaks (XLR/Unbalanced 1/4"), Bass, Treble, and input gains
-Eminence Alpha-10A 10" Woofer, 8 ohm
-B&C DE200-8 1" Compression Diver, 8 ohm
-B&C ME45 1" 90x40 Aluminum Horn
-Dayton 2-WAY Pro Crossover @ 3500Hz with L-Pad tweeter gain
-3/4" MDF cabinet made by yours truly, tongue and groove construction, no screws. It's a brick outhouse, heavy and solid.
-Internal volume: 1.1 cubic feet (before installed components)
-Dimensions: 14" wide x 12" deep x 19" high
-Weight: 50+ lbs (approx.)
-Two 2" ports, otherwise sealed

It's all glued together and sealed, functionally finished...other than maybe tuning the port depth.

Pumped it at a gig the other night for four hours and it performed like a champ. PLENTY loud enough, clean, punchy, plenty of bass, and the heat sink was barely warm at the end of the night.

It ain't no studio monitor quality sound, rather it has that punchy, kick in the teeth feel a stage monitor should have. Killer.

Amazing to have a gain for the tweeter right on the crossover. Took all the guesswork out of perfectly matching the sensitivities of the tweeter and woofer (lazy approach, I guess).

Very happy with it. Compared to other self-powered 10" monitors? Well, I've never heard a Mackie SRM350, but I do know that it puts a JBL Eon G10 to shame ($500+), and it's probably on par with a Crest Audio Powered 10" ($500+).

It cost me as much as a Yamaha MSR100 8" monitor, and those are absolute junk with no balls at all.

TO THOSE WHO SAID I WAS IN OVER MY HEAD:

1. Remove shoe and sock from left foot
2. Insert foot into mouth
2. Chew slowly

I nailed this thing. First speaker I ever built. Sounds awesome. Feels good to prove doubters wrong.

Yet to be finished on cabinet:

-Router corners with 3/8" radius
-Fill, sand, primer with Kils Latex Primer, sand
-Black latex paint
-Steel corners
-Steel spring handle on side
-Rubber feet on other side and base

Thanks to everyone who helped with my noob questions!

[Stocker]

Good for you.

[5th element]

GLad to see you finally got there

[holger honda]

Awesome dude!
It have all the pro looks too.
I for one would like to hear it but I guess I have to build my own to do that.
I bet you can put that thing next to just about any other pro speaker of equal size and still feel great.
When will you make the second one and what is your next project?

[richie00boy]

Great stuff and speedy progress, looks nice with good panel fits. I knew you could do something Just hope you ran it with tubes in the holes when you did your gig!

[lunchmoney]

Thanks guys.

I actually ran it without the tubes, just the holes as you see there. Is that bad?

The tech guy at parts express calculated that my tubes should only be .30" deep into the interior space, so I can't imagine there would be much difference with/without the tubes.

[lunchmoney]

Originally posted by holger honda

When will you make the second one and what is your next project?

Don't think I'll be making a second one. I've already got two 12" Mackies powered by a QSC 2450 amp (500w x 2 into 8 ohms), so two of these monitors would be not only redundant but certainly inferior.

Next project? Maybe some nice little passive studio monitors, just to learn...again it's a bit redundant since I've got Event PS8's, but I could do it fairly cheap and it's fun.

[richie00boy]

Originally posted by lunchmoney
Thanks guys.

I actually ran it without the tubes, just the holes as you see there. Is that bad?

The tech guy at parts express calculated that my tubes should only be .30" deep into the interior space, so I can't imagine there would be much difference with/without the tubes.

Hmm, that length sounds far, far too short. I would imagine that would result in tuning around 100Hz which is not nice when you try and make the cones play bass as below tuning the cone is unloaded.

If you want to try for yourself there is a simple vent length calculation program on my website in the utilities section www.readresearch.co.uk I suggest trying for about 45-50Hz.

[lunchmoney]

Hmmm......ok, well I have two 2" ports that are about 6" long, waiting to be cut to length....

The volume of the box is about 1.1 cubic feet prior to installed components...

You see where I'm going with this (wink wink)

[richie00boy]

LOL it's an easy program to use

2x 50mm diameter round vents is equivalent to one 71mm vent.

1 cu ft is 28.3 litres, lets say your box is 25 litres by the time all the stuff is inside.

138mm = 50Hz
183mm = 45Hz
245mm = 40Hz

Make both vents the same length. Start with the longer length and see how you get on. If it sounds a bit flat cut the length down.