newbie wants to build his first speaker

[simon909]

Hello everyone.
The title says it all.
I am doing some research about how to build my own speakers.
But first I have some questions.

First I would like to know where I could find information about how much volume a driver needs to operate? How is this calculated and from wich spec of the drivers?

I would like to start from a speaker box that I already have..

It is a big box made with standard MDF and it is 9 inches deep, 12 inches wide and 36 inches tall.

I have a tweeter hole and 2 8 inch diameter holes for drivers already there.

I also have a breather hole at the bottom of 3 inches (diameter)

Could I determine if this is a good box to start with or it is already a bad design?


My aim would be to start and build one speaker for a moderate budget and listen to the result and then maybee build more speakers with an increase in budget for the drivers and the cross over and the box.

I would like to start buying my equipment at this store also it looks pretty good
http://www.addison-electronique.com/home.htm


Thanks for any help!



Simon

[derf]

It is a big box made with standard MDF and it is 9 inches deep, 12 inches wide and 36 inches tall.

It's common that the box is made around the speaker drivers, not the other way around.

If you really want it simple as possible, why not go open baffle?

All you need is a largish sheet of wood to mount the drivers on, I presume making dipole subs is easier too, as speaker/box doesn't need to be precisely matched.

[Grahamt]

Hi Simon,

Before you build anything, I suggest you do some research first. Hit the library and get some books. Look for books on loudspeaker design by Vance Dickason, Joe D'appolito, David Weems, and John Murphy.

Also, I highly recommend this audio company in Quebec:
www.Solen.com

[Doug Plumb]

One of the great advantages in building your own speakers is that you can build a real anti diffraction baffle or use an open baffle.

If you want to build stuff that looks like you bought it in a store, just buy it in a store instead.

You should buy a good kit or just a good pair of speakers from a store. The speakers that you can make without 6 months of effort and serious Xover tuning and design will never sound as good as what you could buy with what you pay for decent drivers.

Its a great hobby - but it will take a lot of effort before they even sound OK.

It would be much easier to design and build any other audio component you can think of.