[INDIA] The Asawari

[tcpip]

I have just finished designing and building my first pair of speakers which needed a real crossover. It's largely my design, with large dollops of help from others on this forum and elsewhere. Couldn't have done it without you guys. Many of you may have read my terribly confused calls for help on numerous occasions.

I've just finished writing it up. There are one or two minor points in the enclosure diagrams which I may touch up, but otherwise, the account is accurate, I think. Check here.

The only reason I've put the "[INDIA]" tag in the subject line is because the drivers I've used (in fact each and every component I have used) are made in India. It is generally believed that Indian DIYers can't build interesting speakers because "nothing is available". I found at least some options available, however limited.

It would be good if you posted discussions about these speakers here, on this forum, instead of the comments pages of the Website where I've written my account. That way, all the comments can be kept in one place, and don't have to go through the admin review process there.

The pair has cost me roughly Rs.40,000 (USD 900 or so). Out of this, more than 20% was payment for carpenter's fees and polishing-finishing. If you can cut costs there, or opt for less expensive veneer (I paid Rs.60/sq-ft for mine, or USD 1.50) you can build it cheaper.

Just wanted to say a very big thank-you to all of you. I know how literally it's true, when I say couldn't have done it without you.

[badman]

Nice work, and it's always good to see extensive writeups of DIY designs, for those who want to follow!

[tcpip]

Thanks. In fact, I have very little hope that there will be lots of eager readers of my writings, because they're too long compared to the current norm. But I think a longer story makes for an interesting description of local colour, so ... ah well.

[sdclc126]

Congratulations - your speakers are very aesthetically pleasing, and your design is very in-depth and well thought out. You have taken a very big step in designing these from the ground up, and that's a huge challenge for anyone.

Your website also desrves praise for it's very organized structure and logical layout - excellent presentation of the project. Please keep up the good work and let us know about your future projects.

[nirmal]

Nice write up too. The difficulties you surmounted will make the speakers even more special.

[corbato]

Great stuff
Did u put the tweeters in a bufferd box? Its not clear in your pic.

[bulgin]

Hi tcpip

Your amazing journey on this road is much admired. I had similar frustrations at not being able to source bits for what I had in mind from 'around the corner' or the next suburb. At least (so I presume) no-one gave you the brush-off when you wanted something done as everyone knows a speaker. Here in my country, I walked into many brick walls and total disinterest when outsiders I wanted to buy services or good from or needed some advice, instantly lost interest or tried to rip me off when they heard I'm working on a moving coil cartridge.

Like your Asawari, my Mantis MC cartridge is done and seems to be liked in many places.

If you decide to go 'commercial', I wish you all of the very best and much success.

bulgin

[Variac]

Those speakers look beautiful! And the long road to success seems familiar. I read the whole writeup/biography and it is of interest to me- perhaps because I DO have access to "Parts Express" and others. Very interesting to see how thing are in another culture.

What was recognizable was the effort it takes to fit our projects into lives which require us to earn a living, enjoy our loved ones, and other distractions..

Sometimes just reading and interacting with people here can help you avoid mistakes that would have taken a lot of effort to correct. In a way you have created prototype speakers in your mind and rejected the ones that were problematic. So all that time before actual creation was no doubt very useful.

You now have the (hard won) measurement ability to create new speakers more efficiently. Interesting that in your area it is more reasonable to spend ones' time on the design and have others do the production, but it makes perfect sense.

The salient point for me in your description is that we DIY people should make sure that we take advantage of the things that we can do better than commercial builders. This includes bigger, heavier boxes and over-the-top bracing, which we all know is so important but we sometime ignore.

The beginning speaker builder often assumes that the highest quality drivers must be essential, and in addition will probably ensure success. You have proven that the drivers are only part of the equation- the cabinet and crossovers are hugely important, and something we have control over.

Clearly the fact that you are willing to let them go means that you have some improvements in mind! I am excited to see the next version!

[tcpip]

Can't stop smiling, reading your posts. I think 50% of the thrill came when I finally sat back after tweaking the tweeter and the sound sank in. The other 50% is now, reading what you guys are saying.

I'll answer each of you individually.

[tcpip]

Originally posted by sdclc126
Congratulations - your speakers are very aesthetically pleasing, and your design is very in-depth and well thought out. You have taken a very big step in designing these from the ground up, and that's a huge challenge for anyone.

I had excellent help, as they say, as I've noted throughout my pages. It't not my big step, I'm sort of an instrument partly moving of my own volition and driven by my desire for good sound, but also largely being pushed ahead by others who kept prodding me whenever I fell asleep along the way. It's really their speaker as much as mine.

In fact, if this discussion (or any discussion on the speakers and amps I hope to build) veers towards IPR issues, my take is that anything built by a forum member with as much help as I got is intellectual property owned by the forum or the wider Internet community. It is not mine, in a very real sense of property ownership, I believe. And I don't just mean those bits which have clearly been designed by others for me, like the initial crossover of the Asawari.

Your website also desrves praise for its very organized structure and logical layout - excellent presentation of the project.

Frankly, I just wrote a straight story, broken up into pages, using very primitive, simple, raw HTML. The presentation of the Website is because of Drupal, the content management software provided by my service provider on their Web server. I get a Drupal account and a Drupal database from them. I can create whatever pages and upload whatever content I want, with just the Drupal GUI and normal FTP or SCP (for the images). All the screen layout that you see, including the drop-down menus, borders, and what not, are all generated by Drupal, based on a theme/skin that you choose (again from the Web-based admin GUI). All my Drupal pages remain in my Drupal database, distinct from other Drupal databases running on the same server. I retain full admin privileges on my Drupal site.