When looking for some drivers do you look through the pictures till you find one you like the look of then look at the parameters or do you purely go on parameters? By no means do I mean compromising for sound quality but do you look for speakers with certain size enclosure requirement to suit your needs or do you just build the best?!
Boscoe
Boscoe
Last edited:
99% of the time it is the parameters--then I look at it to see if it has any oddities when mounting.
However, sometimes (car audio) the look gives an indication of build quality. Square cones, octagon cones, lightning bolts, spirals
2,500 WATTS! written on the dust cap etc. turn me off. Stamped steel frames, plastic frames, foam surrounds, cheezy construction is also and indicator.
Ordered some of the Aurasound "Blue GT" 5.35 inch 8 ohm mid-woofers to play with. Neo magnets, rubber surrounds and all the goodies and for $12... I can ignore the blue poly cones. Since they were made for the $150,000 supercharged V-8 Ford GT supercar... the racing Ford blue color makes sense. That is why they invented grills...
I prefer my speakers to be rather plain, nothing to grab your attention and to sound clean when in operation. They can match my ugly black rubber coated 14 gauge speaker PA cables and thick RCA cables without any hint of "audio jewelry" to be had.
Pretty matters to my wife, I can't convince her that a 8 foot tall tapped horn is "pretty"
However, sometimes (car audio) the look gives an indication of build quality. Square cones, octagon cones, lightning bolts, spirals
2,500 WATTS! written on the dust cap etc. turn me off. Stamped steel frames, plastic frames, foam surrounds, cheezy construction is also and indicator. Ordered some of the Aurasound "Blue GT" 5.35 inch 8 ohm mid-woofers to play with. Neo magnets, rubber surrounds and all the goodies and for $12... I can ignore the blue poly cones. Since they were made for the $150,000 supercharged V-8 Ford GT supercar... the racing Ford blue color makes sense. That is why they invented grills...
I prefer my speakers to be rather plain, nothing to grab your attention and to sound clean when in operation. They can match my ugly black rubber coated 14 gauge speaker PA cables and thick RCA cables without any hint of "audio jewelry" to be had.
Pretty matters to my wife, I can't convince her that a 8 foot tall tapped horn is "pretty"
Looking at the parameters of the driver is a start but you also need to look at how those parameters will work in a given speaker enclosure (if you are using one). Some drivers will suit themselves to sealed enclosures and others work better in vented. Will this driver be the only one used or will they be working with other drivers in a multi-driver configuration? So there are a lot of other things to consider before jumping in and this is one reason why many builders consider going with a proven design that has been successful for others.
Another thing to consider besides the technical parameters are a drivers reviews and evaluation by others. Zaph audio http://www.zaphaudio.com/ has tested several drivers and has a lot of very useful information available at his site. Parts Express has many of the drivers they sell reviewed by customers as well as the "Tech-Talk" forum where many ideas are presented and problems solved.
Soooooooo........... give us some ideas about what your goals are and the intended application and perhaps some here can share some ideas and suggestions for you.
Another thing to consider besides the technical parameters are a drivers reviews and evaluation by others. Zaph audio http://www.zaphaudio.com/ has tested several drivers and has a lot of very useful information available at his site. Parts Express has many of the drivers they sell reviewed by customers as well as the "Tech-Talk" forum where many ideas are presented and problems solved.
Soooooooo........... give us some ideas about what your goals are and the intended application and perhaps some here can share some ideas and suggestions for you.
Good points there mate! I don't think I have the money to be doing it at the moment but I would like to put some Precision Devices PD.12SB30's into a vented enclosure I have designed to see how they sound!
It boggles me how much there is too take into account in designing audio, compared to what there is to know I know nothing! But reading is getting me there.
It boggles me how much there is too take into account in designing audio, compared to what there is to know I know nothing! But reading is getting me there.
My parents were just glad I didn't want to take up skydiving or motorcycle racing. Speakers were the least of their worries. My bedroom was pretty cool when I was your age. Kept saving up my allowance and finding deals in the "Buy and Sell" (newsprint version of Craigslist from well before there was an internet 
)
I think now I have more interest in how it looks than I did when I was younger.
)I think now I have more interest in how it looks than I did when I was younger.
No, I think if you know as little as I do when you're my age you're gonna what happened to those years. Kinda like the old saying: "If you remember the 60's, you weren't there."
Steer clear of temptations. They may seem like the right thing at the time but they might just come back to haunt you.
Steer clear of temptations. They may seem like the right thing at the time but they might just come back to haunt you.
I also recently built a 6EM7 SET amplifier. It's still bare components sat on some MDF. There's over 300v sitting around on there when it's operational, so mine do get worried from time to time. I'd say it's more dangerous than speakers. Though if a speaker of yours fell on me, I don't think I'd get up again. Ever.
Chris
Hey Chris,
When I was 15, in 1969, I had no money. My father a very stern & very strict Sicilian man, didn't believe in allowance. Instead he sat me down and said "If you want something either find a way to get it or go get a job and buy it. The choice is yours." I was quite lucky when I was 15 because back in the mid 60's people still had & used these all-in-one music consoles that had a TT, tuner and tube amp in them. Once every 3 or 4 months you could bring virtually anything out to the sidewalk for trash removal.
When those special trash days arrived I would tie a wagon to my bicycle and I'd ride around looking for these music consoles. Within 3-4 times of going out during these special trash days I had a nice integrated tube amp, a tuner and amazingly enough an Empire TT that worked perfectly well. Like Cal my parents, actually just my mom around this time as my dad moved out, was just happy I wasn't doing crazy things. That said my mom did freak-out when she came upstairs one day and saw I painted my entire bedroom black ---{yes including the ceiling}--- put my mattress on the floor and moved all my other furniture, except my stereo, into attic!
The one thing that was fairly difficult to locate were decent speakers. However I eventually ended up with a pair of EV horns that were similar to these CDP848AT Duplex Horns that sat on top of a pair of of square shaped metal outdoor enclosures that held either a 10" or 12" drivers. These were all originally were located at a local high schools football field. I ended up with them when the high school pulled them down to install better speakers. I don't know what they were going to do with them, but after 2 days of them just sitting outside on the ground near the maintenance area, they ended up in my room ---{NO I didn't take them}--- when one of my friends gave them to me for an integrated amp, TT and tuner I had lying around that I wasn't using. Back then at our age you were lucky just to have a decent little radio, no one I knew had a stereo like mine.
I think the part that kills me the most is as I grew older, at least 18 or over, started working and was finally able to buy what I thought were better, more modern, solid-state components. It took awhile to truly realise how mistaken I was and how the old tube stuff I pulled from unwanted consoles as a kid blew these solid state components out of the water! Here it is 41 years later and I'm back right where I started with a 40W/ch, integrated, SET amp and a pair of double-back-loaded horn speakers! Thanks for allowing me to reminisce. You brought back great memories...
Thetubeguy1954 (Tom Scata)
Ok Boscoe - I get the impression that 1) you need a good place to start with all of this "audio" stuff and that a easy project with high probability of success is desired. 2) Being that you are a young chap the cost of the project should be "affordable" - a relative term I know but it is ALWAYS possible to spend more money if you have a desire too. Just let me know and my Mrs. can provide you with all sorts of good ideas for spending any extra cash you find a need to expend 3) I know that when my chums and myself were young we liked our listening levels on the ...... hmmmmmm ........ just this side of ear bleeds. Thus I'll suggest something that will perform at those levels and still keep a couple of pounds sterling in the bank account.
Go take a look at this speaker design AK Design Collaborative - Econo-Waveguide Speaker - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
There have been many successful builds and there exist a lot of support from other builders. If you are lucky you can find some old used speaker enclosures to recycle for reasonable cost - and there are some very decent drivers to be used for "affordable" prices. As your knowledge and budget grow there are upgrades you can consider.
This is a very good "starter" project that you will find satisfying for many years to come.
Best of luck - and do let us know how things go for you!!
Go take a look at this speaker design AK Design Collaborative - Econo-Waveguide Speaker - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
There have been many successful builds and there exist a lot of support from other builders. If you are lucky you can find some old used speaker enclosures to recycle for reasonable cost - and there are some very decent drivers to be used for "affordable" prices. As your knowledge and budget grow there are upgrades you can consider.
This is a very good "starter" project that you will find satisfying for many years to come.
Best of luck - and do let us know how things go for you!!
I have actually built my own speakers the thing is I really need a new amp but i want to build one which is proving to be costly because i want it perfect.
I quite like the idea of building something like a tapped horn or something horn shaped but i have no idea how to use hornresp!
This should help with hornsrep http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/subwoofers/119854-hornresp.html
Check out Ostripper's Mongrel thread - he is getting close to wrapping up a very nice design that will not cost all that much to build. Well the amp will not cost much - the case, connectors, power transformer, etc. - those can add up fast. You can look into salvage or reuse of old amplifiers tho -
Check out Ostripper's Mongrel thread - he is getting close to wrapping up a very nice design that will not cost all that much to build. Well the amp will not cost much - the case, connectors, power transformer, etc. - those can add up fast. You can look into salvage or reuse of old amplifiers tho -
Like I said before, £50 for a 25w/ch @4ohm switching amplifier. Including case and 60w 12v SMPS. You can even run it off a car battery, which proves useful in the event of a power cut. The amp's good enough to hold it's own qualities over some pretty serious competition (300B monoblocks).
I haven't much of an idea for Hornresp either, but I'm doing a TH build over Christmas (25Hz extension, with a 6.5" TB driver per side). Thing is, Dad was into this before me, so he shares my enthusiasm (sometimes), so tries to help me get projects past Mum where he can.
Tom, I sometimes wish things could go back to how they were. Finding operational systems at the side of the road sounds great fun. Over at this side of the pond, such things never happen. I've looked, believe me. That said, my old high school is being knocked down at some point soon. There's an old PA system in there (1x12" per side, with compression driver each), and a newer, more powerful PA system (6x15" 2-way cabs) that I'm hoping they'll leave behind. I'm not sure what I'd do with 6x15" drivers, but I'd find something. Anyway, you're welcome.
I actually happen to own one of those newer, solid-state type units you speak of... maybe.Something like this, perhaps?
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Chris
PS, if you do mean something like that, then I agree they're pretty awful. I plan to modify it when I know more of the electronics side of things.
Last edited:
Ahhhh ......... stack 'em up in the "I'll use these for something someday bin" like the rest of us.
"so tries to help me get projects past Mum where he can". Nothing really get past SWMBO - she just let's you think it did. At some date in the future she will recall to you exactly when you did it - what clothing you were wearing - and what you had for supper (etc.). It is an amazing ability.
Ahhhh ......... stack 'em up in the "I'll use these for something someday bin" like the rest of us.
"so tries to help me get projects past Mum where he can". Nothing really get past SWMBO - she just let's you think it did. At some date in the future she will recall to you exactly when you did it - what clothing you were wearing - and what you had for supper (etc.). It is an amazing ability.
I might try making a pair into co-axial drivers, with some compression driver +horn, like the Altecs of old. Of course, that's if someone else doesn't run off with them first. Apart from that, 3x15" drivers per side would be something even Cal would be proud of.
Boscoe, I've sent you a PM.
Chris
The only time I can think of that I rejected a speaker driver for aesthetic reasons was because it had a shiny silver aluminium come which just looked wrong for the design. After I moved on to another design, I found out I could have had them black from the manufacturer.
It would be nice of the JBL LF drivers and the AE midranges I'm using looked more alike, but I'll live with it.
It would be nice of the JBL LF drivers and the AE midranges I'm using looked more alike, but I'll live with it.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.