I am a newbie to this forum and to speaker construction. I recently purchased a center channel speaker kit (two 5 ¼ inch woofers, one 2-inch square dome tweeter, and a crossover). The cabinet will be enclosed (acoustic suspension enclosure). The kit instructions indicated that the cabinet’s inside dimension should be about 13 inches by 7 inches by 7 inches, with the outside dimensions of the rectangle as 14.5 inches by 8.5 inches by 8.5 inches (using 3/4 inch MDF). The internal volume should not be more than 0.75 cf model. The drivers will be arranged on the front baffle as woofer-tweeter-woofer configuration.
After reading a lot of online information, I have a number of cabinet construction questions that I need help on.
After reading a lot of online information, I have a number of cabinet construction questions that I need help on.
- What is the distance of the woofers from the edge of the rectangle baffle?
- What is the distance of the tweeter from each woofer?
- Should the tweeter be recessed, i.e., flush-mounted?
- Should each woofer be flush-mounted?
- Is bracing needed inside the cabinet?
- Is suitable gasket material (Rope caulk, electrician dope, duct putty) needed when securing the drivers to the front baffle?
- Does the front baffle need to be built with two sheets of ¾ inch MDF?
- Should the front of the cabinet baffle edges be rounded over?
Can you even fit those driver's footprints onto 13" x 7" ? Make a tracing of the drivers and play with a sheet of paper to workout a reasonable spacing - I don't think you have much wiggle-room to start with though.
I make the internal volume 0.37 cubic feet, which is indeed less than 0.75.
Flush mount needs use of a router normally, if you have one I'd suggest it, otherwise not.
Similarly if you have a suitable router + bit rounding the edges is good, both acoustically and to make it more resistant to knocks/handling damage, and less painful if you catch your head on it!
Something this small probably won't benefit from bracing, nor double-thickness.
Yes gaskets are good, air leaks will make unwanted noises with loud bass notes and perhaps affect the resonance behaviour. Some drivers come with a gasket that seals against a bezel.
I make the internal volume 0.37 cubic feet, which is indeed less than 0.75.
Flush mount needs use of a router normally, if you have one I'd suggest it, otherwise not.
Similarly if you have a suitable router + bit rounding the edges is good, both acoustically and to make it more resistant to knocks/handling damage, and less painful if you catch your head on it!
Something this small probably won't benefit from bracing, nor double-thickness.
Yes gaskets are good, air leaks will make unwanted noises with loud bass notes and perhaps affect the resonance behaviour. Some drivers come with a gasket that seals against a bezel.
Mark: Thank you for your comment. I ended up increasing the front baffle to make the drivers fit with room to spare. Question, should the crossover be attached to the inside of the back cabinet panel? Also, does it matter the location of the input terminal on the back panel?