I am about to finish my first speaker build (conversion) and would like to be sure of the integrity of my cabinet. Lack of leakage, specifically.
Is there a simple (or any) way of checking for that, at DIY level?
Is there a simple (or any) way of checking for that, at DIY level?
Yes. Mount the woofer and carefully push the cone in to near its limit and let go. Watch what happens and report back. Depending on your woofer, the return should be attenuated.
If you don't understand what that tells you, then you have to give us more info about what you are asking, like the woofer, the box, the sealing, and anything else that might help.
Pictures and caulking are your best friends.
If you don't understand what that tells you, then you have to give us more info about what you are asking, like the woofer, the box, the sealing, and anything else that might help.
Pictures and caulking are your best friends.
Make joints well and glue up.
Fit terminal panels to a flat face with a gasket.
Then there should be no possibility of a leaky cabinet.
You are describing an infinite baffle enclosure.
If your cabinet is vented / ported then it is leaky by design.
And even a sealed enclosure will have leakage past voice coils else a fully sealed enclosure would move cones as the weather changed.
Fit terminal panels to a flat face with a gasket.
Then there should be no possibility of a leaky cabinet.
You are describing an infinite baffle enclosure.
If your cabinet is vented / ported then it is leaky by design.
And even a sealed enclosure will have leakage past voice coils else a fully sealed enclosure would move cones as the weather changed.
Not much else to describe. Just want to test the cabinet for leaking.
The woofers are Dayton Epique 5.5in and are very stiff (in free air). The LF cavity is abt 10L. Neoprene seals between any removable (bolted) panels. Flat nuts on the driver bolts. Gaskets under all drivers and under front baffle. Max distance between back panel bolts abt 7cm. All cabinet joints thoroughly glued and glue-painted over.
The woofers are Dayton Epique 5.5in and are very stiff (in free air). The LF cavity is abt 10L. Neoprene seals between any removable (bolted) panels. Flat nuts on the driver bolts. Gaskets under all drivers and under front baffle. Max distance between back panel bolts abt 7cm. All cabinet joints thoroughly glued and glue-painted over.
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I don't think a small amount of leakage is anything to be concerned about. The software I use even has the ability to simulate different amounts of leakage.
If one is aiming for every Hz of LF, loss is where the bottom of the bottom of what we all work so hard for goes (and not just air but enclosure movement). Simulate it yourself and check the extension. It's worth looking hard, IMO. Gasket terminals and RTV/etc. unused thru-connections, driver baskets of course. If your caps and drivers are vented, OTOH... 🙂
Looks like a nice job on the cabinets so I am with the others suggesting this is not critical.
Try the woofer push test to be sure. Watch how quickly the other one returns to center while holding the one. It's a standard test for PR systems.
Try the woofer push test to be sure. Watch how quickly the other one returns to center while holding the one. It's a standard test for PR systems.
Yes, a very small leak can be a good thing if it doesn't make noise. Measurement (eg. impedance) can help characterise the box.
I rebuilt a friends pair of large home-built speakers...my friend was a mobile DJ guy...an entire basement full floor to ceiling with LPs , but his speakers, after years of mobile use were looking a bit ragged. So I added a mid-range, reworked the crossover & built new cabinets. He had an AF generator...when one was complete, we wired up one channel on the rebuilt one, the other channel on the old one...a thirty hertz sine-wave had the old one rattling, creating many many harmonics above the single test frequency...the new one you could barely hear, but it sure did set things in motion.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rick...