Hi, I’m looking to build some speakers for my garage. I’m looking for:
- Easy to build (I’m ok with making an enclosure, but prefer minimal fussing with interior chambers. I’m comfortable cutting wood, using silicone and wood glue, nothing too exotic like the shaped designs some folks do)
- 3 way, two boxes
- 10” drivers or smaller (I’m cross shopping this idea against the JBL Eon 610)
- Really high driver quality
- I think I want a crossover. I don’t like the idea of the woofer playing my highs or vice versa.
- Bonus points for powered so I can just hook up my iPhone to it. Probably will want knobs to control the sound.
- Bonus points for the ability to put a metal grille on it.
- I can drop the powered requirement if needed.
- Bonus points for a relatively larger driver in a relatively compact enclosure.
Cost under 750 ideally. I prefer to make my own cabinet.
- Easy to build (I’m ok with making an enclosure, but prefer minimal fussing with interior chambers. I’m comfortable cutting wood, using silicone and wood glue, nothing too exotic like the shaped designs some folks do)
- 3 way, two boxes
- 10” drivers or smaller (I’m cross shopping this idea against the JBL Eon 610)
- Really high driver quality
- I think I want a crossover. I don’t like the idea of the woofer playing my highs or vice versa.
- Bonus points for powered so I can just hook up my iPhone to it. Probably will want knobs to control the sound.
- Bonus points for the ability to put a metal grille on it.
- I can drop the powered requirement if needed.
- Bonus points for a relatively larger driver in a relatively compact enclosure.
Cost under 750 ideally. I prefer to make my own cabinet.
You can’t really go too wrong with these for bang for buck. You can make them in one box, examples provided but two box gives future versatility.
Tarkus - undefinition
Tarkus - undefinition
Thanks, if I build the Tarkus, I’m definitely going to want a single box per channel. I’m a bit nervous to take on the less common design as a first time builder. I’ve done plenty of projects whether woodworking or motorcycle modifications... never a speaker.
I’m also wondering is it possible to protect the drivers? I would need the speaker to be sealed from dust for sure. Being resistant to impacts (having a metal grille) would be a bonus. Would adding a metal grille with some sort of membrane hurt the sound quality?
I’m also wondering is it possible to protect the drivers? I would need the speaker to be sealed from dust for sure. Being resistant to impacts (having a metal grille) would be a bonus. Would adding a metal grille with some sort of membrane hurt the sound quality?
For protection you could do something like the ATC SCM40 mk2’s. The usual way is to build a thin frame and cover it with speaker grill material, hold it on either with concealed magnets of speaker grill studs. The final version is circular grills from Visaton or Monacor.
Yes it may make a difference but if you choose your materials correctly it will be minimal.
Cabinet Hardware & Speaker Grill Cloth - Parts Express
https://cpc.farnell.com/c/audio-vis...-stands/low-impedance-speakers/speaker-grills
Example of the effect of adding covers here-
Fusion
Yes it may make a difference but if you choose your materials correctly it will be minimal.
Cabinet Hardware & Speaker Grill Cloth - Parts Express
https://cpc.farnell.com/c/audio-vis...-stands/low-impedance-speakers/speaker-grills
Example of the effect of adding covers here-
Fusion
Ok, thanks, the metal grid is one piece of the puzzle.
Will the drivers be damaged if I leave them exposed to a shop environment with sawdust/metal dust/metal splinters?
If I can leave the drivers exposed (and let’s say high up in a corner of the shop, mostly just exposed to dust/sawdust), it will definitely be easier to build, which I want as a first timer.
Then again, I can’t have it breaking, so I’ll protect the drivers from impacts and dust if needed.
Is there any metal grille which includes a dust membrane? Ideally the membrane would resist dust sticking to it (easy to clean) and be impervious to dust.
I noticed some speakers also have a tube hole open to the air. I’d definitely need to cover that. Can I just use a circular driver cover like you’d see in a car?
I found the Classix II is by the same designer? It looks a little easier to take on and the reviews seem promising. Is the Classix II worse sounding than the Tarkus by a noticeable amount? I really like the idea of a 10” woofer, I just don’t know if I can figure out the bracing and baffling on the Tarkus as a first speaker.
I also found the Carrera speaker. That looks simpler yet it’s high end? How does the Carrera compare to the Tarkus/Classix II? Is it easier to build?
Will the drivers be damaged if I leave them exposed to a shop environment with sawdust/metal dust/metal splinters?
If I can leave the drivers exposed (and let’s say high up in a corner of the shop, mostly just exposed to dust/sawdust), it will definitely be easier to build, which I want as a first timer.
Then again, I can’t have it breaking, so I’ll protect the drivers from impacts and dust if needed.
Is there any metal grille which includes a dust membrane? Ideally the membrane would resist dust sticking to it (easy to clean) and be impervious to dust.
I noticed some speakers also have a tube hole open to the air. I’d definitely need to cover that. Can I just use a circular driver cover like you’d see in a car?
I found the Classix II is by the same designer? It looks a little easier to take on and the reviews seem promising. Is the Classix II worse sounding than the Tarkus by a noticeable amount? I really like the idea of a 10” woofer, I just don’t know if I can figure out the bracing and baffling on the Tarkus as a first speaker.
I also found the Carrera speaker. That looks simpler yet it’s high end? How does the Carrera compare to the Tarkus/Classix II? Is it easier to build?
Thanks for this.
I'm considering building this design. I understand the new horizontal dimensions and spacing. However, I'm unsure of the new vertical dimensions.
Any clarification would be great. Thanks
If making changes to an existing design, for the same response from the original crossover, you need to keep the external baffle width the same, and keep the internal volume the same.
Thanks. Does that mean to combine the two boxes into one:
1) Use a solid/sealed wood divider internally within the “single external box” to effectively create two separate boxes internally?
2) If the upper box will be wider than the original design (it seems this would be true), add baffle thickness by the amount the single box design is wider on top?
The anti-DIY option
I'm sort of a devil's advocate, or just plain obnoxious but consider: By your "resume" you do have the skills and equipment to build your dream speaker. "Really high quality" drivers is strictly a matter of opinion, past a certain point.
It's a major risk in audio to spend a lot of money for little more than ego as well described in this thread:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/103872-geddes-waveguides-49.html#post1377671
Now, building it yourself you'd think you'll save money, but is that really true? Not necessarily. The very fact you are building something for the garage probably means you're not going to build a custom burled mahogany wood enclosure or such, even if you were a master cabinet maker. That would be like putting a Steinway in a leaky shed in your backyard. Even cheap PA gear will be made fairly durable, and standard black plastic to match any room 🙂
If you're willing to buy at the lower end, but not at the very bottom, chances are you are going to get a maximum of value for your investment. There is a lot out there, and Behringer makes active speakers that have been well rated. They are probably available locally at Guitar Center or other places you might not normallythink to shop for "audio" gear.
Just for fun I did a search for you. Guitar center has 164 (!) PA powered speakers < $300 each listed:
Powered PA Speakers | Guitar Center
The Behringer "Truth" has had good reviews; search for it elsewhere here (not sure of cost, though).
Of course, if you do this, it takes all the joy out of DIY. But the awful truth is that it will probably cost you double or triple to buld something equivalent, and you're very unlikely to get better sound quality. You would, of course have the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
By the way, while I have close to zero DIY skills, I went the "PA" route but with speakers that (if bought new) would be about $1000 (each) -- Yorkville Unity U15. They are easily the best sounding pair of speaker's I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of speakers. They are beat up used but no WAF to worry about 🙂
I'm sort of a devil's advocate, or just plain obnoxious but consider: By your "resume" you do have the skills and equipment to build your dream speaker. "Really high quality" drivers is strictly a matter of opinion, past a certain point.
It's a major risk in audio to spend a lot of money for little more than ego as well described in this thread:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/103872-geddes-waveguides-49.html#post1377671
Now, building it yourself you'd think you'll save money, but is that really true? Not necessarily. The very fact you are building something for the garage probably means you're not going to build a custom burled mahogany wood enclosure or such, even if you were a master cabinet maker. That would be like putting a Steinway in a leaky shed in your backyard. Even cheap PA gear will be made fairly durable, and standard black plastic to match any room 🙂
If you're willing to buy at the lower end, but not at the very bottom, chances are you are going to get a maximum of value for your investment. There is a lot out there, and Behringer makes active speakers that have been well rated. They are probably available locally at Guitar Center or other places you might not normallythink to shop for "audio" gear.
Just for fun I did a search for you. Guitar center has 164 (!) PA powered speakers < $300 each listed:
Powered PA Speakers | Guitar Center
The Behringer "Truth" has had good reviews; search for it elsewhere here (not sure of cost, though).
Of course, if you do this, it takes all the joy out of DIY. But the awful truth is that it will probably cost you double or triple to buld something equivalent, and you're very unlikely to get better sound quality. You would, of course have the satisfaction of having done it yourself.
By the way, while I have close to zero DIY skills, I went the "PA" route but with speakers that (if bought new) would be about $1000 (each) -- Yorkville Unity U15. They are easily the best sounding pair of speaker's I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of speakers. They are beat up used but no WAF to worry about 🙂
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I’ve done a home remodel, and my fiancé has worked as a woodworker professionally in the past. Tools are cheap enough, I have many (had more in the past), willing to get more.
I’m not doing this entirely for reasons of cost.
I’m actually leaning less towards PAs the more I read. I’m getting the sense that with a PA, you’re paying for more of the “quantity” rather than “quality” of the sound. The main appeal of the PAs for me is the ruggedness. If I go the DIY or home used home audio speaker route, I’ll just stick the speaker relatively high in the corner so it’s out of the way.
For the record, I’m definitely not building my dream speaker here. I’m probably going to paint it with textured truck bed paint. I’m going for low effort. I just want good sound quality and decent power, since I spend a fair amount of time wrenching in my garage. I don’t really want to **** of the neighbors though since the garage opens to the neighborhood...
I’ll be able to build a Classix II for about $300... not too bad if it sounds anywhere near as good as people indicate.
The main reason I DIY is because I have an insatiable desire to keep myself busy tinkering. That, and I learn skills to apply elsewhere in my life (home projects, mechanic work, etc).
Eventually after I learn more, I’d like to take on additional speaker builds and do some higher quality cabinets.
I’m not doing this entirely for reasons of cost.
I’m actually leaning less towards PAs the more I read. I’m getting the sense that with a PA, you’re paying for more of the “quantity” rather than “quality” of the sound. The main appeal of the PAs for me is the ruggedness. If I go the DIY or home used home audio speaker route, I’ll just stick the speaker relatively high in the corner so it’s out of the way.
For the record, I’m definitely not building my dream speaker here. I’m probably going to paint it with textured truck bed paint. I’m going for low effort. I just want good sound quality and decent power, since I spend a fair amount of time wrenching in my garage. I don’t really want to **** of the neighbors though since the garage opens to the neighborhood...
I’ll be able to build a Classix II for about $300... not too bad if it sounds anywhere near as good as people indicate.
The main reason I DIY is because I have an insatiable desire to keep myself busy tinkering. That, and I learn skills to apply elsewhere in my life (home projects, mechanic work, etc).
Eventually after I learn more, I’d like to take on additional speaker builds and do some higher quality cabinets.
I would advise you to buy a 2.1 amplifier with aptx-HD. Build 2 10 inch into each own kabinet. Put 5 inch fullrange drivers in the stereospeakers. Just find some good ones that doesnt go low since your subwoofers will take care of that
Cheers!
Cheers!
For the stereospeakers make them spiral horns. Put a metal grill on their front, and glue a poster of a hot chick (your wife?) onto the grill. Let them play down to 100 hz. Dont tune your subwoofers lower than 40 hz
Cheers!
Cheers!
No worries at all 🙂 I hope I didn’t make a mistake. I like the idea of separate enclosures, maybe some day I’ll do something like that.
Thank you for deigning to reply to my anti-DIY suggestions 🙂 Sure PA will get you loud, but no law says you have to blast. My beat up used speakers (used, prior usage unknown) sound flawless, and despite the unsavory rep of "PA", in five years I've found no flaws in their sound. I probably lucked out that no drivers had any audible damage. To be fair, I've rarely pushed them, so perhaps they are distorted at club listening levels. But that is not a problem in a suburban living room 🙂
I stand by my earlier claims that, above a relatively modest floor where the true garbage is, the claimed "quality" in such fields as audio is almost certainly wishful thinking. It's inconvenient, but if you could set up a fair (ideally double blind) A/B listening test, you'd probably conclude that claims of fantastic sound quality are largely hallucinogenic. Absent a first-hand test, the best evidence that most quality claims are BS is simply the dearth of unbiased listening tests.
By all means, spend what you like, it's your money, but above a certain threshold you are basically just helping the salesman make his BMW payment 🙂
I'm not familiar with the Classix, but if you can build a pair of speakers for $300 please disregard all my prior advice! As for future projects, there is almost no limit to the excesses this hobby can take you. A room -sized horn bass speaker? Concrete horns? It's been done.
I stand by my earlier claims that, above a relatively modest floor where the true garbage is, the claimed "quality" in such fields as audio is almost certainly wishful thinking. It's inconvenient, but if you could set up a fair (ideally double blind) A/B listening test, you'd probably conclude that claims of fantastic sound quality are largely hallucinogenic. Absent a first-hand test, the best evidence that most quality claims are BS is simply the dearth of unbiased listening tests.
By all means, spend what you like, it's your money, but above a certain threshold you are basically just helping the salesman make his BMW payment 🙂
I'm not familiar with the Classix, but if you can build a pair of speakers for $300 please disregard all my prior advice! As for future projects, there is almost no limit to the excesses this hobby can take you. A room -sized horn bass speaker? Concrete horns? It's been done.
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