Hi guys,
Just a few months ago I took apart my speakers out of curiousity and realized that for the money I paid and a little bit of research I could do a better job...nothing new to you guys 😉
What I do need some help with is cross-over design theory, basically a know very little (see below) and would like to learn about the various design/implementations used in the loudspeaker industry today. If any of you have come across and relevant material be it a website or textbook or anything else, please let me know.
Btw, I do have a book "Microelectronic Circuits 4ed" by Sedra/Smith but that only deals with 1st and 2nd order butterworth and chebyshev filters.
I've started reading about TL speakers...very interesting stuff.
Cheers!
Just a few months ago I took apart my speakers out of curiousity and realized that for the money I paid and a little bit of research I could do a better job...nothing new to you guys 😉
What I do need some help with is cross-over design theory, basically a know very little (see below) and would like to learn about the various design/implementations used in the loudspeaker industry today. If any of you have come across and relevant material be it a website or textbook or anything else, please let me know.
Btw, I do have a book "Microelectronic Circuits 4ed" by Sedra/Smith but that only deals with 1st and 2nd order butterworth and chebyshev filters.
I've started reading about TL speakers...very interesting stuff.
Cheers!
True Audio has some interesting on-line reading. A good book to "cut your teeth on" is The Great Sound Stereo Speaker Manual by David Weems. If you want more, many recommend Vance Dickinson's book The Loudspeaker Cookbook.
Another option to get started on are designs using extended bandwidth drivers many of which require minimal electronics. Have you been looking at the T-Line website ?I've started reading about TL speakers...very interesting stuff.
Try Martin Colloms 'Loudspeakers' book.
🙂 / sreten.
P.S.
a little knowledge is very dangerous when it
comes to building your own loudspeakers !
🙂 / sreten.
P.S.
a little knowledge is very dangerous when it
comes to building your own loudspeakers !
sreten said:a little knowledge is very dangerous when it
comes to building your own loudspeakers !
Especially if the drivers are expensive. Is that it, sreten? But still not as dangerous as building your own amplifier

Check out http://ccs.exl.info/calc_cr.html
Also, get your hands on a free trial copy of Electronics Workbench. I've found it really useful in designing both passive and active crossovers.
CM
Also, get your hands on a free trial copy of Electronics Workbench. I've found it really useful in designing both passive and active crossovers.
CM
Here is a couple to have a look at as well
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/cross.html#c1
http://www.crossovers.com/index001.html
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/xoorder.htm
fairly basic sites hope they help
http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/audio/cross.html#c1
http://www.crossovers.com/index001.html
http://www.eatel.net/~amptech/elecdisc/xoorder.htm
fairly basic sites hope they help
Jay said:
Especially if the drivers are expensive. Is that it, sreten? But still not as dangerous as building your own amplifier
![]()
Well is not that difficult to build an amplifier that does moreorless
what you expect it to, assuming you can get it to work, and don't
blow it up at some point.
Conversely without understanding all the factors involved, designing
and building a loudspeaker that does what you expect it to is very,
very difficult.
Taking everything into account, and getting the compromises right
between various aspects of the performance is a minefield for the
beginning designer / builder.
But there are some well documented and measured good
amateur designs out there.
Your best bet is to understand more and then find a good
design that suits your requirements and build that.
🙂 /sreten.
It's just a matter of understanding the theory and the associated variables (Qes,Qms,Fs...etc etc)
The next issue is mating a tweeter+woofer that will sound good together.
PS: I'd like to built my own kit (box & cross-over) from scratch if possible since finding the particular drivers used in other kits can sometimes be either too difficult or too expensive depending on where you live.
The next issue is mating a tweeter+woofer that will sound good together.
PS: I'd like to built my own kit (box & cross-over) from scratch if possible since finding the particular drivers used in other kits can sometimes be either too difficult or too expensive depending on where you live.
dis said:It's just a matter of understanding the theory and the associated variables (Qes,Qms,Fs...etc etc)
"M'lord I rest my case" 🙂 /sreten.
sreten said:
Taking everything into account, and getting the compromises right
between various aspects of the performance is a minefield for the
beginning designer / builder..........and then find a good
design that suits your requirements and build that.
🙂 /sreten.
I'm in agreement with sreten on this
This is one of those things that looks easy, but isn't. The more I learn about this, the more I learn that I don't know.
Regards
Ken L
I spoke too soon,
I did some reading last night, particularily, http://www.linkwitzlab.com/sb80-3wy.htm, poked around a little further and that I know nothing 😉
Ken L,
You're right about it looking easy. Those speakers I mentioned in my first post were a pair of paradigm micro's. When I opened them and first thing I noticed was that the port was made out of paper, similar to the paper tube at the center of every roll of toilet paper. The actual enclosure was made of plywood (not MDF), the drivers were nothing special. The crossover was just a few lumped resistive/reactive elements soldered end-to-end and glued to the enclosure (they weren't even put on circuit board)...from that alone, it seemed like something easy, but I was wrong.
In the spirit of DIY, I'm going to give it a shot anyways, if I end up screwing up or making a pair of bad-sounding speakers...I'll dedicate a website on what not to do in building DIY speakers 🙂
Cheers!
I did some reading last night, particularily, http://www.linkwitzlab.com/sb80-3wy.htm, poked around a little further and that I know nothing 😉
Ken L,
You're right about it looking easy. Those speakers I mentioned in my first post were a pair of paradigm micro's. When I opened them and first thing I noticed was that the port was made out of paper, similar to the paper tube at the center of every roll of toilet paper. The actual enclosure was made of plywood (not MDF), the drivers were nothing special. The crossover was just a few lumped resistive/reactive elements soldered end-to-end and glued to the enclosure (they weren't even put on circuit board)...from that alone, it seemed like something easy, but I was wrong.
In the spirit of DIY, I'm going to give it a shot anyways, if I end up screwing up or making a pair of bad-sounding speakers...I'll dedicate a website on what not to do in building DIY speakers 🙂
Cheers!
The more I learn about this, the more I learn that I don't know.
Just because you rearrange the words doesn't mean you can use that. 😀
does Radio Shack still sell Advanced Speaker Systems by Ray Alden,
not a bad entry level book
Buy John Murphy's book (us grey hairs stick together)
not a bad entry level book
Buy John Murphy's book (us grey hairs stick together)
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