hi all,
first timer here... 🙂
my desktop computer speakers have bitten the dust and i am looking to perform my first diy build.
i have been trying to read up on drivers and enclosures, but it's very confusing first-up and i am looking for some ideas, so i can do my own further research for my own learning...
i'll try and provide as much detail as i can.
just looking for a small set of single driver speakers (i think), that i would like to run from a tripath lp-2020a amp. this will just be running music from my pc at this stage.
i am happy to build my own enclosure, but i need advice on the following:
what drivers to get?
do i need any other components that i may have missed?
what material to use in the enclosure?
what sort of insulation is required on the inside?
is my amp OK for this build? i don't have it yet, so suggestions welcome.
i apologise if my terminology is incorrect, but i am keen to have a go and would appreciate any help or suggestions.
thanks in advance.
first timer here... 🙂
my desktop computer speakers have bitten the dust and i am looking to perform my first diy build.
i have been trying to read up on drivers and enclosures, but it's very confusing first-up and i am looking for some ideas, so i can do my own further research for my own learning...
i'll try and provide as much detail as i can.
just looking for a small set of single driver speakers (i think), that i would like to run from a tripath lp-2020a amp. this will just be running music from my pc at this stage.
i am happy to build my own enclosure, but i need advice on the following:
what drivers to get?
do i need any other components that i may have missed?
what material to use in the enclosure?
what sort of insulation is required on the inside?
is my amp OK for this build? i don't have it yet, so suggestions welcome.
i apologise if my terminology is incorrect, but i am keen to have a go and would appreciate any help or suggestions.
thanks in advance.
One of my favorites (these are Chris' my partner). Fortunatly i don't have to pick just one, i probably rotate a half-dozen boxes.
There are quite a few choices.
How big can they be?
We all have our favorites, mine are the FF85wKen above and the Alpair 6.2p
What kind of budget?
terminals, wire.
Good plywood.
Depends pn the box you choose.
The Tripath is a bit dated, lots of people like them, but the newer TI TPA3110/3116 are general considered better. Similar prices.
dave
There are quite a few choices.
How big can they be?
We all have our favorites, mine are the FF85wKen above and the Alpair 6.2p
What kind of budget?
terminals, wire.
Good plywood.
Depends pn the box you choose.
The Tripath is a bit dated, lots of people like them, but the newer TI TPA3110/3116 are general considered better. Similar prices.
dave
thanks for the quick reply...
budget for drivers would be $50? not sure what is reasonable or not...
have you got an example plan for a simple box? probably looking at 300mm height...
i have been reading about crossovers. do i need one of those?
i can get speaker wire terminals OK and wire is no problem. i am comfortable with soldering, etc.
just need a good place to start in regards to basic parts list, etc...
thanks again.
budget for drivers would be $50? not sure what is reasonable or not...
have you got an example plan for a simple box? probably looking at 300mm height...
i have been reading about crossovers. do i need one of those?
i can get speaker wire terminals OK and wire is no problem. i am comfortable with soldering, etc.
just need a good place to start in regards to basic parts list, etc...
thanks again.
That is a tight budget... i don't know what choices you have there in Oz.
The drivers i mentioned are a tier or 2 up from that, but you can still build something enjoyable.
A simple rectangular box, likely with a vent to get some bass. Size and details depend on the driver.
Not for a single driver build. Sometimes people will add filters (EQ), i avoid them if possible. With a computer as source that can be done in the computer.
Hopefully others from Oz will chime in with drivers available withing your budget.
dave
Can you give me the names of some drivers that would fall in the entry level category? Just for my own learning benefit?
Budget is a bit fluid... Wasn't sure what constitutes cheap or expensive.
Can I get some examples of entry-level drivers, just for my own learning benefit?
Hey paceman007 you're off to a good start 🙂
Planet10 knows his stuff but yeah your budget is pretty small for oz.
Zaph is another guy who's very well respected and he made these,
Zaph|Audio
and to the best of my knowledge the driver he uses is this one, jaycar stock it,
Shielded 3" 15W 8-Ohm Full Range Speaker - Jaycar Electronics
He does use a filter on them but like planet10 said you can use your pc to equalise. These won't go crazy loud or deep but I'd imagine they'll have a very nice sound given the pedigree of the designer and you can reuse them in a bigger design (bipole, mtm) down the track if you want.
oh and fyi some folk pull decent drivers from old logitech speakers. I know you can get the Tangband W3-871 from the logitech z5500 system and I'm sure some others have good units too. Just put them in an enclosure of the right size, tuning and material and you might be able to save some cash this way. Google is your friend. So is gumtree 🙂
Planet10 knows his stuff but yeah your budget is pretty small for oz.
Zaph is another guy who's very well respected and he made these,
Zaph|Audio
and to the best of my knowledge the driver he uses is this one, jaycar stock it,
Shielded 3" 15W 8-Ohm Full Range Speaker - Jaycar Electronics
He does use a filter on them but like planet10 said you can use your pc to equalise. These won't go crazy loud or deep but I'd imagine they'll have a very nice sound given the pedigree of the designer and you can reuse them in a bigger design (bipole, mtm) down the track if you want.
oh and fyi some folk pull decent drivers from old logitech speakers. I know you can get the Tangband W3-871 from the logitech z5500 system and I'm sure some others have good units too. Just put them in an enclosure of the right size, tuning and material and you might be able to save some cash this way. Google is your friend. So is gumtree 🙂
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thanks for the advice guys... 🙂
if i was to get those speakers from jaycar (which are in budget), what sort of speaker terminal would be best (terminology alert: the bit where the speaker wires connect to the speaker)?
and what type of enclosure? simple mdf box? do i need to put insulation in the box? if so, what sort?
Anything you like, quite honestly. Dave would advise you to steer away from large fancy looking plated brass & go for less ostentatious (and cheaper) low-mass types -price does not automatically equate to performance when it comes to binding posts & the B3 driver isn't worth spending too much on. It's not a bad little driver (far from it), but it's not the last word either.
Sealed, possibly a small TL. It doesn't suit stock vented boxes.
Should do fine for the B3; I don't think it would be worth spending the extra for plywood (which I believe is scarce down in Australia) in this particular case.
Yes. What, where and how much depends on what cabinet you settle upon.
Advice from fellow noob
Hi Paceman 007,
Also new to speaker building myself, I just built a couple of different enclosures using these little Tectonic full range drivers.. (In fact I just joined the forum to show them off today)
I got mine from Parts Express in the US but then found what seem to be the exact same driver with a different sticker on it available in Aus from RS electronics. I stuck 6/12 of them in my enclosures but they seem to have pretty good reviews for single speaker boxes too.
The dodecahedron might be a bit more complicated than you are looking for, but you can not get simpler than 6 timber rectangles screwed and glued together then veneered. I took a few photos of both builds along the way here.
Might be a case of the blind leading the blind, but I think these sound fantastic! Might be tricky to meet the $50 budget unless you skimp on some of the finishing touches like the veneer / paint.
Good luck!
Cheers.
Hi Paceman 007,
Also new to speaker building myself, I just built a couple of different enclosures using these little Tectonic full range drivers.. (In fact I just joined the forum to show them off today)
I got mine from Parts Express in the US but then found what seem to be the exact same driver with a different sticker on it available in Aus from RS electronics. I stuck 6/12 of them in my enclosures but they seem to have pretty good reviews for single speaker boxes too.
The dodecahedron might be a bit more complicated than you are looking for, but you can not get simpler than 6 timber rectangles screwed and glued together then veneered. I took a few photos of both builds along the way here.
Might be a case of the blind leading the blind, but I think these sound fantastic! Might be tricky to meet the $50 budget unless you skimp on some of the finishing touches like the veneer / paint.
Good luck!
Cheers.
Attachments
cool stuff HNTE.
Nice find with that driver, good to know they're over here.
Have you had any issues with comb filtering with the mini array?
Nice find with that driver, good to know they're over here.
Have you had any issues with comb filtering with the mini array?
Thanks ewollowe!
I don't have the right ear to know regarding the comb filtering, they sound better than my old floor standing speakers from JB hifi which cost me an arm and a leg at the time, so I am happy.
I am interested in testing/quantifying their performance (I'm an engineer I like numbers) but I'm not sure where to start, I'll get my google on and see what other people do.
I'm an engineer too 🙂
This is a deep subject. There's a lot to be said for something just sounding "right" but measurements and some sound (pun!) design knowledge will really back up your builds.
I like the fact that you've gone straight into the builds. Probably the opposite of me 😀
You'll find a lot of the answers to your questions on this forum. Keep an open mind.
This is a deep subject. There's a lot to be said for something just sounding "right" but measurements and some sound (pun!) design knowledge will really back up your builds.
I like the fact that you've gone straight into the builds. Probably the opposite of me 😀
You'll find a lot of the answers to your questions on this forum. Keep an open mind.
The 'best' termination regardless of price/component type is a mechanically cold welded one, but the collection of special crimping tools, dies, lugs are too expensive for the average DIYer if not an electrical contractor that requires them in their business, but 'close enough' can be had really cheap by either soldering the speaker cables directly to the driver and sealing the exit hole with flexible caulk and crimping/soldering on ring tongue connectors for [pressure] screw terminals at the amp if practical, otherwise strip/fold over the wire ends and solder them to create a sturdy post for insertion to screw clamping [or horrors of horrors, cheap spring clamp] terminals.
If you must have terminals on the speaker, then use screw terminal strips with crimped/soldered ring tongue terminations with flat and split spring lock washers. Do not over tighten! Once the lock washer is flat, any more tightening reduces the termination’s intregrity.
I use silver solder, but its required special flux, extra heat, cleanup combined with its toxic fumes is a bit much for most DIYers, so recommend using an eutectic alloy with silver.
Ideally the 'clamped' terminations should be coated with a special grease available at local electrical contractor distributors to keep oxidation from forming, though petroleum jelly works well enough if the local ambient temperature doesn't ever get high enough to melt it; otherwise, periodically loosen/disassemble all terminations as required and clean with DeoxIT or similar.
GM
thanks for the heads up on those drives. they look perfect for my first build.
a couple of questions:
could i put one of these into a 200-250mm high mdf box as an enclosure? would i need any insulation?
what sort of terminals did you use at the back of your boxes? where did you get them from?
and finally, how did you attach your cable from to the driver and terminal?
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On 1st look, due to the high Q, a sealed box as big as you can live with. An aperiodic box would be better,but perhaps not to start (the big sealed box is often the 1st step with an aperiodic box anyway)
dave
dave
FWIW, while the pt# is the same, the RS specs are preliminary whereas PE's appear to be more current and since these calculate a larger cab tuned lower, best overall to use them for designing cabs if the drivers received aren't measured to get the most accurate ones.
GM
That box size sounds a bit large for a single driver but I'm sure others on here will know more about that.. There are probably some free loudspeaker enclosure design tools around which might be able to help (again not sure myself)...
I didn't use internal damping just made sure that the boxes were solid (screwed and glued) and completely sealed, I used silicone sealer on the inside to make sure.
I just soldered the speaker wire directly to the tabs on the speakers and used some screw terminals from jaycar on the back of my speaker boxes. To wire up the speakers internally I just used standard speaker cable.
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