I want to make a pair of tower speakers. I am at the beginning of the project, choosing the speakers and crossover. Since I am a beginner, I chose a set of speakers that can be bought with a crossover. In my head, this crossover comes ready to use with this set of speakers (please correct me if I am wrong). What do you guys think of it?
Crossover: Swan DN-CE5.1F
Low mid-range: Swan E6.5
Mid Range: Hivi DM-7500
Tweeter: Hivi Q3B
The reason why I chose this set was because I found them at a good price in a store in China. And of course, because I think they come with a sort of ready-to-play crossover.
Crossover: Swan DN-CE5.1F
Low mid-range: Swan E6.5
Mid Range: Hivi DM-7500
Tweeter: Hivi Q3B
The reason why I chose this set was because I found them at a good price in a store in China. And of course, because I think they come with a sort of ready-to-play crossover.
hideki2500,
Do you have any project details/documentation that the crossover is designed for this set of speakers?
Is there a cabinet design? The cabinet also is part of the overall speaker design, and the functionality of the crossover will be dependent on the dimensions of the front baffle, driver spacing etc.
And if I may ask, how much in US$ is this "kit" costing you?
Do you have any project details/documentation that the crossover is designed for this set of speakers?
Is there a cabinet design? The cabinet also is part of the overall speaker design, and the functionality of the crossover will be dependent on the dimensions of the front baffle, driver spacing etc.
And if I may ask, how much in US$ is this "kit" costing you?
There is not much information about the crossover on the internet or their website, but if you look at the multiple crossovers available on Swan's website, you see that they put a list of speakers that, as they say, "can be matched with". So the crossover is designed to be used with these speakers, but as I know almost nothing about how to configure a crossover, I assumed that they come ready to use.
Crossover link: https://www.swanspeakers.com/product/view?id=770
For the cabinet, I think I will go with these measurements: Height: 1000 mm - Width: 190 mm - Depth: 230 mm. It's not set in stone since I copied this from a project I found on the internet.
Crossover link: https://www.swanspeakers.com/product/view?id=770
For the cabinet, I think I will go with these measurements: Height: 1000 mm - Width: 190 mm - Depth: 230 mm. It's not set in stone since I copied this from a project I found on the internet.
The price without shipment is this: (Price for each piece, so the final price is doubled to make a pair.)
Croosover: Swan DN-CE5.1F - $ 19,85
Low mid range: Swan E6.5 - $ 55,75
Mid Range: Hivi DM-7500 - $ 55,75
Tweeter: Hivi Q3B - $ 65,30
That was a good question because this made me remember another important thing about the project. The speakers must be super light because the shipment is expensive. The speakers and the crossover weigh approximately 8kg, the shipping will cost me about $ 140. It's something around 17,5 dollars per kg, so my idea is to buy more expensive but light speakers to make better use of my money.
Croosover: Swan DN-CE5.1F - $ 19,85
Low mid range: Swan E6.5 - $ 55,75
Mid Range: Hivi DM-7500 - $ 55,75
Tweeter: Hivi Q3B - $ 65,30
That was a good question because this made me remember another important thing about the project. The speakers must be super light because the shipment is expensive. The speakers and the crossover weigh approximately 8kg, the shipping will cost me about $ 140. It's something around 17,5 dollars per kg, so my idea is to buy more expensive but light speakers to make better use of my money.
hideki2500,
Using a set of drivers with a "generic" crossover and putting the drivers in a cabinet with dimensions that you prefer is unlikely to give you the best results. A good crossover is carefully designed after taking multiple measurements of the drivers on the actual baffle, and also taking into the electrical aspects like impedance and phase. The cabinet also needs to be designed and tuned according to the driver parameters.
If I may ask again, what is the budget you are looking at?
A few more questions:
Using a set of drivers with a "generic" crossover and putting the drivers in a cabinet with dimensions that you prefer is unlikely to give you the best results. A good crossover is carefully designed after taking multiple measurements of the drivers on the actual baffle, and also taking into the electrical aspects like impedance and phase. The cabinet also needs to be designed and tuned according to the driver parameters.
If I may ask again, what is the budget you are looking at?
A few more questions:
- Room size and listening distance?
- What will the speakers be mostly used for - music or home theatre?
- Typical listening volumes?
- Any particular musical genres you prefer?
I think it's impossible for me to build a crossover. What I can do is look for someone on the internet who can build and sell them to me.
I would like to spend $ 180-200 with speakers and the crossover for each tower.
The room size is about: width: 3m - length: 8m.
Listening distance of approximately 7 meters.
I will use the speakers for everything: music, movies, games. Usually medium volume but I like to listen to music with high volume. Genres of music: Rock and metal most of the time, but I also listen to many other different genres. My ears are not trained to appreciate hi-fi sound yet, so I would like a pair of speakers that can sound good with everything. They don't need to be perfect.
I would like to spend $ 180-200 with speakers and the crossover for each tower.
The room size is about: width: 3m - length: 8m.
Listening distance of approximately 7 meters.
I will use the speakers for everything: music, movies, games. Usually medium volume but I like to listen to music with high volume. Genres of music: Rock and metal most of the time, but I also listen to many other different genres. My ears are not trained to appreciate hi-fi sound yet, so I would like a pair of speakers that can sound good with everything. They don't need to be perfect.
7 meters away from the speakers is quite a far way - approx 23 feet.
Usually people listen to their speakers in far field between a distance (listener to speakers) of 2.4 - 3.6 meters, and the speakers are set apart ~ 1.8 - 3 meters (distance between left and right channels); these are not any hard and fast "rules", but more of a generalization.
If too far away from the speakers then the sound pressure level will start dropping, and the other subjective aspects like sound stage, image etc. will also likely to get impacted.
Since you like rock and metal (I am a rock and metal fan too), and listen at relatively higher volumes, you will need a design than is capable of playing loud and has good "punch". However, lot of the metal music is not particularly well recorded, and can sound thin... in my experience a speaker with more cone area works better.
Do you already have an amplifier?
P.s. Lot of good metal music from Brazil; I particularly like some of the stuff by Sepultura.
Usually people listen to their speakers in far field between a distance (listener to speakers) of 2.4 - 3.6 meters, and the speakers are set apart ~ 1.8 - 3 meters (distance between left and right channels); these are not any hard and fast "rules", but more of a generalization.
If too far away from the speakers then the sound pressure level will start dropping, and the other subjective aspects like sound stage, image etc. will also likely to get impacted.
Since you like rock and metal (I am a rock and metal fan too), and listen at relatively higher volumes, you will need a design than is capable of playing loud and has good "punch". However, lot of the metal music is not particularly well recorded, and can sound thin... in my experience a speaker with more cone area works better.
Do you already have an amplifier?
P.s. Lot of good metal music from Brazil; I particularly like some of the stuff by Sepultura.
Last edited:
A dome midrange
It can have potential!
Make your convenience calculation on the possibility of having the drivers and the crossovers already on the desk: all you need is cable and a box for the woofer.
Well, I think i still have a lot to learn before starting my project, it's better to postpone it. There are a lot of things to consider, if I do something wrong I will throw a considerable amount of money to waste. I will look for some books on the internet and learn more first.
You could start with a smaller 2-way speaker project using drivers made in brazil (PRV, for example).
But those PRV are crazy, I.e. not normal. I see a closed back 8"...a unique woofer with big surround, that amuses me, the MT8SW800 D4, but the sensitivity is lowish - 80 dB!
So no big deal, the other woofer with sensible excursion, the MT8MB600CF-NDY-4 is...4 ,Ω and too powerful, plus it costs a lot, like the other, but are sturdy built.
So no big deal, the other woofer with sensible excursion, the MT8MB600CF-NDY-4 is...4 ,Ω and too powerful, plus it costs a lot, like the other, but are sturdy built.
I just remembered that xrk was very happy with this prv midrange:
Post in thread '350hz to 3.5khz open baffle......what driver would you choose?'
Research, research and more research. Have a look at existing projects which might suit you, sound and budget wise.
Check out your local area to see if there are some electronics shops which could make the crossovers with your supplied parts - I did that for my first pair, cost me A$50.
Generic crossovers, even those sold by the company that makes drivers, may not work very well, e.g. Dayton makes crossovers but they're not custom designed for a particular driver and cabinet combination. The Swan page says "can be matched with", but what does that mean: I suggest you email the company and ask them.
What driver brands are available for you locally, please? Spending a big chunk of your money on shipping, when you could be buying better drivers or components, may not be the best use of your $.
Geoff
Check out your local area to see if there are some electronics shops which could make the crossovers with your supplied parts - I did that for my first pair, cost me A$50.
Generic crossovers, even those sold by the company that makes drivers, may not work very well, e.g. Dayton makes crossovers but they're not custom designed for a particular driver and cabinet combination. The Swan page says "can be matched with", but what does that mean: I suggest you email the company and ask them.
What driver brands are available for you locally, please? Spending a big chunk of your money on shipping, when you could be buying better drivers or components, may not be the best use of your $.
Geoff
A budget friendly project:
https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/floorstanding-speakers/classix2-5
Drivers come to less than $150 in the US from Parts-Express. XO parts additional.
https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/floorstanding-speakers/classix2-5
Drivers come to less than $150 in the US from Parts-Express. XO parts additional.
What about some hands on learning too? Redesigning the crossover of an inexpensive used pair of speakers provides a chance to learn all kinds of important speaker design skills. Designing a speaker that sounds good isn't about lumping the most expensive parts you can afford together, it's about understanding how to work with what you have, and redesigning something cheap is an excellent way to start learning that.
Hunting around secondhand shops, local used markets, and even eBay can get you older bookshelf or tower speakers for cheap that can be used as a learning experience. Many older speakers that were relatively inexpensive when they were new were designed more for cost than sound quality, so the engineering challenge and learning exercise is to figure out how to make them better. Not necessarily amazing, but better than they were. But to do that, you have to identify what the major problems are. So that means learning how to perform acoustic and electrical measurements in addition to refining your analytical listening skills.
Then once the problems are identified, you can learn about how to make choices about addressing those problems. For example, maybe a fifteen component crossover gives you the result you want, but will it be worth the expense? Or maybe just stuffing the box gets you the best improvement. It's the same kind of choices you'll be making with your next project, but without the financial output or reasons to fear failure. If the first redesign doesn't work, you can try again. It's there to be an inexpensive learning experience.
The point is that developing those skills pays off because they are the skills that will make each successive project better.
That would be an excellent first project: the Classix II already sound very good for the modest damage and Paul's write up says the 2.5s are even better, with more sound output and improved mid-range.
For some reason, our Classix II won't play heavy metal or folk music at all, but are fine with other music...strange.
If you let us know what's readily available in your country, people will have more suggestions.
Geoff
Here's another budget project, this time by diyAudio member Wolf_teeth, who is also a metal music fan:
Budget drivers and only 6 parts in the cross over.
Budget drivers and only 6 parts in the cross over.
