I'm making bookshelf speakers for a friend as a gift for letting me get married in his backyard. I owe him so much more but this is a start. We narrowed down his expectations and I'll try to distill them here. I've mostly made parts express kits and a few Paul Carmody designs so I'd love to branch out with this one. I tried searching around but I'm drowning in possibilities and need help finding an established design!
The end goal is for casual background music and occasional moderate-volume dance parties. They will be moved around in the future but for now, they will be in a somewhat poor location, near an entryway corner in a 20'x20' room a few inches from the wall. My friend was in audiophile circles in the '90s so has an ear for decent sound, but he appreciates a more "casual" approach now.
- 14"x8"x8" so ~13 liters with 1/2" baltic birch (+/- an inch but this fits well on a console table.)
- <$350.
- Self-powered.
- Aux in for a record player and Bluetooth capable.
- "stealthy" Mostly black and no bright colors or super flashy drivers.
- Protected tweeter preferred so I can convince him to ditch a mesh grill.
- Something that gets down to about 40hz, lower would be better.
I hope this narrows my options and would be grateful for any help!
Thank you!
The end goal is for casual background music and occasional moderate-volume dance parties. They will be moved around in the future but for now, they will be in a somewhat poor location, near an entryway corner in a 20'x20' room a few inches from the wall. My friend was in audiophile circles in the '90s so has an ear for decent sound, but he appreciates a more "casual" approach now.
- 14"x8"x8" so ~13 liters with 1/2" baltic birch (+/- an inch but this fits well on a console table.)
- <$350.
- Self-powered.
- Aux in for a record player and Bluetooth capable.
- "stealthy" Mostly black and no bright colors or super flashy drivers.
- Protected tweeter preferred so I can convince him to ditch a mesh grill.
- Something that gets down to about 40hz, lower would be better.
I hope this narrows my options and would be grateful for any help!
Thank you!
13 liter and 40Hz don’t equal moderate loud level at dancing parties. Aim for 60Hz to the least. And if you’re out for self-powered, you mean some Wondom/Sure solution? And your budget, is it $350 for the pair?
I'm going to build these speakers instead of buying them. It's not just for an upgrade, but a gesture of personal gratitude. Those Mackies are close to the right size and look but that green trim is not stealthy🙂!
I wish I had a better way of describing this at the moment but my idea of moderate dance party music for a private living room setting with a few friends and needing to talk just a little louder to hear people next to you. He doesn't want to rattle the windows or drown out conversation.
Your right that I'm looking at some amp boards. The LP40PA 40W Mini Plate Amplifier checks all of my boxes for features and simplicity but I want to make sure it has enough power.
The $350 is for the pair. I already have a sheet of baltic birch and tools. More expensive builds might be wasted money.
Thanks for the reply!
It would help to know the speakers before you go choosing amplifier power requirements. Presumably you'd have a pair prototyped yourself, set into a similar physical situation and tested with a large enough amp to measure the needs.
Also whether you want a bluetooth pre-amp arrangement for this single set or you want to pursue something which you can be sure of the quality, otherwise you might cannibalise something else for the job.
By the size you mention you could cover anything from a full range driver, a 6.5" and dome tweeter, to an 8" and waveguide I suppose...
Also whether you want a bluetooth pre-amp arrangement for this single set or you want to pursue something which you can be sure of the quality, otherwise you might cannibalise something else for the job.
By the size you mention you could cover anything from a full range driver, a 6.5" and dome tweeter, to an 8" and waveguide I suppose...
Either you pick amp boards with DSP like the Sure/Wondon and save on crossover components or pick one amp per speaker and passive crossovers like the Lepai. The former would not be more expensive and way more flexible. But it requires it’s own approach. And I think the Sure boards are better.
Proudness of the gifter VS the ears of the receivers is a future Shakespeare tragedy !
Without the knowledge the project is risky cause it's time consuming and when the project will be finished the couple could be already in divorce procedure as you may not be ready for the marriage ! You may also go more expensive as DIY is not less expensive when you beginn from scratch.
Better to construct a reliable speaker kit or buy for this budget an Edifier loudspeaker at Amazon that as all the requirement but the self made... hey the self choose is good enough if it sounds good ! After all what you want to offer is some knowledge, and the choice is the final act of a knowledge. Sort of 😉
Without the knowledge the project is risky cause it's time consuming and when the project will be finished the couple could be already in divorce procedure as you may not be ready for the marriage ! You may also go more expensive as DIY is not less expensive when you beginn from scratch.
Better to construct a reliable speaker kit or buy for this budget an Edifier loudspeaker at Amazon that as all the requirement but the self made... hey the self choose is good enough if it sounds good ! After all what you want to offer is some knowledge, and the choice is the final act of a knowledge. Sort of 😉
forgot that link that can be usefull for a hybrid listening/dancing/party loudspeaker within your budget (some have flat pack for the cabinet iirc if the timing is in an urge - aka ceremony date- : DIY SOUND GROUP reliable designs and also made for some for home cinema which are more spl demanding -like dance floor needs-
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I figured a full range wouldn't get as low as a two-way and a dome tweeter would get better dispersion than a ribbon tweeter, but a full-on waveguide and compression driver would be too expensive. So I assume that leaves me with a pretty standard 6-8" woofer and dome tweeter. I'm interested in the SB17NRX2C35-4, 6″ for their clean look, and I haven't used an sb acoustics driver yet. I like the function of the grill on the RST28F-4 tweeter. Thats the general range I'm looking at right now.
I haven't played around with DSP amp boards before. I'd rather wait to play with that in my next desktop build. I was assuming I could just use one amp to power both speakers, but I'll look into separate amps especially if they are cheap boards.
This person reached out to me to ask for a personalized speaker. They're using a crappy old Bluetooth speaker right now so it could turn out to be a mediocre DIY build and still be a fantastic upgrade. I personally want to make it a quality build and want to follow along with someone else's somewhat established design. I've built five sets of speakers by following kits already so I at least have some general ideas figured out.
by the time you add tax and wood, your really stretching your budget for what you've asked for.
The carmody overnight sensation TMM (not the TM) might do it. If i recall correctly it gets down to 40 and its small. around $150. Its a tower though. Overnight Sensations TMM Speaker Kit - Meniscus Audio
There is also the classix ii, also by Paul Carmody. Its 15 liters and fits your budget. Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages - Classix II
The carmody overnight sensation TMM (not the TM) might do it. If i recall correctly it gets down to 40 and its small. around $150. Its a tower though. Overnight Sensations TMM Speaker Kit - Meniscus Audio
There is also the classix ii, also by Paul Carmody. Its 15 liters and fits your budget. Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages - Classix II
My brother has built several versions of the Overnight Sensations, both the TM single woofer and the TMM. The TMM is a real gem as knifeinthesink pointed out. When I listened, I thought they sounded really good for the money.
If you added a Dayton stereo amp such as this Dayton Audio DTA-120BT2 Class D Mini Amplifier 60 WPC with Bluetooth you have, essentially, a self powered speaker.
If you added a Dayton stereo amp such as this Dayton Audio DTA-120BT2 Class D Mini Amplifier 60 WPC with Bluetooth you have, essentially, a self powered speaker.
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I've got wood, glue, tools, and paint already so I should be able to put most of the budget toward drivers, crossover and amp.
We're going for black drivers so the copper woofers, which I like, will be too much.
The classix II is very close to what I'm looking for. I gave that kit to a friend a while back and will help him build it soon. I'd have to make some adjustments since my cabinet will be smaller.
Overnight Sensation is officially on my list! I leapfrogged these builds and went for the s2000 and Samba as my first kits. I'm very happy with that decision but not that I'm content with my setup I can go back to those kits for friends. That amp is everything I want, but I won't be able to mount it inside a cabinet. Space is pretty limited where these speakers will live.
I found this build that seems to check all of my boxes, the drivers are in stock, and it's much cheaper than I expected. Does this look like a solid build?
The speakers will be a few inches from a wall, but this person made all their measurements 4pi. Does that mean the bass will be a bit more bloated for me?
Would the Lepai LP40PA be enough to power these drivers to a moderate volume? Thanks for all the help so far!
The speakers will be a few inches from a wall, but this person made all their measurements 4pi. Does that mean the bass will be a bit more bloated for me?
Would the Lepai LP40PA be enough to power these drivers to a moderate volume? Thanks for all the help so far!