Ladies & Gents,
I’d like to build a portable mains-powered speaker for outdoor use. Here’s the brief:
2-way. I’m thinking an 8” woofer.
Mono.
Mains-powered, with all components inside the box.
Fed from an iPod phono jack.
Plywood box of relatively simple construction.
It will sit on my deck when in use, so it can be reasonably large.
It doesn’t need to be weatherproof (I’ll take it inside when not in use).
I don’t really have a $ limit on the drivers (it needs to sound good, but not spectacular).
Here’s what I have in my scrap box:
A 2-way L-R (24dB/octave) active crossover PCB
2 x 50W chip amp kits.
These could be combined in a 2-way speaker with an active crossover. I have this setup on a pair of Ariel TL speakers I built years ago.
1 x 175W into 4 ohm amplifier I made from a kit.
1 x 300VA toroidal transformer and suitable caps for the power supply.
These could be used in 2-way speaker with a passive crossover.
I have the skills to handle the electronics, but I would appreciate any suggestions for a suitable speaker design.
I’d like to build a portable mains-powered speaker for outdoor use. Here’s the brief:
2-way. I’m thinking an 8” woofer.
Mono.
Mains-powered, with all components inside the box.
Fed from an iPod phono jack.
Plywood box of relatively simple construction.
It will sit on my deck when in use, so it can be reasonably large.
It doesn’t need to be weatherproof (I’ll take it inside when not in use).
I don’t really have a $ limit on the drivers (it needs to sound good, but not spectacular).
Here’s what I have in my scrap box:
A 2-way L-R (24dB/octave) active crossover PCB
2 x 50W chip amp kits.
These could be combined in a 2-way speaker with an active crossover. I have this setup on a pair of Ariel TL speakers I built years ago.
1 x 175W into 4 ohm amplifier I made from a kit.
1 x 300VA toroidal transformer and suitable caps for the power supply.
These could be used in 2-way speaker with a passive crossover.
I have the skills to handle the electronics, but I would appreciate any suggestions for a suitable speaker design.
Nothing Huh?
I came across an old (1985) magazine article with a 2-way vented enclosure using a Vifa P21WO-12 woofer and a D25TG-55 tweeter crossed over at 2.5Khz with a 3rd order crossover. Unfortunately the P21WO-12 driver is long gone.
I also found an updated version of the same design using the Vifa P21WO-39-8 and XT25TG-30-04 crossed over with a 2nd order Butterworth at 1.5Khz in a vented 52L enclosure. But the P21WO-39-08 is discontinued too.
Also, this is a very old design and I’m sure there must be better designs around today utilizing currently available drivers.
So I’d love to hear any recommendations.
Merry Christmas to all.
I came across an old (1985) magazine article with a 2-way vented enclosure using a Vifa P21WO-12 woofer and a D25TG-55 tweeter crossed over at 2.5Khz with a 3rd order crossover. Unfortunately the P21WO-12 driver is long gone.
I also found an updated version of the same design using the Vifa P21WO-39-8 and XT25TG-30-04 crossed over with a 2nd order Butterworth at 1.5Khz in a vented 52L enclosure. But the P21WO-39-08 is discontinued too.
Also, this is a very old design and I’m sure there must be better designs around today utilizing currently available drivers.
So I’d love to hear any recommendations.
Merry Christmas to all.
I have 2 cabinets, one with 2 off Fane Sovereign 12-200TC and the other with 2 off Fane Sovereign 12-250TC. Both are full range speakers.
They both sound very good.
My cabinets are 20 inches wide, 12 inches deep and 30 inches high.
You could scale this down for one speaker.
They both sound very good.
My cabinets are 20 inches wide, 12 inches deep and 30 inches high.
You could scale this down for one speaker.
i'd do a b&c coaxial driver they have a waterproof coating and they have high efficiency, a lot of outdoor stadiums use these drivers
Happy Holidaze and all that jive!
As noted, you need a prosound system to handle the outdoors, so the coax is a good choice, though frankly, buying a cheap prosound speaker or even a used better one is probably more cost effective since name brand raw drivers tend to be relatively expensive.
GM
As noted, you need a prosound system to handle the outdoors, so the coax is a good choice, though frankly, buying a cheap prosound speaker or even a used better one is probably more cost effective since name brand raw drivers tend to be relatively expensive.
GM
Thanks for the replies.
The Fane Sovereign 12-200LT has a frequency response of 45Hz-10kHz. Good LF response, but is 10kHz a good enough top-end for an outdoor speaker?
OTOH, the B&C 8CX21 has a response of 75-20,000Hz. I assume the enclosure would extend the LF response? B&C Speakers. It sells on Amazon for around US$190.
I don't doubt I could pick up a used pro-sound system for a good price, but I need a project to keep myself sane.
The Fane Sovereign 12-200LT has a frequency response of 45Hz-10kHz. Good LF response, but is 10kHz a good enough top-end for an outdoor speaker?
OTOH, the B&C 8CX21 has a response of 75-20,000Hz. I assume the enclosure would extend the LF response? B&C Speakers. It sells on Amazon for around US$190.
I don't doubt I could pick up a used pro-sound system for a good price, but I need a project to keep myself sane.
im not so sure about getting noticeable bass below 150ish hz in an outdoor setup without the help of subwoofers on the ground, supposing they will be hung up in an open area (4pi space) rather than on the ground (2pi space) you will have a considerable loss in low frequency production with them above the ground, you can go fool around with hornresp and see what you can come up with for a bass reflex design, but you have to protect the port from bugs getting in
If these are just for party speakers most listeners at parties are forgiving and even a simple XO will do given drivers with good characteristics
As you have the bigger amp and the XO board I'd be tempted to make a sub crossover around about 80-/-120Hz
A pair of smaller drivers in smaller boxes [ 20 litres and smaller] will give much better coverage and a passive XO won't rob too much power at treble frequencies and is relatively cheap
If you were close to me I could let you have some suitable MR/ HF drivers at a decent cost as I have far too many projects on the go
As you have the bigger amp and the XO board I'd be tempted to make a sub crossover around about 80-/-120Hz
A pair of smaller drivers in smaller boxes [ 20 litres and smaller] will give much better coverage and a passive XO won't rob too much power at treble frequencies and is relatively cheap
If you were close to me I could let you have some suitable MR/ HF drivers at a decent cost as I have far too many projects on the go
Far From the 'Comfort' of Your Living Room
If it is outside, it is going to get wet, damp and sun-baked as well. Not if, but when! I would use drivers designed/treated for outdoor service. For an enclosure material, use a light colored Corian or similar moisture resistant material. Make sure the electronics are well ventilated. You have the effects of direct sunlight to deal with.
Regards,
WHG
If it is outside, it is going to get wet, damp and sun-baked as well. Not if, but when! I would use drivers designed/treated for outdoor service. For an enclosure material, use a light colored Corian or similar moisture resistant material. Make sure the electronics are well ventilated. You have the effects of direct sunlight to deal with.
Regards,
WHG
Thanks again for the tips. Just to reiterate from my opening post:
Of course, there's a chance I will stagger off to bed after too many beers and leave the speaker outside, whereupon it will start raining. It might a good idea to use outdoor rated drivers. I take the point about the electronics. I'll mount the heatsink outside the enclosure.
Moondog,
I recently built the Pluto+ sub for my indoor system. That would be a good party sub, with the down-firing driver being well protected. I have the option of trying it outdoors before building another, more robust one.
I'm near Frankston, so not too far from Geelong. What sort of drivers are you offering and what sort of enclosure would they be mounted in?
Cheers,
Chris
Of course, there's a chance I will stagger off to bed after too many beers and leave the speaker outside, whereupon it will start raining. It might a good idea to use outdoor rated drivers. I take the point about the electronics. I'll mount the heatsink outside the enclosure.
Moondog,
I recently built the Pluto+ sub for my indoor system. That would be a good party sub, with the down-firing driver being well protected. I have the option of trying it outdoors before building another, more robust one.
I'm near Frankston, so not too far from Geelong. What sort of drivers are you offering and what sort of enclosure would they be mounted in?
Cheers,
Chris
An old mobile DJ trick is to put the speaker inside a large plastic bag.
The sound just travels straight through the bag.
The sound just travels straight through the bag.
Take your pick
I would not use the Pluto sub outside
I would build a dedicated party system using cheap divers
I have some cheaper and older paper coned 8 inch here that make a nice midrange and a heap of cone tweeters suitable for use with them I even have some old Tandy 8 inch full range PA speakers but they are only 1.5 watt rated
For midrange use I would mount almost anything in a sealed box as the cut-off is usually above resonance
If you wanted small boxes I have some really nice 2 and 3 inch FR you can have for free [ I have about a dozen of them ] and I'm happy to get rid of the old cheap 8s also for bass use, I really need to clean up and I'm never going to use all the drivers I have been given / collected over the last decade
I would not use the Pluto sub outside
I would build a dedicated party system using cheap divers
I have some cheaper and older paper coned 8 inch here that make a nice midrange and a heap of cone tweeters suitable for use with them I even have some old Tandy 8 inch full range PA speakers but they are only 1.5 watt rated
For midrange use I would mount almost anything in a sealed box as the cut-off is usually above resonance
If you wanted small boxes I have some really nice 2 and 3 inch FR you can have for free [ I have about a dozen of them ] and I'm happy to get rid of the old cheap 8s also for bass use, I really need to clean up and I'm never going to use all the drivers I have been given / collected over the last decade
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