What do you mean by high coloration, please? Also, we can help you further if you let us know your budget and music preferences, etc.
Geoff
Geoff
by high coloration i mean i speaker that does not need to be very accurate, but is fun to listen to that sounds very big - like a wall of sound instead of a tiny ball of vaccum that squeezes out sounds - to me that is what small speaker sounds like
low budget, but they must look very cool
for music, see: celef plays
low budget, but they must look very cool
for music, see: celef plays
If you throw a bunch of colorful paints all over cabinet, and let it dry, I bet it would look cool to some.
The design that first comes to mind for you music tastes is the Tarkus by Paul Carmody. This speaker is designed for Rock/guitar sounds and uses moderately priced drivers. This has been made with a variety of enclosures, see pictures on his site.
Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages - Tarkus
Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages - Tarkus
Something like the "overnight sensation" kit on Parts Express is cheap, sounds great and is very easy to build. You can buy all parts but the internal cable and binding posts (but including the cabinet) from them in a kit. Total budget (including cable, binding post and paint) for a pair is maybe 200$. They don't sound small and boxy at all.
If you are more about the looks, that is subjective so hard to tell, but i think the frugal horns look good, and can be build relative cheap. They are for small fullrange drivers, but with the right one they do sound very good, just don't expect a deep bass or very loud volumes from it. And on that site there are more good looking designs for fullrange drivers that are all tested and working well. The Frugel-Horn
If you are more about the looks, that is subjective so hard to tell, but i think the frugal horns look good, and can be build relative cheap. They are for small fullrange drivers, but with the right one they do sound very good, just don't expect a deep bass or very loud volumes from it. And on that site there are more good looking designs for fullrange drivers that are all tested and working well. The Frugel-Horn
Might this qualify for a cool kit?
4 Visaton 4" woofers of low Fs, 2 Visaton 3.3" full range units and 1 Monacor 1.1" tweeter. Estimated sensitivity 87dB/2.83V/1m. Sealed configuration, F3/F6/F10=56/43/33 Hz. Each twin bass module occupies 15 litres internally. 8Vac of drive voltage would still leave 2mm of clearance before Xmech were reached. Nominal impedance 4 ohms.
4 Visaton 4" woofers of low Fs, 2 Visaton 3.3" full range units and 1 Monacor 1.1" tweeter. Estimated sensitivity 87dB/2.83V/1m. Sealed configuration, F3/F6/F10=56/43/33 Hz. Each twin bass module occupies 15 litres internally. 8Vac of drive voltage would still leave 2mm of clearance before Xmech were reached. Nominal impedance 4 ohms.
Attachments
If the Tarkus cabinets are too large for you, you might also also look at Paul's Classix II and 2.5. I really enjoy the Classix IIs, as do everyone who's built them: certainly fun to listen to and give a big sound in a small space. They need to be on stands, so if you can afford the extra parts I'd go for the 2.5s as they will take up the same floor space.
My Classix look rather daggy but they were the first pair of DIY speakers where I made the cabinets. The photos are put on with decoupage. I'm going to re-do the baffles with a light coloured hardwood to there's less black.
Geoff
My Classix look rather daggy but they were the first pair of DIY speakers where I made the cabinets. The photos are put on with decoupage. I'm going to re-do the baffles with a light coloured hardwood to there's less black.
Geoff
Attachments
Last edited:
cheapest 12" woofer you can find in an open back box, run full range. Add a paper cone tweeter crossed with a single cap, mounted in front of the middle of the 12" woofer. Should be enough colour for you.....
i did once build such a speaker, but a 10" wide range woofer with red surround with a cone tweeter hung in a barb wire for a coaxial mount, the speaker boxes where painted in van halen frankenstrat finish - i did like those and i would like to do something similar again but with a slightly higher sound quality
Last edited: