Need suggestions for Birdhouse drivers

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Need suggestions for Birdhouse drivers (now with pics)

So I bought a pair of birdhouses at Hobby Lobby thinking they would make neat speaker enclosures:Large Traditional Birdhouse | Hobby Lobby | 647594


I plan on expanding the hole to fit a conventional full range driver, up to 3 inches (75mm) should fit. The birdhouse is fabricated from 1/4" (6mm) solid wood panels, which I plan to stain and finish. Considering the smallish size, I don't think the quarter inch panels are a huge problem. The irregular pentagonal prism shape should help to prevent resonance over traditional rectangular prism I assume.


I have esimated the internal dimensions (accounting for panel thickness) to be 0.043 cubic feet (1.2 liters) by dividing the space into a trapezoidal prism and triangular prism of 3.375" depth and basic math from there.


Sealed design would be simpler but I'm not opposed to boring a hole for short PVC vent pipe if it would extend the low end. I'm not expecting audiophile quality from these but would like to achieve a relatively flat response with a minimum 3dB rolloff at 100Hz, lower frequency response being preferable. These don't need to go incredibly loud and will be for indoor use as I don't anticipate pushing more than 10-15 watts per driver.


I want drivers to cost $20 USD or less per piece, but I could go over that value slightly if it means better sound. Any suggestions for good drivers would be appreciated. The bird houses are a pre-fabricated sealed design and I cannot really modify the volume without building something from scratch. Maybe add some poly stuffing but that's it.


Thanks...
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Here is a good resource from Parts Express.

Resources - Woofer Selection Guide

I searched by enclosure volume and came up with a few 3 and 4 inch vented options.

Mike
Thanks for the info. I did not realise you could sort by statistics. It seems for sealed enclosure at .04cf range, I'm not going to get much better than 150Hz with a 3 inch driver.

Vented is also an option, but very easy to mess up and get worse sound if not done right. How would I know the proper PVC tube size and diameter? I'm limited to about 3 inches depth in the birdhouse (3.375 internal) unless the pipe sticks out a bit. A chimney stack would look cool and allow a longer pipe, but I'd need a drill press and Forstner bit (neither of which I have) to drill a clean hole vertically into the slanted roof.

Here's what I ended up buying (four total):
GRS 3FR-4 Full Range 3" Speaker Driver 4 Ohm

At least the 4-ohm impedance gives more "oomph" with low voltage amp circuits. I know cheap, but can't beat the price at $4.95, though it will be a bit small at .043cf instead of .08, so I'm not likely to get the advertised low end 131Hz (sealed) out of it. I also read that too big an enclosure can increase low end response but run the risk of hitting maximum excursion at rated power, which isn't an issue if you are quiet and run it below power ratings I think. Besides I could always upgrade the driver to a better one, assuming the screw mounts are compatible.
 
LinearTeam

Yeah, I don't think you''l get as low as you mentioned, but give it a try anyway. You might end up liking it. I've learned by experience that holding off because what we're thinking of building might not sound good will yield absolutely ZERO results.
If you decide to try a different driver after you try the GRS, you can always put a new baffle over the original if things don'y match up. I'm not sure if they would work, but the Aura NS-3's are on sale at Parts Express for $17.00 each. It would be tough to find a nicer 3 inch driver for anywhere near that price.
If you find the birdhouses aren't large enough, imagination might lead you to a larger enclosure while still keeping the birdhouses. Maybe putting them on a base or stand, which can be built to become part of the enclosure but look like it's nothing more than a base or stand might get you the bass you're wanting.
Mike
 
What a funny, original idea, I love it.
It looks like you could fit a 2 way system.
And, you could add a dog house if you want to go below 150Hz :)
Dog house subwoofer, LOL! Imagine if someone took an old dog house, sealed the bottom, and put a 15 inch sub in the doorway!:joker:

I was thinking about ready made enclosures and even considered doing a briefcase boombox using an Adafruit amp (analog sound, no Bluetooth: fun fact, my phone is the only BT enabled device in the whole house besides game systems, and I do all my music listening with traditional analog stereo cables) and some old 6 inch full range drivers I salvaged from a rear projection HDTV left out by the curbside. Antique shops sell them a dime a dozen and it's a popular project.

Figured I'd start small and was browsing the woodcraft isle at Hobby Lobby, and the bidhouses seemed a perfect fit. Apparently I'm not the first person to try this.
Birdhouse Speakers - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video Discussion Forum

A bit of an update, I bought a 3 inch hole saw to expand the holes (using the corner off some scrap MDF as a guide), then stained and finished it. Man, using a 3 inch hole saw on a handheld plugin drill is tough, but the holes came out super clean. Unfortunately some of the finish ran a bit on the slanted roof, so I may need to sand it lightly with some 400 grit and reapply.

Here's hoping the holes line up if I decide to swap speakers later on. Regardless, it will probably sound better than most cheap Bluetooth speakers you get at Walmart, etc. Those Beats Pills that were all the rave a couple years back were truly horrid as I demoed one at Best Buy once.
 
Sorry for not getting in touch in nearly a week. My drivers arrived Wednessday and I plopped them in and installed the banana plugs in the back, and they sound fairly good. They have a nice warmth and punchiness to the tone. Bass rolloff is slightly higher than what is desireable for hifi audio but it sounds better stock than most cheap PC speakers and lightyears beyond any sort of embedded speaker such as HDTV flat panels, etc. Just add a fairly generic bass boost around 100Hz to bring out their true potential.

I like the punchy sound of these 3" drivers, and when I hooked them up to my RCA stereo, they sounded very, very nice with flat EQ and bass boost ON (the bass boost on the RCA stereo shines around 100Hz or so). Obviously they're not hifi like properly balanced studio monitors, for instance my Polk Monitor 40 Series II from Newegg (essentially a $300 pair of speakers I got for $120 on closeout at Newegg some time ago). I keep the volume low on the RCA stereo because it or the Sony Amp in the living room could easily destroy the drivers if cranked too high. They do sound plenty loud even at low levels, but this is probably the fact they are 4ohms thus pull more current and comparable signal levels compared to standard HiFi 8 ohm box speakers. The 100Hz bass boost function on the stereo system that sounds so good on the birdhouses ironically makes the Jensen JP-500 stage monitors ($20 pawn shop find, 2-way ported design, 5" woofer, 2" horn tweeter, black carpet finish and reinforced corners, absolutely adore those speakers) I previously had paired with it sound excessively "boomy." This likely because the Jensens have adequate bass at this range with much lower rolloff, and would probably be better suited to a 50Hz boost and otherwise flat EQ instead.

The birdhouses don't seem to have any weird resonance or buzzing issues at all, and I think the irregular shape helps to prevent this. I placed felt pads on the bottom for damping and they're great. I have ordered a smallish amplifier from Parts Express, the Lepai LP-202TI, to pair with the birdhouses, so I can use my bedroom stereo with the Jensens and the living room Sony Amp with the Polks and not worry about busting them. With Bass and treble controls for a moderate bass boost and slight trebel boost, they will be great to set up in the workshop, outside, or wherever.

I'm also upcycling an old American Tourister briefcase ($5 at local thrift shop) with some full range drivers I scavenged from a trashed rear projection HDTV some years ago sitting by a dumpster. The drivers are pretty nice 5.5 inch full range with whizzer cone, 15W 8ohm rated, been looking for a project to use them in for a while now. The briefcase is still a work in progress. It will need at minimum bass, treble knobs, an FM tuner and MP3 media slot in addition to aux inputs, and probably mount a sealed lead acid battery for the supply in addition to a DC barrel jack (toggle switch select the power source). The Kinter MA-600 amp satisfies my requirements for the briefcase, but it will be awkward trying to figure a way to mount it. But that is for another thread!

Pics will come later after the amps arrive, due Monday. :D
 
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look at this glass bottle speaker : Wireless Glass Speaker with Bluetooth Audio | LSPX-S1 | Sony US

maybe with a milk or red wine bottle ?
People will stuff drivers into any enclosure, including stuff like mason jars, tin cans, etc. I almost backed a mason jar radio on kickstarter but decided against it due to unknown driver quality and FM reception (that and it was permanently tuned to one station, making me question the point).

LOL, clicked the link thinking a novelty speaker in a wine glass enclosure. Then I saw the pricetag and was like holy ****! Seriously guys, a lot of stuff I'd rather spend 8 bills on than a champagne flute with a 2" woofer. I bet it sounds marginally better than a first gen beats pill.

Edit: goes to 60Hz, if the brochure is to be believed. That's a pretty tall order given the driver size...
 
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LinearTeam
If you decide to try a different driver after you try the GRS, you can always put a new baffle over the original if things don'y match up. I'm not sure if they would work, but the Aura NS-3's are on sale at Parts Express for $17.00 each. It would be tough to find a nicer 3 inch driver for anywhere near that price.
I upgraded my birdhouses tonight with a pair of Peerless TC9s. Notable improvement over the GRS 4-ohms, and overall flatter response without the heavy midtone emphasis the GRS had. First, I installed one Peerless and one GRS and did an A/B test with the Lanai amp by hot-plugging the RCA jacks with the bass/treble controls bypassed. Overall very impressed and a marked improvement in output as well as perceived loudness despite the lower total power.

With the Peerless, I actually could hear a bit of resonance I did not notice before, so I stuffed them each with a handfull of polyester pillow stuffing and sealed the speakers in place with a thin ring of superglue. The wires are soldered internally so no chance of wiggling loose, but the birdhouses are permanently sealed now. The screw mounts on the Peerless are a couple mm larger than the GRS, so the screws went in a bit crooked, but the new speaker mounted flush when tightened down.

Sorry for not posting pics. I'll do that soon and addend to the post.
 
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