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I’m a furniture and cabinet maker. I would like to build my own speakers (making the boxes out of Oak) but know nothing about which drivers and gear to buy.
I don’t have time to study the subject of speaker design as I understand from reading various web sites that selecting drivers it’s not at all straight forward.
So, can anyone tell me how to get advice, or suggest a web site?

I’ve looked at the Eminence Designer (http://www.eminence.com/) Software. It looks OK but a little pricey and technical for what I need. Would this be any good for the likes of me?

Thanks
Sandy:) :)
:smash:
 
Sandy M said:
I’m a furniture and cabinet maker. I would like to build my own speakers (making the boxes out of Oak) but know nothing about which drivers and gear to buy.
I don’t have time to study the subject of speaker design as I understand from reading various web sites that selecting drivers it’s not at all straight forward.
So, can anyone tell me how to get advice, or suggest a web site?

I’ve looked at the Eminence Designer (http://www.eminence.com/) Software. It looks OK but a little pricey and technical for what I need. Would this be any good for the likes of me?

Thanks
Sandy:) :)
:smash:


Sandy,


I'm also new to the speaker building hobby and the best advice I got was to recreate someone elses project first or build a "kit" that has all the design work done already...

That being said, I ignored this excellent advice and decided to start my own project...

part1: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=51242&highlight=

part2: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52478&highlight=

part3: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54778&highlight=

I can guarantee that It would have been alot easier to copy an existing design. However, I think the pride of designing my own is going to be well worth the blood, sweat, and tears that have already been shed during this project :)

Whatever you decide to do, good luck and make sure you listen to lots of speakers to decide what type you like and want to build..

Some things to think about:

What type of sound do you like?

What types of drivers do you like the sound of?

What types of source material do you want to listen to?

Are there any space/equipment/significant other requirements?

etc..

Hope this helps, and good luck in your adventure :)

--Chris
 
Real wood can present sonic problems. MDF is generally prefered. Of course you can put veneer on it.

There is a lot to know about loudspeakers - far, far more than "selecting speakers." I've been DIY-ing loudspeakers for about a year, and I'm still on my learner's permit. Old pros may work on a crossover design for a year or more, using mysterious, arcane equipment and theories.

First determine what your requirements are - cost, size, SPL, etc. Then ask here about well-regarded designs that match.
 
I agree with Dave & DIY.

Primary is understanding that everything in building a speaker is a trade off. More of something is usually less of something else.

From the fact that you're a skilled furniture maker I would guess you want to build something ascetically pleasing that sounds good.

It's easy to find interesting cabinet designs and ideas. Look at this site for some very off the wall ideas (keep hitting next, the site is 30+ pages).

http://www.exoticaudio.org/Exotic_Audio2.html

Look our own system pictures thread for some interesting ideas.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23208

If you can go into a high end audio store and listen to a variety of quality speakers with a CD of music you know well. After you find stuff you like ask here & quite a few folks can point you in the right direction of DIY projects that you should like.

BTW Bose has many landfills of money building speakers that people think sound good untill they compare them to quality speakers. Do not use Bose as a basis of quality sound. B&W, KEF, Martin Logan are more in the vein of stuff you want to listen to.

Best of luck & happy hunting.
 
If I understand the original post he's looking to build his own speakers, but I get the impression that he's not necessarily interested in pursuing speaker building as a hobby. If this is in fact true, then I would recommend using a high-quality design and just building the cabinets.

OTOH, if you're just starting out in what you see as a long time hobby, then I'll just pass on the advice that Dan Wiggins of Adire Audio made some years ago on the old Bass List. Dan stated that a person should get some good measurement software and an assortment of cheap (MCM?) drivers and go for it. He seemed to feel that you'd learn more in a few months of hands-on than you were likely to if you read every book on speaker design and acoustics.

This is good advice, and you can learn a great deal. From time to time I've read comments that sound like the person has done a lot of reading and has very little practical experience. I'll take a practical Handiman over the Philosopher every time, preferring "pretty good" now over "bleeding edge SOTA" someday.
YMMV.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
Hi,
I think that WinISD or Unibox are nice freeware programs that will get you started.
http://www.linearteam.dk/
http://www.pvconsultants.com/audio/boxmodel/unibox.htm

For more complex enclosure like transmission lines and horns you will need other software like the mathcad sheets from Martin King for example.
http://www.quarter-wave.com/

To get a good start you need to know what you roughly want.
For example small 2-way bookshelf, big floorstanders, an addtional subwoofer......
Finally the room plays a role as well as does the music you prefer to listen in some way.

greets+happy building

(of course nothing holds you up from downloading the demo version from Eminence but don´t just purchase "something")
 
Why is it that the Eminence software looks exactly like BassBox?

I have used both WinISD and BassBox, and WinISD has been able to do nearly everything that Bassbox can do (for free), except calculate your box dimentions. Bassbox does a great job at calculating box dimentions, and includes many exotic box shapes as well.

The articles at Elliot Sound Products are a great help, exspecially his article about Passive Crossover Design.
 
Sandy M said:
Thanks guys!

I appreciate you spending the time to help.

Does anyone have any experience with http://www.eminence.com/ ?

Whether your aim is to build one good set of speakers, or it is to learn about DIY loudspeakers as a hobby, you're headed down the wrong path. What is your goal?

Learning this stuff is not easy. There is no software program that will see you through. There is no one good book on the subject. Your best resource is this very bulletin board.
 
JENS – Thanks for the links, I’ve downloaded these and am now learning how to use them.
PAUL – It’s £50.00 here in the UK.
DAVY – I get you’re point. I know exactly what I want. I also know, as a novice I’ll not get an excellent result as it’s my first attempt. What I need is, as much help & guidance as I can find to get the best possible result I can reasonably expect. Seems to me that software offers me the kind of guidance I need at this stage.

ONE FOR THE MODERATOR PERHAPS - What would be an amazing help to someone like me, is. If someone with experience of the wide range of drivers available has put their opinion onto some kind of list or review. I know it would be limited to the drivers they have experience of and it would be subjective, however basic it would be of enormous help to a beginner looking at hundreds of units for the first time. Perhaps this forum could start a simple review list where members can select a unit they have experience of and give it an overall score out of 10. In time it would become an amazing source of information and a great of a topic for comment.

ANYONE PLEASE - The other thing I need to know is. WinISD talks of the “plot” or “curve” but it gives no guidance as to what to aim for. E.g. should it be, as flat as possible? Or, should you try to achieve a symmetrical arch? What I need is an idiot’s guide to the results that can be expected from each plot shape (just the basics).
Sandy
:eek: :smash:
 
I also know, as a novice I’ll not get an excellent result as it’s my first attempt.
A little help from your friends (this forum for example), some more research and a little patience before you start, could actually give an excellent result.

(Just to give you an example:
Get a Jordan JX-92 (OK, it´s not cheap), put it in one of the numerous enclosure designs available and be happy.(ask Dave;) )
This of course being a (fullrange speaker) might not necessarily be perfect for your taste.)

What would be an amazing help to someone like me, is. If someone with experience of the wide range of drivers available
OK, saw that too late. So you know your first candidate to check out.
As the Jordan is manufactured in England (London?)you might even get a chance to listen.
I´ve just purchased a Fostex FE-167E which is very nice but I don´t want to say too much as it´s still "fresh".
Search for opinions on the FE-166E,206E being two more popular candidates and get a listen if you can.

Any specific music you listen to ?

greets

Here is a link to an article about fullrangers+more (2.5MB)
http://www.passdiy.com/articles.htm
which should give you more ideas.
Just scroll down : "Current Source Amplifiers and Sensitive / Full-Range Drivers"
 
There have been a lot of comments but we still don't know what your actual goals are. Do you have a mental picture of what you think you would like? The problem with an individual builder making a list is that it could contain dozens of examples and still not match your criteria.
1. How much do you want to spend?
2. What size is your listening area?
3. What size cabinet can you live with?
4. What type of music do you normally listen to?
5. Do you like lots of bass or are you more concerned with accurate mid-range? Or do you want it all?
6. Would you consider a sub/sat setup or do you want a pair that reaches the lowest lows and the highest highs?
 
Hi,
You mentioned that it would be great if there was a list of drivers and some sort of score or evaluation for them. Problem is that everyone has a different set of criteria. However, there is a site that you may find to be very helpful, namely Bob Stout's LDSG!
Here's the URL:

http://ldsg.snippets.org

This should give you a lot of information and answer many of your questions, even some that you haven't thought of yet.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards,
TerryO
 
DAVY&TIMN8TER – My taste is about as wide as is possible, from Puccini to Pink Floyd. My wife and also like dance music, in particular big powerful bass, tight not woolly. Most of my listening will be fairly undemanding, (moderate vol levels) however occasionally I like to crank it up. Many years ago I got a pair of Technics (large 4 way units with 14” bass cones) from an American BX. Not the best quality but these puppies could make your ribs rattle. I guess you could say I like bass. I think their f/response started at 17Hz. “What’s the point!” my mate used to say to me, “that’s below human hearing!” Every point! I’d say. Even at moderate vol levels you could literally feel the bass line. I guess I’m a big cone kind of guy, not for looks, I think they are ugly, I just like the performance. So to summarise;

BASS – Big, powerful, tight and as low Fq as financially possible.
MID – Good quality
HIGH – Best quality I can afford
ROOM – Length 10m (30ft) Width 5m (15ft)
BUDGET - £500.00 ((250/unit) for all components, not including box)
AMP OUTPUT – 140 w/channel
TYPE – Don’t mind (floor or bookcase)
SIZE – I will not compromise quality for size, so size is not a factor, however if I have a choice, as small as possible.

DAVY – Why do you think software’s no good for beginners like me?

Thanks guys
 
Sandy M said:

DAVY – Why do you think software’s no good for beginners like me?

I didn't say "no good." I said getting a software package was not the way to start.

The software will speak a language you don't know yet -- things like Qts, Vas, Fs (the "big three"). Some of the programs are very hard to understand. SpeakerWorkshop comes to mind. It is a very good program, and at the cost of $0.00, quite a bargain, but the learning curve is steep.

You don't just want to play around. You are going to build nice cabinets, so you want great sound. Great sound is hard to come by. You'll do best by choosing a proven design. There's plenty for you to think about and learn just making the choice.
 
Ok, that's cool. The recommendation for the Wilmslow Audio kits is pretty good. The only problem with that is the kit that will deliver the kind of bass you're looking for is out of your price range. SEAS and other DST drivers are nice, but expensive. I'm not overly familiar with what drivers are available to you at a decent price in the UK. If you can get hold of the Adire Extremis 6.8 mid-woofers you could put together some floor standers that will get some solid low bass along with very good mid-range. Add a decent tweeter like Morel, Usher or Peerless and you could have a killer pair. I'm thinking of something along the order of the Kit 261 from Creative Sound. Problem is, you're in the UK and they're in Canada. I don't know what the shipping costs would be. Another possibility is to get good bookshelves and add a subwoofer to get your bass fix.
 
Sandy M said:
DAVY&TIMN8TER – My taste is about as wide as is possible, from Puccini to Pink Floyd. My wife and also like dance music, in particular big powerful bass, tight not woolly. Most of my listening will be fairly undemanding, (moderate vol levels) however occasionally I like to crank it up. Many years ago I got a pair of Technics (large 4 way units with 14” bass cones) from an American BX. Not the best quality but these puppies could make your ribs rattle. I guess you could say I like bass. I think their f/response started at 17Hz. “What’s the point!” my mate used to say to me, “that’s below human hearing!” Every point! I’d say. Even at moderate vol levels you could literally feel the bass line. I guess I’m a big cone kind of guy, not for looks, I think they are ugly, I just like the performance. So to summarise;

BASS – Big, powerful, tight and as low Fq as financially possible.
MID – Good quality
HIGH – Best quality I can afford
ROOM – Length 10m (30ft) Width 5m (15ft)
BUDGET - £500.00 ((250/unit) for all components, not including box)
AMP OUTPUT – 140 w/channel
TYPE – Don’t mind (floor or bookcase)
SIZE – I will not compromise quality for size, so size is not a factor, however if I have a choice, as small as possible.
Thanks guys

Now you're getting somewhere.

To get that low bass, you are going to need a big driver and more power. A powered subwoofer is indicated. You'll need to use just one, rather than one per channel, to stay within budget. That's okay. Low bass is non-directional to human hearing. For the rest of the system you'll probably want to use a two-way that employs a decent mid/bass and rather good tweeter. That's one pretty big box and two not so big. Is that acceptable?
 
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