First build completed! :)

[megamuel]

Hello all!

Hope everyone is well! Just wanted to share with you guys some pictures of my first project! Last year I decided that I needed a hobby, as I was spending most of my free time and money down at the pub! As I invested in a decent hi fi setup, I thought it would be a great idea to build some speakers (I bought some good ones but thats no fun!), thats when I discovered this site. Speaker buidling is not really popular here in the UK so this site has been my main source of info. I've also used parts express and spent a tonne on shipping fees but it had to be done, the sites in the UK have a very poor selection and the drivers are like double the price they are in the US!

I've never done anything like this before, not even any woodwork so I had to buy all the tools and equipment or borrow my Dad's! As my skill level is very low (like my intelligence!) I decided to go with a pre assembled crossover, much to the disapproval of most of the people on this forum! I understand the limitations of this approach but I just felt that designing and making the crossover for this project was beyond my skill level. However, despite this I am absolutely astonished with the quality of sound from these speakers. After some of the comments on this forum I was pretty much expecting them to sound crap, so my heart was pounding when I played them for the first time today with a bit of jazz and it sounded like I had a live band in my room! I was/am so happy! Having said that I would like to design and build a crossover (ideally with the help of you guys!) as my next project to see how I can improve these speakers, but I am more than happy with them for now!

I have no knowledge of physics/audio/accoustics etc etc etc so there are probably any number of mistakes with these speakers. I'm guessing the arrangement on the front panel is all wrong but there was a number of theories behind my build - i.e. using recommended enclosure sizes for mids and woofers, calculating these with golden section, I also had a lot of help from the guys at parts express matching the drivers with the pre assembled crossovers so I didnt just pick ones I liked I throw them all together. I also used good quality silver wire, gold crimps and binding posts etc. There are a few minor scratches, chips and marks but I guess this is inevitable. Its not like they rolled off a production line. I made them with 1 inch MDF too so these guys are really really heavy!!! Anyway, thats enought talking for now. Any feedback, criticism, advice is welcome! Also, please could you guys let me know where to start with designing and building a crossover, i.e. books, software, websites etc. Also if anyone would be willing to help me that would be great. Anyway, check them out.

Some pics of the build at: http://www.balue.com/~sam/

And some pics of the final build attached....

[Hdale85]

Do you actually like them better then your older speakers?

[Gir]

Excellent job, especially for your first speakers! The finish looks awesome!

If you are going to start designing your own crossovers, it would be a very good idea to learn the basic theory behind how it works. I suggest you learn how/why a capacitor blocks the low frequencies and how/why an inductor blocks the high frequencies. Understanding the basics behind and LRC (inductor, resistor, capacitor) circuits will help considerably. Try doing a search on a Butterworth filter and see if you can make any sense of it. I'm the sure some of the more experienced guys here have some great recommendations on books that will help a lot. Good luck!

[megamuel]

Do you actually like them better then your older speakers?

Yes.

Thanks Tyler, the finish is just 3 coats of Danish oil on the mahogany veneer. I've got David B. Weems' book - Designing, Building, and Testing Your Own Speaker System. I read the stuff about crossover design in that but it really confused me!

Sam.

[krips]

Those look very nice, much nicer than my first pair. I am interested as well in crossover design, so I was just wondering what sources/book you guys would recommend to us.

[Curt C]

Those look very nice, much nicer than my first pair. I am interested as well in crossover design, so I was just wondering what sources/book you guys would recommend to us.

To start out, I'd suggest Ray Alden's "Speaker Building 201". This is a very well written and easy to understand book, yet packs a lot of knowledge into a relatively small space. When it first came out, I wrote a review on it, which you can find here:

http://http://www.geocities.com/cc00541/RayAlden.html

SB 201 is a great prerequisite for Vance Dickason's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook". The LDC has been the 'bible' of the DIYer's for years, but Vance's explanations are sometimes a 'bit' obscure. -It's better to have some practical knowledge under your belt before attempting it. Both of these should be followed up with Dr. Joe's "Testing Loudspeakers", another well-written and insightful tome on speaker measurement.

All of these can be purchased from HT Guide's supporter Parts Express.

C

[tpremo55]

I'll second curt's recommendation. I have spent a lot of time in the pages of two different versions of Vance's LDC and it is a great resource. Right now, I am doing a bit of crossover education and am finding LDC to be slightly difficult to follow at times. Besides flipping around trying to find referenced charts, I often find myself looking for answers that I'm sure are there someplace. Again - it's a great resource, but it almost assumes a better handle on the fundamentals that I have in some areas.

To start out, I'd suggest Ray Alden's "Speaker Building 201". This is a very well written and easy to understand book, yet packs a lot of knowledge into a relatively small space. When it first came out, I wrote a review on it, which you can find here:

http://http://www.geocities.com/cc00541/RayAlden.html

SB 201 is a great prerequisite for Vance Dickason's "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook". The LDC has been the 'bible' of the DIYer's for years, but Vance's explanations are sometimes a 'bit' obscure. -It's better to have some practical knowledge under your belt before attempting it. Both of these should be followed up with Dr. Joe's "Testing Loudspeakers", another well-written and insightful tome on speaker measurement.

All of these can be purchased from HT Guide's supporter Parts Express.

C

[stangbat]

I'll second curt's recommendation. I have spent a lot of time in the pages of two different versions of Vance's LDC and it is a great resource. Right now, I am doing a bit of crossover education and am finding LDC to be slightly difficult to follow at times. Besides flipping around trying to find referenced charts, I often find myself looking for answers that I'm sure are there someplace. Again - it's a great resource, but it almost assumes a better handle on the fundamentals that I have in some areas.

I guess I need to check out "Speaker Building 201" too. I have the 7th Edition of the LDC and it can be a frustrating read. I'm an engineer (unfortunately not electrical) and I have trouble following it at times. I'll freely admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don't think I'm a mouth breathing idiot either. Lots of flipping around, charts that are difficult to read, poorly defined terminology, terminology introduced without adequate explanation...I could go on. Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad book, it has tons of great information. It could just be made easier to read and understand. But I guess it is a "cookbook" and maybe my expectations are too high. But I kind of expected that after 7 editions it would be a little more polished in some areas.

[Dennis H]

Not a textbook but the best place to learn about speaker designing is this forum and the manuals/tutorials for the various measurement/design programs (SW, LspCAD, SoundEasy, Praxis, Arta, Clio). The books talk a lot about textbook filters and how they work, and that's fine for fundamental theory, but that's all pretty worthless in the real world where drivers have neither flat frequency response nor flat impedance.

Okay, maybe that's too harsh. The books are good for fundamental theory (high school stuff) but when you want to see how the pros really do it (graduate school stuff) right here is where you want to be.

[ocool_15]

If you post more detail about which crossover you bought and the parts in it if possible, that would be useful. The drivers are more obvious but I'm not sure which mid you chose.

[augerpro]

*post in wrong thread, sorry

[JonP]

I guess I need to check out "Speaker Building 201" too. I have the 7th Edition of the LDC and it can be a frustrating read. I'm an engineer (unfortunately not electrical) and I have trouble following it at times. I'll freely admit I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I don't think I'm a mouth breathing idiot either. Lots of flipping around, charts that are difficult to read, poorly defined terminology, terminology introduced without adequate explanation...I could go on. Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad book, it has tons of great information. It could just be made easier to read and understand. But I guess it is a "cookbook" and maybe my expectations are too high. But I kind of expected that after 7 editions it would be a little more polished in some areas.

I'll second that, buy the book!! I got the LDC first, then "Testing Loudspeakers", and I was having difficulties. And I *HAVE* the electronic background!

The thing is, you need to learn the overall concepts, processes of design, and so forth. The LDC is a great reference, with lots of good info you'll go back to again and again... but it's not so good as a textbook to learn the whole thing from the first time. Speakerbuilding 201 is. For me, the LDC was tough, Testing Loudspeakers helped a lot since it helped educate me more (as well as being a great reference for it's topic) but I wish I had gone thru Speakerbuilding 201 first.

[megamuel]

anyone like my speakers?

[Alaric]

anyone like my speakers?

YES! I , too , am lacking in knowledge , experience , smarts , etc. , but want to build some speakers. I'm glad to hear how happy you are with your results. Your efforts encourage me to try. I would also be buying a pre-fabbed crossover . I think building a bad one would discourage me to the point of giving up .
Your speaks look great , and I wish I were close enough to hear them . Congrats! and good fortune to you in your future builds !

[krips]

Just to let you guys know, I just built my first speakers/crossovers, and it was not too difficult. So long as you can solder (which I had no idea how to do until I started to build the crossovers) it is quite simple. I just used a microtorch in place of a soldering gun and it was pretty easy. So don't be afraid to try. It's the only way to grow. :W

[niget2002]

You're not the only one to use pre-fabbed crossovers for your speaker design.

I have both a bookshelf speaker and a center speaker that I used pre-fabbed crossovers in. I used SpeakerWorkshop to design the box and crossover, but then when it came time to build I bought the crossover instead of building it. While the speakers don't test out as flat at the crossover as the custom design would have been, the slight hump isn't really noticeable.

[tylerdurden]

megamuel your speakers look superb and Ill bet they sound great to. Just for the simple fact that you built them yourself with little experience probably makes them sound like gold in sound wave form. Kudos to you!
I just joined this forum and this is my first post. I am glad I found this thread as it points in the right direction for anyone who wants to try DIY loud speaker building. I am a retired cabinet maker who like you needs a hobby. My house is full of furniture and the family is sick of rocking chairs for Xmas. I have a collection of vintage audio and always wanted to try my hand. Those books sound very helpfull.
Once again great job on those my freind. Enjoy

[megamuel]

Cheers for the positive comments guys! Tyler, you should definately build some speakers. I'm sure they'd look great with your cabinet making skills. Definately read up making your own crossover too, then you'll at least get the approval of the big boys on this forum Good luck,

Sam.