Anthony*B

disappointed with Loudspeaker Cookbook...

I am new to DIY, so I ordered the Loudspeaker Cookbook on the many glowing recommendations I've seen for it, but one or two paragraphs in, I realized I was hopelessly lost/out of my league...it may as well have been written in Latin for all I could understand...my
question to you all is this: how do you learn all this stuff short of taking several advanced college courses or spending hours every night in the library? It's a very daunting prospect! I sadly don't have the time or $ for either of those options, so the only options I have seem to be:
1. get a MUCH better paying job so I can simply BUY the speakers I want (sadly unlikely at this point)
2. rely on speaker designs already created by others (probably the most feasible option, though not much fun & not really helping me LEARN about speakers)
3. be happy with the low-fi setup I have now & try to learn what I can over many years & hope I can build then (again not fun at all)

As you can see, this is a problem for me! I am apparently VERY non-scientific-minded, & I suspect that is going to keep me from really learning what I want to learn...(on a happier note, I love woodworking, so building the cabinets & such should be great fun/very rewarding...I liken it to a guy who loves to paint cars but hasn't the foggiest idea of how to work on the engine...that's me in a nutshell)

any opinions/help will be happily received!

Patrick Sun

Option #2 is probably the most feasible choice for you at this point in your life.

Designing speakers does require some grasp of how drivers, crossover network, and enclosure all have to be integrated to produce a nice sounding speaker.

It can be daunting because it requires a foundation of understanding the basics, and how using some electrical engineering knowledge to provide for modelling a crossover network that will be as optimal as possible, and come up with an enclosure design (all within budgetary constraints) that will help in producing a speaker you'll want to listen to for a long time.

For those serious about designing speakers, it will require a measurement system (you can go budget or whole-hog), some crossover/speaker design/modelling software (and knowledge of how to use the software), and woodworking skills. There's no shame in asking for help from others who have the tools of the trade to aid in the designing phase. But be realistic about your expectations when asking for assistance.

Even if you don't have the measurement system, or the software, you can do some research on your own with little investment that covers the vocabulary of speaker design (i.e. what do the T/S specs means, and how can they help me choose the right drivers to build what I want?), and the general objectives of integrating drivers in the crossover region and how it affects the tonality and the "punch" of the speaker. The more you know and understand the variables, the more knowledgeable your decisions will be.

"I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar!"
Patcave | 2006 Films | 2007 Films | Dragon Con 2008

Jack Gilvey

If your interest in DIY is rooted in merely saving money, give it up now and save yourself, and the forum, lots of time.

Anthony*B

is it wrong if the only reason is to save money? If money was no object, everyone would have B&W's or Martin Logans (or insert lusted-for speaker here), but I would think the quest for a good sounding speaker for much less $$ would be of paramount importance to any DIY'er....I apologize if it seems like I am trying to "waste you or the forum's time"

Anthony*B

also, before the subject is brought up, I am NOT disappointed in the book because it is a bad book (it is very obviously a great, exhaustive tome), I am disappointed in that it is clearly the wrong book for ME

Jack Gilvey

It's not "wrong", it's just that people who get into it for that reason are rarely successful at it. They don't learn much, and waste time. That's the way it is.

Dave Poehlman

Welp, I'm no expert in speaker design. But, everything I've learned, I've learned online. It all started when I was in your position: I needed a pair of speakers for a rec-room for cheap. But, coming from a family of self-proclaimed audiophiles, I couldn't settle for some cheap retail speakers. So, I turned to the internet and lurked in a couple of speaker-building forums. Then I stumbled across some plans that were detailed enough for a beginner like me to follow.

Once I built them, I was hooked. That first project gave me the confidence to experiment a little more.

There's a lot of theory and formulas in designing speakers. Most of them I don't fully understand. For example, I am just starting to grasp how a port works in relation to a driver. But that doesn't mean I can't use WinISD to tune one. Look around on the 'net.. there's a lot of websites and software out there that will do the tough parts for you. All you really need to do is choose which drivers you want.

Plus, there's a number of friendly forums like this one where the users love to flex their knowledge by answering questions.

Just soak it in, don't try to understand it all.

Anthony*B

It's not "wrong", it's just that people who get into it for that reason are rarely successful at it. They don't learn much, and waste time. That's the way it is.

I assure you, money is not the only reason I am looking into DIY speakers....if i didnt care a lot about sound, I would be perfectly happy w/ the setup I have now...I'm just a somewhat frustrated beginner...I generally pick stuff up pretty quickly, but this is proving to be the exception, & it's kind of frustrating...relax! I'm just trying to find out where to "start" with a minimum of fuss/mistakes

Dave:
it sounds like you are 100% correct....perhaps I should build someone else's speaker plans first to gain confidence, & perhaps computer programs like WINISD are more important than I had realized...after looking at Dickason's book, something must be simpler...yikes
what it boils down to is that I've always felt it's important to know WHY something works, not just that it DOES work...but clearly speakers are MUCH more complex than I realize, so a bit more patience is in order , hehe

Jack Gilvey

Your best bet/chance is with a kit, no question.

Kevin Deacon

I make DIY kits to "SAVE MONEY". There is nothing wrong with this approach and I have learned much about speakers(maybe not as much as a designer). I have three sets of speakers and each set does different things. I also have a DIY preamp and DAC. Through DIY I am able to afford really highend designs at a fraction of the cost of brand names.

Oops, I guess I wasted somebody's time

Jack Gilvey

Ahh, my point missed once again. Carry on, kids.