Help choosing woofer and tweeter for DIY project (1 Viewer)

[John Titan]

Hey guys

Some background first sorry.
I thinking of building my own set of speakers (2-way 3/4-1" tweeter& 6.5" woofer, some thing that handles about 125watts)I have a workshop with any of the tools I would need and very good carpentry skills. I do not how ever have an extensive background in building speakers. I'm currently reading a few books on the subject and getting a good grasp on the basics. By the time I'm ready to build them I will have hopefully most of the knowledge I need to do so. That being said I have a few question's

1. What are some good names of woofer and tweeters to use (price is a consideration) I know a few name that SEEM to be good such as Vifa, Swan, Peerless, Morel. I don't know what are good names, what to stay away from etc. And does anyone know where to get them at the best price. I know partsexpress but I don't know if there the cheapest or not.

2. I'm doing this to get the experience and to save maybe a few bucks while being able to do some nice custom wood detail in the process(maybe some exotic woods if the budget allows).

3.Is there some really easy beginner mistakes that I should know besides not asking for help if I need it.

Thanks to anyone who posts

 

[John Titan]

Mods- Please change tittle of thread to
Help choosing woofer and tweeter for DIY project

thanks

 

[ThomasW]

Designing and building a speaker is a bit more complicated that randomly choosing a woofer, a tweeter and getting a generic crossover. So......

Unless you plan on investing in a measurement mic, a mic preamp, have a duplex soundcard, computer sofware, and know how to make measurements in the baffles you intend to use, I suggest you build someone elses proven design.

THIS is an excellent little speaker. It's designed by someone who's been designing speakers for 30+yrs.

 

[John Titan]

I wasn't planning on randomly choosing the components,
I was looking for suggestions on componenets not to bother with because of build quality or maybe being overpriced etc.

Even using the mathematical formulas and maybe understanging crossover design wouldn't allow me to do this without the above listed stuff?

That seems to put a real big road block on most DIY projects relating to speakers would it not?

 

[ThomasW]

Nope not even close. If you're going to do it properly, loudspeaker design is very complicated system based process.

Read the first post in the link I posted. Look at all the data used to create that design. That's what's needed to create a quality loudspeaker using modestly priced parts.

Without doing to that level of engineering one is simply guessing, and 99% of the time people guess wrong.

 

[John Titan]

Thanks for the help. I guess if I do decide to build them then I'll have to use someone else's design. Very disappointing though. Although knowing your building a proven design does make things alot easier.


BTW- Is there a site you could recommend that has a few speaker designs to choose from.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Justin_A_D]

I tried to post a message with links to various projects but apparently I don't have enough posts here to include links. I sent you a PM with the links to the projects ideas though. Good luck.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Parts Express has a nice gallery of DIY speaker projects:

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/index.html

Here's a page to Wayne J's designs (not sure if all the drivers can be ascertained nowadays amongst the designs):

http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_files/default.htm

 

[ThomasW]

Certainly, but what kind of speaker do you want?

Bookshelf? Minitower? MT? MTM? Fullrange?

Most of the designs on PE and DIYspeaker are using older technology rather mid-fi drivers. Projects using the newer PE RS (Reference Series) of drivers are significantly better than the older technology drivers

 

[MarkRoberts]

AscendantAudio has thier new MT kits on sale for $99.00ea. Don't know if that is what you are looking for.
There isn't allot of info on the site right now as they are in the process of updating it. You could give them a call to get the details.

 

[John Titan]

^From my original post

This is basically what i'm looking for? Could be a MTM.

thanks

 

[MarkRoberts]

John,
You should definitely Give Ascendant Audio a call.Follow the link in my previous post. It is a 6.5" woofer with a 1" tweeter. I am not sure of the power handling, it hasn't been posted on the site. The woofer is supposed to have 11.5mm xmax. Similar to the Adire Extremis.The intro price is $99.00ea (no cabinets)
Also you may want to check out the Adire/Exodus audio kit 61's. It has the 6.5" Extremis(13mm xmax) with a 1" tweeter also. You can find reviews of those as they have been out longer. They are around $200.00 ea. (no cabinets).
check out Diycable.com or acoustic-visions.com for the exodus kits.

 

[ThomasW]

John T,

Sorry forgot about that.

Either the Modual MTM or the NatalieP designs will give you your MTM with 6.5" woofers. Either design can be built as a bookshelf or a mini-tower

 

[John Titan]

Thanks Thomas,
I've kinda noticed that alot of these designs that i've looked at aren't very efficient or handle much power. I guess i'd have to go with a project that uses better components.

Would you recommend building the cabinets my self in most projects as long as I stick to the dimension as close as possible?

 

[ThomasW]

The designs I linked to are 87-88dB/1watt/1m and max input power is around 150 watts each. 128 watts input will give you 110dB.

How big is your room?.

If you need more output then build the MTM as a bookshelf and set it on top of a bass bin with a pair of 10"-12" woofers. Then you can blow down the doors.

"Better" drivers don't necessarily play louder. These are very similar to the high-end European drivers that cost 3X more money.

Keep the driver spacing and the baffle width the same, and you can change any other dimension on the box

 

[John Titan]

The problem is at this point I can only understand a few of the charts so if I don't see the sensitivity listed then I guess I have to figure it out by the components specs. Although I figure those numbers change with box design, porting etc. (Correct me if i'm wrong , I'm new to all this stuff)



That's perfect.

 

[ThomasW]

With a different box the actual system efficiency doesn't change at all. There's some (minimal) change in low frequency output with larger boxes, or different box aligments.

The system efficiency is usually that of the woofer. Baffle step compensation (BSC) lowers the overall efficiency depending on how much is used. BSC is a circuit that lowers the midrange output so that speakers don't sound bass shy when on stands. If one puts the speakers near a boundry (wall, in a bookshelf, etc) then the BSC should be left out. Virtually all the commercial speakers people buy have BSC in them.

FWIW, both the Modual MTM and the NatalieP are speakers that would cost no less than $2500+ if they were purchased at retail. The NatalieP was created to give people a lower cost speaker since the crossover has fewer parts.

 

[John Titan]

Thanks again for answering all my questions. I know this stuff is all basic to you but it's a whole new adventure for me. I won't be starting this project for a while so I still have a lot to think about. When I finally get started on this I'll post some pics of the progress. If all turns out well my next project will be to enter the secret world of IB subs.

 

[ThomasW]

We'll teach you the "Cult" handshake....

 

[Rory Buszka]

Building a subwoofer is much less "involved" than building main speakers.