DIY Speakers!

[Driver_King]

I want to make my own speakers. Where should I start? I don't want to spend much either. It's just for fun, for now. If I get good at it, I'll do more! Maybe I could sell them too...

[MacDaddyOJack]

www.partsexpress.com

They have tons of speakers, some from good manufacturers like Peerless and Vifa.

[prerich]

Originally Posted by MacDaddyOJack

www.partsexpress.com

They have tons of speakers, some from good manufacturers like Peerless and Vifa.

+1 They also have a design section every month with a DIY plan in the catalog. Look on line for some good plans and have at it. Some people can make speakers that rival established audiophile companies!

[Driver_King]

I was thinking Parts Express! I forgot about their DIY section. I'll check it out.

[mdabb]

Here is another place http://www.solen.ca/pub/ I know of more but will have to remember.

[fronn]

I'd go to htguide.com forums and look for some plans -- about any plan there is going to be superior to the ones at PE and stuff (although you'll have to solder and stuff, but that's not hard).

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=28655

If for nothing else than to get some more information.

[Clark Kent]

Try this forum first:

http://www.diyaudio.com/

And to buy some decent speakers in kit form:

http://www.gr-research.com/

[Brandon B]

I'll second the recommendation for HTGuide. Jon and Thomas are two of the most helpful and knowledgable guys you will find anywhere.

BB

[Snowgod]

Find some old cabinets from an old pair of speakers and recycle them using modern drivers and electronics. Infinity and AR made some bomb proof cabinets in various sizes but the drivers deteriorated with time.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Snowgod

Find some old cabinets from an old pair of speakers and recycle them using modern drivers and electronics. Infinity and AR made some bomb proof cabinets in various sizes but the drivers deteriorated with time.

It's important to note that cabinet construction, design, etc... plays a part in the sound also, so if you have old Infinity and AR speakers, that's a great suggestion, but recycling cheaply made, poorly designed speaker boxes isn't such a great idea..... maybe find old vintage "garage sale" finds.... the cabinets will likely be solid wood, but the drivers will be junk.... so you should be able to get them quite cheaply that way.

[Barnum]

Don't know of a place myself. If you are looking for a quality speaker I would not recommend that you do t yourself. Tons of work is put into speaker design. You don't put any speaker in any box and have it sound good. Careful designing is needed to avoid problems like a standing wave for example. Really good speakers cost money plain and simple.

Good luck with the build.

[yellowblanket]

Originally Posted by Barnum

Don't know of a place myself. If you are looking for a quality speaker I would not recommend that you do t yourself. Tons of work is put into speaker design. You don't put any speaker in any box and have it sound good. Careful designing is needed to avoid problems like a standing wave for example. Really good speakers cost money plain and simple.

Good luck with the build.

took the words out of my mouth

[richteer]

Originally Posted by Barnum

Don't know of a place myself. If you are looking for a quality speaker I would not recommend that you do t yourself. Tons of work is put into speaker design. You don't put any speaker in any box and have it sound good. Careful designing is needed to avoid problems like a standing wave for example. Really good speakers cost money plain and simple.

Good luck with the build.

+1

I was tempted to build my own pair of speakers once, until the above reality sunk in. It'll be a fun DIY project, but leave it to the pros for best results.

[fronn]

Originally Posted by richteer

+1

I was tempted to build my own pair of speakers once, until the above reality sunk in. It'll be a fun DIY project, but leave it to the pros for best results.

There are plenty of plans out there -- I would definitely leave the designing to the pros, but construction is quite doable (crossover design is the tricky part).

Sites like Htguide have plenty of plans out there for speakers that compare favorably to speakers several times the cost of construction.

Essentially, if you have to ask if a complete DIY speaker (make your own design from scratch) is a good idea, then you probably shouldn't do it. Almost anyone should be capable of following an already existing plan though -- if they can build a box and solder, they can do it.

There are lots of excellent plans out there that compete favorably with much more expensive stuff: Natalie Ps, Modula MTMs/NeoD, Statements, etc.

If you're going to do it though, you have to be prepared for the possibility that it just won't turn out right. A lot of the enjoyment of DIY is about the actual work it takes to do it -- if the result ends up excellent then all the better. If you go in with that mentality, you can't lose. DIY has the very real possibility to save you money (sometimes quite a bit if you find a good design), but it can also lead to wasted money if you don't end up liking the speaker (DIY aren't as easy to sell and you can't return them!).

I'm a fan of DIY -- going to start a new center channel pretty soon, actually.

[Driver_King]

Yeah, I wasn't really thinking about building an enclosure. I wanted to get one that was pre-built. What I wanted to do was basically throw something together (parts pre-built) and make it into a speaker. I hope that makes sense.

[fronn]

Originally Posted by Brandon B

I'll second the recommendation for HTGuide. Jon and Thomas are two of the most helpful and knowledgable guys you will find anywhere.

BB

It's too bad that Jon hasn't been around lately because of work.

CJD is another helpful fellow. There's dozens of others that are willing to help too.