DIY speakers?

[Haopengyou]

I remember seeing a number of magazines and books back in the 60's that described how to build your own speakers and "save a bundle". I am certainly into saving a "bundle" but I am not sure if it is a reasonable thing to do these days. I have the tools and skills to do it. I also have enough pretty good plywood on hand to make the cases that I need. I am looking at a 5.1 surround sound amplifier with about 100 watts per channel, dts, dolby etc.

My reason for doing this is:

* I am going to buy a middle end amplifier now (something that will meet my needs for the life of the hardware) and buy a "temporary" set of speakers with the plan to upgrade them in 2 years, after I save up many more pennies.

* I want the cases to match each other.

* I want the cases to match my furniture. I am not into techno looking stuff in my living room. Speakers should be seen and not heard I want high tech functionality and low tech appearance. If it were possible/feasible/advantageous I would build the speakers into the furniture so that they couldn't be seen at all.

Is there circuitry in today's speakers or is it all controlled by the amplifier? Does anyone have any experience/opinions about this? I welcome opinions but especially am interested in people's experiences.

[El Heggunte]

Hi there.

If you intend to get a multichannel amplifier, then there is no need for the so-called "powered speakers" (most of which are stereo or 2.1, and targeted at the PCs or DAPs). Also, I think 30W~50W per channel would be more than reasonable for a 5.1 system (unless you really love to disturb your neighbours...)

Anyway, I recommend the "old-fashioned" type of enclosures --- big enough to contain a decent tweeter, a decent midranger, and a 12-inch woofer at least (not to mention the frequency filters). No need for a subwoofer, because subwoofers are evil.

[redwudz]

I used to build speaker cabinets years ago. Basically you need a 'Crossover' to split the audio for the type of speakers you use. These are available in many places that sell DIY speakers and components. You send the bass to the bigger woofers, the midrange to the midrange speakers and the high frequencies to the tweeters. Not too complicated.

The cabinet can be built of plywood. I used birch veneer plywood for a decent appearance and low cost. You can use wood stain to make it any wood color you want to match your existing furniture. If you have a router, or a dado blade on a table saw, you can inlet for the back and fronts of the cabinet and glue it all together with no screws. Or use 2" X 2" wood inside to attach the panels together with lots of screws and glue. Accurate 45 degree cuts are very important for appearance.

I apply veneer tape to the front edge of the plywood for a finished look. Speakers mount from the outside. The crossover is inside so you build the cabinet, then install everything. You can also add 'L pads' to vary the output of individual speakers. The front grille is a piece of 1/4" press board with cutouts, covered with grille fabric for the speakers. It's held in place with a few Velcro strips.

If you go on the net, you should find some DIY guides for speaker building. The 15" woofer ones I have are more than fifteen years old and still going strong.

EDIT: I love my subwoofers. I have two 10" powered ones. They really improve the surround sound experience. Not recommened for apartment dwellers except at low power levels and early in the evening. I have a house, so I can crank them up and shake the walls.

[El Heggunte]

EDIT: I love my subwoofers. I have two 10" powered ones. They really improve the surround sound experience. Not recommened for apartment dwellers except at low power levels and early in the evening. I have a house,

and the nearest neighbour lives two miles away from you, I hope.

so I can crank them up and shake the walls.

Even in the movie theaters, the subwoofers (fortunately) are <DEL>still</DEL> unable to reproduce the "supersonic shockwave" that happens immediately before the sound of an explosion.