Computer Speaker Building: Tips, Advice & Experiences

[FlexGunship]

Hey folks,

I fancy myself as a bit of an audiophile. I love listening. I have a high-end audio interface on my computer with one set of outputs going to a pair of KRK studio monitors and a studio sub, and the other set of outputs going to some Klipsch Promedia general listening speakers.

In my living room I have a 5.1 surround sound system made out of matched driver Paradigm speakers. Two Monitor 7 v5s, two Monitor Atom v5s, and a CC-190 v5. I also have a Velodyne subwoofer.

Even my in-ear monitors cost more than the iPod they're connected to.

That being said, one frontier I've never crossed into is speaker building. I have some high-end stuff kicking around that has since been displaced by my newer equipment, and I'd love to experiment with speaker building. I'm sure I can make a crossover without any issue, but all I've ever built are shelves, racks, a TV stand, some speaker stands... I've never tried to make something as complicated as a speaker cabinet.

Has anyone done anything like this? Just looking for some first hand experience.

 

[Bill Simpson]

I've never done anything like this and wouldn't be able to recognize quality audio if it was biting me.

But I did hold in my hands once some old issues of Speaker Builder Magazine.
Google for those three words and I think you will find people and resources at your level.

 

[FlexGunship]

I've never done anything like this and wouldn't be able to recognize quality audio if it was biting me.

But I did hold in my hands once some old issues of Speaker Builder Magazine.
Google for those three words and I think you will find people and resources at your level.

Thanks, I've read some online stuff... actually a LOT of online stuff. It's kind of depressing, though... it always follows the same format:

1. Choose a driver or set of drivers - okay, check!
2. Calculate the proper enclosure and port volumes to enhance deadband frequencies - yup, okay!
3. Test the speaker using your amazingly expensive test-tone-CD/microphone system - uhhhhhhh?
4. Adjust your crossover and filters to improve the response - well, okay...
5. Rerun the test with the microphone - grrrrrr!
6. If necessary...

There's nothing out there for ultra-amateurs. I'm good with woodworking and I'm good at math and fabricating electronics... but putting it all together into something I'm not embarrassed by seems like an unlikely proposition.