How to Build Your Own Speakers.docx
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How to Build Your Own Speakers.docx
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HowtoBuildYourOwnSpeakers
HowtoBuildYourOwnSpeakers:
Step-by-StepDIYTech
BYROBSABIN
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July22,200812:
00AM
Theelectroniccomponentsinsidealoudspeakerareactuallyquitesimple.Thedriversandcrossoverspicturedhereareavailableina$369kit.(PhotographbyChrisEckert)
Itwasbackin1924thatacoupleofresearchersfromGeneralElectric,ChesterRiceandEdwardKellogg,patentedwhatremainsthebasicdesignforvirtuallyalltheworld'sloudspeakers.Inthe84yearssince,engineersandenthusiastshaveinvestedalotofthoughtandenergyintherefinementofRiceandKellogg'sconcept,creatingavaluableknowledgebaseforthedo-it-yourselfcrowd.
Ishouldknow--Irecentlybuiltthespeakerspicturedonthesepages,andintheprocessIlearnedquiteabitabouttheartandscienceofagoodspeaker.
INSIDEYOURSPEAKER
Howafewwell-matchedcomponentsmakebeautifulmusictogether.(PhotobyChrisEckert.IllustrationbyKeltie+Cochran)
Atitscorealoudspeakerisasurprisinglysimpledevice.Thekeyelementsarethedrivers,crossoversandthecabinet.Theconeordomedriversaretransducersthattransformtheelectricalsignalintothephysicalmovementofair(i.e.,sound).Crossoversactasanelectricalfiltertosplitthesignalanddirecttheportionsoftheaudio-frequencyrangetothedriversbestequippedtohandlethem.Butcoaxingrichandbeautifulsoundoutoftheseelementsrequiresabitofharmonicalchemy.Everydecisionyoumake--fromthecombinationofdriversandcrossoverstothematerialyouusetobuildthecabinet--influencestheperformanceandcharacterofyourspeakers.
Hardcorespeakerhobbyiststakedelightinfiguringallthisoutforthemselves,designingandbuildingthecrossoversandenclosuresfromscratchtoseewhatcomesout.Ifthat'syourleaning,PartsExpressisawell-stockedandreliablesourceforspeakerbuildersandagoodplacetostart.
Butifthat'stoohit-or-miss,youcanbuyaspeakerkitthatcomeswithallthecomponents,pluseitherapreconstructedcabinetordrawingstobuildyourown.Forthisproject,Ioptedforoneofthesehybridkits,fromNorthCreekMusicSystemsinOldForge,N.Y.ThislittlefirmisrunbyGeorgeShort,aspeakerengineerwhosekitsusehisowndriverandcrossoverdesignsbutrequireyoutobuycabinetselsewhere,orbuildthemusingtheprovideddetailedwoodworkingplans.Thebenefitisthatsomeonewithknow-howandgoodearshasgonethroughthetime-consumingandcostlyprocessof"voicing"thespeaker--engineering,auditioningandthenre-engineeringituntilthedesiredsoundisachieved.
Myownspeaker-buildingambitionswerenogranderthantohavealittlefun,learnabitandcomeoutwithapairofbookshelfspeakersIcouldputinmyhomeoffice.IselectedNorthCreek'sOkaraII"Ikemo"kit,aporteddesignthatdeliversdecentbass(downtoabout60Hz)fromasmall0.25-cu.-ft.cabinetmeasuring121/2x71/2x95/8in.Its51/2-in.wooferhasalightweightpressed-fiberconecoatedwithpolypropylene,andthetweeterisa1-in.silkdome.Silkisamaterialfavoredbymanyaudiophilesfordeliveringsuperbmidrange-andhigh-frequencydetailwithoutsoundingbrightorhard,thewaysomemetaldomescan.
Thekitcosts$369forthepairandcomeswitheverythingexceptlumberandwoodglue:
drivers,crossovers,porttubes,acousticstuffingandgaskets,theterminalcupforhookingupthewiresfromyourampandmiscellaneoushardware.Thesimplecrossovers--oneeachforthewooferandtweeterineachspeaker--comewiththecoils,capacitorsandresistorshard-wiredonperforatedbreadboards.Thatsavessomework,butthesestillmustbemountedinthecabinetsandwiredtothedrivers.
Buildingthecabinetwasthemosttime-consumingpartoftheproject,butitallowedmetocustomizethelookofmyspeakers.Initially,Iintendedtobuildthecabinetfromsolidhardwood,butNorthCreek'splansrecommendacombinationof3/4-in.medium-densityfiberboard(MDF)backedwithalayerof3/4-in.birchplywoodonthefrontfasciaandbackpieces.ItturnsoutthatMDFisnotonlycheaper,easiertomillandlesssusceptibletowarpingandshiftingthanhardwood,butthedifferenceindensitiesoftheMDFandplywoodalsoreducescabinetvibrationswhenyoulayerthemtogether.Toaddrigidity,thereisaplywoodcrossbracerunninginternallyacrossthewidthofthebox.
IpaintedthefasciaandbackMDFpanelsmatteblackandveneeredthetop,bottomandsidestoeffectthelookofahardwoodfinish.ByscoutingtheWebIfoundanoutstandingItalian-madecompositeveneercalledAlpiwood,distributedbyBrooksideVeneersinCranbury,N.J.It'sanenvironmentallyresponsiblematerialmadefromplantation-grownpoplarthat'sbeendyedandgrainedtomatchabout30differentcommonandexotichardwoods,anditevencomesprefinishedwithapolyurethanecoating.Thebird's-eyemapleIchosehasatoughlaminatesubstrateandshipswithaplasticsheetadheredtothefinishtoprotectitduringinstallation.Youpeeloffthesheetafteryou'vecutandappliedtheveneer--thestunningresultishardtodistinguishfromrealfinishedhardwood.
Oneothertip:
InvestinaJaspercircle-cuttingjigforthedriver,portandterminal-cupholes.Thejig(model400,)isalegendaryspeaker-buildingtoolthatgetsscrewedtothebaseoftheroutertomakeperfectcirclecutsthatwouldotherwisebemanuallyjigsawed.Itcosts$27andiswortheverypenny.
Afterassemblingthecabinet,Iusedconstructionadhesivetomountthetweeterandwoofercrossoversinsidethecabinettothebackandbottomwalls,respectively.There'sanoddbitofbusinessinthekit'sinstructionsaboutfillingtherear-firingporttubewithseveraldozenplasticstrawsthatconfusedmeatfirst,butacalltoNorthCreekrevealedthatthestrawshelpfine-tunethespeaker'slow-endbasslimit.ThenIconnectedthewiresfromthecrossoverstothedriversononeendandtheterminalcupontheother.And,finally,thewoofers,tweeters,terminalcupandrear-firingporttubeweregluedandscrewedintoplace.
Afterspendinglessthan$100forwood,ontopofthecostofthekit,Iendedupwithahigh-performancesystemthatsoundedbetterthanmost$500speakerpairsI'veheard.Thoughbasswaslimitedbythespeaker'ssize,itwaswell-balanced,withouttheinaccurate,bloatedsoundyouhearwithcheapspeakerspurposelypumpeduptoovercompensatefortheirsize.Themidrangewasmusicalandopen,freeoftheharshcolorationsyousometimeshearonvocals.Highfrequencieswerenicelydetailed,ifalittlelaidback,andheldtogetherwellatmoderatelyhighvolumesforsuchacompactspeaker.
Forme,speakerbuildingwasarewardingmixofwoodworkingandelectronics--beautifulandfunctionalatthesametime.Whenfriendsandfamilycometovisitandcommentontherich,bird's-eyemaplecabinets,I'lltellthem,"Yeah,Ibuiltthose.Butjustlisten..."
TheJasperCircleJig:
Alifesaver!
Drillingguideholesforthejig'spivotpin.
Left:
Thejiggoesforaspinatopafasciapanel.
Right:
Amilledfasciapieceshowingholespluscountersinks.Notethedog-earsmanuallyraspedintothetweeterholetoaccountforitsside-mountedterminals. Thiswasnotmentionedintheinstructions,whichseemedtohavebeenwrittenlongago,andonseveraloccasionsdidn'tfullyaccountforthepeculiaritiesoftheincludedparts.Buthalfthefuniswingin'it.
Gluingandclampingthefascia.
Matteblackspraypaintforthefasciaandblackpanels.Intheend,gettinganacceptablysmoothfinishrequiredtwocoatsofsprayprimerandacoupleofcoatsofblackenamel.
Prepforassemblyincludesdry-fittingallthepiecesandtweakingpanelsasneededforaperfectfit.
Forefficiency,assemblyinvolvesgluingandclampingthepanelstogetherwithbuttjoints,thenputtingintemporarydrywallscrewstokeepthegluejointstightwhileyouremovetheclampsandmoveontothenextpanel.Afterthegluedrys,thescrewscomeoutandtheholesandcountersinksarefilledwithwoodputty.
Boxassembly.
Screwremovalandputtyingofthescrewholesinpreparationforveneering.Theputtyissandedflatoncedry.
Top:
Rough-cuttingveneeranditsthicklaminatesubstratewithmultiplepassesofasharputilityknife.
Bottom:
Contactcementisappliedtobothsurfacesandtheveneercarefullyalignedandlayeddown.AnewrollingpinwithanunblemishedsurfacewasusedtoapplymaximumpressureratherthanthesmallrubberJ-rollercommonlyusedforveneer;theveneer'sprotectivesheathingmadeitpossibletodothiswithoutdamagingthefinish.
Theveneeredbox,stillwithprotectiveplasticsheathingontheveneer,afterallsidesarecompleted.Inbetweenpanels,theoverhangingedgesoftheveneerwerecarefullytrimmedwitharouterequippedwithaflush-trimbit.
Gluingthefasciatothefrontinner-brace,andthefinishedcabinetreadyforcomponents.
Componentsandcompletedcabinetreadyforfinalassembly.
Drypositioningthecrossoversbeforecementingtothecabinetwalls.
Stuffingtheporttubewithplasticstrawscutto3-inlength.
Top:
Installingtheporttube:
applyingrubbergasketsealingtape,drillingholesintheouterflange,andmounting.
Bottom:
Oncethetubeisin,constructioncementisappliedtothetweetercrossoverthroughtheterminalcuphole.Oncedry,thespeakerisflippedoverandcementisappliedtothewoofercrossoverthroughthewooferhole.
Top:
Thecrossoverscementedinfinalpositionasviewedthroughthewooferhole.
Bottom:
Crossoverinputwiresarefedthroughtheterminalcup
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