Designer:
S. Pratt

Project Category:
Portable Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
Blast Box kit finished in Rhino Hide vinyl. Upgraded battery board.

Design Goals:
Design and build unique Blast Box

Conclusion:
Looks and sounds real nice. Fun build

About the Designer:
Just a balding old guy with a thing for good music reproduction

Project Parts List:

Designer:
RYAN CLARK

Project Category:
Bookshelf Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
1-8 Hours

Project Cost:
Under $100

Project Description:
At the point of writing this I have build 4 desktop designs with maybe my favorite driver – RS100-R. I was going to name them “Coronas” but someone beat me to the name. I built these months ago while working from home due to COVID-19 Here is a basic vented design with this wonderfully sounding little speaker.

Design Goals:
Good looking and great sounding desktop speaker.

Driver Selection:
RS100-4

Enclosure Design:
Vented front port (1″ port, 4″ long) design with 1/2″ material, birch ply perimeter and popular baffle and back .
0.11 net internal volume | Fb = 64.7Hz | modeled F3 = 58 Hz
External dimensions 5.5 x 9 x 6.5
Used some internal foam and a little poly stuffing (probably didn’t need)

Enclosure Assembly:
simply glued. Sanded and light stain.

Crossover Design:
N/A

Tips & Tricks:
Get a hole saw for the driver (3″) and port (~1 3/8″, I think I used 1 1/2″ and it worked fine)

Conclusion:
I just love these little drives. These can be a great intro for anyone wanting to do their own design not having to design a crossover. For near-field monitors in similar designs, these sound great and cover the full musical range. You will be surprised in the bass they produce. Not enough to fill anything other than a small room though.

About the Designer:
I love music and building stuff. I still have my Infinity SM62 I ordered from Crutchfield around age 14. I have now build dozens of HiFi and guitar speakers and may have an addiction.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Matthew

Project Category:
Loudspeakers/Cabinets

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
My cousin approached me about a pair of Pioneer CS-99 speakers he acquired some time ago. They are from 1971 and have great looking cabinets except they did not have the nicest sound. I originally recommended replacing all capacitors in each crossover board. After looking at Pioneer’s original driver selection and crossover topology, I decided these vintage relics would sound much better with brand-new drivers and a custom crossover. Here we go…

Design Goals:
My goal is to create a speaker that mimics the soundstage of a floor-standing speaker while keeping Pioneer’s original CS-99 cabinet and grill intact. I don’t want design complexities and cost of a 3-way speaker and will design a 2-way speaker to achieve full-range sound. My ultimate goal being to wow the listener. I would like these vintage cabinets to create a listening experience that’s entirely not expected.

Driver Selection:
295-356
Dayton Audio RS225-8 Reference Woofer

275-141
Dayton Audio RST28F-4 Reference Tweeter

Pioneer CS-99’s use a 5-way speaker design with a massive 15” woofer. I am changing this original configuration to a two-way speaker design. I chose Dayton’s RS225-8 reference woofer and RST28F-4 tweeter:

Dayton’s RS225-8 has good excursion capability and flat frequency response in the low-mid range. Dayton’s ported volume recommendation for this driver matches Pioneer’s CS-99 cabinet size.

Dayton’s RST28F-4 tweeter has great reviews and I’ve seen designs using this tweeter that successfully cross at a low frequency (1kHz). A low crossover point will allow me to blend this tweeter’s response with Dayton’s RS225-8 woofer (I crossed at 1.4kHz).

Enclosure Design:
Pioneer’s CS-99 is a sealed enclosure design. I am keeping the original enclosure intact and am changing it to a ported design. I am adding a new baffle to support a two-way speaker configuration. I used WinISD to calculate design parameters:

Cabinet volume: 1.5 cu. ft. (estimate after acoustic treatment)
Tuning frequency: 32hz
Port specs: 2” diameter, 4” length

Enclosure Assembly:
See pictures for baffle dimensions and cabinet modifications.

A new baffle was made with ¾” MDF. Driver holes and recesses were cut with a router and Jasper circle jig. The Jasper jig was too small for cutting the woofer’s recess so a custom jig was crafted using a piece of lexan. The tweeter is recessed to the same amount as the woofer so it clears the grill. A jig saw was used to remove material from the original baffle that blocked each driver opening. The finished baffle is screwed and glued to the original baffle.

I finished and restored each cabinet by applying a light coat of golden oak wood stain. I painted each baffle with flat black paint.

I also lined the sides and back of the cabinet with 2” acoustic foam.

Crossover Design:
See pictures for a schematic of the crossover and board-layout of components.

I always like to review other’s designs when starting a project. Luckily, I found a project by Nick, titled The Bee, which uses my driver selection. Thank-you for sharing your project, Nick! I like the topology of the crossover he used in his design:

Third order crossover on the tweeter for extra protection from low frequencies,

Second order crossover on the woofer and

Resister in-line with tweeter to pad its response because the tweeter is more sensitive than the woofer.

I started with this crossover design and changed components to my liking. I selected my crossover point at 1.4kHz. I noticed the RST28F-4 tweeter used in Curt Campbell’s AviaTrix-RST design is crossed at 1kHz; I am taking this to mean my 1.4kHz will not be too low. I used VituixCAD to model my crossover. This is a great tool to use as it allows you to model speakers as inductive-resistive-capacitive elements. You can see a modeled frequency response of my crossover in my picture gallery.

Tips & Tricks:
For neat looking crossover boards—make 90 degree bends in your wires whenever you have to bend a wire.

Conclusion:
My design goals are met; these speakers carry the sound of larger floor standing speakers while keeping their original vintage look. Vocals sound amazing and they’ll hit a bass note or two with ease.

You can see a measured in-room response plot of each speaker in my picture gallery. The plot is an in-room measurement so you are seeing room reflections imposed on each speaker’s actual response. Their response looks rather good for an in-room measurement. I measured each speaker’s response as a quality check to make sure they produce identical sound, and they passed.

I was also curious how Pioneer’s CS-99 speaker grill affects frequency response. The blue-line shows response of one speaker with its grill removed. You can see that Pioneer’s CS-99 grill alters high frequency response between 2.5kHz and 20kHz (and a visibly noticeable dip at 3.8kHz). I’m not sure if the grills make an audible difference (I can’t hear much of a difference with them on or off, if any).

I compared the Pioneer/Dayton speakers to Usher 701 bookshelf speakers designed by Joseph D’Appolito. The Usher’s use a similar ported design with a textile dome tweeter and 7” paper/Kevlar mid-woofer. I’m giving a slight edge to the Pioneer/Dayton. I can hear a harshness in the treble region with the Usher’s that disappears when I switch to the Pioneer/Dayton speakers, especially at louder volume.

Dayton’s RST28F-4 tweeter and RS225-8 woofer combination is a clear winner. I am surprised that I don’t see more DIY designs using these two speakers.

About the Designer:
I have a master’s degree in electrical engineering with an emphasis on control systems. I design and program automated machinery for work and pursue audio projects as a hobby.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Matt Parker

Project Category:
Bookshelf Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
I built Tang Band’s recommended enclosure for this driver, called the SUG2-25.

Design Goals:
I needed a nice set of bookshelf speakers to start my DIY 5.1 system in a new house. I have space limitations due to the amount of woodwork and built-in shelves / cabinets in the living room. My wife is particular about aesthetics so I needed a pretty driver and cabinet.

Driver Selection:
I really enjoy Tang Band drivers and I’ve always been super curious about the Tang Band W6-2313 6-1/2″ Coaxial Full-Range Woofer 264-9002. It was a natural fit for the space, look, and sound (on paper).

Enclosure Design:
I used the recommended design from Tang Band, SUG2-25. Had to modify the port a bit to work with the Precision Port 3″ Flared Port Tube Kit 268-350 from PE, but it worked.

Enclosure Assembly:
Very straightforward box build – solid 4/4 box with 8/4 baffle. I cut the curve in the baffle with a bandsaw and sanded out imperfections. Bracing per the documented design from Tang Band. Increasing port diameter meant I needed to increase length, too, which means I had to bend the port and use PVC parts w/ kit flares. Challenging but worth it.

Crossover Design:
2nd order linkwitz-riley at 3k

Conclusion:
Its beautiful aesthetically – everyone loves them. Sound is good, not great, but I do not have ideal placement figured out yet. Need to get some measurements ASAP.

About the Designer:
I’m a woodworker and I love audio.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Steven Adler

Project Category:
Portable Speakers

Project Level:
Beginner

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
Sprite in a Can. Inspired by Paul Carmody Sprite Boom Box. Found that I was able to get 4 liters per side in a Fat 50 Ammo Can. Just barely enough room to duplicate the Sprite speaker box.. Just installed the Sprite build in it with a few more whistles and bells.

Design Goals:
Battery powered Sprit in a can. Bluetooth capable.

Driver Selection:
Dayton Audio ND90-4 3-1/2″ Aluminum Cone Full-Range Neo Driver 4 Ohm
Part # 290-208

Enclosure Design:
Fat Fifty Ammo Can will fit a Sprite!

Enclosure Assembly:
Lined with 1/4″ MDF Divided down the middle for two enclosures a shade over 4 liters. Sealed on top and closed off with another sheet of MDF Two enclosures in one.

Crossover Design:
Paul Carmody’s filter designed for the 4ohm Sprite Driver:

Dayton Audio 0.40mH 18 AWG Perfect Layer Inductor Crossover Coil
Part # 257-814
Dayton Audio DNR-6.0 6 Ohm 10W Precision Audio Grade Resistor
Part # 00 Dayton Audio DMPC-8.2 8.2uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor
Part # 027-4264-6

Tips & Tricks:
You can use a 1.25″ PVC 90 deg. elbow to get the port length right. The LED holders, switches, and inputs are not intended to pass through .25″ MDF. If I didn’t have some esoteric tool for working sheet metal on big jets I would have had to tear the lining back out as I had already Gorilla Glued it to the inside of the can before I got the accessories for the project. Don’t use printed panel MDF cause glue doesn’t stick to it well. It was the only stuff I could find that day I was looking for it. Had to scuff sand everything that was glued to it.
Take picture while Building!

Conclusion:

This thing sounds great! I cobbled together an ammo can boom box without Bluetooth and while it played only through an Aux In Jack I was looking for something just a bit more portable and of course something with a shall we say design. After Searching Boom Boxes I stumbled upon the Sprite Stuffed it in to a can!

About the Designer:
I fix Jets and Tinker a lot!

Project Parts List:

Designer:
200W Boom Box V2

Project Category:
Portable Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
200 W boom box Version 2

Design Goals:
After building the stock 200 W boom box I wanted to upgrade a few drivers, battery module, and use a cabinet that I had sitting around.

Driver Selection:
Tang Band W6-1139SIF 6-1/2″ Paper Cone Subwoofer Speaker
Part # 264-919
Dayton Audio PS95-8 3-1/2″ Point Source Full Range Driver 8 Ohm Part # 295-349

Enclosure Design:
This was actually a repurposed wedge cabinet that I purchased for $5. MDS construction but solid.

Enclosure Assembly:
Repurposed cabinet. I think it was originally created as a turntable platform.

Crossover Design:fi›
Same as stock boom box
›
Conclusion:
Stayed pretty close to stock boom box instructions. Very pleased with results. I think the veneer step makes a big difference.

About the Designer:
Beginner-intermediate level.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Maxim Duterre

Project Category:
Bookshelf Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
$500 – $1,000

Project Description:
The assignment I got was to design a speaker, I was free to do what I wanted but it had to have bluetooth. I wanted to work on my technical skills and challenge myself by having at least one mechanical movement inside of it. I designed this whole contraption with gears and belts which were supposed to drive a mechanical iris (similar to those found in cameras) but I couldn’t get it to work in time for the deadline. This feature is pretty much useless but it looks cool and I wanted to try and make it work. This was my first time making speakers and I taught myself as much as I could in a few months and this is what I came up with.

Design Goals:
At least one mechanical movement and it had to be aesthetically pleasing.

Driver Selection:
295-330 Dayton Audio DA135-8
275-020 Dayton Audio TD20F-4 3/4″

Enclosure Design:
Within the enclosure I had to find a way to hide and engineer all these tiny gears whilst making it airtight. As for the material, my initial idea was to make the enclosure out of mdf but because of all these gears and the time pressure I had to resort to my trusty 3D printer.

Crossover Design:
The crossover is a bit all over the place. There is one half inside the tweeter box and the wires go through the wooden legs all the way down to the box where the other part of the crossover is.

Conclusion:
I’m rather happy with the results but there is still a lot I could improve on the aesthetic and engineering side. If I were to make more of them I would definitly get rid the mechanical components and just make a good sounding speaker. I would also make molds and cast them with some kind of resin because the PLA makes it sound a bit hollow but that’s because I only had the time to print it with a 20% infill.

About the Designer:
I’m a half French / half dutch designer born in Belgium. I moved to the Netherlands a few years ago and now I’m a first years student (2020-2021) at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. My end goal is to be a designer with my own little studio.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Keith Etheredge

Project Category:
Bookshelf Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
The Small Batch is a vented desktop two-way made for my home office. The design and title are meant to evoke the spirit of small batch bourbon by the limited quantity (only one set made thus far), high quality (both in sound and fit/finish), and the veneer itself (a white quarter sawn oak to match a new bourbon barrel).

Design Goals:
This design has the usual goal these days… to make something physically small without also sounding small. These should be enjoyable for listening by themselves. I also wanted to have a design ready if a friend ever asked me to make them a small set of speakers. I didn’t have a target F3, or a response shape in mind. I simply chose to vent the cabinets to get the most out of the little four inch RS100P-4 woofer.

Driver Selection:
I chose the Dayton Audio RS100P-4 paper woofer and Dayton Audio AMT Mini-8 Air Motion Transformer for this project. I had wanted to try the AMT driver, and it has a natural roll-off starting around 6 kHz. That meant I needed a small woofer that was capable of cleanly playing that high to meet it. The RS100P-4 fit the bill as it plays cleanly out to 10K with a very benign, almost non-existent breakup mode.

Enclosure Design:
The enclosure design for these speakers is very basic. The external dimensions are 8.5” high x 5.5” wide x 6” deep, giving an internal volume of just over 0.09 cuft. All panels are ½” MDF with no added bracing on the inside. The front vertical edges have a small thumbnail bit round-over profile on them just to experiment, but the profile is essentially between a ¼” and 3/8” radius round-over. The cabinets use a 1×4” vent tube for an Fb of ~72Hz, and a predicted F3 of 67Hz.

Enclosure Assembly:
The cabinets were assembled using rabbets on all sides except the front. This rabbet design gives a little shelf for the pieces to sit against and provides an easy way to make a 90 degree angle during glue-up. I also allow ~1/16” overhang on the outsides of the pieces for flush trimming with a router later. Once the main body of the cabinet is glued together, I glue the front baffle into place. The baffle has a rabbet around the whole perimeter which gets fine-tuned by hand sanding. The point is to make sure the full thickness part of the baffle fits snugly in between the other pieces of the cabinet. That’s good for glue up and good for making sure your driver alignment is perfect in the final assembly. Just like the other cabinet parts, there’s some extra material included on the baffle edges to let the router flush trim this face after glue-up. The drivers were flush mounted, and a simple hole was included to surface mount the 1×4 port. I experimented with trying to flush mount that port too, but the rim of the port is too thin, and it looks better sitting on the surface.
The veneer is quartersawn white oak to stick with the bourbon theme (in case you didn’t know… all bourbon is barreled in new charred white oak barrels to age). In order to really make the design pop and avoid an overly traditional “brown stained oak” finish, I used a technique from Woodworker’s Source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2GM_hZW1LA). This called for timbermate ebony grain filler and Zinsser dewaxed shellac and it turned out AMAZING! Highly recommended.

Crossover Design:
The crossover design for this speaker was more troublesome than I expected. I just spent more time than I planned to find the best phase alignment between the two drivers. The final XO point is ~4.6 kHz, with a 1st order filter on the tweeter, and a damped 3rd order filter on the woofer. The natural roll-off of the AMT Mini-8 meant I didn’t have to do much with it except a rather wide Q notch filter to contour the response a bit, but I still included a 2.7 uF capacitor to protect it from any low frequency input. The overall response of that driver was a bit more ragged than I would have liked, but it doesn’t sound as peaky as the frequency response measurement would imply.

Tips & Tricks:
The AMT Mini-8 is hard to flush mount if you veneer after you cut your baffle holes like I do. The tiny flush trim bit I use to trim veneer has an 1/8” tall pilot which still isn’t shallow enough to cut the veneer back and reveal the correct size hole. To address this, I made the flush mount hole for the AMT much deeper than I needed and used extra gasket tape to bolster the faceplate back to flush.
Also – The faceplate for the AMT Mini-8 is nice… but it has a silver reveal cut on the edge that just didn’t work with my design aesthetic. I used Rustoleum Matte Hammered Black spray paint to give it a makeover and I think it looks a lot better.

Conclusion:
All in all, these were a fun design to put together. They sound nice and have decent low frequency extension for a tiny desktop design. The white oak veneer with black grain filler turned out amazing and saved me from that overly “traditional” brown stained finish while still allowing the drivers to pop and add extra visual appeal. I hope you enjoyed reading about them.

About the Designer:
Keith is a mechanical engineer by day, group fitness instructor by night, and an overzealous DIY speaker designer when he should be sleeping. He is always looking to try different techniques with each build, and deeply enjoys sharing designs, tips, and good stories with the speaker building community.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Ed

Project Category:
Loudspeakers/Cabinets

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
Rebuilt 4 Sound Dynamics 500 Series Concert Monitors. Re foam 10″ woofers. Installed new film and foil capacitors in crossovers. Custom machined adapters for new Morel tweeters.

Design Goals:
To get my 35yr old speakers working again. And yes it is possible guys. The guy`s and gal`s at Parts Express helped out all the way thru.

Driver Selection:
Woofers are bone stock. Tweeters are Morel 378 Cats.

Enclosure Design:
Ported.

Enclosure Assembly:
Stock.

Crossover Design:
Stock at 2000. Replaced old caps with Dayton film and foil.

Conclusion:
Got these old speakers rocking again!

About the Designer:
Just an average guy.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
GustoAudio

Project Category:
Portable Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
1-8 Hours

Project Cost:
Under $100

Project Description:
The DARS Cube is a portable speaker that’s easy on the eyes and ears.

Design Goals:
The goal was to design a portable Bluetooth speaker with a clean look that will be used mostly at low volume for long listening periods (workday).

Driver Selection:
Dayton Audio RS100-4 4″ Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm
Part# 295-378

Enclosure Design:
6.5″ x 7.5″ x 6.25″
1/2 Pine Enclosure
3/4 Poplar Baffle
Metal Plate for switch, volume and 3.5mm jack
Also as speaker out connector to run additional passive speaker

Enclosure Assembly:
Mitered sides, glued and ran through the router.
Lots of sanding to bring out the wood grain.
Front Baffle was left natural and sealed with wax finish
Top/Sides and a mix gray enamel paint mixed with white stain. Weird, but looks really nice.

Crossover Design:
Full Range with -4db of baffle step compensation.

Tips & Tricks:
Used threated inserts to make removable rear panel. Makes swapping parts and adjusting much easier.

Conclusion:
Overall really like the look of this speaker. I’ve used this mostly listening to music while working. Small enough to fit on a desk and sounds great.

About the Designer:
Been wood working and messing with electronics / audio since a kid.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Heldesign

Project Category:
Tower Speakers

Project Level:
Beginner

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
Towers with downfire woofer design based on the Infinity Crescendo CS3006 crossover

Design Goals:
My goal is to achieve a clean reflex design with a tweeter and midrange on the front face and a hidden woofer on the bottom to remove visual weight and give a more modern appearance.

Driver Selection:
Tweeter: Dayton Audio TD20F-4 3/4″ Soft Dome Neodymium Tweeter 4 Ohm
Midrange: Goldwood GM-85/4 Heavy Duty 5″ Sealed Back Midrange 4 Ohm
Woofer: Goldwood GW-208/4 8″ OEM Woofer 4 Ohm

Enclosure Design:
I based on the measurements of the original Infinity Crescendo CS-3006 box from which I took the crossover, changing the location of the woofer towards the bottom and leaving a free space of 5 cm between the box and the base to allow the operation of the driver.

Enclosure Assembly:
I made the enclosure in phenolic chipboard with double wall to leave the thickness of 3 cm with acoustic foam inside, with a reflex port on the top back side. The finishes were given with Oak veneer and catalyzed semi-matt lacquer and on the front and back with black ink to achieve the contrasting stripes.

Crossover Design:
Para el proyecto utilicé algunos crossovers Infinity Crescendo CS 3006 que tenía pensando en hacer este trabajo.

Conclusion:
The set has a very balanced sound, the bass is deep although the placement of the speakers is important not to make the bass booming, the mid-range is very rich and the voices are clear, and the small tweeter has a clear sound without distortions. that does not tire the ear. I haven’t heard an original Infinity Crescendo CS 3006 speakers, I do not expect them to sound the same or better, but I liked the result a lot and the best thing was the whole process to make them … it is very gratifying!

About the Designer:
I’m an Industrial Designer who likes working with wood, but especially good sound and vintage equipment.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Luke Pi

Project Category:
Freestyle Speakers

Project Level:
Beginner

Project Time:
1-8 Hours

Project Cost:
Under $100

Project Description:
These are sleek desktop satellite speakers, with a 3D printed enclosure. They have a very small foot print, but are tall enough to stand above desk-top clutter. Tectonic BMR drivers give excellent dispersion, and the bass extension is 115Hz.

Design Goals:
Hit below 130Hz with a foot print smaller than a credit card, and sound good doing it.

Driver Selection:
I love the Tectonic BMR drivers, they sound great and I really like the appearance too. I had some of these tiny 28mm drivers and wanted to find a design they would excel in. Playing around in WinISD I found they are a perfect match for the Dayton Audio ND65-PR.

Parts per speaker:
2x Tectonic BMR 28mm full range driver:
Part # 297-2172
2x Dayton Audio 2.5″ Passive Radiator:
Part # 290-205

Enclosure Design:
I designed the enclosure in Fusion360. The width and depth are determined by the width and depth of the passive radiator. (There is a recess in the front wall to prevent the screw on the PR hitting the wall!) The enclosure is designed to print in one piece without additional supports. I integrated into the model the supports that are required for the driver cut-outs. The acoustic volume is 350ml. There are struts between the front and back walls, for added rigidity.

Enclosure Assembly:
Print with 3 perimeters and 60% infill, lying on its side, per the stl file. Poke out the integrated supports from the cutouts. Fit the stand, if you are going to use it. Run the speaker cable through the guide, seal it with putty or silicone. Fit the active drivers, wiring them in series. Remove the wingnuts AND the threaded washers from the PR’s. Fit the PR’s, making sure the internal cables don’t clash with the threaded rods. The front trim panel can be glued, or just fixed with blue tack, if you want the option of changing colors in the future.

Crossover Design:
None required. I suggest using a 120Hz high pass filter, if possible, to improve power handling. Using the “small speaker” setting on a home cinema amplifier or your PC sound card will do, at a pinch.

Conclusion:
The tuning matches the WinISD model, the measured bass response extends below 120Hz, and they sound great.

Tips and Tricks:
I recommend printing the “enclosure test section” to test your print settings before printing the whole enclosure. Don’t be tempted to skimp on the infill when printing. Use an airtight solid grid or triangular infill, not rectilinear or gyroid.

About the Designer:
I design cameras, but I like speakers too!

Designer:
Stephen B Harper

Project Category:
Guitar and Bass Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
Over $1,000

Project Description:
I wanted a high performance stage rig for both upright and electric bass to match the cosmetices of vintage amps I own.

Design Goals:
Match the cosmetics of vintage Ampeg Portaflex amplifiers I own and improve them sonically with modern electron ics and speaker.

Driver Selection:
Celestion K12H-TC200

Enclosure Design:
Slot loaded port

Enclosure Assembly:
3/4″ Baltic birch plywood w/ internal bracing and lined with dynamat

Crossover Design:
N/A

Conclusion:
With the suggestion of the tech guys @ Parts Express I used the Celestion driver in my project. ALthough a bass guitar will really only go out to 4,000 HZ having the 4″ wizzer cone and the ability to be flat to 10K allows harmonics to re reproduced better than any combination of products I have owneed and used in 40+ years of playing upright and electric bass.

About the Designer:
I am a mechanical engineer by training and own an audio / video design and consulting firm.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
4thStreet

Project Category:
Tower Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
1-8 Hours

Project Cost:
$500 – $1,000

Project Description:
Front channel tower and center channel speaker build using the AvaiTrix kit. Total build time was about 35-40 hours with more than 90% spent on the enclosure build.

Design Goals:
The primary goal was to improve the clarity and quality of sound for my home theater. Previously using lower-end commercial speakers with 2-1/2″ speakers. Enclosure also had to match the custom component cabinet I built in the style of the other furniture in the room.

Driver Selection:
Selected the AvaiTrix speaker kit (Part # 300-7041) for both the front speakers and center channel. Size, quality. and price match the requirements for the room.

Enclosure Design:
The enclosures are all 3/4″ solid wood construction on 5 sides. I used Black Cherry for the four sides. I used African Mahogany for the face. The removable backs are Baltic Birch ply. The center channel follows the recommended size. The design plans call for 44″ high towers which is too tall for my installation. I made the towers 40″ tall and added depth to the enclosure to compensate for loss of volume. I ended up just less than 4% smaller volume than the plan.

Enclosure Assembly:
The enclosures cases are all through dovetailed. The solid wood construction yield a very rigid structure. The face is glued into a rabbet on the case. The backs also fit into a rabbet in the case but are screwed in place for service. All inside enclosure joints are sealed in silicon. The crossovers are mounted on the back panels. The enclosures were stuffed and the backs applied. Then the speakers wires attached and mounted from the front. Prior to speaker assembly the enclosures were finished. Finish schedule was sand to 320, water to raise the grain,re sand, yellow dye, pecan gel stain, french polish with 1-1/4# cut garnet shellac.

Crossover Design:
The crossovers directly followed the plan from the speaker kits. Careful layout yielded a compact board that allowed for mounting on the enclosure backs.

Tips & Tricks:
Have been living with crappy speakers for too long – Do it.

This was not a difficult case build but I have a fully outfitted woodworking shop. For the more novice builder I would recommend building a butted case, filling gaps with filler and painting the cases.

Conclusion:
Huge improvement in sound quality. The speaker selection and enclosure build execution met the project requirements. Clarity at the high end is outstanding and can exceed normal volumes without distortion.

About the Designer:
I am a hobby but serious furniture maker. This project is as much a woodworking project as electronic. My son is the main audiophile in the family and led the build on the crossover portion

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Nick

Project Category:
Tower Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
This was my first speaker build. I wanted speakers specifically for stereo without the need for a separately placed subwoofer.
I left the crossover visible on the rear of the speaker. So much work goes into this I didn’t want to hide it. The frequency response from XSim turned our very flat. I am very happy with the results.

Design Goals:
The goal was for a relatively inexpensive build that achieves a high quality full range sound.

Driver Selection:
Dayton Audio PT2C-8 Planar Tweeter
Part # 275-085

HiVi M6N 6″ Aluminum/Magnesium Midbass
Part # 297-441

Dayton Audio DCS305-4 12″ Classic Subwoofer 4 Ohm
Part # 295-204

Enclosure Design:
MDF with internal bracing

Enclosure Assembly:
Separate upper and lower cabinets allow for easier placement of the speakers.

Crossover Design:
4th order Linkwitz-Riley at 2500 Hz
Woofer is crossed over at 100 Hz through a AV receiver

Tips & Tricks:
XSim
DIY Audio & Video website for calculators
AudioTool
Parts Express

Conclusion:
The speakers exceeded my expectations.

About the Designer:
I am an aircraft structural engineer who has always had a hobby in home and care audio that likes wood working. This combined the two perfectly.
I will probably never buy a premade set of speakers again.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Scott Stillman

Project Category:
Freestyle Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
My adult son thought I had too much Covid Time on my hands so he told me to build a Speaker. I had a bunch of audio parts from projects not started or purchased too many. So began the Recycled Leftovers. The main part was repurposing a pair of JBL L26 cabinets.

Design Goals:
Create a great sounding pair of JBL clones, with-out the price tag. Use as much of my leftover parts as possible and keep the cost reasonable. Plus – have fun building them.

Driver Selection:
I love Eminence. The first reason is Made In America. The second reason – they sound great. The third reason – crank up the volume and they pound out the music. I selected Delta 10A because the sound curve is a little better than the Alpha 10A which I have used before, and they fit the cabinet.
The tweeters are 8 Pioneer 2.5 inch drivers, that have sat around the house for over 10 years.

Enclosure Design:
JBL L-26 cabinets. Purchased for $6.00 at the Thrift store. There was a single Radio Shack driver in one, but other than that the cabinets were bare. The wood in these cabinets would cost over $100 to purchase and then you would have to build them. They were in fantastic shape, a little sanding and a coat of oil.

Enclosure Assembly:
I did have to fill the 4 inch midrange/ tweeter hole. This was done with a piece of 1 inch pine and wood glue. I purchased a 2.5 inch hole saw and drilled the 8 Pioneer tweeter holes. I also removed the old cross-over ( more about that ). Installed new binding post. The old ones were spring loaded and falling apart.
I also purchased new front Grill Cloth. A material that is used in vintage style Guitar amps, simple in color, strong and see through, so the sound is not lost. This was a little difficult to work with but looks good, I need to work on the corner EARS. The material sticks up and out a bit. The old material was a thick polyester that looked like a sound baffle.!!!

Crossover Design:
I am a fan of simplicity. I built a 2nd order Butterworth at 3000 hz. I might change it later to 2500 hz., but will wait and listen to the speakers for a while. This has been my go to crossover for many projects. The inductors are hand wound from a coil of 16ga and 18ga wire. I purchase inductor bobbins from the internet, to help wind them. I also have a LC meter to determine the correct winding. The capacitors are Dayton Polypropylene. The old crossover ( picture ) looks like a simple 1st order low end and 2nd order high end, crossed at about 2500hz. along with a 8 ohm adjustable resistor for sound balance.

Tips & Tricks:
Projects always take way longer than expected. Even with the cabinets built, there is 15-20 hours into this, maybe more. Plan plan plan, think about what you are doing before you commit. If you drill that hole, its there, make sure its right. I stuffed the cabinets and the sound disappeared. REALLY. Sounded like dirt. Pulled the stuffing. I used metal screws and will need to magic marker the heads. So what !!. they were cheaper than black screws, you can see them through the speaker cloth. Go find some good cabinets at the thrift store and save yourself some time and $$. Did you notice I saved the old JBL Logo

Conclusion:
Just finished them and they sound great, maybe a bit bright on the high end, but I like vocals so that is good. Nothing that the bass and treble controls can’t handle. They also look fantastic. The vintage Grill Cloth was a questionable purchase, but I am happy with the results. I would definitely do this project again, if a set of old cabinets come up. More people need to repurpose their leftover castaways. These speakers belong in a good size room as they put out a lot of sound. Eminence will always be my main go to driver selection. Made in America, and super sound.
New JBL-100 speakers cost $2k each !! Mine cost $275 total. I would be willing to put these up against a pair of 100’s.

About the Designer:
I have been building speakers for a long time. Nothing fancy or special. A similar project with old 501’s were repurposed with Eminence Alpha 10A and survived 5 years of college parties at my son’s apt. They are now great garage music makers. I also have a Home Theatre project called ” WallZ ” on this website. These projects make you think and test your building skills. But to me listening to good music and being able to play it loud once in a while is the goal.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
David Hancock

Project Category:
Bookshelf Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$500 – $1,000

Project Description:
I have built a number of speakers over the last 15 years some kits, some other peoples designs and a number of my own designs. These “bookshelf” speakers are a three way design with a front port due to placement.

Design Goals:
I was limited to a specific size due to planned placement of the speakers and they needed to be placed against the wall on a shelf. I opted for a front port for this reason. The use of the speakers is a variety of music powered by some vintage gear. They needed to be a specific height, depth, and width, so I had to work within those specific parameters. I also wanted them to look a bit vintage so I used a walnut veneer and some grills Part #260-346 and grill cloth Part #260-335.

Driver Selection:
The Dayton RS180-4 Part #295-374 woofer was chosen for the cabinet size and the bass requirements.
The Dayton RS100-8 Part #295-352 mid was partially chosen for aesthetic reasons but also modeled very well in the intended range.
The tweeter was a little more difficult to choose. I initially wanted to use the Dayton RS28F-4, but this didn’t quite fit the budget. I chose the Dayton ND25FA-4 tweeter Part #275-059. It modeled well with the other drivers selected and fit the price point.

Enclosure Design:
Within the size limitations I chose the largest woofer I could to provide the wanted bass response. The enclosure size minus the space required for the mid enclosure and port worked out to roughly .72 cu. ft. for an f3 of 37 Hz. The port is a 2″ Precision Port Part # 268-348 at 7″ in length. I was in the process of designing the mid enclosure when I remembered that years ago I built a boom box for my daughter and happened to have a couple of PVC end caps on hand. I utilized these for mid enclosures for her boom box and nearly 10 years later they are still working just fine. So I used a 3″ ID PVC end cap glued to the front baffle to enclose the mids. I offset the PVC end cap on the mid to get the tweeter mounted as closely as possible to the mid.

The layout of the drivers was a challenge as I needed to fit the woofer, mid, tweeter and the flared port on the baffle. The height limitation of the enclosure forced me to mount the mid and tweeter horizontally offset from the woofer. This worked out fairly well as I was most concerned with the distance between the mid and tweeter. I was able to fit the port between the woofer and the mid and tweeter.

Enclosure Assembly:
The enclosure is a simple box with 3/4 inch MDF and a PSA Walnut veneer. All the drivers are flush mounted.

Crossover Design:
The woofer has a 2nd order, the mid is 2nd order on both ends and a 3rd order on the tweeter. Crossover points are at roughly 300Hz and 3500Hz. The lowest impedance is at 4 ohms but mostly 6 ohm.

Tips & Tricks:
I  would have to say that using the PVC end cap as an enclosure for the mid was so simple. And since the thickness of the PVC is thinner than I would have used with MDF it takes up less internal volume in the enclosure.

Conclusion:
This was a really fun build and they really met the desired goals of the build. The criteria were very strict regarding size and placement which was a challenge. They really sound fantastic and was really happy with the outcome.

About the Designer:
I am a computer security professional, trombone player, and hobbyist speaker builder.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
JBass 212×5

Project Category:
Guitar and Bass Speakers

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$100 – $500

Project Description:
The JBass 212×5 is a 2way bass guitar cabinet using dual 12″ woofers and 5″ midrange intended for power levels up to 400w.

Design Goals:
A better alternative to commercial offerings that do not account for cone breakup and distortion of larger drivers and cannot accurately reproduce the range of a bass guitar

Driver Selection:
Eminence S2012 woofers and PRO5MRN-8 midrange

Enclosure Design:
Ported enclosure, 6 cu ft ported via twin 4″ ports for an Fb of 40hz and f3 of 50

Enclosure Assembly:
Butt joint construction, braced between baffle and rear wall. Baffle is inset 1.25″ to account for the PE preformed mesh grill. Enclosure measures 31.5w 24h 17.75d.

Crossover Design:
The crossover uses 2nd order electrical filters on each side with the woofer using a damped circuit. Resulting crossover point is 2khz.

Tips & Tricks:
To inset the baffle, I mounted strips of hardwood on the inside perimeter. This allowed for additional glue surface. Additional strips were applied to the baffle with 1/8″ clearance to capture the preformed grill for a pressure fit.

Conclusion:
The project is a definite success. The response transitions wonderfully between the drivers and gives a very clean presentation. In testing, I used an Adcom GFA555 (350W@4) and had no problems driving this to the amps limit. Punchy, smooth, with great sensitivity.

About the Designer:
I am an advanced designer of 10+ years.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Adam R.

Project Category:
Tower Speakers

Project Level:
Advanced

Project Time:
20+ Hours

Project Cost:
$500 – $1,000

Project Description:
The TB bamboo cone driver is a longtime favorite and this TL floor stander is my 3rd and most ambitious effort. A rear ring radiator tweeter adds some air and opens up the stage. This tapered and progressively damped line allows this driver to shine, giving clarity and resolution that competes with electrostats (I was a MartinLogan owner for 12 years) but with no crossover or transformers in the way. My Odyssey mono blocks love them.

Design Goals:
Maximum LF definition and clarity in a domestically tolerable form factor.

Driver Selection:
Tang Band 4-inch Bamboo Cone (ferrite version)
Vifa Ring Radiator Tweeter (rear)
Dayton 5K HP filter

Enclosure Design:
Tapered and progressively damped 12-foot transmission line.

Enclosure Assembly:
Poplar baffle sandwiched to MDF with MDF internal baffles

Conclusion:
In my big listening room these guys get subwoofer help but in a 9×12 room with corner loading they’re stunning.

About the Designer:
Age 60, 50-year speaker tweaker and music/audio lover.

Project Parts List:

Designer:
Darin Zunski

Project Category:
Loudspeakers/Cabinets

Project Level:
Intermediate

Project Time:
8-20 Hours

Project Cost:
$500 – $1,000

Project Description:
These subwoofer loudspeakers shall utilize two 10″ high excursion transducers in a vented reflex loaded enclosure. This subwoofer shall have an operation range of 36Hz-300Hz with a sensitivity of 97.4dBSPL. Continuous output of 126dBSPL @98Hz, Peak 130.5dBSPL @98Hz. Power handling shall be 1,200w continuous, 2,400w program. The impedance shall be nominal 4 ohm.

Design Goals:
Build a pair of compact high SPL subwoofers to complement a set of full range tops housed in a portable DJ Truss system. The Enclosure had to fit in a 10″x10″ foot print and be no taller than 42″ all while maintaining a low box F3 along with a high sensitivity and transient response you could feel.

Driver Selection:
Eminence Kappa Pro-10LF 10″

Enclosure Design:
A reflex ported design was used with 1.6ft3 per box with a port tuning of 58hz and box F3 of 55hz. The port was kerfed and curved to reduce vent air velocity at high levels and smooth the overall response.

Enclosure Assembly:
The enclosures were constructed of 3/4″ multiply maple. A 1″ baffle was used along with heavy corner/cross bracing and fiberglass reinforcement to ensure a strong enclosure with no vibration or unwanted resonance. The kerfing technique was utilized to curve the port in two places (1.75″radius innercurve, 3″radius exit curve) for smoother impedance matching from the enclosure vent to the air.

Crossover Design:
Amplifier DSP shall be used for crossover and limiting.
36hz 24db/Oct HPF and 100hz 24db/Oct LPF

Conclusion:
Overall the boxes had a flat response down to 40hz with punchy low subwoofer characteristics. With the drivers high power handling and sensitivity, high SPL will be achievable in small to medium sized venues. The solid construction will ensure these enclosures hold up during transporting and handling.

About the Designer:
With a background in live production and installation of audio equipment, I was exposed to some of the highest level of loudspeaker cabinets in the industry. After working with some models such as Danley Soundlabs Basshorns and Synergy horns I was very much inspired by what can be done via a wood speaker enclosure. This led me to a passion for fabrication and design of custom loudspeakers for mobile and live applications. Currently located in Central NewJersey we can be contacted for custom loudspeaker enclosures.

Project Parts List: