Forums https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl AUDIO FORUMS >> D.I.Y. >> Thinking about a project https://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1404593622 Message started by Donnie on 07/05/14 at 21:53:42

Title: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/05/14 at 21:53:42 I ended up with a spare week on my hands towards the end of July and I got thinking about a good project to keep me from annoying everyone. So now I'm thinking about building myself some garage speakers. At first I was thinking about making something like these Blumenstein Thrashers. The parts are cheap and the build quality doesn't look taxing. I also found another project going on online that is a different version of the same idea. http://localhifishop.com/tweek-geeks-summer-speaker-project/   I then started thinking of building some sort of clones of DM945's. Again the buy in isn't bank emptying. Another thought was to build something a little larger using the same drivers as the DM's. Believe me, I'm not trying to put Steve and Bob out of business, I'm just wanting something to mess with and to use some of my rusty pattern making skills again. Anyone have any ideas for something else to make. Again, it is for my garage, so their main usage is to play a little on the loud side and annoy the heartless bastard bloodsucking lawyer who lives across the  road! I'm pretty open for suggestions, throw them at me, I'm a grown man, I can take it.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lin on 07/06/14 at 00:23:31 "so their main usage is to play a little on the loud side and annoy the heartless bastard bloodsucking lawyer who lives across the  road!" https://www.decware.com/newsite/Pro12.htm

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by 4krow on 07/06/14 at 17:39:10 Now Lin, you have no viable 'proof' that he is an actual blood sucker. That is what we call here say, yes pun intended. Ok, now this is where audio can get really glorious for me. I wanted to introduce a boss of mine to better speakers. With him being real tightwad, $200 was the entire budget. I got some Audio Nirvana 8" drivers for about $150, and had scrap wood, and other supplies that helped me meet my goal. It actually ended up at $208. The point is, they sounded way to good to believe, and THAT would be my choice for garage speakers.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by 4krow on 07/06/14 at 17:59:32 http://s1117.photobucket.com/user/4krow/media/P3060001.jpg.html?sort=3&o=277

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/06/14 at 21:12:02 Now 4krow, Lin is just quoting me about the "Bloodsucker". I just checked out the Audio Nirvana website, pretty interesting stuff. The DM945 clones are still at the top of my list right now. Time will tell.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lin on 07/06/14 at 21:52:56 I added the quote after 4krow posted. :-? (to emphasize your wanting speakers that will play loud)

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by 4krow on 07/06/14 at 22:03:28 You can always go with horns! HA! I can't even say it W/O laughing. Good Lord, imagine that.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/07/14 at 23:30:25 I put in my order for a pair of Silver Flute 8"'s and a pair of Hi-Vi RT1C-A tweeters today. So it looks like DM clones unless I can find something else to put them in. Wish me luck, I haven't a clue what I am doing. But that has never stopped me before.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lonely Raven on 07/07/14 at 23:41:48 Cool! I look forward to seeing what you do with this! Palomino made some speakers along those lines...maybe ping him?

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/08/14 at 23:51:38 Well a box from Madisound just arrived. I still don't have a clue of what I am going to do with all of this stuff. The possibilities are unlimited, but the results may vary.

Title: Technical questions Post by Donnie on 07/12/14 at 16:26:56 Yesterday I had one of my CAD monkeys draw a box up for me and some questions came up. What material should these be made from? Solid wood, MDF, plywood? I went to the local Lowe's and saw that the price wouldn't change that much  between any of the materials. I like the idea of solid wood, but would there be cracking or warping problems? I know that MDF machines nice, but it is pretty ugly. But then again the speakers are for the garage. Maybe Birch or Oak plywood is the answer. Any opinions?? Another question that came up is if a port has to be on the inside of the box? As it is drawn now, I am going to cut 3.5" squares and blow a 2.5" hole in them, stacking them to get my length. Yes I know that I can buy a plastic premade port, but why buy when you can make? Anyway is there any reason why the port has to be on the inside of the box, can it extend out the back of the box? Also when lurking around the interweb is see that the DM's use shredded cardboard on the inside, anyone have a idea of how much, or is it a ancient Chinese secret? My box is just a smidge bigger than the DM's, the CAD shows right at 1200 cubic inches.   I really hope that these work, it is a whole lot of fun just getting through the planning stage. As I have said before, I don't have a clue of what I am doing. But you never know how to do something until you do it. The worst thing that can happen is that through some design flaw they catch fire and burn me up. Ha! Onward and upward!

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lin on 07/12/14 at 17:17:09 Baltic birch, port can be on the outside. Have no clue on the shredded cardboard. :-?

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lonely Raven on 07/12/14 at 19:06:10 Donnie, I agree with what Lin said. Baltic Birch is solid, doesn't resonate easily, and can look decent. I like MDF for it's density, but unless you coat it with something, it gets ugly pretty quick. Either material, a great and durable exterior can be done with spray on or roll on truck bed liner. As for the shredded cardboard - that's more to break up internal sound reflections/standing waves. It's not like polyfill really where polyfill tricks the speaker into thinking the air in the box is more dense. I think the rule for either material (cardboard/polyfill) is something like 10%, then adjust to taste. I think Zygi uses some sort of shredded/perforated cardboard in some of his speaker designs. IMHO, if it were me, I'd probably do some cardboard and polyfill - it might get the best of both worlds.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/22/14 at 00:19:10 Well, I just finished hacking up some Baltic Birch plywood. My skills really have diminished. I'm pretty sure I have everything cut to more or less to the correct size, now it is time to "bolt her together". After that I will have to see how my soldering skills have eroded. I can see myself catching the speaker boxes on fire and burning the place down. By the way, I'm having a blast. I know that they won't sound great, but it is the journey not the destination.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lonely Raven on 07/22/14 at 06:15:18 Well said, Donnie!

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/22/14 at 22:47:28 They make noise! They also look like a mud fence. I am calling them "Mud Ugly"

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/22/14 at 22:53:19 Wow, that sure came out huge! Anyway they are sounding pretty good. THey have huge bass! I feel sorry for the blood sucking neighbor!

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lonely Raven on 07/23/14 at 19:21:01 What bass driver did you use for that? Is it the 8" one that is used on the 945? Between talking to Palomino and DeuceKazoo about their DIY builds, and seeing yours put together...I'm starting to get interested in building something like this myself. I have a cabinet design in my head, I'd just need to ask the expert what kind of airspace and port I'd need to make it sing.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 07/23/14 at 21:26:13 Yep LR, The same drivers as the DM945's. A 8" silver flute and a Hi-Vi tweeter in them. I had one of my CAD Monkey's draw them up in Creo for me. He just copied the DM'd dimensions. I took those and changed some stuff around for the sake of not really having any woodworking tools to speak of. Instead of being  16" tall mine are 24". The wood was 24" so there were 8 less cuts to make. The port is 2.5" in diameter because that is the size of hole saw we had, it is 3" long because I stacked 3 4"x4" squares with the hole drilled in them up and glued them inside the box. Of course that is assuming that the plywood was .75 thick, I didn't measure it. I moved the woofer up a few inches and the tweeter moved up the same amount. I wish I had moved them up a few more inches because they just "Look" too low now. I started out making everything all nice and pretty until I ran a bead of silicone to seal up one side. Well, I made a grand mess out of it, so I just said "Hell with it" and started screwing stuff together without worrying about the looks. I am a excitable boy. I burnt myself soldering stuff up, didn't measure twice and cut once and pissed my wife off, so it was a good project! I'm getting ready to either steal some of the stupid pillows from the couch back in the spare room or go to Hobby Lobby to get some stuffing. I am real happy with how these speakers sound, not as refined as my MG944's, but the have some slam to them! Hell they are just garage speakers. I might, maybe, slather them in shellac just because I have a new can of it on the shelf. I'm not going to put anyone out of business with my woodworking skills, but it kept me off of the street for a few days and put a smile on my face.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Lonely Raven on 07/24/14 at 05:05:31 I've actually bought Walmart $1.97 pillows and just gutted the stuffing out of them. It wound up being cheaper than going to a hobby store (not sure if that's still true). Or in the case of my giant sub-woofer, I just stuffed whole pillows in. Many of them.  :) Kinda gives you an idea of how big my subwoofer is. LOL

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Donnie on 08/02/14 at 23:27:21 My brother and I just spent a little bit listening to my new homemade speakers vs my MG 944's. We both decided that my homemade ones had more "slam" to them, a lot of exciting bass. We also decided that the MG"s are undeniably better! quite a bet better at soundstaging, width and depth. They sound so much more refined . I'm not unhappy, my garage speakers are fun to listen to and they perform much better than their cost would make you expect. I'm saying that my garage speakers are more party speakers and my MG's are for my enjoyment. It was a great project. The next one will be even better.

Title: Re: Thinking about a project Post by Palomino on 10/30/14 at 12:00:22 Sorry to weigh in post project Donnie, but I just shredded the cardboard in a paper shredder. I do like that woofer/tweeter combo.  Pretty nice speakers for Garage Speakers.

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