DIY speakers + a warning for beginners.

Announced project completed Link .

Hello

Have you tried to connect the speakers to a different amplifier than the one or not top Technics? It seems to me that you have no center in your constructions because of this element. Try to connect some Cambridge Audio, it has meat in the diameter, maybe it will be better and the loudspeakers will give joy to the ears because it is actually something nice for the eye.

sarna1 wrote:

Try to connect some Cambridge Audio, it has meat in diameter,.

"Some" is not, the cheapest CAs, they are not those CAs above PLN 2,000 etc., in some cheapest meat as much as in a sausage from a discount.
But it could do with something better than Technics, strong Rotel, Denon, Nad, Onkyo, Pioneer.

Even the nice, new a351 will play meat in diameter, it lacks a kick, but its diameter is great, I had it, played it and compared it with the Acoustic Advance xi60, the Pioneer a50. Pionee won for me

The Azur series (e.g. 351), of course, can be liked, but I meant the cheap Topaz AM 5, 10 series are flat-sounding consumptions. "Less audiophile" brands with models such as Pioneer A-20, Denon pma520 are at CA topaz volcanoes of power, strength and energy.

sarna1 wrote:

Have you tried to connect the speakers to a different amplifier than the one, or at least not the highest-quality Technics?

It's been a while since the post was created I definitely connected them in various speaker configurations to various amplifiers, including for Yamaha AX-500.

Greg1702 wrote:

Another mistake is the OSB board, which is the worst choice in the construction of columns. Here, I would use 12mm plywood with a few reinforcements inside the column.

I recommend plywood for boxes, and a thicker one - e.g. 18mm. The boxes are stiff and the assembly is much easier (10-12mm plywood is flexible with long elements and you need to work a lot during assembly).

Added after 8 [minutes]:

According to me and the information that I obtained while following various forums and sources about the materials for the construction of columns, I can say that plywood is acoustically inferior to OSB. The best is MDF, then chipboard / OSB and finally plywood.

If I am wrong, I am asking for a reliable source of information on this subject. [/ Quote]
ONLY plywood and it is thicker - 18mm. It is stiff, easy to process and assemble. (Unfortunately the most expensive one) OSB is flaky and porous, MDF board is good but its only advantage is the cost - much lower than plywood and probably hence its popularity. Unfortunately, with MDF it is much more difficult to perform carpentry / finishing works - filling or gluing the edges

operator321 wrote:

I recommend for boxes ...

For apples or onions?

The most popular material for loudspeakers is MDF, it is a good and not too expensive material, it is easy to work with compared to other materials.
Chipboard is cheaper but worse in processing and acoustically than MDF.
OSB is not a speaker housing material, it is the worst material that can be chosen for this purpose.

When it comes to plywood, it is a good material for stage loudspeakers, due to its strength and lighter weight (which is very important in PA equipment).

Home loudspeakers are not made of plywood, unless we make a sandwich with it together with MDF, then we get a really good loudspeaker enclosure. Unfortunately, hardly anyone does this because of the high costs.

marian133 wrote:

operator321 wrote:

I recommend for boxes ...

For apples or onions?


When it comes to plywood, it is a good material for stage loudspeakers, due to its strength and lighter weight (which is very important in PA equipment).

Home loudspeakers are not made of plywood, unless we make a sandwich with it together with MDF, then we get a really good loudspeaker enclosure. Unfortunately, hardly anyone does this because of the high costs.

Another post by a colleague "in advance". PLYWOOD IS THE BEST material for columns - also for home use. Plywood, e.g. 18mm, is stiff and very easy to work with, It is very easy to veneer or varnish it. It has a pleasant, natural texture (you can choose coniferous or deciduous wood). It is bypassed with a wide berth only because of the price (1st class on average 3 times more expensive than MDF) The cost of plywood for medium-sized columns is about PLN 500 and I think that only this determines the choice of all kinds of panels. I don't know any reason to discourage someone to use plywood. If your friend knows any, please share this knowledge with us. And I will ask a colleague in his style: What makes it unsuitable for building home kits? Any tests? Features we don't know about? Do you know what properties 18mm plywood has? It is stiff and I guarantee you as heavy as MDF board (the difference is only 2.4 kg / m2 with a thickness of 18mm, so insignificant) But after soaking it can be shaped, so it is also an ideal material for enclosures with any curvature ... he knows about it, but after this entry ... I have doubts.
Most of the forum members convince each other to use the best components (often paid for in large amounts), and then mount them to cases made of shoddy MDF, which is puttied in all possible ways or, even worse, covered with "something" similar to "stage bands" or No self-respecting company produces high-end loudspeakers made of MDF boards anymore (except for monitors - but these are not high-end loudspeakers). Today, either composites or natural wood or high-quality plywood are used. MDF only reigns in stores not for idiots.
And in response to a colleague, the irony - housing / box - will also be good after cutting the top and for apples and onions

operator321 wrote:

NO self-respecting company produces high-end loudspeakers made of MDF boards anymore (except for monitors - but these are not high-end loudspeakers). Today, either composites or natural wood or high-quality plywood are used. MDF reigns supreme in stores not for idiots.

I have not read any more nonsense.
Which kind of enclosures are made only of plywood?
Probably only to create a new design.

operator321 wrote:

What makes it unsuitable for home kits? Any tests? Features we don't know about?

You should write "don't know" instead of "we don't know".
Anyone who has tried to make standard loudspeakers from these two materials knows that MDF is a better material to process (it does not fray, it is uniform, there are no cavities, as is the case with plywood), and better in the later finishing of the cabinets (varnishing, veneering) .
Have you tried varnishing the columns (in color) made of plywood?
Show off.

The price does not matter here, because if someone makes loudspeakers for e.g. 5,000, he can afford to add PLN 200 more for plywood.
Why doesn't he do that?
Because it doesn't make sense.
As for the stiffness of the housing, this is what the reinforcements are for. Plywood is not suitable because it is too flexible.

operator321 wrote:

Most forum users convince each other to use the best components (often paid for in large amounts), and then mount them to housings made of cheap MDF

Here you go, we would be happy to read (and ideally if it was supported by photos, or maybe even measurements) why we should spend 3x more for the material for the housings.

Great lesson in my opinion!
It's nothing that costs ... sometimes other things are more important.
Best regards and congratulations on your persistence.

Hello to all interested in this intricate and strange, albeit instructive and moralizing fast.
For starters, maybe MASS things, as if it did not sound ...

Greg1702 wrote:

One column should weigh a maximum of 20-25 kilos.

And one 1300-1400 kg car?

Greg1702, please think again before you write anything like this.
The heavier the loudspeaker, the better, mainly in terms of acoustic aspects. It is known, the heavier, the more specific, solid and one would like to say ... and I will risk:
noble.

katakrowa wrote:

Making a column that weighs 40 kg is also not a good idea.

I totally agree ... it's way too light! The column can weigh 140 kg ...
back to the "block reality" of 70-80 kg, this disaster would not be (in the sense of construction) :)

katakrowa wrote:

... Especially when you have to lift them later from the 4th floor by stairs. There is no way to freely rearrange them in the apartment.

Take 40 kg from the 4th floor ... should not be a problem for an average peasant, and as a last resort, in a block of flats, there are usually h ** neighbors, and it is enough if one agrees to help.
The column can always be lowered from the window, of course, before it is properly secured, fastened and prepared (belts, ropes, etc.), this is best done during festive holidays, or at times when the vast majority of the population is in the "dreamland" - then the heart they don't hurt because their eyes couldn't see ;)

FREE STANDING IN THE APARTMENT, which we are talking about here. To the kitchen, and where, even to the table, you will not take this column, not because it weighs only 40kilo, but because the wires run in the walls are up to 40 centimeters long, including the ends ...

Finally, to alleviate a certain dispute that has arisen on the subject of "f *** ing artificial, glued together materials". I propose to put on solid wood, such with class, "power & sound", the so-called: oak and beech. After that money ... even the rest would be left. Unless the rest. Back then: for reasons, mainly aesthetic, I recommend ebony. That's yes, for the future for our tasteful and full of ideas friend-founder (of this post).

Advice for the future for Katakrów: do not limit yourself to the importance of your projects, only if the column topples over it will drop to the basement itself
In my humble opinion; it is worth betting on nature, not on wallpapers ... (as in the case of the above-mentioned project)

I cordially greet you and I am glad that there are people like Katakrów who PUBLICALLY admitted to their mistakes. Such people should appear in the government ... then it would be ... idyll ... utopia, eden ...

Congratulations on the project. Despite poor satisfaction with the end result. It seems to me that the terrible listening room was also of great importance for the sound of this set. Probably the worst that can be imagined. Column close to the posterior and sidewall. On the tile floor ... the best equipment will not sound here. I know, not everyone has the conditions to create a listening room, but it could not play here. But the design is cool.

In my opinion, these speakers are too deep compared to their width. This may affect the sound quality. The speakers could also be a bit more expensive and a minimum of 165 mm for medium tones.