First I'd like to say that I've only been building Home Theatre speakers for a couple year s and I'm fairly new to it. So if others on this forum have anything to add feel free. Im still learning and its gets real complex. More complex than car audio. However, Ive had a great mentor and once you get into the process of building your own speakers, you will never go back to buying premade. The reason why is that many of the super high end speaker companies use designs and drivers you can purchase raw and mimic or improve on their original crossover designs. Therefore you can build a speaker that sel ls for $1000 using $200 of parts and s ome work. An excellent project to start off with is Roman's Microbe micro monitor designs. Since it is his design, I will link you to hi s site to check out his other projects and reviews of the speakers. Microbe with metal dome http://www.rjbaudio.com/Microbe%20SE/microbe%20SE.html Microbe with silk dome http://www.rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html These little speakers provide amazing sound for such a small package and would make an amazing HT if you were to buil d 5 of them. I currently use them in my bedroom subless and they sound great. If you were using these as a HT setup, you need a sub as they roll off sharply at 50hz. There are two versions, one with a silk dome and one with a aluminum/magnesium dome. The silk domes are smoother and more forgivi ng or poorly recorded materials and mp3s, the metal dome linked above is a audiophile speaker that should be used with good recordings and will make poor recordings sound bad. Its a very detailed and revealing speaker. I myself prefer the silk dome for music, especially rock or metal and the metal dome for HT or cd quality music and especially jazz and classical. First off is the enclosure. Use at least 1/2 MDF or baltic birch plywood. You want to make these cuts. Cutting the MDF: To make two boxes, cut four of each of the following: Baffles: 7.00” x 11.00” Sides: 11.00” x 7.50” Top/Bottom: 7.50” x 5.50” Now if you would prefer to have a nice pre-finished box as finishing can be the hardest aspect of doing a nice looking project, these boxes will work well and are reasonably priced. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/show...tnumber=302-700 they come in different finishes. For the DIY people, making a speaker box isnt very hard. Use a table saw to make accurate cuts, do not let home depot cut for you, they will never do a good job. If you have to, you can use a circular saw or jig saw. Just take your time and make them as exact as possible.
You just need a 2x4 sheet of mdf from any home depot or lowes. Assemble the sides and top and bottom of the s peakers using wood glue and screws. Dri ll all countersunk piolet holes for each scr ew so you do not crack the mdf or expose a screw. You do not have to use a lot of s crews, the glue does most of the bonding. Now wai t and put it aside. Later, put some spackle in the countesunk holes so you can sand it even and flat. The crossover is the trickiest part to figure out. Here is the crossover diagram for the microbe with the silk tweeter. The other is in the link for the metal dome version.
Its easier to understand when you seperate the woofer crossover and the tweeter's. Connect them both to the same input or bi amp. My makeshift key: the two lines that look like a vertical = sign are capacitors and the numbers are the value you need. The squiggly UUUUUU looking lines are inductors and the numbers a re the guage and value, we only use aircore inductors. The rigid VVV looking lines are resistors and the number i s the proper ohm value. The top wire is positive and the bottom negative in the schematic
Here is the part list you need to complete the crossover. I lis ted the part number on partsexpress dot com to make it easy t o find as well as the quantity you need. I also added the port you need for the box and inexpensive speaker terminals. If you want to put in nicer terminals, choose what you like.
004-4 DAYTON DNR-4.0 4 OHM 10W NON- .. 2 004-8 DAYTON DNR-8.0 8 OHM 10W NON- .. 2 027-420 DAYTON DMPC-3.3 3.3uF-250V PO .. 2 027-422 DAYTON DMPC-4.7 4.7uF-250V PO .. 2 027-424 DAYTON DMPC-6.8 6.8uF-250V PO .. 2 027-548 SOLEN 3.9uF-400VDC POLYPROPYL .. 2 260-294 ROUND SPEAKER TERMINAL .. 2 260-388 PORT TUBE 1-3/8" ADJUSTABLE .. 2 255-024 JANTZEN .20mH 20 GA AIR CORE .. 2 255-200 JANTZEN .05mH 18 GA AIR CORE .. 2 255-428 JANTZEN 1.80mH 15 GA AIR CORE .. 2
Here is the description of the speakers used in this design and part numbers. Tangband T25-1166S 1" neodymium fabric dome tweeter This compact neodymium tweeter offers very refined performance that is unusual for thi s size and price range. An enhanced dome damping technique gives excellent high frequency extension as well as good low-end response. With ferrofluid in the gap and a damped rear chamber, crossover design becomes much simpler. The small mounting flange is excellent for compact multimedia and home theater systems. Dayton RS125S-8 Reference Series 5" shielded aluminum woofer The Dayton Reference Series sets a new standard of value in high-performance loudspeaker drivers. Utilizing a low-distortion motor system with two short-circuit paths and a rigid aluminum cone, the Reference Series can outperform drivers that cost several times the price. Their lowdistortion characteristics and high excursion capabilities provide exceptional clarity, detail, and dynamics. Woofers feature a shielded motor system, black anodized cone, heavy-duty 6-hole cast frame, low-loss rubber surround, and solid aluminum phase plug. 264-834 TANG BAND 25-1166S 1" NEODYMI .. 2 295-360 DAYTON RS125S-8 5" REFERENCE .. 2 The tweeter is amazing for the price and sounds open and airy and smooth, still detailed. The mids have been tested and they perform better than speakers cosing 4x the cost. Theyre amazing speakers and I use the dayton rs series in my home and car. For woofer test results see zaphaudio dot com.
Creating the crossover is the hardest part, especially if you are unfamilar with soldering and reading schematics. However, its easier than you think once you get going and get the hand of it. When done, it should look similar to this. Just try to follow the sc hematic. You can use heavy duty double sided tape to keep the parts in place or just drill holes and make the connections underneath. It makes no real difference. Mount on peg board or some thin scrap wood.
Now back to the woodwork. Both of these drivers should be flush mounted(countersunk to be flush with the box). To do this you need a circle jig and a plunge router, if you have these things, you know how to use them the size diameters to use ar e in the diagram. Otherwise you can surfac e mount them and if you get into the hobby, invest in a good router and circle jig. If you are surface mounting them, The sil k version is a better choice a s the small flange causes less reflections than a larger surface mounted tweeter. If you would prefer a metal dome, you can replace the silk tang bang with the same model in titanium. I havent heard i t therefore can tell you if its as impressive as the silk version but its response is nearly identical to the silk so it should be a drop in change for the original crossover design. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/show...tnumber=264-835
Use the above scematic to measure where you should cut holes. Use a hole drill bit i f possible. Otherwise, take it easy with the jigsaw. Now you should be all cut and put the cr ossover in there if you cant remove it th rough the speaker hole. Attach the front and back baffl es the same way you did the sides, a few screws and some woodglue. Drill countersunk pioletholes. Then screw in. Fill in countersunk holes with spackle. Wait to dry. Now you should have an empty wood color box and a finished crossover. Sand and sand and sand the box untill there are no ridges or bumps. All joints where wood joins should be smooth and even. If you have a sander use it, be careful with a belt sander. If you have a router, use a 1/4 r oundover on the vertical corners. Ones its nice and smooth,
switch to an ultra fine guage sandpaper or steel wool to give it its final prep. Finishing the box can be tricky. If painting, first you need to use a sealent/primer as MDF soaks up paint. Use a sandable one. Spray or brush. then lightly sand with a grit around 200-300. After you're primed and smooth, an easy way to get a good fini sh is to use speckled spray paint such as plasticote that they sell at wallmart. Rustoleum hammered finish works as well as spray on truck bedliner. Its very forgiving, just remember to be at least a foot away and use light coats constantly moving. You can decide to be creative here but this will take the longest time to get right if you are going for a high gloss finish like piano black. I recommend the speckled pai nt or spray on bedliner from Autozone as its easy for a beginner and still looks good. Then in time learn about doing furniture finishes. Its all being patient.
Or you can wrap it in vinyl which they sell at parts express as well. Here is a finished version of this speaker I made for a friend. Its finished in parts express textured vinyl. Cost me under 200 ($170) total and he i s so happy, he ditched his 7.1 onkyo HT because he liked the sound of the two stero microbes and a custom subwoofer better. He was amazed as how good they sound. And you know how much more pride and connection you have with an item you build by self. You will be happy with these speakers. The ones below have a very basic finish. I did it at his house and didnt have a router so no roundover.Theyre a peel off adhesive so its easy to work with them. They have other colors and wood tones.
and then being tested in their temporary home before having to reluctantly give them to my friend who I built them for.
After building these for him, I decided to build one for me. So I changed the crossover a bit and came up with a similar design with a different mid finished in truck bedliner. This i s my bedroom setup. I slightly prefer the original design with dayton mid to these tang band aluminum 4" design although the tangs produce more low end. The daytons are a li ttle clearer. I need the low end because I am not running a sub in my bedroom. I kept the original tang bang tweeter because I was so impressed with it. If you are planning on a bedroom set of speakers or something like a garage and will not be using a subwoofer, I recommend using the mid seen below if you would like more powerful bass in sacrifice of some midrange sparkle. If anyone plans to, I'll let you know what changes to the original design must be done.
Ill put these microbe speakers up against highend micro speakers costing a grand plus. Its a very rewarding and managable first speaker project.
As requested, all the major designs now posted here
Microbes 1. The original silk dome Microbes http://www.rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html
004-4 DAYTON DNR-4.0 4 OHM 10W NON- .. 2 004-8 DAYTON DNR-8.0 8 OHM 10W NON- .. 2 027-420 DAYTON DMPC-3.3 3.3uF-250V PO .. 2 027-422 DAYTON DMPC-4.7 4.7uF-250V PO .. 2 027-424 DAYTON DMPC-6.8 6.8uF-250V PO .. 2 027-548 SOLEN 3.9uF-400VDC POLYPROPYL .. 2 260-294 ROUND SPEAKER TERMINAL .. 2 260-388 PORT TUBE 1-3/8" ADJUSTABLE .. 2 255-024 JANTZEN .20mH 20 GA AIR CORE .. 2 255-200 JANTZEN .05mH 18 GA AIR CORE .. 2 255-428 JANTZEN 1.80mH 15 GA AIR CORE .. 2 264-834 TANG BAND 25-1166S 1" NEODYMI .. 2 295-360 DAYTON RS125S-8 5" REFERENCE .. 2 2. Then the microbe se with a seas metal dome which is linked here http://www.rjbaudio.com/Microbe%20SE/microbe%20SE.html same part list used
3. Then the dayton reference tweet version here http://www.rjbaudio.com/Microbe/Ref...Microbes_v3.pdf same part list 4. Then the microbe xt which is the most current version and my personal favorite.
tweeter - http://www.madisound.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=1679 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Vifa Tweeter Madisound 1679 $33.40 4 $133.60 Dayton Woof 5" Parts Express 295-360 $20.54 4 $82.16 Resistor 4 Ohm Parts Express 004-4 $1.08 4 $4.32 Resistor 5.6 Ohm Parts Express 004-5.6 $1.08 4 $4.32 Capacitor 3.3 uF Parts Express 027-420 $1.77 4 $7.08 Capacitor 4.7 uF Parts Express 027-422 $1.89 4 $7.56
8. Capacitor 6.8 uF Parts Express 027-424 $2.25 4 $9.00 9. Inductor 0.05 mH Parts Express 255-200 $2.06 4 $8.24 10. Inductor 0.25 mH Parts Express 255-026 $2.75 4 $11.00 11. Inductor 1.8 mH Parts Express 255-428 $14.80 4 $59.20 12. Terminal Parts Express 260-294 $0.88 4 $3.52 13. Port Tube 1-3/8" Parts Express 260-388 $1.75 4 $7.00 14. ------15. $337.00
2.5 way mtm (center channels) -Microbe 2.5 way MTM (Center channel)
Crossover diagram for this design
-The vifa xt 2.5 way mtm
1 2 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1
260-307 Gold Pressfit Speaker Terminal 295-360 Dayton RS125S-8 5" Reference Shielded Woofer 8 Ohm 255-200 Jantzen 0.05 mH 18 AWG Air Core Inductor 255-270 Jantzen 2.5 mH 15 AWG Air Core Inductor 255-424 Jantzen 1.2 mH 15 AWG Air Core Inductor 255-022 Jantzen 0.15 mH 20 AWG Air Core Inductor 027-422 Dayton DMPC-4.7 4.7uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor 027-424 Dayton DMPC-6.8 6.8uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor 027-432 Dayton DMPC-15 15uF 250V Polypropylene Capacitor 004-2 Dayton DNR-2.0 2 Ohm 10W Precision Audio Grade Resistor 004-2.4 Dayton DNR-2.4 2.4 Ohm 10W Precision Audio Grade Resistor 004-1 Dayton DNR-1.0 1 Ohm 10W Precision Audio Grade Resistor 260-322 Port Tube 2-1/16" ID x 5" Long
1 Vifa XT25SC50-04 Ring Radiator tweeter http://www.madisound.com/catalog/pr...roducts_id=1679
Subwoofers Cerberus Mini-Sub
10" Dayton Reference HF Sub (My sub) As far my 10 inch dayton sub. All you need is 1.75 cubic feet. If you want my exact size I can measure it for you. The shape and design is up to you really. All the parts needed are these Sub http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/show...tnumber=295-460 Amp http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...tnumber=300-804 Two of these ports http://www.parts-express.com//pe/sh...tnumber=268-348 and some wood and choice of finish. I used these spikes to go with my all black theme. http://www.parts-express.com//pe/sh...tnumber=240-715
Otherwise follow this design http://www.parts-express.com//proje...?project=Rs1200 More budget friendly is this sub http://www.parts-express.com//pe/sh...tnumber=295-464 this amp http://www.parts-express.com/pe/sho...tnumber=300-805 and build a 2cuft sealed box. Follow these demensions. http://www.parts-express.com//pe/sh...tnumber=302-810
TyroneShoes fucked around with this message at Jan 26, 2010 around 23:54
