I’ve been wanting to get better at 3d modeling so I could use my 3d printer for more than just (trash) trinkets… I designed the internal enclosures, brass dress up rings, logo, and the control panel and built this vintage Samsonite suitcase speaker with all the free time I don’t actually have. I still need to wire up the inside but I’m pretty proud of the outside.
ofc he had to one up me in size lmao
I designed this sphere speaker specifically for the parts listed below.
The port is tuned to 50hz, ~8 liter volume, modeled in VituixCAD.
I test printed the holes and pocket depth and adjusted the dimensions for a perfect fit.
One enclosure fits on an H2 series Bambu printer and the model doesn't need supports.
I have not printed one as of now, but intend to soon. I have all the parts already from my TABAQ large build (pic is from 2018, the system has changed a lot since then).
Parts List (from partsexpress):
Tang Band W5-2143
Gold Banana 5-Way Binding Post Banana Jack Round Recessed Speaker Terminal Cup
BSC:
-wired in parallel
-glued to the back side of the terminal cup
1.0mH inductor
3.9ohm resistor
If anyone wants to give it a try here's the free model: https://cults3d.com/:4803114
I decided to build my first speakers. I wanted to replace my existing PC speakers with something that had a bit more bass while not taking up too much space. Also, I don't want to annoy the neighbors too much. The goal was to create compact PC speakers (bookshelves) capable of reaching 50Hz. They are for nearfield listening, and 90% of the time I sit in the same spot at my PC. Over time, I began to realize it wasn't as simple as I had imagined.
The enclosure is printed on an FDM 3D printer because I have one available and lack woodworking tools. The enclosure is made of PLA. I chose PLA because it should be more rigid than PETG. The print has 6 perimeters and a 40% gyroid infill density. I printed it with a 0.4mm nozzle. The side walls of the enclosure are 7mm thick, and the front and rear panels are 15mm. Size of the speakers is 24*13*25cm.
I started by selecting the midbass. I chose the Dayton TCP115-4. For the tweeter, I went with the Dayton ND25-FA. Both drivers are cheap, making them an ideal choice for a first experiment. I calculated the bass reflex using WinISD. According to WinISD, the port length came out to 29cm, so I had to figure out how to fold it.
The whole setup is powered by a Wondom JAB4. It's a 4-channel amplifier with DSP, allowing me to run the entire system bi-amped. For the PSU, I temporarily used a laptop power adapter. I set the crossover frequency to 3kHz. I measured the frequency response and had REW generate an EQ file. The result lowered the overall volume but flattened the frequency curve.
My initial impressions were that it sounded great. However, after some listening time, I started noticing fundamental flaws. When listening at 70% volume or higher, air leaks around the connectors become audible. I'm not sure if the chosen connector type is ideal, and although having active speakers seems cool, it might be better to make both passive and keep the amplifier in a separate external box. The second issue is that 7mm walls are not very thick. I feel that the side panels resonate, especially when listening to human voices, which degrades the overall listening experience. I thought about modifying the design slightly to have a 4mm plastic wall, a 5mm gap, and then another 4mm plastic wall, filling the gap with fine sand. There would be ribs inside the gap. I got this inspiration from a Facebook group. Since I am already considering such radical changes, I am also thinking about replacing the tweeter with an SB Acoustics SB26STC-C000-4.
Hi everyone!
In this post, I’m going to show you the build process and the final result of my Frankenstein "PartyBox" speaker.
It all started when the power supply on my JBL PartyBox 310 failed, making it impossible to charge (after only six months of use). I filed a warranty claim, and it was sent to the factory for a month. After that month, they told me it couldn't be fixed and that the JBL 310 was no longer in production. They offered me the option to pay an extra €100 out of pocket, combining that with the value of the 310 to buy a JBL PartyBox 120 instead (which is an inferior model and more expensive 🤡). I asked for a refund instead, and they gave me my money back.
I decided I wouldn't buy a JBL PartyBox again. I had a Kenwood KFC-W3002 subwoofer (200W RMS, 4 ohms; a 1997 model) and a pair of Pioneer TS-1320F 5-inch speakers sitting unused at home.
My uncle upgraded his computer, and since I built the new rig for him, he gave me the parts he didn't need including a 600W ATX power supply.
I decided to use that power supply for the speaker cabinet I was building to replace my JBL 310. I designed the enclosure with a 40-liter net internal volume tuned to 36Hz for the Kenwood KFC-W3002. On top, I built separate sealed enclosures (approx. 3 liters internal volume each) for the Pioneer TS-1320F speakers, with the head unit, a Pioneer MVH-S310BT mounted in the middle. This unit powers the Pioneers 5". When I need a bit more sound, I add Sony SS-A290 speakers (rear chanels from headunit) and my JBL Xtreme 2 (connected to the head unit's front RCA outputs via an RCA-to-3.5mm cable). To power the subwoofer, I’m using a Pioneer GM-X552 amplifier bridged to 4 ohms, delivering 150W RMS (though it likely isn't hitting that full output due to voltage drops from the power supply during heavy bass hits; I need to upgrade the power supply soon).
The cabinet is made of 16mm plywood my dad got for free, and it's upholstered with carpet he also sourced at no cost.
We cut, assembled, and upholstered the box right there in our apartment 🤣 (just like I did with my car subwoofer enclosure).
Since the wood was free, it had some odd cuts, and we only had a jigsaw to work with, so the box ended up slightly out of square. It was the first slot-ported enclosure I’ve ever designed and built; it was much harder than I expected, but now I have the experience to do a better job on the next one. I hope you like the project. There’s still room for improvement, but I’m really happy with the result.
I was thinking I could get rca cables and connect them to the speakers, but I don’t know if that would work. Do I need something to place the speakers into to power them? Or do I just need to chop this up?
have some projects i want to work on but my constraint is getting wood cut. do people have services or shops they use to get plans cnc’d and delivered?
based in the US currently
For my first project I was wondering what kits you guys recommend. I was looking for a good quality set up and was viewing CSS Audio, Audio First Designs and GR-research kits. Any guidance would be appreciated.
i have this exact one at home. i want to convert it into an microphone preamp that goes into the insert point of my mixing console. is it a realistic goal? Thanks!!
Building my first 2-way horn speaker: sensitivity mismatch between SB Acoustics drivers
Hi everyone,
I’m working on my first DIY 2-way high-fidelity horn-loaded speaker as a proof-of-concept project. I’m relatively new to speaker design, so I’m trying to approach this properly rather than simply bolting together expensive drivers and hoping physics develops a sense of humor. The best I’ve done till now is make a kit speaker, but I didn’t have to deal with the issues I have now. I’m
The drivers I’ve currently selected are:
Woofer: SB Acoustics SB13PFCR25-4
Compression driver: SB Acoustics Bianco 25CD-P, used with a horn/waveguide
The main issue I’m trying to solve is the large sensitivity difference between the two drivers.
The Bianco 25CD-P is substantially more sensitive than the SB13PFCR25-4, which means I’m trying to figure out the best way to integrate them while maintaining a balanced, high-fidelity response.
My current options seem to be:
Use an L-pad/resistive attenuation to bring the compression driver down to the woofer’s level.
Find a lower-sensitivity compression driver that is naturally closer to the woofer. Which I cannot find in India.
Find a higher-sensitivity woofer, although that introduces compromises in cost, size and potentially bass performance. Too costly tbh for a prototype
Design a proper passive crossover with attenuation and impedance compensation around the actual drivers..
The DSP approach is particularly interesting to me because I’m considering DSP for the final system anyway. However, I’m unsure whether using DSP to compensate for a sensitivity difference of this magnitude is considered good practice.
What I’m particularly trying to understand is this:
If the compression driver is significantly more sensitive than the woofer, is there any real downside to simply attenuating it substantially with an L-pad?
For example, does significant attenuation introduce meaningful disadvantages in terms of:
dynamics
distortion
amplifier power requirements
noise floor
impedance
crossover behavior
transient response
overall sound quality
And would DSP attenuation be preferable to an L-pad if I use separate amplification for the woofer and compression driver?
The intended configuration is simply:
Bianco 25CD-P + horn/waveguide → SB13PFCR25-4 woofer
My goal is hi-fi sound rather than maximum SPL. I’m mainly interested in getting the tonal balance, crossover integration, imaging, dynamics and distortion performance right.
I’m also trying to understand how much importance I should place on the nominal sensitivity figures in the datasheets. I understand that the actual response curves, impedance, horn/waveguide loading, crossover frequency and acoustic response of the finished system are ultimately more important than simply comparing two sensitivity numbers.
For those of you who have experience designing 2-way horn speakers, how would you approach this particular combination?
Would you:
attenuate the Bianco with an L-pad,
use a passive crossover specifically designed around these two drivers,
use active amplification + DSP,
or reconsider the driver combination altogether?
I’d also appreciate any advice on a sensible crossover frequency for the Bianco 25CD-P and SB13PFCR25-4, particularly regarding directivity matching and getting the best integration from the horn/waveguide and woofer.
I can provide the exact datasheets, response curves and the passive crossover I’m currently considering if useful.
Thanks in advance.
I have had a 10 inch passive radiator sub in my car for about 6 months, and I just bought a second sub+pr.
Since at this point, the new ones are much stiffer, how long should I break them in to match the old ones?
2 CT sounds BIO 12’s D4 for 1 ohm load
1 RECOIL RED1200.1
5 PSUs for a total of 12,3V 100A
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Salutations .
j' étais parti pour une enceinte nomade et finalement elle n'est pas autant nomade que cela car elle fait son poids 😅.
Elle est en chêne massif et comporte 3 chambres séparées.
2 tang band W4-2142
1 Dayton Audio DCS165-4
Et 1 passif Dayton Audio DSA175-PR placé à l'arrière.
Côté amplificateur c'est un arylic upstream amp 2.1
Elle est alimentée soit par secteur soit par batterie.
Pour séparer l' électronique j'ai réalisé un socle indépendant de l'enceinte.
Je suis pas expert ni quoi que ce soit mais le son qui en sort me convient tout à fait. C'est clair et percutant !
Voilà je voulais juste vous le partager.
Hey, I’m currently planning to build a subwoofer for my Heco Aurora 300s. I have a rather small room (17 m²), but I can allocate as much space as I want. I mainly watch movies, so I was thinking of a vented enclosure.
Budget for the driver itself is around €100. After some research I see that a lot of people recommend Dayton speakers, but they’re quite expensive in Europe. In the budget-oriented segment in the EU, the Reckhorn D-200 seems to be solid choice. A lot of people also buy drivers from The Box and B&C. I’m willing to add another €100 if needed, but I was thinking of using a car Audio System Carbon 12". It costs €70 and has excellent reviews, including in vented enclosures for home use.
I’ll power it with a TPA3255 600 W amp — they’re available at cheap on AliExpress.
I’d be grateful for any advice on alternative drivers i can get in Europe!
https://www.reddit.com/r/diyaudio/s/7LWxAJewtL
So when I posted about my new speakers the other day, I mentioned that there was some weirdness especially in mid-tone/spoken voice, and that I was going to do some analysis to try and figure it out. I've never played with audio analysis software, but I spent this morning having fun figuring it out, and this is what I got.
With the panel freestanding in the middle of the room, and the microphone 3 ft in front of the center, this is what I get. Extremely regular sawtooth pattern, 3-4 peaks per octave. And they ain't small either, between 20 to 30 dB trough to peak, pretty repeatably with each sweep.
I didn't grab the image, but when I put the speakers back in place, 8" from the wall and a foot from the corner, that pattern breaks down some. Presumably there are reflections and additional interference from the walls, smoothing things out. But the peakiness is still there, and it's still about 5-10 dB peak to trough - which is absolutely enough to be audible with my old ears, at least in some passages. And it's there all the way from 150 Hz at the bottom, up to about 8 kHz.
This absolutely explains the weirdness I'm hearing, especially in spoken voice. I listened to Carmina Burana yesterday, and I could also hear it especially in the mass choral sections. There's still a lot great about these speakers. Detail, separation of instruments, good soundstage in a very relaxed listening position, and able to fill the room nicely without having to crank the volume up. But also able to crank the volume up. In a lot of ways these are very very good speakers.
But they also have the problem that occasionally in some sections, voices sound like they're bubbling through water a little bit. Which is not good.
I'm considering experimenting more, but that would require me to get a box for doing parametric EQ, probably something like the mini DSP flex, which is another $500 or so investment. I don't mind the money so much, but I would mind if I throw that much money and effort and learning DSP and getting it dialed in for about 16 peaks, and it didn't work.
I'm also considering building another set of panels out of EPS foam, and see if a lighter rigid material might help with this some. That's actually my next step if I decide to move forward with this, relatively inexpensive and limited amount of work to put it together.
But in any case, this seems like it's an inherent problem with DML speakers, because it works by creating modes within the panel, those modes are going to interfere with each other, and there's probably no way around it. I suspect internal comb filtering is simply an inherent unavoidable issue with this technology.
I'm still enjoying the hell out of these. They are a major step up from listening to music on the speakers in my TV, which I did for way too long. Question now is how much effort I spend trying to dial this in, which I will for at least a while, and see if I can get them good enough to not eventually be disappointed with that muddled sound in some places, or move to a more conventional solution.
I feel like I'm being dicked around by literally every shop I talk to and I just need some advice on what is actually right. I'm a noob when it comes to how this shit works technically, i just want my music to be good and loud.
I am trying to get a system installed in my 2020 Toyota Camry and ive now been to 3 shops that have given me 3 different experiences. My budget is open but i dont want to pay $1300 for a job that could be done for $800 or $1000 even.
My Camry is the base audio and not the JBL. The items i have:
- Kenwood eXcelon 802-5 amplifier (5 channel)
- Kenwood Excelon P-XW1221SHP subwoofer
- 2 Kicker 46CSC654 6.5 door speakers (with the Crutchfield adapter brackets and wire harnesses)
Quote 1 is from Car Tunes from a few weeks ago. Total was $758. It feels like they didn't even try. They quoted me for a 2 channel amp install. They also threw on a Wavtech LINKDQ which is a 2 channel line output converter. Since I have a 5 channel amp, this quote seems completely useless.
Quote 2 is also Car Tunes quoted today. Total is $1264. This has a 5 channel amp install at least. also looks like they upgraded the wiring kit to 4 gauge. They added an AudioControl LC7i for $260. They also added three sets of RCA cables at $79 each. I believe the LC7i is necessary for my car but i just wanted to double check. this one seems the most normal.
Quote 3 is my "local" neighborhood shop. Theyre 45 mins away but this is where I got my first system years ago, so I trusted them. I drive out there one day to show them the speakers. They give me a quote around $1200 but couldnt exactly explain line our converters to me and what I actually needed. The owner calls me later and tells me the other guy didnt know what he was talking about and I'm actually going to need a $600 LOC instead and i'm like woah woah where did this come from? I'm like how about i email the links to what I have and you can tell me exactly what i need and he says sure. A week goes by with no response so I call him and he says "oh we're really busy so we dont really check our emails." We talk back and forth and finally i just say screw it and to put me on the schedule. I told him straight up I live 45 mins away so I need it done in one day. He says he cant guarantee it but if i drop it off right in the morning they will do everything they can to get it done.
I drop it off today right when they open at 10am and remind the guy working I need it today. He tells me they have a few more installs they need to do from yesterdya and the week before so they dont know. Cut to 11:30, owner calls and says there's no way it gets done today. I just told him i'll come get the car. When i came and got it he said "i told you we couldnt get it done in 1 day." and i said that i told them my situation and i assumed they would have planned for that. The owner told me he doesn't know any shop that could get this done in 1 day. I called Car Tunes right after and asked if they could do it in a single day and they said yeah no problem.
Are any of these quotes close? I'm sure regional chains like Car Tunes have success stories and failures but this shop tends to get good reviews.
Am I just being an ignorant asshole? i can take the tough love if i'm just being a pain in their ass. I dont want to do that, i am just being told very different things and then get a lame experience from a local shop on top of it.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated
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Hi everyone!
I’m here to show off my first sound system. The car is a Volkswagen Polo 9N.
For the front doors, I have a Focal ASE 165 2-way component set, and in the rear doors, MTX Audio TX265C coaxial speakers, all four are powered by an Alpine V-Power MRP-F240 amplifier (4x 40W RMS @ 4 ohms).
For the subwoofer, I’m using an MTX Audio RT12-04 (250W RMS, 4-ohm SVC) powered by a Pioneer GM-D8701 amplifier set to 250W RMS @ 4 ohms. The subwoofer sits in a custom enclosure I designed and built myself. The box has a net internal volume of 65L tuned to 33Hz and its made of 18mm marine-grade plywood (though the carpet started peeling off after 3 years 🥲).
As for the head unit, I have a Pioneer DMH-A220BT, along with a Vibe Audio bass knob and a voltmeter flush-mounted in the dashboard.
The electrical system is stock, featuring a 120A alternator, a 70Ah lead-acid battery, and 10mm² CCA cables from MTX (though I’ll be upgrading to 50mm² OFC cables and a 50mm² OFC "Big 3" upgrade very soon).
The total output is around 400W RMS, and I estimate it’s close to 120dB (though I’ve never actually measured it).
I'm new to the subreddit, so I can't post videos.
I need some help. I've attached some pictures to let you see what I have of a home audio and I feel like everything is plugged in. I don't know where or how to turn it on or if the CA4 multizone controllers need power somehow from the denon power supply or even where or what might go where.
Really, just getting me started or any information of how to turn the power on would be helpful. I have 4 of the control units throughout the house and none turn on anything.