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Which speaker i should go for

Kamranbites
Go to solution Solved by cmndr,

TLDR: You should probably stick with pre-made speakers. 


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This will be pedantic
These look like speaker drivers. They're just one part if you're building your speaker. 


In most cases you should NOT build your own speakers if you're not willing to spend 100+ hours simulating/designing cross over networks and doing design/simulation for the cabinets that would be holding these drivers. Ideally you'd have a background in electrical engineering and/or physics as well 
If you're in it for the thrill of doing design work or building something then it's OK. 


As far as which one to get, more information would need to be known:
1. What are the response characteristics of the drivers. F3 alone isn't enough
2. What are the response characteristics of the tweeter you plan on using
3. What are the characteristics of the cabinetry you'll be using
4. How do they interact
 

As an aside, I'm not a proper physicist or electrical engineer so I wouldn't be able to give a great answer. 
I gave up on the idea of DIY speakers when I realized that for 10x less effort I could buy, used, a better speaker than I could build, at a lower price AND that when you build your own speakers, it becomes almost impossible to resell them. 

I will caveat that subwoofers are usually a bit easier to design than a multi-driver bookshelf or tower speaker, especially if you are using a kit. I'm much less negative about DIY subwoofers and pre-cut flatpack MDF given that a huge part of their cost comes from shipping size. 

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As an FYI, I expect, based on past posts, that you'll go full steam ahead and then in a few weeks you'll have the following questions:

1. Why are the high frequencies too loud in my speaker? <- no/poor crossover
2. Why does my speaker sound distorted? <- no/poor crossover
3. Why do my two speaker drivers sound weird (some sounds are extra loud, some are soft) <- answer, a combination of poor driver choices + crossover designs and potentially cabinetry
4. Why does my speaker sound bad if I'm very slightly off angle <- bad crossover/driver positioning


As mentioned earlier, you should avoid building your own speakers if you aren't willing to put in the time and research. 
If you MUST build your own speaker, start with a kit that someone else designed and selected parts for. 

There are two speakers with same specs and price this the difference is in dust caps, what do you suggest me which one should I go for 

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Screenshot_20230912_205813.jpg

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TLDR: You should probably stick with pre-made speakers. 


-----


This will be pedantic
These look like speaker drivers. They're just one part if you're building your speaker. 


In most cases you should NOT build your own speakers if you're not willing to spend 100+ hours simulating/designing cross over networks and doing design/simulation for the cabinets that would be holding these drivers. Ideally you'd have a background in electrical engineering and/or physics as well 
If you're in it for the thrill of doing design work or building something then it's OK. 


As far as which one to get, more information would need to be known:
1. What are the response characteristics of the drivers. F3 alone isn't enough
2. What are the response characteristics of the tweeter you plan on using
3. What are the characteristics of the cabinetry you'll be using
4. How do they interact
 

As an aside, I'm not a proper physicist or electrical engineer so I wouldn't be able to give a great answer. 
I gave up on the idea of DIY speakers when I realized that for 10x less effort I could buy, used, a better speaker than I could build, at a lower price AND that when you build your own speakers, it becomes almost impossible to resell them. 

I will caveat that subwoofers are usually a bit easier to design than a multi-driver bookshelf or tower speaker, especially if you are using a kit. I'm much less negative about DIY subwoofers and pre-cut flatpack MDF given that a huge part of their cost comes from shipping size. 

---

 

As an FYI, I expect, based on past posts, that you'll go full steam ahead and then in a few weeks you'll have the following questions:

1. Why are the high frequencies too loud in my speaker? <- no/poor crossover
2. Why does my speaker sound distorted? <- no/poor crossover
3. Why do my two speaker drivers sound weird (some sounds are extra loud, some are soft) <- answer, a combination of poor driver choices + crossover designs and potentially cabinetry
4. Why does my speaker sound bad if I'm very slightly off angle <- bad crossover/driver positioning


As mentioned earlier, you should avoid building your own speakers if you aren't willing to put in the time and research. 
If you MUST build your own speaker, start with a kit that someone else designed and selected parts for. 

3900x | 32GB RAM | RTX 2080

1.5TB Optane P4800X | 2TB Micron 1100 SSD | 16TB NAS w/ 10Gbe
QN90A | Polk R200, ELAC OW4.2, PB12-NSD, SB1000, HD800
 

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9 hours ago, cmndr said:

TLDR: You should probably stick with pre-made speakers. 


-----


This will be pedantic
These look like speaker drivers. They're just one part if you're building your speaker. 


In most cases you should NOT build your own speakers if you're not willing to spend 100+ hours simulating/designing cross over networks and doing design/simulation for the cabinets that would be holding these drivers. Ideally you'd have a background in electrical engineering and/or physics as well 
If you're in it for the thrill of doing design work or building something then it's OK. 


As far as which one to get, more information would need to be known:
1. What are the response characteristics of the drivers. F3 alone isn't enough
2. What are the response characteristics of the tweeter you plan on using
3. What are the characteristics of the cabinetry you'll be using
4. How do they interact
 

As an aside, I'm not a proper physicist or electrical engineer so I wouldn't be able to give a great answer. 
I gave up on the idea of DIY speakers when I realized that for 10x less effort I could buy, used, a better speaker than I could build, at a lower price AND that when you build your own speakers, it becomes almost impossible to resell them. 

I will caveat that subwoofers are usually a bit easier to design than a multi-driver bookshelf or tower speaker, especially if you are using a kit. I'm much less negative about DIY subwoofers and pre-cut flatpack MDF given that a huge part of their cost comes from shipping size. 

---

 

As an FYI, I expect, based on past posts, that you'll go full steam ahead and then in a few weeks you'll have the following questions:

1. Why are the high frequencies too loud in my speaker? <- no/poor crossover
2. Why does my speaker sound distorted? <- no/poor crossover
3. Why do my two speaker drivers sound weird (some sounds are extra loud, some are soft) <- answer, a combination of poor driver choices + crossover designs and potentially cabinetry
4. Why does my speaker sound bad if I'm very slightly off angle <- bad crossover/driver positioning


As mentioned earlier, you should avoid building your own speakers if you aren't willing to put in the time and research. 
If you MUST build your own speaker, start with a kit that someone else designed and selected parts for. 

Thank you for your reply.

 

I have a speaker enclosure that already includes a tweeter with a capacitor. The old woofer has become damaged, so I am replacing it with a new one. The specifications, such as ohms and wattage, remain the same. However, the new woofer is referred to as a woofer+subwoofer, which appears to be the only distinction.

 

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14 hours ago, Kamranbites said:

Thank you for your reply.

 

I have a speaker enclosure that already includes a tweeter with a capacitor. The old woofer has become damaged, so I am replacing it with a new one. The specifications, such as ohms and wattage, remain the same. However, the new woofer is referred to as a woofer+subwoofer, which appears to be the only distinction.

 

Here's a guide for choosing drivers: https://www.audioholics.com/diy-audio/building-a-do-it-yourself-loudspeaker-design/driver-selection

The same concepts will apply. 

 

Some generic bits
1. You might want to replace both pairs of drivers across both speakers
2. It's probably hard to tell just online without the following: model number of drivers considered, model number of existing speakers, detailed specs (including frequency sweeps), and probably the detailed specs of the old driver being replaced. 

I want to emphasize, F3 is NOT the be all end all. On a speaker level, all it says is where the speaker drops off to -3dB from its baseline. There's a bunch of "cheating" in that measurement. It doesn't cover things like distortion. It doesn't touch on efficiency. It doesn't touch on how consistent the drivers frequency response is or how responsive the speaker is. My guess is that when you say they have the same specs it's something like F3: 60-3000Hz or something like that. This is like saying Einstein and Hitler are the same people because they weighed the same and had brown eyes. It doesn't work that way. 

3900x | 32GB RAM | RTX 2080

1.5TB Optane P4800X | 2TB Micron 1100 SSD | 16TB NAS w/ 10Gbe
QN90A | Polk R200, ELAC OW4.2, PB12-NSD, SB1000, HD800
 

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6 hours ago, cmndr said:

Here's a guide for choosing drivers: https://www.audioholics.com/diy-audio/building-a-do-it-yourself-loudspeaker-design/driver-selection

The same concepts will apply. 

 

Some generic bits
1. You might want to replace both pairs of drivers across both speakers
2. It's probably hard to tell just online without the following: model number of drivers considered, model number of existing speakers, detailed specs (including frequency sweeps), and probably the detailed specs of the old driver being replaced. 

I want to emphasize, F3 is NOT the be all end all. On a speaker level, all it says is where the speaker drops off to -3dB from its baseline. There's a bunch of "cheating" in that measurement. It doesn't cover things like distortion. It doesn't touch on efficiency. It doesn't touch on how consistent the drivers frequency response is or how responsive the speaker is. My guess is that when you say they have the same specs it's something like F3: 60-3000Hz or something like that. This is like saying Einstein and Hitler are the same people because they weighed the same and had brown eyes. It doesn't work that way. 

What if I just purchase a car speaker

Which have balanced sound tweeter+woofer. I can go with brands like Sony or JBL 5.25 inch speaker. Will it be a good idea or car speakers not ment for home ?

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27 minutes ago, Kamranbites said:

What if I just purchase a car speaker

Which have balanced sound tweeter+woofer. I can go with brands like Sony or JBL 5.25 inch speaker. Will it be a good idea or car speakers not ment for home ?


I'm NOT a good person to ask about car audio if it's going in a car. 

As far as building speaker or swapping parts in speakers... all of the factors I mentioned prior apply. 
If you're swapping a driver, ideally you swap the exact same driver that used to be there. 
If you're not swapping the EXACT driver, and you want to "do it right" you should be prepared to do some serious work on the crossover network of the speakers. 

If you've never built a crossover... you might be better off trying to sell the single speaker that works for a bit of cash and just buying two used speakers. 

If you're doing this stuff right, it's going to take A LONG time and it's probably not worth your time. 
 

3900x | 32GB RAM | RTX 2080

1.5TB Optane P4800X | 2TB Micron 1100 SSD | 16TB NAS w/ 10Gbe
QN90A | Polk R200, ELAC OW4.2, PB12-NSD, SB1000, HD800
 

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