Help Building Custom Speakers

[andrew.f]

 

The diagram on the left is the front of the speaker. 2x8" Mid Woofer and 2x 1 1/8" Tweeter

 

 

 

 

 

 

This diagram is the rear of the speaker where the amp controls and inputs will be as the amp will be internal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am going to be making my own custom speakers and am looking for advice on my component selection (any other advice is also welcome).

 

As shown in the diagrams above, I would like to use 2x8" Woofers  https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dsa215-8-8-designer-series-aluminum-cone-woofer--295-530

and 2x 1 1/8" Tweeter https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-dc28ft-8-1-1-8-silk-dome-truncated-tweeter--275-076 . 

 

I am planning to use 2 2 way crossovers. I was going to make my own, but after many hours of research and since this is my first time doing something like this, I think using a pre made crossover board is a better idea. The board I am planning to use is https://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-xo2w-25k-2-way-speaker-crossover-2500-hz--260-142#lblProductDetails . 

 

I am wondering if the crossover frequency is optimal for the speaker drivers I am using? 

Are the woofers and tweeters I have chosen a good match?

 

This is the amplifier https://www.parts-express.com/sure-electronics-aa-ab32189-2x100w-tda7498-class-d-amplifier-board--320-303 . 

 

Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciate.

 

 

 

[Blasteque]

If you're going to have 4 drivers, is there a reason why you don't want to use 2.5 or 3 way (or even 4 way) instead of dual 2 way?  Is it for horizontal symmetry?

 

I personally would rather have a passively cooled amp.  If you're restricted on space, then I understand; though a fan cooled amp will need ventilation which will require a ported or vented cabinet, thus making it larger... Just be sure you're not painting yourself into a corner design-wise.

 

As for the divers, I'm not familiar with those.  Sorry, no input there.

[andrew.f]

Would you recommend a sealed cabinet over a ported?

 

I never thought of ventilation for the amp, thanks for that. 

[andrew.f]

39 minutes ago, Blasteque said:

If you're going to have 4 drivers, is there a reason why you don't want to use 2.5 or 3 way (or even 4 way) instead of dual 2 way?  Is it for horizontal symmetry?

 

I personally would rather have a passively cooled amp.  If you're restricted on space, then I understand; though a fan cooled amp will need ventilation which will require a ported or vented cabinet, thus making it larger... Just be sure you're not painting yourself into a corner design-wise.

 

As for the divers, I'm not familiar with those.  Sorry, no input there.

 Also, when you say 2.5 way do you mean 2 woofers to 1 tweeter?

If this is the case how would i go about a crossover?

[Blasteque]

2 hours ago, andrew.f said:

 Also, when you say 2.5 way do you mean 2 woofers to 1 tweeter?

If this is the case how would i go about a crossover?

Generally speaking (there are many exceptions)--

Sealed: smaller cabinet, simpler cabinet, better amp efficiency, better driver damping, more tolerant of cheap drivers. Lower output volume, less tolerant of cheap crossovers, can sound more "dull" or "flat".

Ported: more output volume, sound more "alive". Cabinet design is more critical, cabinet is larger, drivers need to be well controlled, less amp efficiency.

 

So, it really depends on what you're after.  I don't know those drivers, so I can only speculate, but I would lean towards sealed because of the price point.  Ported often sounds "better" because there is more noise, but that additional noise highlights the driver's quality (if it's a good driver, it will sound better, if it's a poor driver it will sound worse).  Sealed is also easier to build and design.

 

A quick google search only shows pre-assembled 2.5 way crossovers as kits with drivers, so that may not be an option if you want to piece-meal the design.  The idea of 2.5 way is as a size compromise to 3 way.  Example: let's say you have a 3 way design that uses a 10", 6", and 1" driver.  That would require a cabinet that can fit a 10" driver.  The 2.5 way version of that is two 8" drivers and a 1" tweeter.  One of the 8" drivers is the woofer, but the other 8" is both a partial woofer and a midrange.  You basically end up with 1.5 woofers, .5 midrange, and a tweeter (crossover design is critical, which is probably why you can't find them standalone).  There are a number of 2.5 kits out there that are aimed at slim home theater towers using two 6" or 8" drivers.  I've got a pair of Zaph Audio 2.5 ways on my system and they sound great.

 

The reason why I brought it up is because 2 ways are not particularly efficient unless paired with a sub that has a high crossover.  If you're going to custom build a cabinet, you might as well build the best that you can afford.  A 3 way (or 2.5 way) will sound better than two 2 ways put together, all else being equal.  I'm saying that a 2 way can't sound good (there are plenty of Scanspeak 2 ways out there) only that if you're going to put that many drivers in the cabinet, then a 3 way may be a better option.

[andrew.f]

15 hours ago, Blasteque said:

Generally speaking (there are many exceptions)--

Sealed: smaller cabinet, simpler cabinet, better amp efficiency, better driver damping, more tolerant of cheap drivers. Lower output volume, less tolerant of cheap crossovers, can sound more "dull" or "flat".

Ported: more output volume, sound more "alive". Cabinet design is more critical, cabinet is larger, drivers need to be well controlled, less amp efficiency.

 

So, it really depends on what you're after.  I don't know those drivers, so I can only speculate, but I would lean towards sealed because of the price point.  Ported often sounds "better" because there is more noise, but that additional noise highlights the driver's quality (if it's a good driver, it will sound better, if it's a poor driver it will sound worse).  Sealed is also easier to build and design.

 

A quick google search only shows pre-assembled 2.5 way crossovers as kits with drivers, so that may not be an option if you want to piece-meal the design.  The idea of 2.5 way is as a size compromise to 3 way.  Example: let's say you have a 3 way design that uses a 10", 6", and 1" driver.  That would require a cabinet that can fit a 10" driver.  The 2.5 way version of that is two 8" drivers and a 1" tweeter.  One of the 8" drivers is the woofer, but the other 8" is both a partial woofer and a midrange.  You basically end up with 1.5 woofers, .5 midrange, and a tweeter (crossover design is critical, which is probably why you can't find them standalone).  There are a number of 2.5 kits out there that are aimed at slim home theater towers using two 6" or 8" drivers.  I've got a pair of Zaph Audio 2.5 ways on my system and they sound great.

 

The reason why I brought it up is because 2 ways are not particularly efficient unless paired with a sub that has a high crossover.  If you're going to custom build a cabinet, you might as well build the best that you can afford.  A 3 way (or 2.5 way) will sound better than two 2 ways put together, all else being equal.  I'm saying that a 2 way can't sound good (there are plenty of Scanspeak 2 ways out there) only that if you're going to put that many drivers in the cabinet, then a 3 way may be a better option.

I see what you mean. If I was to build a 3 way speaker would you recommend 1 woofer, 2 mid ranged and 1 tweeter, as I am trying to put everything in 1 cabinet (something the the design above). I'm not to convinced on using a 2.5 way crossover as I wouldn't feel comfortable making my own yet.

[andrew.f]

15 hours ago, Blasteque said:

Generally speaking (there are many exceptions)--

Sealed: smaller cabinet, simpler cabinet, better amp efficiency, better driver damping, more tolerant of cheap drivers. Lower output volume, less tolerant of cheap crossovers, can sound more "dull" or "flat".

Ported: more output volume, sound more "alive". Cabinet design is more critical, cabinet is larger, drivers need to be well controlled, less amp efficiency.

 

So, it really depends on what you're after.  I don't know those drivers, so I can only speculate, but I would lean towards sealed because of the price point.  Ported often sounds "better" because there is more noise, but that additional noise highlights the driver's quality (if it's a good driver, it will sound better, if it's a poor driver it will sound worse).  Sealed is also easier to build and design.

 

A quick google search only shows pre-assembled 2.5 way crossovers as kits with drivers, so that may not be an option if you want to piece-meal the design.  The idea of 2.5 way is as a size compromise to 3 way.  Example: let's say you have a 3 way design that uses a 10", 6", and 1" driver.  That would require a cabinet that can fit a 10" driver.  The 2.5 way version of that is two 8" drivers and a 1" tweeter.  One of the 8" drivers is the woofer, but the other 8" is both a partial woofer and a midrange.  You basically end up with 1.5 woofers, .5 midrange, and a tweeter (crossover design is critical, which is probably why you can't find them standalone).  There are a number of 2.5 kits out there that are aimed at slim home theater towers using two 6" or 8" drivers.  I've got a pair of Zaph Audio 2.5 ways on my system and they sound great.

 

The reason why I brought it up is because 2 ways are not particularly efficient unless paired with a sub that has a high crossover.  If you're going to custom build a cabinet, you might as well build the best that you can afford.  A 3 way (or 2.5 way) will sound better than two 2 ways put together, all else being equal.  I'm saying that a 2 way can't sound good (there are plenty of Scanspeak 2 ways out there) only that if you're going to put that many drivers in the cabinet, then a 3 way may be a better option.

 

Also are there any speaker drivers you would recommend? 

[Blasteque]

1 hour ago, andrew.f said:

 

Also are there any speaker drivers you would recommend? 

Yeah, although I've had good success with using 2.5 way, they are more complicated to get right, so 3 way (or 2 way) would seem to be a better option.

 

If you went 3 way I would recommend 1 woofer, 1 mid, and 1 tweeter.  There are configurations for with more drivers for each, but those generally are designed systems with crossovers paired to specific drivers.  If you go 3 way, I'd recommend keeping it simple for a first time build.

 

As for drivers, I've had good success with Zaph Audio drivers (from Madisound) and Scanspeak.  Which one I use is a function of budget...  In the world of audio it's difficult to recommend gear for 2 simple reasons: (1) audio is very subjective so what sounds good to me may not sound good to you and (2) there are so many options on the market that you tend to stick with the gear you know even if better is available.  "I'd rather have an enemy I know than an unknown ally" kind of mentality.  I can't guarantee you'll like those bands; I can only say that they work for me and I haven't used much else.  One of the nice things about partsexpress is that they're popular enough you can generally find builds online for any driver they have.

 

Some other thoughts:

First, I want to say that if you're serious about audio, LTT is not the best place.  The people here are knowledgeable, but a forum like AVSForums gets a lot more audio-related traffic.

Second, what are you using these speakers for?  8" drivers can put out some serious volume; if these are desktop speakers, than a simple 1 woofer / 1 tweeter 2 way will be more than enough.  The amount of driver area you have planned would be appropriate for a large room, loud home theater.

Third, don't let the internet steer you away from your budget or your dreams.  If you've got an idea you're excited about, but other people are skeptical, the build can still be a good learning experience.

[andrew.f]

19 hours ago, Blasteque said:

Yeah, although I've had good success with using 2.5 way, they are more complicated to get right, so 3 way (or 2 way) would seem to be a better option.

 

If you went 3 way I would recommend 1 woofer, 1 mid, and 1 tweeter.  There are configurations for with more drivers for each, but those generally are designed systems with crossovers paired to specific drivers.  If you go 3 way, I'd recommend keeping it simple for a first time build.

 

As for drivers, I've had good success with Zaph Audio drivers (from Madisound) and Scanspeak.  Which one I use is a function of budget...  In the world of audio it's difficult to recommend gear for 2 simple reasons: (1) audio is very subjective so what sounds good to me may not sound good to you and (2) there are so many options on the market that you tend to stick with the gear you know even if better is available.  "I'd rather have an enemy I know than an unknown ally" kind of mentality.  I can't guarantee you'll like those bands; I can only say that they work for me and I haven't used much else.  One of the nice things about partsexpress is that they're popular enough you can generally find builds online for any driver they have.

 

Some other thoughts:

First, I want to say that if you're serious about audio, LTT is not the best place.  The people here are knowledgeable, but a forum like AVSForums gets a lot more audio-related traffic.

Second, what are you using these speakers for?  8" drivers can put out some serious volume; if these are desktop speakers, than a simple 1 woofer / 1 tweeter 2 way will be more than enough.  The amount of driver area you have planned would be appropriate for a large room, loud home theater.

Third, don't let the internet steer you away from your budget or your dreams.  If you've got an idea you're excited about, but other people are skeptical, the build can still be a good learning experience.

 

Thank you! The idea I have is like the speaker in my first post, but yeah I want a large, loud speaker which will be used both outside and in a large room. 

 

Thank you for all your help, I really appreciate it and ill give AVSForums a look now.

[spwath]

You also need to consider box size. It is dependent on the specific drivers t/s parameters, it needs to be a certain size, with a certain size port, to sound best.