# Audio techies out there, building speaker cabinets



## ste2425 (Mar 19, 2010)

i no this isn't really computing but i no theres some audio tech's on these forums, ive got a bit a vintage audio system and i want some nice looking as well as nice sounding speakers. I was just going to stain my speakers then i found out they were only cheap MDF(i think MDF is where its like little bits of wood all glued and squashed together rather than different pieces of hard wood.) So my question is this i want to build my own speakers enclosures but i cannot find any guides on the net, i no they need to be the right thickness wood and size for the speakers used other wise the sound quality will be crap so do any of you audio techs out there know of any such sites on the net? many thanks.

edit: after doing a search on b&Q it looks more like chipboard then MDF
id love to end up with something like this


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## Radical_Edward (Mar 19, 2010)

I'll ask my Dad, he use to make them for a living 20 or so years ago.


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## ste2425 (Mar 19, 2010)

Radical_Edward said:


> I'll ask my Dad, he use to make them for a living 20 or so years ago.



That would be great, the speakers i wish to use are :
1 60mm tweeter
1 85 mm tweeter
1 200mm bass cone

thaks man


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## Radical_Edward (Mar 19, 2010)

I'll ask him in the Morning. That info should be helpful if I remember his stories correctly.


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## ste2425 (Mar 19, 2010)

Radical_Edward said:


> I'll ask him in the Morning. That info should be helpful if I remember his stories correctly.



thats great mate thanks allot


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## Radical_Edward (Mar 19, 2010)

My Dad recommends you build it using Oak or Ash wood, about one inch thick. 

He use to build set ups for cars for the better part of 10 years. So I'm rather sure he knows what he's talking about.


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## IggSter (Mar 19, 2010)

Two key things you have to know about your drivers (the individual speakers) :

1. are they open or closed back. If they are open backed, you need to partition them from each other or the sound waves within the cabinet will interfere and you will get horrible sound quality.

2. the cross-over frequencies and a cross over unit to match. If you are just replacing the cabinet the current cross-over will be fine. If the the drivers you are using are from different speakers...then you will need a new one.


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## Bo$$ (Mar 19, 2010)

oak gives the richest sound hands down


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## Deleted member 24505 (Mar 19, 2010)

Might not be cheap for 1" thick oak though,they will be very nice and oak is very dense so should sound good too.


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## Radical_Edward (Mar 19, 2010)

Well ste2425 didn't post a budget... He asked for guides... But I don't know of any. So I gave the best info I had. 

But if he goes with Oak or Ash, he'll love the sound quality. That's for sure.


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## Deleted member 24505 (Mar 19, 2010)

Not knocking the advice bud,oak or ash sounds(no pun intended) good to me.It just maybe expensive,solid oak furniture sure is.


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## Radical_Edward (Mar 19, 2010)

Yeah, it'll be a tad costly, but if he buys it and stains it himself, he'll be able to save some cash.


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## DRDNA (Mar 19, 2010)

The woofer will come with specs on cubic feet and port tunning when you buy it...Best results will be if you design to specification...use resisters from radioshack to the specs of your midrange and tweeters so they are not distorting....ports equal exaggerated bass and non ports equal clean tight bass(that needs a lil more wattage to deliver the same amount of bass but it will be tight and accurate).


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## cadaveca (Mar 19, 2010)

MDF is used vs solid wood, as there is better chance to get both speakers sounding the same using MDF, as the density of wood will change from peice to peice. Your speaker's sound will change when it's really humid, or really dry, if you use solid wood.

Also, it's harder to get an air-tight seal in wood that will expand and contract based on ambient humidtity, and an airtight seal is needed to help support porting properly.


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## CJCerny (Mar 19, 2010)

There are tons of DIY speaker sites. Just the tip of the iceberg:

http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/speakers.htm

Google is your friend, man.


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## department76 (Mar 19, 2010)

I've done several DIY speaker and sub projects from the ground up.

my favorite forum - http://www.hometheatershack.com
my favorite supplier - http://www.parts-express.com/speaker-building.cfm

1" (25mm) will be too thick of a baffle for 90% of smaller speakers out there unless you compensate be routing a fillet or chamer on the inside around the cutout, otherwise it's going to choke the driver.  The only effect cabinet thickness has is reducing the resonant frequencies of the cabinet itself.  Unless the cabs you build are huge and you have a really high powered subwoofer in there, 1" is way overkill.  For moderately sized and powered full ranges cabs you'll be fine with 1/2" to 3/4".

It would be ideal to build out of a nice wood (^^ like oak or ash) but most DIY projects are just MDF.  It's way cheaper, easy to paint if you want to go that route (I've seen some very nice paint finish jobs) and there's also very nice wood veneer (I use the more affordable vinyl laminate) you can get to finish the MDF over with.

I do hope that you're aware the speaker design side of the project is not as simple as dropping in a few drivers you pick out.  The crossovers are just as important as any other part of the speaker system, and from the sounds of it you'll be needing a 3-way crossover design.

My own towers I redid completely, nothing's original besides the cabs themselves.  Started with a pair of free vintage Fisher STV-723 cabs I got from a neighbor.  Put on black ash vinyl, selected new decent quality drivers (TMW), installed a much larger and lower tuned port, and designed the 3-way crossover network.  Here are pics (not trying to hijack your thread so I'll leave them as links):
http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/5058/dsc01867o.jpg
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/6539/dsc01865b.jpg
cab bottoms before & after:
http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9002/dsc01834u.jpg
http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/9843/dsc01863w.jpg
"up the skirt"
crossover schematic done in autocad
crossover


I'd be happy to help with your project.


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## pantherx12 (Mar 19, 2010)

This may help you out as well

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-Custom-Speakers/

simple and pictorial.


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## ste2425 (Mar 20, 2010)

thanks for all the help guys. The cones are from my current speakers i just wish to replace the cabinet as its rather shabby. Ill check out all the links etc. And money isn't really a problem id rather save for a real nice finish then take the cheaper option.
thanks guys n galls

edit: right well ive read through the links and theres some great info ill start up on designing them and then save up and once i have everything ill set up a project log for yal, so thanks again


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## SabreWulf69 (Mar 22, 2010)

One of my fav projects --> The Seas Granite Speakers --> http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Seas-Granite-Speakers/ Enjoy 

Or... Check this out, breathtaking in my opinion --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxQoT5Fcq4Y


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## ste2425 (Mar 22, 2010)

SabreWulf69 said:


> One of my fav projects --> The Seas Granite Speakers --> http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Seas-Granite-Speakers/ Enjoy
> 
> Or... Check this out, breathtaking in my opinion --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxQoT5Fcq4Y



that amazing love the granite case. Must weigh a ton.


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## AsRock (Mar 22, 2010)

Nothing wrong with MDF, it's chipboard you have to worry about.  How ever giving them a new look would prove challenging  but not impossible ( although the front part looks like it be a pain in the ass lol)..  And you could always use rubber in the boxes to and even special speaker rubber as well that help to control the sound waves.

There is a few ways to do it there is the hard covering you could use but i think that would prove more than a challenge due to cutting it right.

Maybe some thing like this
http://www.rvinyl.com/wrapkits.html

There is Wood Vinyl which is rolled up which is your best bet although you have to take much time to take things like bubbles out and make sure you cut corners right so it don't look like a mess.  Might take a few try's but done right it looks sweet and don't buy cheap ass stuff either.


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