Any advice on making Hi Fi Speakers?

SambostarSambostar Frets: 8745
edited September 2014 in Making & Modding

I have some Mission 732's on horrible silver Gale Stands.  Just thought it's be nice to make some floorstanders out of Birch ply, filler, as few bevelled edges and nice veneer, so they kind of become freestanding works of art in themselves, like the best of the old radiograms or 1920's radios were, rather than techy big black plastic veneer boxes on ugly silver stands.  But I have no idea about crossovers and speakers, sound and technical things.

Need something about 100-150W, 6-8 ohms, maybe three speakers, so a three way crossover and a port or two on each front and rear.

Should I just salvage the cones and tweeters from my 732's to begin with?  Anyone sell cheap, but good speaker kits?

What is the best way to make the internals of the speaker box to reduce resonance?

Anyone done this?

Backdoor Children Of The Sock
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Comments

  • ecc83ecc83 Frets: 1589

    http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/

    Good start? I would also advise you to search for some books on the subject a good one will probably only cost you 1% of the total; project spend! Don't forget the library if you still have one.

    I assume you have the required woodworking skills and equipment ?

    I would go for an "infinite baffle" design as reflex enclosures can be hard to get right and need to be precise in size and probably shape. With an IB so long as the internal volume is to specc it will be fine/ If in doubt make it 10% bigger but don't think that "even more is better" it ain't and TOO big a box (from design) will compromise LF power handling.

    In my 69 years I have built countless speakers. It CAN get addictive!


    Dave.

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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4947
    TBH I think that if you like the sound of your Mission 732 speakers, then why change them?  New stands will change the appearance and the sound so proceed with caution.


    You can paint the stand.

    If you want a different sound from your hi-fi system, changing the speakers is the primary way to go about this.  But FFS do not buy speakers without hearing them first.  Better still hear them in your own room connected to your hi-fi system.  Discuss your requirements and budget with your local hi-fi dealer*.   And remember that the second sign of lunacy is to buy speakers [from the WWW] based on specs or fellow formite recommendations.

    The first sign, if you have not already figured it out for yourself, is considering buying a pair of speakers based on specs or fellow formite recommendations.

    *Your local hi-fi dealer is always your best bet when changes to your system are contemplated.  You might pay 5% to 10% more but you will get a product that works for you in your room.  [Nearly everything will "work" electrically but I mean work as in getting the most enjoyment from your music collection.  That quality is beyond price IMHO].
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • SambostarSambostar Frets: 8745
    edited September 2014

    Hmmmmm....

    I was kind of hoping for a £40-£60 build.......including the veneer.  Tablesaw, router table etc, skills no problem.

    Not being very adventurous or having much time to dedicate to it at this stage, maybe the best idea would be to get some decent used floorstanders and duplicate the boxes exactly in Birch ply, as that will probably be easier for me than try and get the vinyl off and re veneer the chipboard.

    The polypropylene cones on the Mission 732's start to go after a while, whilst they haven't happened to mine, it rules out getting more old Missions, like the 733's etc. The 732 cones do have massive magnets on them though eh and have more bass punch, whilst still retaining decent clarity then many £300 era floorstanders as I remember from visiting hi fi shops back in 1996...They also have loads and loads of chunky copper wire in the crossovers. whatever that means.

    A book is always a good idea though eh.

    I think if I go to Richer Sounds, I will hear something good for £800 or so, but even £300 is out of my budget. 

    I'm much more into the trail and error method.  I figure if I make some decent floor standing boxes, that are an ideal size, maybe copied from an existing blueprint and use an inset front mounting board attached to full length glued battens with many screws with a damper in between, like draft seal or silicone, the result will be as good as gluing the front on?  Also it will let me modify the fronts in the future too, if the boxes end up looking good?

    But yeah, although I want something now and cheap, I do see this as eating up time and research in the future.

    Backdoor Children Of The Sock
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4947
    There are lots of info on hi-fi speaker cabinet building already on the WWW.  My goto site is TNT-Audio which has interesting articles on speaker building - check this page - http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/diyloudspeakers.html

    £40 to £60 will buy more than enough ply for a pair of speakers.  The real cost kicks in when the drivers, tweeters, crossovers and connection panels are bought.  

    If your total budget is £40 to £60, then go to Richer Sounds and buy an off the shelf pair of speakers. A "better" pair of second hand speakers might be picked up for that kind of money.  A friend of mine builds speakers for sale.  Priced well outside your budget alas but I know the number of hours listening and crossover tweaking he put in when he built his prototypes.  He loves what he is doing which is a good thing as the profits are small.  But they sound magnificent especially when driven by a valve amp.....
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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