Need Advice on DIY Speaker Building

[Anthony]

This is probably not the place for this but I will ask it anyway.

I have always been interested in audio and speakers every since I was a kid. Well I finally did something about it other than just buy equipment.

A year ago, I purchased WinSpeakers software, there book, Vance Dickason's Book, D'appoloito 's book, and several others. I have read these cover to cover 3 times.

A year ago I purchased some Vifa 8" Woofers and a pair of tweeters and the components to build a 3rd Order Butterworth Xover from Madisound.

I am a woodworker and have a 1200sqft shop with EVERYTHING. Last weekend, I built my cabinets according to the prototyping from the Winspeakers software. I have compared them to my Totem speakers and they are different (more base) but the highs are not so clear or are not as loud.

My system is the audio refinement integrated amp, and cd player good but not the best. I do feel its good enough to compare and test the speakers with.

I now just ordered the "Swifty" kit from Madisound and plan on making these speakers this weekend.

What advice can anyone give me about resources, guides, better software, techniques, etc...

Thanks,
Anthony.


From Madisound I purchased

[Anthony]

Josh at Madisound paired these woofers and tweeter up for me as a reccomendation. Part of my requirements seem to be proving to myself that I can spend $150 and get something that sounds at least as good as my $1500 Totems. I know a lot goes into engineering but frankly I believe these highend audio companies are ripping off the public.

I must prove to myself that I can build something really great for under $200. This is my primary goal and premise as I go into these projects... It may sound strange but doing it this way is what excites me. I am really not interested in going out and spending $1000 on speaker components, then building the box. I would rather just go buy a nice pair already built for that kind of money... you with me ?

I have been a woodworker for many years and I am a computer software engineer by trade, so the woodworking and the software parts of the project are natural.. its the hard parts that I am poor at. The engineering... My ears are very good which is a neccessity for my purposes.

Anthony

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm not as far along as you, but I also intend to build my own speakers some day. The advice I keep getting is "start with a kit". The first couple speakers aren't going to be the best, it's going to be an iterative learning process.

Is it possible that the tweeters you used weren't sensitive enough for your design?

[kexodusc]

I don't have much time, but I would look up the FRD consortium and download Passive Crossover Design calculator and spreadsheet programs, and find Unibox...
Then read everything Roman says on his web page for designing xo's without measuring equipment.
http://www.rjbaudio.com/Audiofiles/FRDtools.html

[MikeyBC]

Heres an interesting page about the layout of inductors in a crossover and the effects of inductor proximity. http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/diy_loudspeaker/coils.pdf

Should be of help when you construct your crossover.