I've realize that's really what the core of this channel should be. "I've trudged those murky waters for years and this is what I've found!" Thanks again for watching!
This series of videos has been PRECISELY what I needed! I'm looking to make my first pair of speakers as a weekend & evening project and I was getting incredibly confused with where to start. Hopefully if I can make a reasonable pair "on the cheap" to begin with, it'll give me the confidence to go from there and start making something of real quality. Thanks for taking the time to make this series! Subscribed!!
I'm really enjoying your videos because I know nothing, other than what you tell me, about speakers, and you tell me in a way that makes that okay. Some sites where I sought information sounded so technical that I felt stupid, and I am neither stupid nor technically challenged. The worksheet that you refer to in this video no longer exists at the link in this video. So, either relink the download or edit that bit so that you remain consistently the best speaker teacher I've ever seen. Thank you.
Dude.. I am so glad you've made this channel :). Building and selling stylish speakers have been a dream of mine for a while now. ( I'm a carpentry and product design student and currently building my very own workshop btw) So far I've made couple of speakers but I have used store bought speaker's components to make them, because there really isn't good place to study about audio engineering. So I can't wait to learn from you and to see the growth of your channel and community.
I was really curious about the enclosure size calculation, so those links will be incredibly useful. Thank you! You're doing a great job with these instructional videos. Quickly becoming a favorite channel.
Hey Kirby, first off, I really like your videos. They have inspired me to rebuild one of my old speakers. I have only build a large speaker box with two dual way speakers, a sub, an amp and a large battery pack a few years ago. It wasn't really high tech, didn't have the best speakers in the world, the amplifier was way way overpowered and it has been one of my first builds ever, but the speaker quality has been sufficient and I have had a lot of fun with my build and use. Unfortunately the thing has started to rattle and has been showing some flaws over time. So I decided to take it apart and build a new one. Either a large one with all three speakers, or two separate ones for the sub and dual way speakers. I've watched your video and followed the link to determine the dimensions of the speaker boxes, but came to the conclusion that I needed to build a gigantic box for a relatively small speaker. The speaker came with a build plan for a DIY speaker box and the dimensions a of this box are much much smaller than what has been calculated. Am I doing something wrong here? Did I mis something? Could you recommend me reading or watching some other source of information? ps. : Does the material affect the dimension of the box? What would be the preferred material to build a speaker box?
Kirby, it'd be great if you went more in depth in those differente ported enclosures that don't use tubes but channels inside the box. I'm very curious to know how to design those type of enclosures and I bet a lot of people is too. Cheers mate, keep up the good work.
You have an excellent channel. Im playing with the idea of making some enclosures for my current speakers. They look terrible, but sound so darn good. I want to give them a home that looks as good as they sound.
More videos is my suggestions. I really enjoyed your build videos. I've been looking to get back into wood working and I've always has an affinity for speakers. It was great coming across your channel. Keep it up !
I agree! I'm still relatively new to all this, so I'm still trying to figure out how to manage my time between life, work, and videos. But I do have a few new build videos I'm working on right now, so those are coming soon! I totally suggest you try building your own speakers! There's nothing like listening to your own creation for the first time. Thanks for watching!
I know you listed the tools in the description but a video on your workshop and tools would be great. loving the videos thus far, beautifully presented, interesting and very inspiring.
I am enjoying these videos! I built a 12” car subwoofer enclosure back in the early ‘90s. It was technically made “wrong” but it sounded amazing. I attempted to calculate the VAS, ported it, then made it out of plywood that was way too thin. The whole box flexed and acted as a transducer but hey...it jammed when I played the Metallica Justice for all album! I intend to build a sealed portable box for an iPad to be plugged into. It’ll be loaded with 4” full range speakers. Will it sound like crap? Probably, but it’s designed to play Ted Nugent songs. That Byrdland guitar will sound good but Bodybangers, and Deadmau5 won’t . I’ll send a link to my build when I do it.
The only thing that makes passive radiator design "expensive" is the passive radiator itself. It's easy to make one with old drivers from speakers from the dump. Just add (and subtract) blue tack on the dust cap. I can get old speakers from the opp shop for $10 a pair if I can't find any at the dump. They are easier to tune than ported, box has to be a bit bigger than sealed and apart from that it doesn't matter what size, just adjust with blue tack weight. Passive radiator (I reckon) would be roughly a similar size to the active driver. Also you can just "beef up" old speaker boxes by bracing them etc. and "tap testing" them. It's really quick compared to starting from scratch (I love it).
I was already inspired to make my own speaker cabinets. I already had the speakers ordered when I found your channel. I'll share the outcome once I'm done.
8 лет назад
Stumbled on your chanel yesterday evening and already watched à handful of your great videos ! Super content and really enjoyable to watch 👍 Makes me eager to finish my house so that I have my shop and start again my DIY Network player (RPi and DAC) +amp (dual mono T2022) and speaker (full range Audax). Keep it on and hope there will be a follow up to this one with the other types a DIY speaker builder may be tempted with...
Hey Kirby, thanks for all the info. Looking forward to the DIY studio monitor build video. If I may suggest that you apply a high pass filter to your mic input at around 90 hertz or so. There was some super low end rumbling noise (e.g. 1:13 to about 1:22 and other spots) in the audio. Sounded like it was from a mic but could've been something else. Also, you can add to your explanation of transients (of a snare, for example, to stay with that example), that it's the very first part (the stick hitting the drum skin) of what constitutes the entire sound that a snare makes over time (the attack, the drum resonating, the metal snares, the ring, the room, etc). Thanks again for the concise info.
great video, I mean like the cinematographic-ness and the background music, a bunch of these how to videos put me out with the ambient noise and bad lighting and thank you for not using the ukulele music
Any chance I can get your opinion (possibly a follow up or part 2 video) talking about the two types of speakers I debating on trying - Horn and Open Baffle speakers? Great work btw
I've been thinking about building a set of small t-lines for these Daytons. Maybe like 2 in each for use as PC speakers on my desk. Speakers - www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-nd65-8-2-1-2-aluminum-cone-full-range-driver-8-ohm--290-206
Make a video on bandpass design like 4th order and 6th order which one is best for what frequency nd are they better than these conventional designs.. That was a really awesome video by the way👍
Hi! awesome stuff, man, thanks for sharing! Question though: if I know that mostly I'll use my speakers at lower volume (level?) what enclosure type (and crossover type) would work for me? I understand that there is no perfect answer, but maybe you have some opinion on that matter. Thanks in advance!
Those three enclosure types are a big commercial success because they are cheap and simple to manufacture. But that makes most affordable speakers look quite identical. As an already quite experienced builder i am more interested in Transmissionline, Back- and Front loaded Horns or Dipole Woofers. Thats where you get most out of your woodworking skills, because that stuff is not commercially available.
That may be true, but it certainly doesn't mean they don't sound good. There are also plenty of ways to make those enclosure types look unique. I agree though, the more complex exclosures are much more fun and interesting to build and play with. This video is part of my "Intro to speaker building" series, so I stuck with the basics. But in the future I'll hopefully be making videos on enclosures of all types! Thanks for watching!
Great video, and it could not have been more perfectly timed! A few questions- What if I can't find the T/S of a speaker? I have salvaged a driver from an old Logitech speaker set and they don't have anything about it on their website. I know it might seem cringe worthy using an old Logitech, but I rather like the way it sounds. Plus money is not something I have a lot of as a teen. Can I use the dimensions of the old box and port to find the T/S? The other dilemma I have is- can I put multiple speakers in the same box? What I mean by that is I want three speakers (for highs) in the same box. Two are identical, but one is from a different manufacturer and is slightly bigger. Can I still find optimal dimensions for the size of the box and port? Should I just use an unported box for those? Should I just give up and separate them? I don’t think a radiator is the way I want to go. Thanks for taking any time to answer! :-)
Hey Trevor! If you are salvaging speakers from an old system, I would try to use the same dimensions as the enclosure you are taking them from. Whoever made the speakers before put a lot of thought into that enclosure size for that speaker, so just leverage their work. As for the highs, are you putting three tweeters in one speaker? I'm not totally clear on what your setup is here, but a tweeter doesn't need any particular size enclosure. It's usually just added onto the enclosure for the mid or woofer. Thanks for watching!
Hi there. Im a complete noob. Wanting to make my first speaker / enclosure for my partners son (xmas) I managed to pick up super cheap speakers (components) but to be honest everything on the back is gibberish to me. A quick vid on what you would expect to see and what they mean would be fantastic.
Hey man, you mentioned transients being a Pro of Sealed enclosures. What about Passive Radiator ones? Do they also have tight bass? And I guess there's no actual measure which describes a speakers capability of handling transients, so it's just gonna be heard by ear by being muddy.
I starting assembling a surround sound 5.1, currently have my fronts, rears and sub...I watched a few of your videos and now plan on building the center channel myself. I'm currently running 100 watts to each channel. The space I have for the center channel is 6" h x 14" w x 22" l so was thinking (2) 4" mid-bass and (1) tweeter...my question is would this require a crossover or could I place a capacitor inline? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Great videos!
Hi Kirby, love your videos I am looking for some advice on how to modernize some old speakers. I have 4 old speakers in my garage that still work and I want to make two tower speakers and one sound bar and even make them Bluetooth. Here are the types of speakers I have. 2x Sharp Model No CD - E99 want to make into towers 2x thruster Panasonic SB 280 I want to combine them to make a sound bar. I know nothing about building speakers but If you have time can you tell if it is possible and if so where do I start. Thanks in advance
I have just some question to the calculator. If I want to put more than 1 speaker in the Box, can I just double the size of the Box (and the Port)? And how much dose small tweeter matter to the Volume? Thanks man really appreciated the video.
Very interesting video! So basically would it be correct to say that the passive radiator has the benefits of extending the low-frequency response like a ported design, as well as more accurate like a sealed cabinet? (also with less complicated calculations?)
Hey Kirby great video! thanks for sharing, I got a question for you, how do you know when a driver is working good? for example, I got one and when I push the cone with my thumps it makes a rubbing noise , I guess are the gaskets.
hi Kirby,could you give me your ported enclosure calculator,im loving the videos and the way you talk about it,your so refreshing than normal audio file buffs,who talk to you like your thick,anyway loving your work,many thanks mk
Kirby, great videos! I am building a small powered speaker with one woofer and two smaller ones for higher freqs. In the enclosure i am building i have space in the front only for the small speakers, where should i put de sub woofer? at the top of the enclosure or facing the table? thank you for al your videos and your help!!
Hey there Francisco! Sounds like an awesome project. I've seen speakers with woofers on all sides of speakers. Low frequencies are not as directional as mid or high frequencies, so you can put woofers on the front, top, back, or bottom. Its mostly a functional and aesthetic question. Have fun building!
Could you please make a video to demonstrate how a system (enclosure+driver+amp) performance and properties vary with same driver+amp at appx same resonant freq enclosures are tuned for, using sealed and ported/vented enclosures and also could a variable port be attempted to vary res freq for fun.. just wondering !
Hey Kirby, great channel! What are your thoughts on quarter wave length transmision line enclosures? Been considering building two of them for 12 inch subs for home theater. They will be huge, but I'm wondering if all the extra effort will be worth it. Thanks!
Great Video, thanks Kirby!! Have you ever used WinISD?? That's what I'm using and so far I like the results! I like how complete it is. I think I want to try PRs for a slim needle tower with PS95 and ND20FA. The DIY community need more people like you willing to teach others how to get into designing you dream speakers!! Looking foward for a talk about xovers!!
I haven't used that program yet. I normally use BassBox Pro to design most of my speakers. That sounds like an awesome project! I would love to see it when it's done. Thanks so much for watching, Jules!
I have 3 subwoofers and 4 speakers from stereo systems and more other speakers. I want to do a project combining all of them and build one speaker. Question, Is that good idea or it will be waste of time?
hey kirby! i work as an audio-engineer, with big "PA" setups, i am planning on making some 15" subwoofers, prefferably in the 63-150Hz area, would you mind doing something similar? would really like to see some bigger speakers in the future, you know 12"/15" woofers and tweeters and similar. anyways i really like your videos, keep up the good work! Asbjørn
Hi Kirby!! Your video's have inspired me to begin my first speaker build!! Thank you!! I have a couple questions which I can't seem to find answers for, so I hope you can help me out! I've purchased a 2x50bluetooth amp module, and I recently picked up an Oz Audio Vector series 5.25CS 2 way component speaker system. The midrange diameter is 5.25", with a 1.85" diameter Tweeter. Freq response is 60Hz-22KHz. 4ohm, 85w rms, 190wmax. Those are the only real data I've been able to find. It seems I need more to design an enclosure, so I am lost. Do I need a port or passive radiator? I'm thinking of using a 4x6" PR....does that size seem ok? How big an enclosure would I need? (There's two pairs of driver/tweeter. Does 0.68ft3 sound right? Second question is: have you ever added rca inputs to a bluetooth-only amp? I'd it even possible? Thanks for any light you can shed, and keep up the terrific work!
Hi Kirby, I have a question. I had one of these desktop speakers, it has 2 Twitters and a separated sub woofer, I decided to make a new unit using these things, after I took apart them I found that the sub woofer enclosure is ported type but the driver is completely inside the box and the pipe is in front of driver (it actually is under the driver) but I mean the air is between the pipe and FRONT of driver, not the back of it. Is it OK? Or should I just rotate the driver? Or it depends on driver's type?Thanks a lot for your good channel. Keep up the good work.
Hi Kirby, I really liked your video. However, I came up against a problem building my own boombox speaker. I've purchased the Pioneer A173CI (= international version of the A1606C) component speakers. Since these are car speakers they don't come with a manual or a build plan or anything. The only information is that I can find on pioneers website under specifications. I am planned on building a ported box wich will be devided devided in 2 'rooms' for the left and the right. In between a separate space with like 1 inch of free air. Obviously I have no clue on how big I should make the box and what size of ports I have to use. I already have everything prepared like my own made battery and amplifier, so switching speakers is not quite an option. Are there any 'common' dimensions for speakers like these or is there any way to find out the best dimensions? Thanks in common, and yet again: Great video.
Hi, regarding the passive radiator- you mentioned about adding washers/weights to adjust the frequency response. I was wondering ,would adding weights cause a physical stress on the cone surrounds and the weight is pulling more down and back on the top parts of the surrounds. The linear movement would definitely be affected which would cause massive cone breakup. If however the cone was placed horizontally either facing the floor or ceiling,this stress would not happen as the weight would be acting perpendicular to the plane of the cone and equidistant from all ends of the surrounds. Does this make any sense or am I overthinking this. I am a Sea captain so calculating mechanical/physical stress comes naturally to me 🧐
If the midbass' f3 is low enough to pair with 4th order bandpass use 4th order bandpass to extend bass. Don't get used to the softness aka non-transience of ported like most afcs.
Hello Kirby, I don't comment usually, in fact this is my first comment on RUclips, and i got to say Thank You very much. It's been a while since am looking for something creative with regards to speakers. I do have some ideas and would really like to share it with you. Regards,
I have a question on a build I'm about to start: The project is a box for a 3 way center speaker (with a built in passive Crossover) for my 5.1 system. the Speaker will end up on a shelf above the TV. My thought was, could I mount the bass speaker facing down and have the tweeter and midrange facing out or is it just mount all three facing out?
ok I just got done building a two speaker tower with some really thick wood about two inches thick. I was thinking about porting it but on the bottom. do you think that would work or should I just make it a sealed design? when I am done I will post a video here on one of your videos comments. oh and my speakers are 2 way speakers 4 ohm 100 watt each.
When you get your measurements for your speaker enclosure after using the calculators, are those the measurements for the internal dimensions or the external dimensions?
There is one more added benefit to ported speakers, albeit outside of the home audiophile circle, namely cooling in high powered applications like DJ-ing and sound reinforcement. And I assure you it's nothing to trifle with. Think of dissipating hundreds to thousands of Watts RMS during extended hours in a sealed, padded enclosure ;)
Two things about ports: "Chuffing" and one-note bass. Chuffing is when there is a tonne of turbulence resulting in a low frequency whistle. One-note bass is frequently encountered in bass reflex designs. This is a large resonant peak at one frequency. So, in that sense, sealed or PR enclosures are better, all the way around.... *PROVIDED* one has the right driver (Qts) for the job.
QUESTION: I have a pair of JBL Studio L820 bookshelf speakers. I had bought them years ago to use as "Height" speakers with Pro Logic IIz sound. But, one of my JBL Studio S38 bookshelf speakers I used for the Front Left and Front Right broke. So, I started using the JBL L820 speakers for the Front Left and Front Right speakers. The problem is that the Front Right JBL Studio L820 speaker has a problem where the 6" Woofer "buzzes" during low frequencies during movies and even a couple music songs. For example, on the CD of the Halo game soundtrack, the song of "Halo" has several seconds where the woofer "buzzes" on the right side. It doesn't do that when I switch the left speaker to the right side. Do you know what could be causing this and how I could repair it? ... I suspect it was defective all along, but I never noticed it during the warranty period because the "Height" channels don't produce sound frequencies that low.
I'm brand new to DIY speakers so this might not make a lot of sense but I was wondering if there is any specific/helpful way to figure out information like air volume in an oddly shaped speaker cabinet design? like for example if I wanted to create a tower speaker cabinet with a cut-out on the sides (to create more of a tapered shape) how would I be able to calculate the size needed/air volume/ etc?
You'd use trigonometry. If you don't know that, just visualize the whole thing and make it from there, I'm dead serious. You have a woofer, you probably have information about what it's ideal sealed enclosure is, versus ported. A lot of manufacturers post that stuff now, not like back in the 80s. But anyways, read that and put it in your head and just visualize something in between with angles you think could work.
2:20 though I wish you had mentioned that a sealed speaker system must be airtight and it has to have filler, like cotton batting. I remember when we were making sealed enclosures in the 80s with wood cut by circular saws (at best) and we had to throw silicone rubber at it to make it airtight, every seam, and we'd even silicone rubber in the drivers to make sure no air escaped. And you'd test it be pushing in the woofer (gently and balanced) and watch it slowly return to zero. I think that's one of the not-so-easy things about sealed enclosures. They really have to be sealed or your woofer will not have the power handling capacity that it can when sealed.
6:57 you fill a sealed design with filler because if you don't, the square angles will create a noxious boom which is not pleasant as all the radiation from the back of the speaker is bouncing off angled walls and coming back through the speaker. You do it to absorb that rear energy so that it is dissipated in the box and not sent back out through the surround or the cone of the speaker. Talk about what the speaker thinks? Don't drown it in ponds and puddles of bass bouncing off walls and coming back through the speaker to muddy up everything like some freaking swamp.
Does something like a passive radiator cause phase cancellation issues? Assuming that the response of the radiator is instant then surely it would be 180 degrees out of phase with the main driver? Loving the information but would like to hear some detailed theory about each of the designs... but then again reading a book is probably the best bet
Hey there! Your logic makes total sense, but the response of the PR is not instant because of the volume of air within the enclosure. The air works as a capacitive load which delays the PR 180 deg. This series of videos is intended as just an intro to speaker building to get people started. I'll be doing much more in-depth videos on these subject in the future. Thanks for watching!
What materials and what thicknesses You think are best for speakers? I find, many of speaker builders uses 3/4''MDF. Is it because of low cost or other qualities? Could be used plywood or wood panels?
3/4" MDF is for sure the enclosure material of choice for its strength, ease of use, and low cost. But plywood is just as good if not better. Depending on the size of speakers used in your project, I wouldn't go under 3/4" thickness. You can also use solid woods. Some people don't like using solid woods for many different reasons, but I've had great results using it. Thanks for watching!
I thought the passive radiator needs to be the same exact size as the driver for optimal performance? why does the the radiator have to be bigger then the driver? I want to make a Bluetooth box with 2 6.5 inch speakers. would it be best to use 1 slightly bigger passive radiator? an 8 inch passive radiator? (trying to keep the box somewhat small) or use two 6.5inch passive radiators? My plan is to just mirror the front and back of the box, so the front will have two 6.5inch drivers/speakers and the back will have two 6.5inch passive radiators in the same spot using measurements. so the air created from the speakers would go back and directly pass through the radiators, out of the box. Will this produce a decent amount of bass/sound quality?
Love your vids. I'm currently planning a ported pair of bookshelf speakers with 6.5in woofers and 1in dome tweeters, but I'm having trouble picking a port size to match my enclosure. I'm not sure what diameter port to use, and when I choose a random one (say 3 inches) the online calculator says my port needs to be almost 3 feet long! That won't fit in my enclosure! So my questions are: Does adding the tweeter affect the ideal size of my cabinet? And how can I get a port that will fit in my calculated enclosure (8.65 x 14 x 5.34 inches)? Thanks in advance, you're a saint Kirby.
Hey there! That sounds like an awesome project. The tweeter has no impact on the size of your cabinet. The volume of the enclosure should only be modeled for the woofer. You can think of the tweeter as just an accessory to the enclosure. As for port tube size, the smaller the diameter of the tube, the shorter the tube has to be. But it also can't be too small for the woofer or "chuffing" will occur in the tube (noise caused by too much air being forced through the tube). For your project I would suggest something around a 2 inch diameter, though you could probably go down to 1.5 inches. You want to try to use the largest diameter you can in the space you have available. Thanks for watching!
can you make a video on how to use those links that you provided for the calculators, i was able to find Fs, Qms Qes, Qts, but what do i do next, how do i determine the size of enclosure?
Hi there . I have a pair of wharfedale diamond 9 speakers . I would like to take the guts of the speakers and rehouse them in solid would cabinets . Would you think this would be fairly straight forward?
Hey, I have an in wall speaker that I'm converting to a book shelf speaker and I'm not sure what would be best... it's a Klipsch RCW-5.. any idea what I should do? I want to use it as the center channel In my 5.2 surround sound setup mainly because I have it and it's a great speaker so if I don't have to buy a new one I'm happy!
so a question, I want to build a speaker with hexagon shaped side panels, and put a woofer in one of them, how would i go about with the calculations of the volume. and is a bass reflex a good idea?
Kirby, I want to build a speaker that I can use on a construction site. This is my first attempt to build one of these so I'd like to keep it simple, so I'm thinking a sealed enclosure with dimensions of roughly 7" x 11" x 10". So how do I know what tweeters or driver to buy? Thanks Mike
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I'm loving not surfing long forum threads for info like this! Great video. Keep up the stellar work! Can't wait for drivers and crossovers!
I've realize that's really what the core of this channel should be. "I've trudged those murky waters for years and this is what I've found!" Thanks again for watching!
Nice Kaled I didn't knew you had interest in DIY audio :D
what if you dont have the thiele small parameters
This series of videos has been PRECISELY what I needed! I'm looking to make my first pair of speakers as a weekend & evening project and I was getting incredibly confused with where to start. Hopefully if I can make a reasonable pair "on the cheap" to begin with, it'll give me the confidence to go from there and start making something of real quality. Thanks for taking the time to make this series! Subscribed!!
I'm really enjoying your videos because I know nothing, other than what you tell me, about speakers, and you tell me in a way that makes that okay. Some sites where I sought information sounded so technical that I felt stupid, and I am neither stupid nor technically challenged. The worksheet that you refer to in this video no longer exists at the link in this video. So, either relink the download or edit that bit so that you remain consistently the best speaker teacher I've ever seen. Thank you.
Dude.. I am so glad you've made this channel :). Building and selling stylish speakers have been a dream of mine for a while now. ( I'm a carpentry and product design student and currently building my very own workshop btw)
So far I've made couple of speakers but I have used store bought speaker's components to make them, because there really isn't good place to study about audio engineering.
So I can't wait to learn from you and to see the growth of your channel and community.
Thanks so much! Thats awesome, good luck on your projects! Welcome!
I was really curious about the enclosure size calculation, so those links will be incredibly useful. Thank you! You're doing a great job with these instructional videos. Quickly becoming a favorite channel.
Thanks, Bryan! I'm glad they could be of some help.
Awesome work man
Hey Kirby,
first off, I really like your videos. They have inspired me to rebuild one of my old speakers.
I have only build a large speaker box with two dual way speakers, a sub, an amp and a large battery pack a few years ago. It wasn't really high tech, didn't have the best speakers in the world, the amplifier was way way overpowered and it has been one of my first builds ever, but the speaker quality has been sufficient and I have had a lot of fun with my build and use.
Unfortunately the thing has started to rattle and has been showing some flaws over time. So I decided to take it apart and build a new one. Either a large one with all three speakers, or two separate ones for the sub and dual way speakers.
I've watched your video and followed the link to determine the dimensions of the speaker boxes, but came to the conclusion that I needed to build a gigantic box for a relatively small speaker. The speaker came with a build plan for a DIY speaker box and the dimensions a of this box are much much smaller than what has been calculated.
Am I doing something wrong here? Did I mis something? Could you recommend me reading or watching some other source of information?
ps. : Does the material affect the dimension of the box? What would be the preferred material to build a speaker box?
Kirby, it'd be great if you went more in depth in those differente ported enclosures that don't use tubes but channels inside the box. I'm very curious to know how to design those type of enclosures and I bet a lot of people is too. Cheers mate, keep up the good work.
You have an excellent channel. Im playing with the idea of making some enclosures for my current speakers. They look terrible, but sound so darn good. I want to give them a home that looks as good as they sound.
I wish, that there are more RUclipsrs or instructors like you! You make great Videos, you know what you doing and you have fun...I like that! :D
You made my day, Phillip! Thanks so much!
More videos is my suggestions. I really enjoyed your build videos. I've been looking to get back into wood working and I've always has an affinity for speakers. It was great coming across your channel. Keep it up !
I agree! I'm still relatively new to all this, so I'm still trying to figure out how to manage my time between life, work, and videos. But I do have a few new build videos I'm working on right now, so those are coming soon! I totally suggest you try building your own speakers! There's nothing like listening to your own creation for the first time. Thanks for watching!
+Kirby Meets Audio you're doing good man. You'll get the balance figured out. look forward to your new content.
I know you listed the tools in the description but a video on your workshop and tools would be great. loving the videos thus far, beautifully presented, interesting and very inspiring.
I am enjoying these videos! I built a 12” car subwoofer enclosure back in the early ‘90s. It was technically made “wrong” but it sounded amazing. I attempted to calculate the VAS, ported it, then made it out of plywood that was way too thin. The whole box flexed and acted as a transducer but hey...it jammed when I played the Metallica Justice for all album! I intend to build a sealed portable box for an iPad to be plugged into. It’ll be loaded with 4” full range speakers. Will it sound like crap? Probably, but it’s designed to play Ted Nugent songs. That Byrdland guitar will sound good but Bodybangers, and Deadmau5 won’t . I’ll send a link to my build when I do it.
The only thing that makes passive radiator design "expensive" is the passive radiator itself. It's easy to make one with old drivers from speakers from the dump. Just add (and subtract) blue tack on the dust cap. I can get old speakers from the opp shop for $10 a pair if I can't find any at the dump. They are easier to tune than ported, box has to be a bit bigger than sealed and apart from that it doesn't matter what size, just adjust with blue tack weight. Passive radiator (I reckon) would be roughly a similar size to the active driver. Also you can just "beef up" old speaker boxes by bracing them etc. and "tap testing" them. It's really quick compared to starting from scratch (I love it).
Thanks. The calculator links were exactly what I needed.
I was already inspired to make my own speaker cabinets. I already had the speakers ordered when I found your channel. I'll share the outcome once I'm done.
Stumbled on your chanel yesterday evening and already watched à handful of your great videos ! Super content and really enjoyable to watch 👍
Makes me eager to finish my house so that I have my shop and start again my DIY Network player (RPi and DAC) +amp (dual mono T2022) and speaker (full range Audax).
Keep it on and hope there will be a follow up to this one with the other types a DIY speaker builder may be tempted with...
Thanks - enjoy your channel very much
I d love to know more about voight pipes and
BIB terry Caine “bigger is better” type transmission line cabinets
It took me two of your videos, but I’m a very subscribed I want to congratulate you for your videos keep up the good work
Great video you have made it so simple to understand thank you
Thank you! You have been helpful!!!
Hey Kirby, thanks for all the info. Looking forward to the DIY studio monitor build video. If I may suggest that you apply a high pass filter to your mic input at around 90 hertz or so. There was some super low end rumbling noise (e.g. 1:13 to about 1:22 and other spots) in the audio. Sounded like it was from a mic but could've been something else. Also, you can add to your explanation of transients (of a snare, for example, to stay with that example), that it's the very first part (the stick hitting the drum skin) of what constitutes the entire sound that a snare makes over time (the attack, the drum resonating, the metal snares, the ring, the room, etc). Thanks again for the concise info.
chill
Hey Kirby, you been a great inspiration shame that you're not on twitter so I cannot share my speaker with you, keep it up mate!
great video, I mean like the cinematographic-ness and the background music, a bunch of these how to videos put me out with the ambient noise and bad lighting and thank you for not using the ukulele music
Haha No problem, Nel!
Subscribed. Totally worth it !
Thank you, Emil!
Hi Kirby have you ever thought about doing an in car speaker video? Would be great to see what set up and finish you would use!
Interesting video! The links listed in the description are broken though...
Any chance I can get your opinion (possibly a follow up or part 2 video) talking about the two types of speakers I debating on trying - Horn and Open Baffle speakers? Great work btw
Kirby, Thank you so much for your series! I love them!
Hello. nice work, can you recommand a software that would help calculate low and high pass filters for speakers?
None of the calculator links work 🤷🏻♂️
A bit late, but go on the website directly and you'll find the calculators there. They moved.
Thanks for such a nice video , I am going to make 2.1 or 2.0 small speaker for desktop PC. got inspired by you.
would love to hear about transmission lines. especially a design for small drivers much like the Bose waveguide stuff
Totally! I think transmission lines deserve their own full video, so that'll be coming in the future!
Awesome! Looking forward to that for sure, keep up the great vids
Thanks for watching, Clinton!
I've been thinking about building a set of small t-lines for these Daytons. Maybe like 2 in each for use as PC speakers on my desk. Speakers - www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-nd65-8-2-1-2-aluminum-cone-full-range-driver-8-ohm--290-206
Make a video on bandpass design like 4th order and 6th order which one is best for what frequency nd are they better than these conventional designs.. That was a really awesome video by the way👍
Hi! awesome stuff, man, thanks for sharing!
Question though: if I know that mostly I'll use my speakers at lower volume (level?) what enclosure type (and crossover type) would work for me? I understand that there is no perfect answer, but maybe you have some opinion on that matter.
Thanks in advance!
Those three enclosure types are a big commercial success because they are cheap and simple to manufacture. But that makes most affordable speakers look quite identical.
As an already quite experienced builder i am more interested in Transmissionline, Back- and Front loaded Horns or Dipole Woofers. Thats where you get most out of your woodworking skills, because that stuff is not commercially available.
That may be true, but it certainly doesn't mean they don't sound good. There are also plenty of ways to make those enclosure types look unique. I agree though, the more complex exclosures are much more fun and interesting to build and play with. This video is part of my "Intro to speaker building" series, so I stuck with the basics. But in the future I'll hopefully be making videos on enclosures of all types! Thanks for watching!
Thanks so much.
this answers so many questions! thanks for that
No problem, Matt!
Great video, and it could not have been more perfectly timed! A few questions- What if I can't find the T/S of a speaker? I have salvaged a driver from an old Logitech speaker set and they don't have anything about it on their website. I know it might seem cringe worthy using an old Logitech, but I rather like the way it sounds. Plus money is not something I have a lot of as a teen. Can I use the dimensions of the old box and port to find the T/S? The other dilemma I have is- can I put multiple speakers in the same box? What I mean by that is I want three speakers (for highs) in the same box. Two are identical, but one is from a different manufacturer and is slightly bigger. Can I still find optimal dimensions for the size of the box and port? Should I just use an unported box for those? Should I just give up and separate them? I don’t think a radiator is the way I want to go. Thanks for taking any time to answer! :-)
Hey Trevor! If you are salvaging speakers from an old system, I would try to use the same dimensions as the enclosure you are taking them from. Whoever made the speakers before put a lot of thought into that enclosure size for that speaker, so just leverage their work. As for the highs, are you putting three tweeters in one speaker? I'm not totally clear on what your setup is here, but a tweeter doesn't need any particular size enclosure. It's usually just added onto the enclosure for the mid or woofer. Thanks for watching!
I really like passive radiators.
Hi there. Im a complete noob. Wanting to make my first speaker / enclosure for my partners son (xmas) I managed to pick up super cheap speakers (components) but to be honest everything on the back is gibberish to me. A quick vid on what you would expect to see and what they mean would be fantastic.
Hey man, you mentioned transients being a Pro of Sealed enclosures. What about Passive Radiator ones? Do they also have tight bass? And I guess there's no actual measure which describes a speakers capability of handling transients, so it's just gonna be heard by ear by being muddy.
I starting assembling a surround sound 5.1, currently have my fronts, rears and sub...I watched a few of your videos and now plan on building the center channel myself. I'm currently running 100 watts to each channel. The space I have for the center channel is 6" h x 14" w x 22" l so was thinking (2) 4" mid-bass and (1) tweeter...my question is would this require a crossover or could I place a capacitor inline? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Great videos!
Great videos! do you have any suggestions for recording studio monitoring build? a new video build perhaps?
Hi Kirby, love your videos
I am looking for some advice on how to modernize some old speakers. I have 4 old speakers in my garage that still work and I want to make two tower speakers and one sound bar and even make them Bluetooth. Here are the types of speakers I have.
2x Sharp Model No CD - E99 want to make into towers
2x thruster Panasonic SB 280 I want to combine them to make a sound bar.
I know nothing about building speakers but If you have time can you tell if it is possible and if so where do I start.
Thanks in advance
I have just some question to the calculator.
If I want to put more than 1 speaker in the Box, can I just double the size of the Box (and the Port)? And how much dose small tweeter matter to the Volume?
Thanks man really appreciated the video.
Very interesting video! So basically would it be correct to say that the passive radiator has the benefits of extending the low-frequency response like a ported design, as well as more accurate like a sealed cabinet? (also with less complicated calculations?)
Hey Kirby great video! thanks for sharing, I got a question for you, how do you know when a driver is working good? for example, I got one and when I push the cone with my thumps it makes a rubbing noise , I guess are the gaskets.
hi Kirby,could you give me your ported enclosure calculator,im loving the videos and the way you talk about it,your so refreshing than normal audio file buffs,who talk to you like your thick,anyway loving your work,many thanks mk
Kirby, great videos! I am building a small powered speaker with one woofer and two smaller ones for higher freqs. In the enclosure i am building i have space in the front only for the small speakers, where should i put de sub woofer? at the top of the enclosure or facing the table? thank you for al your videos and your help!!
Hey there Francisco! Sounds like an awesome project. I've seen speakers with woofers on all sides of speakers. Low frequencies are not as directional as mid or high frequencies, so you can put woofers on the front, top, back, or bottom. Its mostly a functional and aesthetic question. Have fun building!
New subscriber, really like what I have seen so far
Could you please make a video to demonstrate how a system (enclosure+driver+amp) performance and properties vary with same driver+amp at appx same resonant freq enclosures are tuned for, using sealed and ported/vented enclosures and also could a variable port be attempted to vary res freq for fun.. just wondering !
Really useful stuff, thanks.
Thank you for watching, Greg!
You could mount some small speakers in your ear lobes. That would be cool.
Hey Kirby, great channel! What are your thoughts on quarter wave length transmision line enclosures? Been considering building two of them for 12 inch subs for home theater. They will be huge, but I'm wondering if all the extra effort will be worth it. Thanks!
Great Video, thanks Kirby!! Have you ever used WinISD?? That's what I'm using and so far I like the results! I like how complete it is. I think I want to try PRs for a slim needle tower with PS95 and ND20FA. The DIY community need more people like you willing to teach others how to get into designing you dream speakers!! Looking foward for a talk about xovers!!
I haven't used that program yet. I normally use BassBox Pro to design most of my speakers. That sounds like an awesome project! I would love to see it when it's done. Thanks so much for watching, Jules!
Would really enjoy a video on driver selection
That's next on the list! Thanks for watching, Keith.
I have 3 subwoofers and 4 speakers from stereo systems and more other speakers. I want to do a project combining all of them and build one speaker. Question, Is that good idea or it will be waste of time?
hey kirby! i work as an audio-engineer, with big "PA" setups, i am planning on making some 15" subwoofers, prefferably in the 63-150Hz area, would you mind doing something similar? would really like to see some bigger speakers in the future, you know 12"/15" woofers and tweeters and similar. anyways i really like your videos, keep up the good work!
Asbjørn
Hi Kirby!! Your video's have inspired me to begin my first speaker build!! Thank you!! I have a couple questions which I can't seem to find answers for, so I hope you can help me out! I've purchased a 2x50bluetooth amp module, and I recently picked up an Oz Audio Vector series 5.25CS 2 way component speaker system. The midrange diameter is 5.25", with a 1.85" diameter Tweeter. Freq response is 60Hz-22KHz. 4ohm, 85w rms, 190wmax. Those are the only real data I've been able to find. It seems I need more to design an enclosure, so I am lost. Do I need a port or passive radiator? I'm thinking of using a 4x6" PR....does that size seem ok? How big an enclosure would I need? (There's two pairs of driver/tweeter. Does 0.68ft3 sound right?
Second question is: have you ever added rca inputs to a bluetooth-only amp? I'd it even possible?
Thanks for any light you can shed, and keep up the terrific work!
Love your passion!
Thank you, Justin!
Hi Kirby, I have a question. I had one of these desktop speakers, it has 2 Twitters and a separated sub woofer, I decided to make a new unit using these things, after I took apart them I found that the sub woofer enclosure is ported type but the driver is completely inside the box and the pipe is in front of driver (it actually is under the driver) but I mean the air is between the pipe and FRONT of driver, not the back of it. Is it OK? Or should I just rotate the driver? Or it depends on driver's type?Thanks a lot for your good channel. Keep up the good work.
Hi Kirby, I really liked your video. However, I came up against a problem building my own boombox speaker. I've purchased the Pioneer A173CI (= international version of the A1606C) component speakers. Since these are car speakers they don't come with a manual or a build plan or anything. The only information is that I can find on pioneers website under specifications. I am planned on building a ported box wich will be devided devided in 2 'rooms' for the left and the right. In between a separate space with like 1 inch of free air. Obviously I have no clue on how big I should make the box and what size of ports I have to use. I already have everything prepared like my own made battery and amplifier, so switching speakers is not quite an option. Are there any 'common' dimensions for speakers like these or is there any way to find out the best dimensions? Thanks in common, and yet again: Great video.
Hi, regarding the passive radiator- you mentioned about adding washers/weights to adjust the frequency response. I was wondering ,would adding weights cause a physical stress on the cone surrounds and the weight is pulling more down and back on the top parts of the surrounds. The linear movement would definitely be affected which would cause massive cone breakup.
If however the cone was placed horizontally either facing the floor or ceiling,this stress would not happen as the weight would be acting perpendicular to the plane of the cone and equidistant from all ends of the surrounds.
Does this make any sense or am I overthinking this.
I am a Sea captain so calculating mechanical/physical stress comes naturally to me 🧐
Can you help? Building a 6.5 speaker box with 2 passive radiators at 6.5 each. What size should I make the box?
for mid range and tweeter box, do port or sealed will make difference?
would you be able to show how to build a passive radiator and even the adding "washer" method you use
you r doing great..! great inspiration.. thanks u..!
Will you ever do something like a Karlson style box or a vintage Klipschorn?
Videos are great
very cool man. thanks!
What are your thoughts on curved cabinets like the Sonus Faber or B&W styles?
If the midbass' f3 is low enough to pair with 4th order bandpass use 4th order bandpass to extend bass. Don't get used to the softness aka non-transience of ported like most afcs.
awesome video
Hello Kirby,
I don't comment usually, in fact this is my first comment on RUclips, and i got to say Thank You very much.
It's been a while since am looking for something creative with regards to speakers.
I do have some ideas and would really like to share it with you.
Regards,
I have a question on a build I'm about to start: The project is a box for a 3 way center speaker (with a built in passive Crossover) for my 5.1 system. the Speaker will end up on a shelf above the TV. My thought was, could I mount the bass speaker facing down and have the tweeter and midrange facing out or is it just mount all three facing out?
Awesome vid! Waiting for TMLs and horns when theres time to get freaky designing speakers :D
Thanks! I am too!
cool video
but what is the woofer on the video ?
ok I just got done building a two speaker tower with some really thick wood about two inches thick. I was thinking about porting it but on the bottom. do you think that would work or should I just make it a sealed design? when I am done I will post a video here on one of your videos comments. oh and my speakers are 2 way speakers 4 ohm 100 watt each.
and can you talk about crossover
Comin soon!
His “soon” and my “soon” are not the same 😂😂😂
When you get your measurements for your speaker enclosure after using the calculators, are those the measurements for the internal dimensions or the external dimensions?
There is one more added benefit to ported speakers, albeit outside of the home audiophile circle, namely cooling in high powered applications like DJ-ing and sound reinforcement. And I assure you it's nothing to trifle with. Think of dissipating hundreds to thousands of Watts RMS during extended hours in a sealed, padded enclosure ;)
Two things about ports: "Chuffing" and one-note bass. Chuffing is when there is a tonne of turbulence resulting in a low frequency whistle. One-note bass is frequently encountered in bass reflex designs. This is a large resonant peak at one frequency. So, in that sense, sealed or PR enclosures are better, all the way around.... *PROVIDED* one has the right driver (Qts) for the job.
what type of wood have you tested and which are/have the best properties for sound
What passive circuit to use for a 3 way. Good and high quality.
Can i put the polyfill in. The 3 types or only on sealed type
QUESTION: I have a pair of JBL Studio L820 bookshelf speakers. I had bought them years ago to use as "Height" speakers with Pro Logic IIz sound. But, one of my JBL Studio S38 bookshelf speakers I used for the Front Left and Front Right broke. So, I started using the JBL L820 speakers for the Front Left and Front Right speakers. The problem is that the Front Right JBL Studio L820 speaker has a problem where the 6" Woofer "buzzes" during low frequencies during movies and even a couple music songs. For example, on the CD of the Halo game soundtrack, the song of "Halo" has several seconds where the woofer "buzzes" on the right side. It doesn't do that when I switch the left speaker to the right side. Do you know what could be causing this and how I could repair it? ... I suspect it was defective all along, but I never noticed it during the warranty period because the "Height" channels don't produce sound frequencies that low.
I'm brand new to DIY speakers so this might not make a lot of sense but I was wondering if there is any specific/helpful way to figure out information like air volume in an oddly shaped speaker cabinet design? like for example if I wanted to create a tower speaker cabinet with a cut-out on the sides (to create more of a tapered shape) how would I be able to calculate the size needed/air volume/ etc?
You'd use trigonometry. If you don't know that, just visualize the whole thing and make it from there, I'm dead serious. You have a woofer, you probably have information about what it's ideal sealed enclosure is, versus ported. A lot of manufacturers post that stuff now, not like back in the 80s. But anyways, read that and put it in your head and just visualize something in between with angles you think could work.
2:20 though I wish you had mentioned that a sealed speaker system must be airtight and it has to have filler, like cotton batting. I remember when we were making sealed enclosures in the 80s with wood cut by circular saws (at best) and we had to throw silicone rubber at it to make it airtight, every seam, and we'd even silicone rubber in the drivers to make sure no air escaped. And you'd test it be pushing in the woofer (gently and balanced) and watch it slowly return to zero. I think that's one of the not-so-easy things about sealed enclosures. They really have to be sealed or your woofer will not have the power handling capacity that it can when sealed.
lol at 4:18 ish you said ported is lower distortion than sealed.
6:57 you fill a sealed design with filler because if you don't, the square angles will create a noxious boom which is not pleasant as all the radiation from the back of the speaker is bouncing off angled walls and coming back through the speaker. You do it to absorb that rear energy so that it is dissipated in the box and not sent back out through the surround or the cone of the speaker. Talk about what the speaker thinks? Don't drown it in ponds and puddles of bass bouncing off walls and coming back through the speaker to muddy up everything like some freaking swamp.
Does something like a passive radiator cause phase cancellation issues? Assuming that the response of the radiator is instant then surely it would be 180 degrees out of phase with the main driver? Loving the information but would like to hear some detailed theory about each of the designs... but then again reading a book is probably the best bet
Hey there! Your logic makes total sense, but the response of the PR is not instant because of the volume of air within the enclosure. The air works as a capacitive load which delays the PR 180 deg. This series of videos is intended as just an intro to speaker building to get people started. I'll be doing much more in-depth videos on these subject in the future. Thanks for watching!
Perfect man. I'm poking forward to seeing your future videos and watching the channel grow.
What materials and what thicknesses You think are best for speakers? I find, many of speaker builders uses 3/4''MDF. Is it because of low cost or other qualities? Could be used plywood or wood panels?
3/4" MDF is for sure the enclosure material of choice for its strength, ease of use, and low cost. But plywood is just as good if not better. Depending on the size of speakers used in your project, I wouldn't go under 3/4" thickness. You can also use solid woods. Some people don't like using solid woods for many different reasons, but I've had great results using it. Thanks for watching!
Kirby Meets Audio Thanks, Kirby! By the way - Your channel definitely is an finding of this year. Great! Please continue same way.
I thought the passive radiator needs to be the same exact size as the driver for optimal performance? why does the the radiator have to be bigger then the driver? I want to make a Bluetooth box with 2 6.5 inch speakers. would it be best to use 1 slightly bigger passive radiator? an 8 inch passive radiator? (trying to keep the box somewhat small) or use two 6.5inch passive radiators?
My plan is to just mirror the front and back of the box, so the front will have two 6.5inch drivers/speakers and the back will have two 6.5inch passive radiators in the same spot using measurements. so the air created from the speakers would go back and directly pass through the radiators, out of the box. Will this produce a decent amount of bass/sound quality?
Ty
Love your vids. I'm currently planning a ported pair of bookshelf speakers with 6.5in woofers and 1in dome tweeters, but I'm having trouble picking a port size to match my enclosure. I'm not sure what diameter port to use, and when I choose a random one (say 3 inches) the online calculator says my port needs to be almost 3 feet long! That won't fit in my enclosure! So my questions are: Does adding the tweeter affect the ideal size of my cabinet? And how can I get a port that will fit in my calculated enclosure (8.65 x 14 x 5.34 inches)? Thanks in advance, you're a saint Kirby.
1 inch will be fine
Hey there! That sounds like an awesome project. The tweeter has no impact on the size of your cabinet. The volume of the enclosure should only be modeled for the woofer. You can think of the tweeter as just an accessory to the enclosure. As for port tube size, the smaller the diameter of the tube, the shorter the tube has to be. But it also can't be too small for the woofer or "chuffing" will occur in the tube (noise caused by too much air being forced through the tube). For your project I would suggest something around a 2 inch diameter, though you could probably go down to 1.5 inches. You want to try to use the largest diameter you can in the space you have available. Thanks for watching!
can you make a video on how to use those links that you provided for the calculators, i was able to find Fs, Qms Qes, Qts, but what do i do next, how do i determine the size of enclosure?
Hi there . I have a pair of wharfedale diamond 9 speakers . I would like to take the guts of the speakers and rehouse them in solid would cabinets . Would you think this would be fairly straight forward?
Great material, it would really add some value to your videos if you added images of what you're talking about though.
Hey, I have an in wall speaker that I'm converting to a book shelf speaker and I'm not sure what would be best... it's a Klipsch RCW-5.. any idea what I should do? I want to use it as the center channel In my 5.2 surround sound setup mainly because I have it and it's a great speaker so if I don't have to buy a new one I'm happy!
so a question, I want to build a speaker with hexagon shaped side panels, and put a woofer in one of them, how would i go about with the calculations of the volume. and is a bass reflex a good idea?
how about material as well as tuned ports
Kirby,
I want to build a speaker that I can use on a construction site. This is my first attempt to build one of these so I'd like to keep it simple, so I'm thinking a sealed enclosure with dimensions of roughly 7" x 11" x 10". So how do I know what tweeters or driver to buy?
Thanks
Mike