Ravindra Desai
Well-Known Member
Hello all,
While DIY audio is a section where people are free to experiment to achieve their needs, there are certain guidelines which, if followed, saves you a lot of time, effort and money. These guidelines are based on laws of physics and math associated circuit design and holds true for every type of design be it tubes, discreet semiconductor etc.
One such area which has very strict guidelines is loudspeaker enclosure design.
The truth is that every unique speaker will need its own enclosure designed based on its electrical and mechanical parameters popularly called Thiele Small Parameters or simply T-S Parameters.
While it is completely possible that you may 'land up' with an enclosure design that brings up the best out of your speaker without any math, it will mean relying too much on luck or trial and error methods.
Copying enclosures designs made by 'big brands' has been the trend in PA systems. Little does one know that copying mechanical enclosure dimensions and putting a different driver, even if it is from the same company often leads to disastrous results and can even pre-maturely destroy the speaker.
Another area that needs a mention is amplifier design.
There are a lot of reference designs shared by expert designers. However, if its a linear amplifier (class A or class AB) based on discrete components, then it is important to note, understand and follow the procedure, to set the bias current, associated with each and every design. Unfortunately bias current setting is a manual process and needs to done separately for each and every channel.
By not doing so will result in either class B operation (which results in poor distorted quality), or you may end up creating an expensive cigarette lighter.
Again, it is possible that you may 'land up' in class AB or class A region, but then again, you are chancing your luck.
Power any loudspeaker with any amplifier and you will get sound.
But good sound does not just happen. Laws of physics and math cannot be ignored.
I hope that you will find this topic helpful.
Do let me know if there is anything that needs clarification and I will do my best.
Regards,
Ravindra.
While DIY audio is a section where people are free to experiment to achieve their needs, there are certain guidelines which, if followed, saves you a lot of time, effort and money. These guidelines are based on laws of physics and math associated circuit design and holds true for every type of design be it tubes, discreet semiconductor etc.
One such area which has very strict guidelines is loudspeaker enclosure design.
The truth is that every unique speaker will need its own enclosure designed based on its electrical and mechanical parameters popularly called Thiele Small Parameters or simply T-S Parameters.
While it is completely possible that you may 'land up' with an enclosure design that brings up the best out of your speaker without any math, it will mean relying too much on luck or trial and error methods.
Copying enclosures designs made by 'big brands' has been the trend in PA systems. Little does one know that copying mechanical enclosure dimensions and putting a different driver, even if it is from the same company often leads to disastrous results and can even pre-maturely destroy the speaker.
Another area that needs a mention is amplifier design.
There are a lot of reference designs shared by expert designers. However, if its a linear amplifier (class A or class AB) based on discrete components, then it is important to note, understand and follow the procedure, to set the bias current, associated with each and every design. Unfortunately bias current setting is a manual process and needs to done separately for each and every channel.
By not doing so will result in either class B operation (which results in poor distorted quality), or you may end up creating an expensive cigarette lighter.
Again, it is possible that you may 'land up' in class AB or class A region, but then again, you are chancing your luck.
Power any loudspeaker with any amplifier and you will get sound.
But good sound does not just happen. Laws of physics and math cannot be ignored.
I hope that you will find this topic helpful.
Do let me know if there is anything that needs clarification and I will do my best.
Regards,
Ravindra.