Simple DIY Speakers guidance- Totally Indian

malasar

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Jan 1, 2009
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I have been looking at the various posts on hifivision for some time now and liked the concept of DIY ..... However when it comes to Indian DIY efforts I have some observations ...

My views here are all keeping in mind a single theme - Good Quality, Low Price and Indian made products ....

My observations:

a. While there are some manufacturers of good quality amps in India (Norge, DNM Pace etc) and at reasonable prices (~Rs.10 - 12 K), however the same does not apply to quality speakers (3-way towers).

b. There are some players though that make very good speakers (eg. Lithos) however they are at a very highend ... meaning very pricey for the average Indian

c. There are some other speaker manufacturers who make good speakers and sell at reasonable prices, but these are mostly location specific (eg: Craftel in Chennai) ..... but as it is the problem with heavy tower speakers .... transportation is a problem ...

d. Hence the only solution left is DIY ....

e. But the problem with DIY in India is the availability of ...Good quality Drivers ....

f. But I believe that still there are some good drivers available in India (as has been discussed on various threads on hifivision) ..... I believe that a bigger problem is the lack of enlightment as far as DIY speakers ...

g. There are so many threads and discussions here where so much of discussion takes place on various challenges in making a speaker (High Qts; T/S parameters availability; Box Design; Tuning Frequency etc); But there is no clarity for a novice venturing out make a speaker


My question / request to the Champs here is to provide some guidance .... simple and non technical .... on how to make good tower speakers from products made in India ... Like:

a. Buy the following combination of drivers:
Combination 1: Bass, Mid, Tweeter - Brand & Model No.
Combination 2: Bass, Mid, Tweeter - Brand & Model No.
Combination 3: Bass, Mid, Tweeter - Brand & Model No.

b. Buy the _________crossover - Brand & Model No.

c. You will get the above drivers/crossover/connectors at XYZ shop at _______ location in Mumbai. Also mention the approx prices

d. Provide box-designs for the respective combination

e. Also provide the contacts of good speaker box makers (if any) who can work on the designs

And thats it ...... By this way, an average novice lover of good music can create a good pair of 3-way tower speakers without getting bogged down by too much of technicals (T/S parameters, box tuning etc) ....

I know that the GURUs in this forum have created master pieces in the past .... and hence are capable enough to guide the novices ....

I also know that by the above method the end result will not be anywhere near to high quality audiophile gear ..... but am sure that it will be a lot better and cheaper than some of the off the shelf products

Expect some good response from the masters of the game .....
 
the maggie noodle like formula does not exit
sad part
- it is a black art kind of thing, costs go high
- many gurus and experts in HFV are banned or decided to go off HFV
- material sources are non standard here .. even the MDF types also in confusion
the good
- some gurus are there in HFV
- you can tweak the speakers with software crossover
 
its not so easy my friend. its easy in US because all the drivers are available, all the parts are available and the most important thing, there are good proven tested designs available with these drivers. How many good proven tested designs are available using peerless drivers available here or dainty. Heck, most of the drivers will have different t/s parameters. You cant even get inductors here easily, you need to get them wound and measure them. A half way decent lcr meter will cost you 2k+
And there is no way to design a good speakers without getting bogged down with technical details. You are designing an engineering product, you need to know a hell of a lot of things. you should have a trained ear, should have measurement gear, which costs as much as a good diy 3 way speakers.

Relatively, amps are easy to diy. the biggest headache is the cabinet. In speakers, the cabinets are the easiest part. still, be ready to experiment with different baffles, cab sizes, tools, wasted wood, tons of dust, pissed off wife etc.

Designing a good 2 way is very very hard. Designing a good 3 way is 10 times harder. Sure you can use software to do the design. But thats not optimized or voiced. If you can live with whatever the software designs, go ahead. Me, I will stick to proven designs and be at my friend's mercy for getting me drivers from US.
 
In addition to all that the previous posters have said, I would like to add my own experience. After lurking in the forum and looking for the holy grail...that was not there I decided on a full range. Budget was a constraint, but then if you work around your expectations you would find a few good full rangers, of course readily available only in the US. The erason I zeroed in on teh full range was that I need not break my head with Xover and so measuring stuff.
The next step was to get a good design, the choice then narrows down - affordable drivers, proven design, published design. that narrowed it down for me to Fostex FR's. The challenge then became carpentry, I have some amount of carpentry skills, but then I need to cut everything in pairs - of the same...precision is not my Forte in carpentry. I had to find a carpenter....anyhow thanks to a forum member I found a willing one. The only issue being that the FOstex design had to be "translated" for our desi workmen....

So pretty straight forward....maybe I will try my own carpentry next time!!:lol:
 
This is the path I have taken so far.

Subwoofer
Full range speakers
2way bookshelf, cheap (in Progress, cabs done, xo pending)
2way bookshelf good quality (In Progress, parts acquired)
Subwoofer for the 2ways.
Next will be either a 2.5way or 3way floorstanders
Amps
 
Purchase the Audiolab 6000A Integrated Amplifier at a special offer price.
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