DIY Monitors??

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Drone
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DIY Monitors??

Post by Drone » Fri Apr 01, 2016 1:21 pm

After all the helpful info I received on the DIY mic preamp thread, I was wondering, do DIY people build their own monitors atall?

Specifically I'm thinking of single driver boxes, much like the Mixcubes you see. Is there a particular driver, that works well in a small sealed box like that? Something made out of a nice dense 3/4" MDF say?
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Post by JWL » Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:41 pm

Here's a cool design from another forum in 2003..... Thomas Barefoot's (who went on to start the Barefoot monitor company) Killatones:

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewt ... f=12&t=297

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Post by Drone » Sun Apr 03, 2016 12:53 pm

I had a little look, but I had to join the other forum to see the full details, and I couldn't join from my tablet as the site wasn't working on it. :roll:

However, the driver used is no longer made, and there is no direct replacement that I can find, there are similar ones, but they all require tweaking.

If I just picked a random full range driver, and inserted it into the recommended box size?
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Post by Scodiddly » Sun Apr 03, 2016 4:37 pm

There are some online calculators for box parameters and such. Speaker building is even more of a rabbit hole than microphone building, basically. But you could buy a full-range driver, look at a manufacturer's suggested box, or just use the published speaker specs with an online calculator to come up with your own. Or you could build a random box and throw DSP at it to flatten out the response.

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Post by Drone » Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:40 pm

Yeah, I've played with WinISD and Hornresp many moons ago, never dared try Akabak tho'.

I guess, I should have been asking if there were any favoured drivers for sealed box nearfield designs, in terms of simplicity and basic clear, unhyped sound. Sorta like people recommended the THAT chip for a preamp. I've seen hi-fi guys talking about Tang Band for instance, and whizzer cones, good thing or bad thing?
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Post by JWL » Sun Apr 03, 2016 10:48 pm


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Post by dfuruta » Tue Apr 05, 2016 5:36 am

here is a mixcube style project.

haven't seen so many speaker projects. i know there's a section on diyaudio - they tend to be more hifi oriented (and, half the time, nutty audiophiles). it does seem rather more complicated than mic preamps, but maybe that's just because many of us doing diy gear know more about electronics than acoustics.

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Post by Scodiddly » Wed Apr 06, 2016 5:55 am

Parts Express does a DIY speaker competition every year - there are some wacky speaker designs but also some good basic ones represented. Trolling through their projects gallery might be useful and perhaps also amusing:
http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/

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Post by Drone » Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:28 pm

It's interesting WinISD disagrees with the optimum box size for a sealed box for that Dayton unit from the recommended size. Perhaps the optimum size quoted didn't include the volume occupied with the driver

The Mixcube one, the chap just gets a cheap driver the same size, and puts it in a similar box, which is another way to go I guess.
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Post by The Scum » Thu Apr 07, 2016 11:46 am

Having seen & participated a couple of comparisons of Auratones (such as the one in the latest print-copy Tape Op), it appears that there's no single canonical driver. I'm guessing that they got whatever full-range driver could handle the power, and put it in a little sealed box.

Having recently rediscovered infinite baffle enclosures for monitoring, I've kinda warmed to them. They don't do any wacky stuff (tuned ports) to try and extend the low frequency response, they just let it roll off naturally, gradually. They won't be super bass heavy, but it also avoids some of the "one note bass" phenomenon.

Philip Newell had his own theories about why Auratones became so popular, and part of it was that with a full-range driver, you don't need a crossover. No monkeybusiness right in the middle of the spectrum, meaning clearer midrange.

Whizzer cones are pretty terrible in my opinion.

Personally, I've been kinda tempted by the Eminence coaxial stuff.
http://www.eminence.com/2012/10/great-u ... -products/
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Post by vvv » Fri Apr 08, 2016 7:06 am

But doesn't the Eminence coaxial stuff require crossover "monkeybusiness"?


(Hmm, Crossover Monkeybusiness, possible new band name there. :twisted:)
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Post by AMelbye » Fri Aug 26, 2016 3:26 am

I know I have seen plans for a clone of the ProAc Studio 100.
There's a thread here: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/geekslu ... 100-a.html

but google might give you more results.

I think this (the original that is, I haven't heard the clone) is an exeptionally good loudspeaker for mixing. Mid-focused like an NS10, but with a bit more bottom end, and not fatiguing to listen to. Will never trick you into thinking you mix is better than it actually is. Rather the opposite; makes you work hard. I'm very glad I got rid og my PMCs and got those in stead.

I also have a book called "loudspeaker design cookbook" which will teach you a lot of theory behind loudspeaker design, and it includes plans for a studio monitor as well as a 5.1 surround system. I have the 7th edition, there might be newer versions out there. I'll sell you mine cheaply if you're interested (just drop me a PM), I'm not going to use it.

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