IMPORTANT NOTE: The Fountek FE85 driver seems to be either out of stock, or discontinued. Either way, I am working on an update for this speaker with a new driver, and will be releasing updated build plans hopefully within a couple of months from the time of posting this comment. In the meantime the current BUILD PLANS have been removed from my webshop. I apologise for the inconvenience, however these are circumstances beyond my control.
Thanks for the update,, it is really appreciated to know you are working on an update as I am near to be finished with my build where only the fountek drivers and corresponding holes are missing Let’s hope you can find a good substitute driver with minimal impact and still high performance. Crossing my fingers; It looks really great already ...
Great to know this & really impressed with how quickly you've addressed this , I have an order placed for the founteks with a uk supplier & they are saying possibly July arrival at the earliest so will keep an eye on your findings regards an alternative. I'm just at the start of my build so plenty of time to play about with an alternative
Could this be a drop in replacement? www.parts-express.com/Fountek-FR89EX-3-Neodymium-Full-Range-Driver-296-721 I would like to buy the plans anyway if that's possible.
I am reluctant to go with the Fountek drivers, since they seem to have a lot of supply problems right now, without really being able to say whether these drivers will even be available again.I have found a Tang Band driver that can work. But right now I can't comment if it will be a drop-in replacement, still in the process of testing.
Good day Richard I am very interested in that LS and will build one soon. My only concern is how the bass sounds. As i listen to classical concerts i would like a deep bass feeling (like orgue). Maybe you can describe your personal impressions please. Thx in advance. Peter
These sound absolutely amazing! My son and I recently finished making these and all we (and anyone else who listens to them) can say is - wow! This was our first attempt at building our own speakers, and these directions were very detailed and easy to follow. Thanks very much for the hard work on these speaker build plans and the videos! Liked, subscribed, and already purchased another set of plans....please, keep them coming.
These drivers are the best for the human voice and instrumental type of music. The quality of the cabinets you built are second to none. Absolutely brilliant
I think essentially this is how the manufacturers make their speakers. For many commercial reasons, the retail price price ends up being many multiples of base cost. Therefore if you have the gear, the time, knowledge, money and temperament, you can have something like these speakers for a fraction of the cost of commercial units, and much the same sound. Remember that manufacturers invest many $$ in R&D and expensive production equipment. These speakers come from a dude in his workshop, but that doesn't mean you can't end up with a hefty slice of the sound of a commercial unit. And, the big attraction is the feeling of accomplishment you get from a project like this. I very much enjoyed this. Wish I had what is needed to make the things. They're very appealing to me for many reasons...
I made these speakers and I can attest that they sound fantastic. The project was also very fun for me as I had built furniture and boats in the past but never something like this.
Speaker design is something that has always fascinated me. I'm listening through Bluetooth and UA-cam compression, but that sounds nice and tight. Currently using a Lepy 4 channel mini Amp with 2 Pioneer 3 way 6x9's in tight stack layered enclosures, capped at around 80 hz and an Old School 10" SPL Sub in its original enclosure also Filtered at around 80 Hz and bridged over the rear channels. Not massive power but enough out here in my Workshop without annoying the Neighbours.
i am more impressed by the amount of tools you have. remember my fathers workshop wasnt something he had overnight. love your teaching and explanations!
Im so proud of this guy hes setting a good standard for speaker builds and hes South African honestly mahn more people should know about your work i make and sell speakers myself but im totally in auuw from your designs and techniques ive learnt alot that i incorporate into my own builds so thank you youre a legend and you deserve way more recognition i mean 87k subscribers but im talking about South Africans needa jump on this instead of supporting these huge manufactures whe only care about passing quality control tests and making tons of money i know builders that build from home generally try make it as affordable as possible whilst trying to get the best quality sound out of the unit i mean theres a passion to it and kinda nerdy factor that you need to achieve great speaker builds lets face it you need a certain sense of discipline to do what you do
Very nice. And I like the way you addressed the price some speaker manufacturer charge, people who always bauk at the prices stating that it only cost x amount of money in parts... We'll look around almost anything you buy you could say that about... Literally just about everything!
one here who has the speakers version 2 for over an year as main speakers dive them with a marantz pm7001 the soundstage is great an not so deep as with some jbl 830 for comparison the voices are in front of you but no piercing to your head ,i think is because of the side woofer the good point is that they are not create fatigue after long hours of listening they need a sub to hit below 35 hz wife aceptance is verry high i`m working on the crossover to lower the cross freq. i believe that the mid driver can go lower still keeping the original crossover just in case
Wow those are great , I can hear the air and separation from here. I think that design is incredible. That narrow front bafflle and side firing woofer design does allow the sound to wrap around the cabinet thuss making the speaker disappear.
I was hoping you listen to better music than we had to listen to during the sped up video. You did during the demo. Well done, and thanks for the video!
I njoy watching a master craftsman at work who can show ell what the is doing and explain it, too. Always interesting. This looks to me like a tuned port bass reflex. Is this true?
Very nice build! I recomend to make chamfer inside of the mid driver hole and if bass driver is playing so high, then there as well. This midrange is so tiny, basket will not reach much to the box, so chamfer will reduce reflections coming back to cone from hole walls. Also, you can but that self- adhesive foam what you used to sealing on the driver baskets to reduce them ringing.
Bought the plans and built two sets! ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM! They sound beautifully deep, and have a directional but all encompassing soundstage that just makes you want to keep listening. Great design. If you have the tools and the know how, I can not recomend them enough! Oh, and while I plan to get an amp with some more wattage; I am currently powering them through a JVC A-S5 that is only 30 watts a side. They sound lovely in my living room.
Hi Brad, I am so happy that you like the speakers, and well done for finishing them. Would love to see some pics? Thanks for the positive review, it helps me and others a lot to hear from someone that has actually built these. Enjoy!
@@SoundBlab I sent those pictures to your Instagram account. Let me know if there is a better place to send them. Thanks again for a great design. Both sets that I made sound absolutely beautiful.
Hi, i bought these build plans and just finished in building these fine speakers. The sound is very impressive and of a clearness i ve never heard before. I opted for a white speaker design with chalky varnish and a clear satin cover.
Great Video .. as someone who owns Boenicke W8se+ speakers .. i see many similarity’s in design .. and I bet these sound absolutely Gorgeous ..wonderful build guide .. my hats off to you ..
From a fellow speaker builder, I love the build.I go out of my way to build weird and different speakers, just because I am bored of building what's expected.I have done something similar, except with a 6 1/2 and a transmission line /folded horn type box. Height and width seem similar.It's the fun of squeezing every last ounce out of what you have built.
Very nice sounding music examples! I'm glad I found this video. Now I'm wishing I had a small workshop and tools to build a pair these speakers. Oh well. Perhaps in the near future. Thanks for sharing, mate! Cheers!
When doing your round over cuts you should include the interior edge of the driver holes as well. That sharp edge can cause some diffraction spikes in the response.
Nice build! Just a small tip , use piece’s of excess wood as a clamping shim when gluing. It has the advantage that you don’t eventually have clamping marks on your work piece it protects the edges and you have a better force dispersion on your gluing areas . Especially when gluing bigger areas as by veneering or to compensate the use of less clamp’s. In our workshop we say you can never have enough clamp’s ! 😉
Thanks! This happens sometimes, but often I don't bother, and have not had many occasions where the clamp made marks, but it is good for spreading the clamp force.
Cool Beans! I'm listening to the demo section on my Snell E.5 MKII's with rear firing tweeters and your speakers sound very nice. They seem to drop off at 36 Hz ! wow..........
This particular design is very unique. I have 4 old acoustic reasherch speakers with 8 inch side woofers on one pair and 10 inch on the other set. These unique designed side mount woofer speakers actually out performed way way way better than the JBL floor speakers I used to have. Not by a little, I mean blown out of the water. Those JBL speakers had dual 8 inch woofers. I love this design cause it seems to have an enormous bass frequency. And saves space cause the are a slimmer speaker vs. The traditional front mounted design.
One recommendation I have is to switch the screws that you use to square, torx, or hex bits. Something where the bit solidly seats into the head of the screw and cannot slip out. I've seen too many horror stories of people building speakers and having their screwdriver bit slip and impale their driver.
I've struggled to find those locally, so the star bit it is for now until I can find something else that works better. I always try to be rather cautious when installing the drivers. Up until now I don't think I have had a mishap yet!
Oh another tip if building speaker cases it’s desirable to reduce the amount of openings to the necessary. If possible install the binding posts directly in the case without plate’s or plastic binding connections. A good example is the warfdale Linton
Yeah, I have done this before in many of my previous and more current builds. However, in this case I wanted a place to mount the crossover, and thus the plate.
@@henryrichards1556 I need to build a sound-isolated room in the basement for all my toys, otherwise the neighbors would hate me when I'm pushing like 2K watts :D.
This speaker is just beautiful. If it sounds half as good as it looks I’ll be happy. I just bought the build plans which are well beyond my expectations - they are exceptional. Ikea plans pale in comparison.
, very professional job. Beautiful speakers. This particular design of speaker with the side fire woofer is my favorite Has been all my life. I have 4 large floor standing speakers with side fire 8 and 10 inch woofers made by acoustic audio that are decades old but still out perform anything I've ever had or heard for that matter. I love the tang band woofers.
When you have to drill plates and boards where all the holes are the same distance from the edge it is a good trick to clamp an edge like a piece of wood where you hold the workpiece up against it to ensure the hole is the same distance all the way around. You find you can whizz around the board much faster that way as the piece can only move in 1 D and not 2.
The fact is that the directivity plot and phase response of the drivers per angle per frequency are complicated, and the off-axis radiation of a driver is usually much higher in phase distortion. Additionally the sort of time delays at tweeter wavelengths across a depth of 8 inches will mean that a "true dipole" directivity plot of the array will not be what you measure. Additionally the classification of these tweeters will not be an omni/point source, or a dipole, so combining them into a viably controllable array mixing forward and rear firing drivers is unlikely. I would be willing to bet that you could install a polarity reversing switch for the tweeter, and hear no difference one way or the other with a blindfold on - the mixture of phase / wave propagation at any given point will be a diffuse reverberating multi-path issue, and simply moving the listening point a distance of a centimeter or two will produce a completely different set of interlaced and diffuse comb filters. I would also hazard a guess that analysing waterfall plots / convolution impulses measured from a lively listening room would reveal that the rear firing tweeter mostly adds harsh reverb and non-linearities in the high frequencies, and makes the high frequency response "notchy" and "smeared".
Impressive speaker design in software to get a great response and sound stage. Props on the craftsmanship that went into these. Its mind boggling when you think that buying something like this from a "PRO" audio brand will cost into the thousands of dollars and probably sound worse...
Super cool, thank you so much for sharing. Out of curiosity, how would a speaker set up like sound as a DJ playing mostly house music for a small venue situation like a house party? is there enough low end and overall volume for some good thump or would an addiitonal subwoofer probably be in order?
I love your designs and the build process. What I really love though, is the fact that you know how to solder. It irritates the hell out of me watching others just melting solder onto a joint and they're attempting to teach others...ugh. Anyway, great video as usual !
I used very linear microphones to record these, not the camera mic, so thats why the camera is stationary. This way it gives you a very good linear and consistent response of what each speaker sounds like in its position in the room.
Nice, very detailed. Midrange a tad tinny, lacking a little warmth. I don't like muddy sound either. Overall good sound for the money but seems to need more fill between tweeter and essentially a 5" sub. I bought my first hi end system at 16 so excuse me if I seem critical. Nice job overall.
Far from being a problem, a very slight dip around 2kHz is the natural behavior of the crossover point on many older high end two-way studio monitors and has thus become something of an unofficial faux semi-non-standard. This dip is actually modeled into some speaker calibration targets. For example Audyssey calls it "midrange compensation," a -3dB dip, or slightly more significant than the one you've measured here. Now of course there's no reason we need this dip in modern speakers, but if you're listening to older music, chances are there was a similar dip on the speakers used by the engineers at the time. (And purely subjectively, this is a frequency zone you'd rather err on the side of a slight dip than a slight boost, as it's the highest risk for harsh sound.)
Baie Nice :) Very nice to see Local RSA People doing these kind of videos. You've given me a nice idea on revamping some of my vintage speakers to look like new. I think a nice video idea would be what equipment you use and how you measure your frequency responses (Mic specs ,distances from speaker, software etc) :) Ps . Where did you buy your verneer in RSA? and what do the cost these days? Really Impressed :)
Thanks! I can work in a video like that at some point. I get veneer from Veneercraft in Cape Town. Cost depends heavily on the wood choice, but 4 leaves of 2500 x 300 in Walnut is around R500 - R750.
@@SoundBlab Thanks for the reply :) Watched your Home Theatre Build - 2-WAY STEREO SPEAKERS really like the look of those aswell. Keep on doing what you're doing really like your videos :)
Very nice build! I understand your disclaimer, but the demo at the end sounded awesome using headphones (AT M50x's). I'm working on something similar. The Tangband W5-1138SMF in a 9L BR cabinet, but with the Dayton RS125-8 for mids and the Dayton DC28F for highs. I already built the crossovers, first time I designed my own (using VitruixCad). I did end up using a 2nd order low-pass for the W5-1138-SMF. I'm looking forward to building the cabinets and listening.
Interesting design. I am curious about the crossover point of the woofer/midrange being so high and the fact that the woofer is side-firing. Given that sound becomes audibly directional around 100Hz doesn't this create a problem with so much important musical information firing at 90 degrees to the listening position? Thanks for the video, by the way. I'm not doubting your listening impressions at all.
This side-firing woofer gives a very natural roll-off which eliminates the need for any crossover components on the woofer. Then we can fade in the midrange slowly to match and give us a nice flat response curve. In the version 2.0 of this design using a different midrange driver, I lowered the crossover point so we get a better integration between the two. However, the original design still works. We can see in the frequency response that we do not lose any musical information from the listening position, since the response is fairly flat throughout the passband. You probably get more reflective sound as a result, but with proper positioning of the speaker this adds to the soundstage and imaging. These speaker are actually rather forgiving in their positioning, as long as they are about 1.5 to 2 feet from the front wall, and the woofers face inwards when used more than approximately 6.5 feet apart, or close to the side walls.
Just bought your Build Plans for this project. Can't wait to start. Although it's very comprehensive, I would have liked to see the projected frequency response from the crossover sim and the bass response from the box and a measured frequency response. I know they are on your site, but would have loved to see them in the guide as well. For the rest; keep it up!
Good day I like the design very much, congrats on it and how you built it. just wondering how they sound. analytical and crispy , clear highs, bass fundamental (knowing that the size cannot go very deep). How is the virtual scene, can I close my eyes and see all instruments in the orchestra? are they comparable to high end (like B W)? apologize for all those questions but UA-cam does not transfer high end sound and in my case the speakers sound bubbly and not detailed which is for sure definitely not the case in real. also wondering about the costs for buying the wood plus carpenter. many thanks, you inspired my day. best peter
You picked nice music content for the video. I see the link to the music site but a list of music used would be epic. The speakers --- Top notch. As stated by others I would love to hear it live.
I am an audiophile without woodworking tools. Although I do have novice abilities at woodworking I just have yet to get the tools needed so I’m forced to buy and trade vintage gear online always searching for what sounds right to me. I can’t wait until I have the ability to diy!
A pair of foldable saw horses, a circular saw, an orbital hand sander, a router, a jig saw, and a bunch of clamps, is more than what you will need to complete 90% of DIY speaker projects. All of this can be purchased from Harbor Freight tools for under $300 without a sale or coupon. You can save even more going to Yard Sales in the spring and fall.
@@Cakebattered thank you. In the 8 months since this comment I have bought everything you named except horses and router I count use my dremel tool as a router but it’s not the best for larger projects
SoundBlab ... if I tried to build it, will look worse than Frankenstein. How I wish can just order it. I’ve listened to the Boenicke a lot ... W5, W8 and W11. This sounds good. Very good.
Thanks. I wanted to do a rear bevel, but because of the way I assembled it and the narrow baffle, I could not do it with a conventional bevel bit. I will have to get one that can actually cut an undercut bevel. Could not find one though. Luckily the effect it had on the mid-driver response fell outside of the passband I was using the driver in, and it worked out well.
@@SoundBlab What about baffle step compensation? I think it would improve the response if you had chamfered or rounded-over the front baffle edges. However, I realize that this would have made the application of the veneer much more complicated.
This is nice but Ill stick to getting assembled speakers as just getting all the tools to do this will cost more then building a speaker set. Still nice to watch you work
Great video sir. I stumbled upon this while taking a break from editing a similar video I'm doing myself. Those turned out awesome. Gotta love those tang band drivers...
Nice job. Surprised it’s tuned with a much lower initial impedance peak signifying cab tuning is below woofer Fs or did the damping lift the initial peak a little for improved efficiency? I use a similar method of veneering for my designs. I wonder have you considered using a vacuum bag to veneer? Is the mid dip cured by reversing woofer or mid driver polarity? Nice response👍
I have a question, is the center speaker under the TV used in this demo ? remarkable sound through my air pod pro's. Nice work. I purchased the plans, thank you for the video's.
Hi I stumbled upon this video while looking for a video that may assist me building two tower speaker, with speaker I already have, 4 -10 inch woofer 4- midrange and 4 tweeter . However I am very impressed with your speaker. I may instead try to build the one you made.
Yes! That was quite interesting at least! I've never tried mounting woofers on sides of the enclosures, so I'm not quite familiar with the sound of such a system. I see it's a very complex construction (and skillfully done by the way ;), a labyrinth type if I'm correct... but I didn't quite understand, when tested, the woofers are facing towards each other or vice-versa? Or it doesn't matter? And the biggest question of all: why mounting the additional rear tweeter?? I saw in the crossover design that it was linked in series with the front one! Thanks for showing how to work with the aluminum plates!
Thanks. This is just a normal ported (bass reflex) enclosure. The woofers can face either inward or outward depending on the distance between the speakers or distances form side walls. My recommendation is to face the drivers inward if the distance between the speakers exceed 2 meters, otherwise face them outward. The additional rear tweeter helps to create a better soundstage and sense of space around the speaker.
Great Job. I recently built a set of small bookshelf speakers and used some more exotic non paper backed veneer... what a hassle. I would suggest you take a look at the Titebond branded cold press glue, it was recommended to me as it should have more temperature stability with veneer.
Thanks! These do not have stain, and generally I do not prefer to stain veneer, I like the natural look. My best suggestion for a great natural finish that brings out the grain of a dark er wood like walnut is a danish oil. For lighter veneers I prefer a water based polyurethane. This keeps the lighter veneer from going yellow over time.
Great video, I very much like this style of video, explaining your reasoning and step by step of what your doing on the video. Way more engaging than music through out the video.
To ensure I finish my build to fit 100% your design, there is something I am missing from the plan and explanations. May be it is not so important but I would appreciate getting your advice and recommendation . The enclosure for the Mid driver (the Fountek with V1) is fully sealed afer closing the speaker enclosure and there is no indication on the plan on how to pass the cables in order to establish the connections. What best to drill then pass the cables ? at what location should I drill and would it be important to keep it sealed airtight after passing the cables ? Many thanks again, I owe you a nice project and fun experience to build my first speakers ...
You are right. I did omit that detail. You can just drill a 5 to 6mm hole in the back panel of the internal enclosure for the mid-driver, pull the wire through and then make sure to seal it well with some hot glue or 2-part epoxy. It is indeed important to make sure that the internal enclosure is sealed.
Please enlighten as to why you used the tweeters in this set up since the Fountek FE85 reproduce high frequencies all the way to the top end of human hearing. Was it to add airiness, shimmer or to increase power handling capacity? Were the tweeters used to balance overpowering bass?
The Fountek can handle the high frequencies, but I wanted it to focus on a limited midrange section of the passband in which it performs well. The two tweeters act as a dipole and aids in the delivery of soundstage and imaging IMO.
I very like what you do, so many interesting ideas! But in this construction can be wrong stand, better something for most low resonance. And you not try option where two bass speakers in down, bass port in center? Possibly it will be most effective.
Thanks! The ribbons will be a different option, not necessarily better or worse, since the current tweeters works really well in this setup. But I would like to try the Fountek ribbons in a build sometime.
Interesting design, as usual! Just wondering what the main reason was for placing the woofer on the side panel. Minimal front facing area (presumably making it easier to set up the speakers along the equipment and in the same time extending it backward - like shops on a busy street having very minimal fronts in order to pay less in taxes :-))? Or better imaging? Or ability of optimal positioning in terms of distance between the units? Or something else? Thanks!
Thanks Adam. I wanted a small elegant design that could easily fit into smaller spaces, but still provide a decent 'full range' response. The narrow baffle is a functional result of the small mid-range driver, which then also provides better imaging due to narrow baffle and helps me reach the goal of small and elegant. The side-firing woofer, then also a functional result of where it will fit on the speaker, but this also seem to aid in wider soundstage and better holographic imaging and transparency in the sound, together with the rear facing tweeter. It creates the sense that the speakers are not there at all.
@@SoundBlab Thank you. IMHO this is one of the most interesting designs I've seen for relatively long time on YT. I definitely will try it, as it fits my particular conditions. Again, keep the great work!!!!
IMPORTANT NOTE: The Fountek FE85 driver seems to be either out of stock, or discontinued. Either way, I am working on an update for this speaker with a new driver, and will be releasing updated build plans hopefully within a couple of months from the time of posting this comment. In the meantime the current BUILD PLANS have been removed from my webshop. I apologise for the inconvenience, however these are circumstances beyond my control.
Thanks for the update,, it is really appreciated to know you are working on an update as I am near to be finished with my build where only the fountek drivers and corresponding holes are missing Let’s hope you can find a good substitute driver with minimal impact and still high performance. Crossing my fingers; It looks really great already ...
Great to know this & really impressed with how quickly you've addressed this , I have an order placed for the founteks with a uk supplier & they are saying possibly July arrival at the earliest so will keep an eye on your findings regards an alternative. I'm just at the start of my build so plenty of time to play about with an alternative
Could this be a drop in replacement? www.parts-express.com/Fountek-FR89EX-3-Neodymium-Full-Range-Driver-296-721 I would like to buy the plans anyway if that's possible.
I am reluctant to go with the Fountek drivers, since they seem to have a lot of supply problems right now, without really being able to say whether these drivers will even be available again.I have found a Tang Band driver that can work. But right now I can't comment if it will be a drop-in replacement, still in the process of testing.
@@SoundBlab Thanks for your prompt reply. I am interested in building these, so I am looking forward to your progress!
I have just finished building these and they sound incredible. I am so pleased. My first speaker project and it went great.
Great to hear, thanks for the feedback!
Good day Richard
I am very interested in that LS and will build one soon.
My only concern is how the bass sounds. As i listen to classical concerts i would like a deep bass feeling (like orgue). Maybe you can describe your personal impressions please. Thx in advance.
Peter
These sound absolutely amazing! My son and I recently finished making these and all we (and anyone else who listens to them) can say is - wow! This was our first attempt at building our own speakers, and these directions were very detailed and easy to follow. Thanks very much for the hard work on these speaker build plans and the videos! Liked, subscribed, and already purchased another set of plans....please, keep them coming.
I'm so glad you love them! Thanks for the positive feedback. Enjoy the next build!
These drivers are the best for the human voice and instrumental type of music.
The quality of the cabinets you built are second to none. Absolutely brilliant
Thanks again
Really enjoy that you're explaining what you're doing in every shot
WOW, Those Small Speakers Are Really Producing Some Excellent Sound Quality With Brilliant Details.
Thanks
@@SoundBlab
Sir,
Is There Any Way To Purchase Your Speaker System From Bangladesh?
I think essentially this is how the manufacturers make their speakers. For many commercial reasons, the retail price price ends up being many multiples of base cost. Therefore if you have the gear, the time, knowledge, money and temperament, you can have something like these speakers for a fraction of the cost of commercial units, and much the same sound. Remember that manufacturers invest many $$ in R&D and expensive production equipment. These speakers come from a dude in his workshop, but that doesn't mean you can't end up with a hefty slice of the sound of a commercial unit. And, the big attraction is the feeling of accomplishment you get from a project like this.
I very much enjoyed this. Wish I had what is needed to make the things. They're very appealing to me for many reasons...
I made these speakers and I can attest that they sound fantastic. The project was also very fun for me as I had built furniture and boats in the past but never something like this.
Speaker design is something that has always fascinated me. I'm listening through Bluetooth and UA-cam compression, but that sounds nice and tight. Currently using a Lepy 4 channel mini Amp with 2 Pioneer 3 way 6x9's in tight stack layered enclosures, capped at around 80 hz and an Old School 10" SPL Sub in its original enclosure also Filtered at around 80 Hz and bridged over the rear channels. Not massive power but enough out here in my Workshop without annoying the Neighbours.
Thanks for sharing!
i am more impressed by the amount of tools you have.
remember my fathers workshop wasnt something he had overnight.
love your teaching and explanations!
Cool, thanks!
Im so proud of this guy hes setting a good standard for speaker builds and hes South African honestly mahn more people should know about your work i make and sell speakers myself but im totally in auuw from your designs and techniques ive learnt alot that i incorporate into my own builds so thank you youre a legend and you deserve way more recognition i mean 87k subscribers but im talking about South Africans needa jump on this instead of supporting these huge manufactures whe only care about passing quality control tests and making tons of money i know builders that build from home generally try make it as affordable as possible whilst trying to get the best quality sound out of the unit i mean theres a passion to it and kinda nerdy factor that you need to achieve great speaker builds lets face it you need a certain sense of discipline to do what you do
Thanks man! Appreciate it!
Very nice. And I like the way you addressed the price some speaker manufacturer charge, people who always bauk at the prices stating that it only cost x amount of money in parts... We'll look around almost anything you buy you could say that about... Literally just about everything!
Thanks
Got the plans, ordered the parts, and am putting it together now! Really cool enclosure design.
How did you go?
Did you finish them?
results?
Uhoh.. the project killed him
one here who has the speakers version 2 for over an year as main speakers
dive them with a marantz pm7001
the soundstage is great an not so deep as with some jbl 830 for comparison
the voices are in front of you but no piercing to your head ,i think is because of the side woofer
the good point is that they are not create fatigue after long hours of listening
they need a sub to hit below 35 hz
wife aceptance is verry high
i`m working on the crossover to lower the cross freq. i believe that the mid driver can go lower still keeping the original crossover just in case
Wow those are great , I can hear the air and separation from here. I think that design is incredible. That narrow front bafflle and side firing woofer design does allow the sound to wrap around the cabinet thuss making the speaker disappear.
Thanks!
I've never seen such well though and careful build. There's so much to learn from you! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Thank you so much!
I was hoping you listen to better music than we had to listen to during the sped up video. You did during the demo. Well done, and thanks for the video!
Thanks. We can't all like the same stuff though. I have a very wide choice in music taste, so I listen to wide selection in genres
I njoy watching a master craftsman at work who can show ell what the is doing and explain it, too. Always interesting. This looks to me like a tuned port bass reflex. Is this true?
Thanks! Yes, it is a ported enclosure.
Very nice build!
I recomend to make chamfer inside of the mid driver hole and if bass driver is playing so high, then there as well. This midrange is so tiny, basket will not reach much to the box, so chamfer will reduce reflections coming back to cone from hole walls.
Also, you can but that self- adhesive foam what you used to sealing on the driver baskets to reduce them ringing.
Thanks!
Bought the plans and built two sets! ABSOLUTELY LOVE THEM! They sound beautifully deep, and have a directional but all encompassing soundstage that just makes you want to keep listening. Great design. If you have the tools and the know how, I can not recomend them enough!
Oh, and while I plan to get an amp with some more wattage; I am currently powering them through a JVC A-S5 that is only 30 watts a side. They sound lovely in my living room.
Hi Brad, I am so happy that you like the speakers, and well done for finishing them. Would love to see some pics? Thanks for the positive review, it helps me and others a lot to hear from someone that has actually built these. Enjoy!
@@SoundBlab sure! I’ll send some pics in the DM section.
@@SoundBlab I sent those pictures to your Instagram account. Let me know if there is a better place to send them. Thanks again for a great design. Both sets that I made sound absolutely beautiful.
I've been watching your channel for a number of years now and I think this is the best speaker you've designed and built.
Thanks!
They sound outstanding i wish i had a workshop and the knowledge like you i would be building speakers all the time
Thanks 😊
Hi, i bought these build plans and just finished in building these fine speakers. The sound is very impressive and of a clearness i ve never heard before. I opted for a white speaker design with chalky varnish and a clear satin cover.
Thats fantastic. So glad you are enjoying them. Please send me some pics!
Great Video .. as someone who owns Boenicke W8se+ speakers .. i see many similarity’s in design .. and I bet these sound absolutely Gorgeous ..wonderful build guide .. my hats off to you ..
Thanks!
From a fellow speaker builder, I love the build.I go out of my way to build weird and different speakers, just because I am bored of building what's expected.I have done something similar, except with a 6 1/2 and a transmission line /folded horn type box. Height and width seem similar.It's the fun of squeezing every last ounce out of what you have built.
Thanks man! Yeah, I like to experiment with builds that are not necessarily typical, but I do try to cater for both approaches.
Very nice sounding music examples! I'm glad I found this video. Now I'm wishing I had a small workshop and tools to build a pair these speakers. Oh well. Perhaps in the near future. Thanks for sharing, mate! Cheers!
Thanks man!
When doing your round over cuts you should include the interior edge of the driver holes as well. That sharp edge can cause some diffraction spikes in the response.
In this case it was not possible, since I assembled and veneered the enclosure before cutting the driver holes.
Nice build! Just a small tip , use piece’s of excess wood as a clamping shim when gluing. It has the advantage that you don’t eventually have clamping marks on your work piece it protects the edges and you have a better force dispersion on your gluing areas . Especially when gluing bigger areas as by veneering or to compensate the use of less clamp’s. In our workshop we say you can never have enough clamp’s ! 😉
Thanks! This happens sometimes, but often I don't bother, and have not had many occasions where the clamp made marks, but it is good for spreading the clamp force.
Cool Beans! I'm listening to the demo section on my Snell E.5 MKII's with rear firing tweeters and your speakers sound very nice. They seem to drop off at 36 Hz ! wow..........
Thanks!
This particular design is very unique.
I have 4 old acoustic reasherch speakers with 8 inch side woofers on one pair and 10 inch on the other set.
These unique designed side mount woofer speakers actually out performed way way way better than the JBL floor speakers I used to have.
Not by a little, I mean blown out of the water. Those JBL speakers had dual 8 inch woofers. I love this design cause it seems to have an enormous bass frequency.
And saves space cause the are a slimmer speaker vs. The traditional front mounted design.
Tx
One recommendation I have is to switch the screws that you use to square, torx, or hex bits. Something where the bit solidly seats into the head of the screw and cannot slip out. I've seen too many horror stories of people building speakers and having their screwdriver bit slip and impale their driver.
I've struggled to find those locally, so the star bit it is for now until I can find something else that works better. I always try to be rather cautious when installing the drivers. Up until now I don't think I have had a mishap yet!
Wow 'Japie', Baie Mooi 'Jop' .... Sound Absolutely Fantastic .... Very Best to You and Yours from ChCh NZ
Many thanks!
Oh another tip if building speaker cases it’s desirable to reduce the amount of openings to the necessary. If possible install the binding posts directly in the case without plate’s or plastic binding connections. A good example is the warfdale Linton
Yeah, I have done this before in many of my previous and more current builds. However, in this case I wanted a place to mount the crossover, and thus the plate.
To be honest it sounds bloody good on UA-cam never mind real life very enjoyable to watch
Thanks
I'm listening to this on my mac air speakers and man, I'm sold. I can't imagine how they would sound in real life.
They sound amazing. I just finished building my own set.
Paired with my Dayton Audio HTA100. Loving them.
@@henryrichards1556 I need to build a sound-isolated room in the basement for all my toys, otherwise the neighbors would hate me when I'm pushing like 2K watts :D.
Cool video! I really like how clearly you documented the process. Keep up the great work :)
Thank you
This speaker is just beautiful. If it sounds half as good as it looks I’ll be happy. I just bought the build plans which are well beyond my expectations - they are exceptional. Ikea plans pale in comparison.
Thanks! Enjoy the build!
Beautiful. very reminiscent of classic audio physic designs.
Thanks
Very nicely done and impressive frequency response.
Thanks!
, very professional job. Beautiful speakers.
This particular design of speaker with the side fire woofer is my favorite
Has been all my life. I have 4 large floor standing speakers with side fire 8 and 10 inch woofers made by acoustic audio that are decades old but still out perform anything I've ever had or heard for that matter.
I love the tang band woofers.
Tx
When you have to drill plates and boards where all the holes are the same distance from the edge it is a good trick to clamp an edge like a piece of wood where you hold the workpiece up against it to ensure the hole is the same distance all the way around. You find you can whizz around the board much faster that way as the piece can only move in 1 D and not 2.
Sound great on Bose C35 headphones. Very nice baseline and dynamics.
Many thanks!
These two speaker boxes sound amazing
Thanks man!
I have used the same plans and the drivers but instead of MDF I have used walnut wood and it really sounds very well and clear
Cool man, send me some photos!
Great work! Excellent workmanship. Nice video photography 👍👍👍
Thank you very much!
Excellent video.
As a matter of personal taste.
I would prefer the legs in black and the back panel same as the cabinet.
Thanks. That could look good too!
Wauw, didnt expect that (result). Beautiful build. Great job.
Thank you very much!
I wonder whether inverting the polarity of the ambient tweeter would improve the sound stage.
It is inverted.
@@SoundBlab Can you comment on the effect between inverted and non-inverted configurations for the rear-firing tweeter?
Never know, until you try it.
Good question
The fact is that the directivity plot and phase response of the drivers per angle per frequency are complicated, and the off-axis radiation of a driver is usually much higher in phase distortion. Additionally the sort of time delays at tweeter wavelengths across a depth of 8 inches will mean that a "true dipole" directivity plot of the array will not be what you measure. Additionally the classification of these tweeters will not be an omni/point source, or a dipole, so combining them into a viably controllable array mixing forward and rear firing drivers is unlikely.
I would be willing to bet that you could install a polarity reversing switch for the tweeter, and hear no difference one way or the other with a blindfold on - the mixture of phase / wave propagation at any given point will be a diffuse reverberating multi-path issue, and simply moving the listening point a distance of a centimeter or two will produce a completely different set of interlaced and diffuse comb filters.
I would also hazard a guess that analysing waterfall plots / convolution impulses measured from a lively listening room would reveal that the rear firing tweeter mostly adds harsh reverb and non-linearities in the high frequencies, and makes the high frequency response "notchy" and "smeared".
These sound absolutely wonderful. I would like to have heard rock music on them too. Do you sell finished speakers as well as plans?
Do you make anything pre made to sell to the public🤔
Sorry, no.
Impressive speaker design in software to get a great response and sound stage. Props on the craftsmanship that went into these. Its mind boggling when you think that buying something like this from a "PRO" audio brand will cost into the thousands of dollars and probably sound worse...
Thanks man!
Super cool, thank you so much for sharing. Out of curiosity, how would a speaker set up like sound as a DJ playing mostly house music for a small venue situation like a house party? is there enough low end and overall volume for some good thump or would an addiitonal subwoofer probably be in order?
I love your designs and the build process. What I really love though, is the fact that you know how to solder. It irritates the hell out of me watching others just melting solder onto a joint and they're attempting to teach others...ugh. Anyway, great video as usual !
Thanks
Amazing job! I wished i would have the skills to do it by myself. I keep on dreaming as of now.
Peter
I always like it when during a listening demo the camera is moved around the speakers. You get a good idea of the sound stage that way.
I used very linear microphones to record these, not the camera mic, so thats why the camera is stationary. This way it gives you a very good linear and consistent response of what each speaker sounds like in its position in the room.
Nice, very detailed. Midrange a tad tinny, lacking a little warmth. I don't like muddy sound either. Overall good sound for the money but seems to need more fill between tweeter and essentially a 5" sub. I bought my first hi end system at 16 so excuse me if I seem critical. Nice job overall.
Cool, thanks!
Far from being a problem, a very slight dip around 2kHz is the natural behavior of the crossover point on many older high end two-way studio monitors and has thus become something of an unofficial faux semi-non-standard. This dip is actually modeled into some speaker calibration targets. For example Audyssey calls it "midrange compensation," a -3dB dip, or slightly more significant than the one you've measured here. Now of course there's no reason we need this dip in modern speakers, but if you're listening to older music, chances are there was a similar dip on the speakers used by the engineers at the time. (And purely subjectively, this is a frequency zone you'd rather err on the side of a slight dip than a slight boost, as it's the highest risk for harsh sound.)
Yes, it actually works in this speaker. It's always good when something falls into place without trying too hard.
Baie Nice :) Very nice to see Local RSA People doing these kind of videos. You've given me a nice idea on revamping some of my vintage speakers to look like new.
I think a nice video idea would be what equipment you use and how you measure your frequency responses (Mic specs ,distances from speaker, software etc) :)
Ps . Where did you buy your verneer in RSA? and what do the cost these days?
Really Impressed :)
Thanks! I can work in a video like that at some point. I get veneer from Veneercraft in Cape Town. Cost depends heavily on the wood choice, but 4 leaves of 2500 x 300 in Walnut is around R500 - R750.
@@SoundBlab Thanks for the reply :) Watched your Home Theatre Build - 2-WAY STEREO SPEAKERS really like the look of those aswell. Keep on doing what you're doing really like your videos :)
Very nice build! I understand your disclaimer, but the demo at the end sounded awesome using headphones (AT M50x's).
I'm working on something similar. The Tangband W5-1138SMF in a 9L BR cabinet, but with the Dayton RS125-8 for mids and the Dayton DC28F for highs. I already built the crossovers, first time I designed my own (using VitruixCad). I did end up using a 2nd order low-pass for the W5-1138-SMF. I'm looking forward to building the cabinets and listening.
Thanks. Cool, sounds like a nice build project. Enjoy and hope they come out great!
Great work boet! Build sounds great! Respect ✌🏻
Thanks man!
great job! that's a really oustanding product. consider selling it as a private brand, people would buy it for a reasonable price.
Thanks
If these sound anything like they look, then wow!
Thanks
Very impressive. I’d love to make those but I don’t have the equipment or more importantly the skill.
Lovely design and they seem to sound great. Also made my own floorstanding speakers. Very fun thing to do.
Thanks man!
Interesting design. I am curious about the crossover point of the woofer/midrange being so high and the fact that the woofer is side-firing. Given that sound becomes audibly directional around 100Hz doesn't this create a problem with so much important musical information firing at 90 degrees to the listening position? Thanks for the video, by the way. I'm not doubting your listening impressions at all.
This side-firing woofer gives a very natural roll-off which eliminates the need for any crossover components on the woofer. Then we can fade in the midrange slowly to match and give us a nice flat response curve. In the version 2.0 of this design using a different midrange driver, I lowered the crossover point so we get a better integration between the two. However, the original design still works. We can see in the frequency response that we do not lose any musical information from the listening position, since the response is fairly flat throughout the passband. You probably get more reflective sound as a result, but with proper positioning of the speaker this adds to the soundstage and imaging. These speaker are actually rather forgiving in their positioning, as long as they are about 1.5 to 2 feet from the front wall, and the woofers face inwards when used more than approximately 6.5 feet apart, or close to the side walls.
@@SoundBlab Interesting. Thanks for the information and keep up the good work.I'm a DIYer and love seeing different reasonably-priced designs.
Just bought your Build Plans for this project. Can't wait to start. Although it's very comprehensive, I would have liked to see the projected frequency response from the crossover sim and the bass response from the box and a measured frequency response. I know they are on your site, but would have loved to see them in the guide as well. For the rest; keep it up!
Hi Jasper, thanks again for the support! I will try to include these in the future. Hope your build is going well?
Nice looking speakers, but if the woofers are facing each other, wouldn’t there be wave form cancellation ?
Good day
I like the design very much, congrats on it and how you built it.
just wondering how they sound. analytical and crispy , clear highs, bass fundamental (knowing that the size cannot go very deep). How is the virtual scene, can I close my eyes and see all instruments in the orchestra? are they comparable to high end (like B W)? apologize for all those questions but UA-cam does not transfer high end sound and in my case the speakers sound bubbly and not detailed which is for sure definitely not the case in real.
also wondering about the costs for buying the wood plus carpenter.
many thanks, you inspired my day.
best
peter
Nice to see how the build goes together. Also the tools involved. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
You picked nice music content for the video. I see the link to the music site but a list of music used would be epic. The speakers --- Top notch. As stated by others I would love to hear it live.
Thanks man. I'll try to remember to add links in future.
I am an audiophile without woodworking tools. Although I do have novice abilities at woodworking I just have yet to get the tools needed so I’m forced to buy and trade vintage gear online always searching for what sounds right to me. I can’t wait until I have the ability to diy!
A pair of foldable saw horses, a circular saw, an orbital hand sander, a router, a jig saw, and a bunch of clamps, is more than what you will need to complete 90% of DIY speaker projects. All of this can be purchased from Harbor Freight tools for under $300 without a sale or coupon. You can save even more going to Yard Sales in the spring and fall.
@@Cakebattered thank you. In the 8 months since this comment I have bought everything you named except horses and router I count use my dremel tool as a router but it’s not the best for larger projects
You done a great job! It’s looks superb and the demo sounds good. Very balanced for sure. 👍👍
Glad you like it!
SoundBlab ... if I tried to build it, will look worse than Frankenstein. How I wish can just order it.
I’ve listened to the Boenicke a lot ... W5, W8 and W11. This sounds good. Very good.
Very nice built! You could also make a rear chamfer inside of midrange driver holes. That would reduce some internal reflections.
Thanks. I wanted to do a rear bevel, but because of the way I assembled it and the narrow baffle, I could not do it with a conventional bevel bit. I will have to get one that can actually cut an undercut bevel. Could not find one though. Luckily the effect it had on the mid-driver response fell outside of the passband I was using the driver in, and it worked out well.
@@SoundBlab
What about baffle step compensation? I think it would improve the response if you had chamfered or rounded-over the front baffle edges. However, I realize that this would have made the application of the veneer much more complicated.
@@bbfoto7248 The mid range rolls off to high for baffle step to be a problem. And I think rounded corners would ruin the look.
Brilliant! Good example of creativity and craftmanship. You are an inspiration.
Thank you!
This is nice but Ill stick to getting assembled speakers as just getting all the tools to do this will cost more then building a speaker set. Still nice to watch you work
Thanks man!
The sound is wonderful and your frequency graph looks impressive! Great job.
Thank you kindly!
Very nice design, next month i will build this speaker...
Great 👍
Very clever design, and very good video. Thank you very much...
Thank you too!
Great video sir. I stumbled upon this while taking a break from editing a similar video I'm doing myself. Those turned out awesome. Gotta love those tang band drivers...
Thanks man! Tang Band do make great drivers. Looking forward to see your video.
Nice job. Surprised it’s tuned with a much lower initial impedance peak signifying cab tuning is below woofer Fs or did the damping lift the initial peak a little for improved efficiency?
I use a similar method of veneering for my designs. I wonder have you considered using a vacuum bag to veneer? Is the mid dip cured by reversing woofer or mid driver polarity?
Nice response👍
I have a question, is the center speaker under the TV used in this demo ? remarkable sound through my air pod pro's. Nice work. I purchased the plans, thank you for the video's.
The demo only features the stereo speakers, no center channel.
Hi I stumbled upon this video while looking for a video that may assist me building two tower speaker, with speaker I already have, 4 -10 inch woofer 4- midrange and 4 tweeter . However I am very impressed with your speaker. I may instead try to build the one you made.
Thanks! This speaker is really good, and many that have already built it have had good things to say about it.
Thank you! 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
👍
Unique design, out of the ordinary.. yet it sound cool.. great job..!
Thanks!
Yes! That was quite interesting at least!
I've never tried mounting woofers on sides of the enclosures, so I'm not quite familiar with the sound of such a system. I see it's a very complex construction (and skillfully done by the way ;), a labyrinth type if I'm correct... but I didn't quite understand, when tested, the woofers are facing towards each other or vice-versa? Or it doesn't matter?
And the biggest question of all: why mounting the additional rear tweeter?? I saw in the crossover design that it was linked in series with the front one!
Thanks for showing how to work with the aluminum plates!
Thanks. This is just a normal ported (bass reflex) enclosure. The woofers can face either inward or outward depending on the distance between the speakers or distances form side walls. My recommendation is to face the drivers inward if the distance between the speakers exceed 2 meters, otherwise face them outward. The additional rear tweeter helps to create a better soundstage and sense of space around the speaker.
@@SoundBlab Thank you!
Great video, nice looking speakers and they sound fabulous. Nothing more to say except thanks.
Glad you like them!
Great Job. I recently built a set of small bookshelf speakers and used some more exotic non paper backed veneer... what a hassle. I would suggest you take a look at the Titebond branded cold press glue, it was recommended to me as it should have more temperature stability with veneer.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
Great video, as usual. May I ask, what your choice of stain is for veneer?
Thanks! These do not have stain, and generally I do not prefer to stain veneer, I like the natural look. My best suggestion for a great natural finish that brings out the grain of a dark er wood like walnut is a danish oil. For lighter veneers I prefer a water based polyurethane. This keeps the lighter veneer from going yellow over time.
Beautiful little speakers
Tx
Good work want see more 3inch woofer designs 3 way.what about 8 ohms
Thanks
Great video, I very much like this style of video, explaining your reasoning and step by step of what your doing on the video. Way more engaging than music through out the video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
well done!! Beautifully made, congrats from Brazil!!
Thank you very much!
Very nice build ! i love the sound ! I
Thanks
To ensure I finish my build to fit 100% your design, there is something I am missing from the plan and explanations. May be it is not so important but I would appreciate getting your advice and recommendation . The enclosure for the Mid driver (the Fountek with V1) is fully sealed afer closing the speaker enclosure and there is no indication on the plan on how to pass the cables in order to establish the connections. What best to drill then pass the cables ? at what location should I drill and would it be important to keep it sealed airtight after passing the cables ? Many thanks again, I owe you a nice project and fun experience to build my first speakers ...
You are right. I did omit that detail. You can just drill a 5 to 6mm hole in the back panel of the internal enclosure for the mid-driver, pull the wire through and then make sure to seal it well with some hot glue or 2-part epoxy. It is indeed important to make sure that the internal enclosure is sealed.
Please enlighten as to why you used the tweeters in this set up since the Fountek FE85 reproduce high frequencies all the way to the top end of human hearing. Was it to add airiness, shimmer or to increase power handling capacity? Were the tweeters used to balance overpowering bass?
The Fountek can handle the high frequencies, but I wanted it to focus on a limited midrange section of the passband in which it performs well. The two tweeters act as a dipole and aids in the delivery of soundstage and imaging IMO.
I very like what you do, so many interesting ideas! But in this construction can be wrong stand, better something for most low resonance. And you not try option where two bass speakers in down, bass port in center? Possibly it will be most effective.
Thanks. I can only try one design in a single project.
@@SoundBlab I cannot understand how it's a work, but bass port in center give so deep bass. But need find correct size for all.
Good morning! Nice speakers, but maybe better use fountek ribbon twitter cd1 for fountek midrange. Thanks!
Thanks! The ribbons will be a different option, not necessarily better or worse, since the current tweeters works really well in this setup. But I would like to try the Fountek ribbons in a build sometime.
Interesting design, as usual! Just wondering what the main reason was for placing the woofer on the side panel. Minimal front facing area (presumably making it easier to set up the speakers along the equipment and in the same time extending it backward - like shops on a busy street having very minimal fronts in order to pay less in taxes :-))? Or better imaging? Or ability of optimal positioning in terms of distance between the units? Or something else? Thanks!
Thanks Adam. I wanted a small elegant design that could easily fit into smaller spaces, but still provide a decent 'full range' response. The narrow baffle is a functional result of the small mid-range driver, which then also provides better imaging due to narrow baffle and helps me reach the goal of small and elegant. The side-firing woofer, then also a functional result of where it will fit on the speaker, but this also seem to aid in wider soundstage and better holographic imaging and transparency in the sound, together with the rear facing tweeter. It creates the sense that the speakers are not there at all.
@@SoundBlab Thank you. IMHO this is one of the most interesting designs I've seen for relatively long time on YT. I definitely will try it, as it fits my particular conditions. Again, keep the great work!!!!
Very nice job. Those tang ban woofers are awesome.
Very impressive, though you need quite a few woodworking tools. Really beautiful looking. Good job
Thanks
Great work, very soothing to listen to and well demonstrated.
Thanks 😊
I really like your masking tape method of keeping any glue off the veneer, but I hope you caught the splatter at 30:07.
😅
Really great build. No sure if you realised, you are using a pozi but with philips screws :)
It's goes like this, ....where is that philips screw bit..., agh, just use the pozi ;)