DIY Studio Monitors

Martyr · 2008-10-06T18:52:45+00:00

i'm looking into building my own studio monitors and i was wondering if anyone has any tips for me or any schematics(anything really)? thanks guys ?

DIY Studio Monitors

deanBailey

Martyr wrote: that duck myth was on myth busters :-[

What was the conclusion?

AlanRatcliffe

Myth. The current thinking is that the duck's quack is so long that most people hear the quack and the echo as one long sound instead of being able to isolate the two.

Heath

and it's harder to get a duck to quack then you would think .... favourite quote "Quack Damn you"

facemelt

Hi

My Dad was and is still a Hi Fi enthusiast and is always designing new speaker systems to transmission lines, dipole electrotatics and he got me into it too yes it is deep reading and studying but well worth the effort. We test the loudspeaker outside away from any reflective surfaces and it works very well.. The best advise that I can give if you do wana try, is to get speakers that have a high Xmax and that the free to air resonance Fs (Hz) is as low as possible for the size of the speaker. Xmax is the distance that the cone can move up & down the greater the better cos there is less distortion at high db's. Scottronics, and PQ sound has very reasonable priced Hi Fi loudspeaker parts which do and can do the job..

anyway good luck.. It is easier buying monitors but it then takes the challenge away enjoy!!!!!!

FatBoy

I don't know hey, my personal feeling is that I'd probably try to build my own Hi Fi speakers and maybe even stage monitor, but studio monitors I believe is best left to the pros.

Gearhead

facemelt wrote: The best advise that I can give if you do wana try, is to get speakers that have a high Xmax and that the free to air resonance Fs (Hz) is as low as possible for the size of the speaker. Xmax is the distance that the cone can move up & down the greater the better cos there is less distortion at high db's.

Hmm. Disagree. Monitors do not need to be anything special, since they are supposed to sound like the speakers your audience will be using to play your mixes/masters. They do not need to have high volume capability since they're supposed to be used inside a studio, which tends to be quite small. They also should not have extreme bass response (either low or loud) because this will throw off your mix when listened to on less bassy speakers.

Fritz Brand wrote: I don't know hey, my personal feeling is that I'd probably try to build my own Hi Fi speakers and maybe even stage monitor, but studio monitors I believe is best left to the pros.

Hmm. Disagree more.
Firstly, speaker building is best NOT left to pros since they want to make too many to use the best materials and construction. Nothing beats thick MDF (supawood) cabs except maybe HDF which is very hard to get. Pros don't use it since it's too flippin' heavy to transport. There's a couple more things I could mention, but the bottom line is every time: the best speaker money can buy is DIY, true for any price range.
Secondly, as stated before, what's so special about studio monitors? If you really want your monitors to be reference quality, go and build a pair of Scan Speak Reference Monitors or Lowther DX55's. What you do not want to do is design it yourself unless you have an anechoic room and some serious measurement equipment.
Please don't buy speakers ready made. It's just kidding yourself.

facemelt

I agree with gearhead the less you can get the cabinet from resonating the better then there is less or a chance that your speakers would colour the sound which then becomes closer to reference speakers thats what we need.

The reason why I stated the high Xmax is because the amp doesn't have to work so hard and can still move the air with ease. (not for high volume levels) The low frequency responce helps you in not having to get a sub too, which raises the costs again.

Ready made speakers like scan speak, SLS, pearless are the way to go but are very pricey one scanspeak tweeter would set you back +/- R1500. The (flater) the speaker the better cause what you put in you get out.

It does make it hard then with cheaper systems, cause when you play your mix afterwards through a small stereo it will sound different. You have to understand your speakers character, in what frequencies they lack and boost.

AlanRatcliffe

I'm with Fritz on this one.

I've watched speakers being designed - it's a long, arduous and very expensive approach requiring lots of specialised knowledge. I also once had a speaker system redesigned and built to suit my choice in bass driver, and that was no picnic either.

You need a special test room, special test equipment and special design software. Then you need to test lots of different drivers and then build and rebuild crossovers and cabinets multiple times, testing each in both the lab and the real location. Most modern nearfield monitors are also powered, which means designing a different amp specifically for each driver and building it into the cab (and then you have to take into account the effect that the circuitry will have on the interior volume of the cab and thus on the sound). And there are almost certainly going to be factors in the design and build I have no idea about.

Basically, it's just not worth it unless you are going into production and without all of the above you are not going to get results that match up to the big names in the industry. Monitors are precision instruments and are designed and made as such. So I for one am very happy giving my money to someone who has made the investment and done the work. Even then I'm going to read a dozen reviews on it before even auditioning it.

Neps

DIY monitors.. ummm.. interesting idea.. Went through that studio's pics of the link you posted.. If its the blue ones ontop, then its a clear rip off from the NS-10's.. In cab design, but not cones and driver.. I've got a pair of home built monitors.. But it was mostly me playing around, and trying a few things.. Will never use them to reference on, but for pure enjoyment they are fun.. Too much bass on the one design I made, too llitte on the others..

But to work on.. save up, get proper monitors..

Gearhead

Alan Ratcliffe wrote: I've watched speakers being designed ... expensive approach ... specialised knowledge ... special test room, special test equipment and special design software ... test lots of different drivers ... build and rebuild crossovers and cabinets

I wonder why it is you people insist on thinking that diy speakers must also be diy designed? There are literally hundreds of designs available to the amateur builder. Have you looked at the designs I mentioned? Quality not even comparable to anything in the shops around here. Not self-powered, the one does not even need a crossover, simple to build, what's the problem? Should I have added links to save you a simple Google?

It may seem like something new to SA folks, but let me tell you this: just in the small country where I come from (16 million people) there's no less than four specialised DIY speaker stores where you can listen to ready made designs, find one you like, and buy the components, drawings and schematics you need. These stores have been there for decades. It's not so special to build DIY speakers to an existing design! Guitars are a lot harder!

AlanRatcliffe

The post that revived this thread was design related GH.

HiFi Speakers and studio nearfield monitors are designed for a different applications and are designed differently:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul02/articles/monitors2.asp

Unfortunately here we don't have the luxury of auditioning DIY stuff before we buy it and IMO nearfield monitoring is too critical to leave to chance.