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New Member, site to buy components?


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saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
Copper spaceThis member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.spacespace
Joined: May 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 8:28 PM / IP Logged  
Hey all,
I've been reading here and let me first say this site helped me pass my Ohm's law stuff That Pie chart is a godsend for my first physics class.
now moving on.. First off about me. Im a Sophomore @ Ohio University studying Electrical Engineering. I'd like to think I have the book smarts so feel free to let loose whatever technical knowledge you wanna share.
I want to build my own set of Component speakers using 6.5" Midbass woofers a Crossover and a tweeter.. pretty basic stuff here.
However i'd like to do this without using any "Name brand" Stuff. I will be building my own crossover using my knowledge from school.. so now onto the questions
What is a good site to buy the components (woofer / tweeter) from?
what Frequency range should i be looking for off of the Midbass woofer?
This will be powered off a measely 15W RMS signal for about 8 months
This will be installed in a 97 Saturn SC2 Coupe so im going to either have to do some deadening.These will be the front speakers. im just going to throw some co-axials inthe back whenever i get some spare $$$
Thanks In Advance
~James.
saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
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Joined: May 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 9:14 PM / IP Logged  
cool thanks for the prompt response... im real new to that program.... i will check it out.. i remember one site that had woofers for like 25 dollars that were some screwy brand.. but i cant for the life of me remember what it was.. i switched my focus from Sound to Speed.. and built a Turbo'd Saturn that ran 14.2 @ 104mph but now im back to Sound
stevdart 
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Joined: January 24, 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 9:26 PM / IP Logged  

Get to know these two online speaker builder's sources:  http://www.madisound.com/ and http://www.partsexpress.com/

For your first build, which can be a successful learning experience, I'd suggest using some of the lower-priced drivers you'll find on those sites.  Look through the buy-outs and closeouts, or other specials.  Also, look at high efficiency midbass drivers so that you can get a good system up with that available power.  Even some of the lower end Goldwood speakers at PartsExpress might fit the bill in that department.  And the Dayton brand is of higher quality than the price implies.

For the crossovers, look at PartsExpress'  Dayton brand for a good quality at less-than-audiophile pricing.  Dayton polypropylene capacitors, Jansen 18 or 20 gauge coils, and audio-grade resistors from either source can be had for reasonable pricing.  Wiring the crossover together:  I learned that using the pre-made crossover boards were more pain than pleasure, and now make them to fit MY plan...not a pre-arranged layout.  Use some high quality primary hookup wire to link the components of the crossover...I use 16 ga. silver plated teflon coated primary wire from http://www.hndme.com/storeteflonwire.html for crossover construction, and regular 16 ga.primary hookup wire for the runs to the drivers.

Here are some speaker design programs you may not have found yet:

http://www.pvconsultants.com/audio/frdgroup.htm  Of these, I use SPL Trace to copy the manufacturer's response graphs, which then are imported to the design programs.  Unibox helps you design the enclosure for the woofers.  Speaker Workshop will enable you to design the complete crossover.  These programs will share common files, so you can move results of one to another.  This is an appproach that is quite accurate and will allow you to build a network without having all of the equipment the pros use.  See http://www.rjbaudio.com/Audiofiles/FRDtools.html

And some very handy online calculators:

Good luck at OU.  I grew up not too far from there on the WV side of the river, and my son is graduating from that other Ohio school in Columbus this year.  He's a designer (industrial), so I foresee some collaboration with him on some things in the future.  I wish I had the foresight to get into something like you are doing at that time of my life.  Gold mining just didn't pan out  ;)

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
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Joined: May 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 10:31 PM / IP Logged  
partsexpress....
Thank You... that was it !!!!!!
thank you for the excellent resources i see i have alot more reading to do..
Pan Out LOL..
Thank you o so much.. i'll be back shortly
PS: wow i was a member here for a long time before my first post
saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
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Joined: May 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 10:54 PM / IP Logged  
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=295-305
these are looking like the first set.. i would like to use 2 8Ohm components in parallel for 4ohm Req so my Headunit has no problems.
i will continue reading as i try to study for finals coming up.
stevdart 
Platinum - Posts: 5,816
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Joined: January 24, 2004
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: March 10, 2006 at 11:13 PM / IP Logged  

I'd suggest this one instead, as it is a 4 ohm driver designed for auto use.  Use one 4 ohm woofer with one 4 ohm tweeter on each side for your car's front soundstage for stereo sound.  The crossover will control the impedance when you have it designed properly.  The drivers connected via crossover are not in parallel, they are controlled by the crossover.  Use the impedance for each driver that you want as the final network impedance, e.g. 4 ohm for car, 8 ohm for home....and variations thereof.

The response graphs for all of the Dayton drivers are given, so they are easy to work with using those programs I told you about.

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
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Posted: March 11, 2006 at 1:06 PM / IP Logged  
excellent. i didnt quite make it through all that reading.. as it is quite alot... but i wasnt sure if i'd want to use 4Ohms..but after reading that id say your right..
heck for that price i cant go wrong.... what is the difference... im doing this part as a research project and part as a learning experience.. a friend and i have always discussed doing your own vs. premade and i always argue that premade will not sound as good as building your own.
you guys think a set built out of components like this will sound better than a set of Kicker Components?
Thanks Stevdart
stevdart 
Platinum - Posts: 5,816
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Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Posted: March 11, 2006 at 2:33 PM / IP Logged  

Take your time learning...take your time designing...build your system...listen and enjoy.  You will know the answer to that question after listening to yours and to other's systems.  Vague?  Sure.  The answer could go either way.  You will know right away that the actual components you are working with are superior to the ones in the premade crossover, but you don't know as of yet how to put them all together the best way.  You can still ruin the sound even if your crossover is worth 20 times more than the premade one...if you do something wrong.

You have to start somewhere if this is to become one of your hobbies/ passions.  This sounds like a good time!

Build the box so that it performs well in the worst case scenario and, in return, it will reward you at all times.
saturnsubohio 
Copper - Posts: 114
Copper spaceThis member has made a donation to the12volt.com. Click here for more info.spacespace
Joined: May 21, 2004
Location: United States
Posted: March 11, 2006 at 5:55 PM / IP Logged  
Yeah im def. trying to expand my knowledge.. im learning so much of the nitty gritty at school that i want to get some hands on with some numbers and physical devices. i've learned the theory and such behind cap's and crossovers but never worked with one so this is going to be a completely new area for me.
I thought of a question while in the shower today. do you build the system around the woofer? the tweeter? or the crossover? it seems like my first step was a woofer, now from there should i go with tweeters? or design the crossover then pick a tweeter?
I apologize if this is contained within one of the many excellent links you listed.
DYohn 
Moderator - Posts: 10,741
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Joined: April 22, 2003
Location: Arizona, United States
Posted: March 11, 2006 at 6:09 PM / IP Logged  

I'm sure Steve will add his input, but my opinion is you can approach system design from any angle you want.  If you want to try a specific woofer or tweeter, then you build everything around that.  If you want to try a different crossover topology (like Bessel VS Linkwitz VS a series crossover) then you can design that first and choose drivers to fit.  Or, you can start with a desired system outcome, like "I want to be able to play undistorted at reference levels (110db) with a 50-watt per channel amplifier," then choose speakers that will achieve this and design the crossover to match them up.

My usually approach is to start with a specific speaker I want to try, whether it is a woofer or a tweeter... and once in a while I'll have both in mind and devise a system to make them work together.  New Member, site to buy components? -- posted image.  I just finished a home theater subwoofer system for a friend that was designed to meet a specific system performance goal, and I'm now working on a center channel for a client that uses a specific speaker to match his existing stereo main set.

Speaker system designing and building is an additive (and can be very expensive) hobby, but it's also one that can be turned into a profession if you are good at it.

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