total noob likes the idea of smithereens...

[chrisj8221]

so i have no idea about speakerbuilding other than I am handy working with wood. My kid wants to play DJ so I have an old amp, mixer, etc. laying around but need some speakers. I am interested in building the smithereens project as shown in the gallery here at PE but would like to put in some more affordable woofers/drivers/horns in. Any suggestions on what to use and still work with the crossover design that is spec'd?

the speakers will actually only be used maybe a handfull of times a year and may very well be use only a couple of time before interest is lost. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

thanks

chris

[wg_ski]

You won't end up with the same sound if you go putting in more affordable (cheaper) drivers. For the crossover to even work right, you'd need at least the same HF horn and driver. And the cheapest 12" I'd even consider with that design is the Delta Pro 12 - that's not a lot of savings.

If you need something cheap and easy to get started and guage interest, buy something that someone is getting rid of cheap. Or put together something more basic - a cheap 12 like the Goldwood 1258 and a piezo (or DH200E compression horn) in a 3/4" BC plywood box. A simple 12dB high pass filter for the tweeter and maybe an L-pad. It won't sound fantastic but you'll only be out $150 on a pair. And you'll actually have better than $150 would buy you at retail. If there is continued interest, then consider a more serious system. Like the smithereens and sub or four.

[chrisj8221]

that is a great idea and i think i will take the advice. I may need to post here and there for a little more assistance - but thanks again and I'll let everyone know how it goes. any more suggestions would be much appreciated!

chris

[Phil_RC_1]

I like ski's idea. With a crossover designed for piezo drivers, the piezo tweeters can sound,,, decent. Do yourself a favor and do a google search on piezo crossover and you'll likely turn up some good info.

I made a pair of workshop speakers a few years ago, using piezo's with crossover and some cheap, used 12"s. I was happy with the result. They sounded as good or better then some of the "cheap" pro speakers I've used with the same basic configuration.

[Music is life]

so i have no idea about speakerbuilding other than I am handy working with wood. My kid wants to play DJ so I have an old amp, mixer, etc. laying around but need some speakers. I am interested in building the smithereens project as shown in the gallery here at PE but would like to put in some more affordable woofers/drivers/horns in. Any suggestions on what to use and still work with the crossover design that is spec'd?

the speakers will actually only be used maybe a handfull of times a year and may very well be use only a couple of time before interest is lost. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

thanks

chris
Here is an idea:
2 of these wired in parallel:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=290-401

4 or these:
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=270-011
2 sets of 2 wired in parallel. The 2 sets wired in series.
Test the tweeters before you use them just in case.

The two 8" woofers mounted vertically one above the other.
The 4 tweeters to one side of the woofers. All four mounted vertically one on top of the other placed as close as possible to each other. Make them in mirror image of each other.

Very cost effective design.
You won't need a crossover.
They would look a little like a very small line array speaker.
The 4 tweeters means that the vertical High frequency dispersion will require that the speaker be raised off the ground.

Here is an example of box size:
http://www.eminence.com/pdf/cab-alpha-8a.pdf

I would go 2.5 cu ft total (interior size of box). You would be limited to about 80 watts (4 ohm load).
Sensitivity would be about 97 to 98 db with one watt at one meter.
Cannot be pushed with too much bass. If you need more bass you will need a crossover and sub. This design will bring you down to about 52Hz.
Black PVC pipe for your port might do the job for you.

Here is a sight for calculating port length:
http://www.mobileinformationlabs.com/HowTo-1Woofer-Box-CAL%20Port%20lenth%201.htm

Note: Your "Tuning Frequency" for this driver in a 2.5 cu ft box is about 59 hz.

Good luck with your project whatever you decide. :)