steveboyce
10-04-2009, 06:37 PM
This project began when I went with my wife to a craft store. The store had a stock of unpainted wooden birdhouses ( http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayProductPage?productNum=cp0209 ) and I thought, why not try using a pair for speaker enclosures?
For the driver, I chose the Tang Band W3-926SD, in part because they looked good for surface mounting (the birdhouse walls are too thin for flush mounting). The birdhouses are stuffed with Acousta-Stuf and fitted with a baffle step compensation filter. My 13 year old son did the paint scheme.
In use, I power them with a T-amp and pair them with a Triska sub. I wouldn't use them for critical listening, but will probably use them for computer speakers or in a bedroom system. The cabinets, being very light, shouldn't be placed directly on a hard surface or they'll audibly buzz while playing some sound ranges. I took them to the DC area DIY gathering this year where they seemed to be favorably received for what they were. They probably benefited from being some of the first speakers to be auditioned that day and from playing different music selections than were played on the following speakers (all of which I found superior to the birdhouses, but also larger and more expensive).
In the attachments, assuming that I was successful in getting them linked to this message, there are a couple of photos of the completed speakers and a graphic showing the baffle step filter and the frequency response. In the frequency response graph, the darker line shows the response with the filter and the lighter line shows the unfiltered response.
Steve Boyce
For the driver, I chose the Tang Band W3-926SD, in part because they looked good for surface mounting (the birdhouse walls are too thin for flush mounting). The birdhouses are stuffed with Acousta-Stuf and fitted with a baffle step compensation filter. My 13 year old son did the paint scheme.
In use, I power them with a T-amp and pair them with a Triska sub. I wouldn't use them for critical listening, but will probably use them for computer speakers or in a bedroom system. The cabinets, being very light, shouldn't be placed directly on a hard surface or they'll audibly buzz while playing some sound ranges. I took them to the DC area DIY gathering this year where they seemed to be favorably received for what they were. They probably benefited from being some of the first speakers to be auditioned that day and from playing different music selections than were played on the following speakers (all of which I found superior to the birdhouses, but also larger and more expensive).
In the attachments, assuming that I was successful in getting them linked to this message, there are a couple of photos of the completed speakers and a graphic showing the baffle step filter and the frequency response. In the frequency response graph, the darker line shows the response with the filter and the lighter line shows the unfiltered response.
Steve Boyce