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Stereo Loudspeakers
Done By Yourself
So you
have decided to enter the club of DIY'ers building a pair of home stereo
loudspeakers for yourself? Great choice.
A loudspeaker
is with no doubt THE most critical element in your audio system.
Nothing has more impact on the sound quality in your home than
a pair of loudspeakers. And you want the best sounding home stereo
loudspeaker in exchange for your efforts (otherwise you wouldn't
be considering DIY, right?). Make a few choices now and you avoid
wasting time building a speaker kit that doesn't satisfy you. You
will see that this time is well invested. Don't buy a kit based
only on reviews or rumors without knowing what you're really looking
for!
What
to expect from DIY Stereo Loudspeakers?
Quality
criteria for 'do-it-yourself' stereo loudspeakers is no different to
other high-quality commercial products. Typically, a good home stereo
loudspeaker should reproduce the audible frequency range between 20
Hz
and 20 kHz but it's more important how accurately a loudspeaker can reproduce
a given frequency. In geek-speak this is called frequency response. Ideally
a good home stereo loudspeaker should be free of distortions and come as close
as possible to realistic music reproduction.
Oh
yes...and the loudspeaker should sound great with your favorite
music!
Available
Loudspeaker Kits:
Depending
on your taste, budget, room size and other factors, the market
offers a choice of the following types of kits:
High-end
Audiophile Speakers Kits
These are mainly cost-no-object kits optimized for ultimate
sonic clarity, resolution, imaging, dynamics, deep bass or a
combination of the above. It's not cheap to build this type of
speaker (even in the DIY world) but you can expect incredible
value for money. Imagine investing $1.000 and getting $5.000
worth in retail loudspeaker value!
Budget
Speaker Kits
If you're on a tight budget willing to make a few compromises yet want
high-end stereo sound, several kits are waiting.
Floorstanding
Speaker Kits
Available in all enclosure sizes. In most cases I recommend building
a floorstander. You get a fuller and richer sound than with small satellite
or bookshelf speakers and better reproduction of lower frequencies below
50 Hz.
Bookshelf
Speakers
If you have a very small room, listen at lower volumes and loudspeaker
placement becomes a problem, smaller speakers from a kit are an alternative.
You can always add a subwoofer later for more subsonic pressure.
Do I
really need a kit? Can't I do it all by myself?
Engineering a great sounding speaker is not a lightweight task. It takes considerable
experience for good results. Expensive measuring equipment is involved, too.
It's not as easy as shopping for the best drivers. A skillful engineer can best
mix and match loudspeaker 'ingredients' for outstanding sonic performance. it's
just like cooking - the best ingredients don't guarantee a delicious meal. But
a master chef can turn them into mouth-watering dishes. So I definitely recommend
getting a kit instead that guarantees success. Otherwise you may end up with
a loudspeaker that sounds less good than a commercial speaker. Just let professionals
do their job! You can still have fun building the cabinet and 'fine-tune' your
loudspeakers.
Final
checklist before building speakers:
Now you
probably have a rough idea of the type of speaker to build. I've listed
two other important points:
Your
room size and dimensions. Make sure your room is suitable
for your new loudspeakers. Before building my own speakers, I
was tempted to build two giant towers with two 15" woofers. But
they would have been way oversized for my small listening room.
So be reasonable.
Amplifier. Is
your existing amplifier capable of driving the new loudspeaker
or do you need more power? Unless you plan to upgrade your equipment
anyway, be sure your amplifier is up to the task. And if you need
more power and don't mind getting second-hand stuff, you can save
money by shopping around on eBay or audiogon. Watch out for blowout
sales or specials at your dealer, too.
Home Stereo Loudspeakers
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