Need help designing an enclosure for my drivers.

[shafesk]

Dear all,

I have a custom made pair of speakers, the problem is the enclosure is huge! Around 6 feet tall and very thin. I know the drivers are of very high quality because the fidelity is just astonishing although they come from the ceiling speaker range from Bosch. I would like to build a smaller, more room friendly enclosure for them. I am not worried about the crossover as it is a single driver unit. I have very little knowledge of enclosure design but I know that it is not as simple as just building a box that suites my taste and put the speakers in. Can anyone help point me in the right direction?

Regards,
Shafin

 

[nopiano]

There was a great book by Martin Colloms called High Performance Loudspeakers I'd be tempted to borrow from the library if I were contemplating this. And Wilmslow Audio have long been experts on cabinets, etc.

http://www.wilmslow-audio.co.uk/

 

[andyjm]

I can recommend the following book, 'Introduction to Loudspeaker Design' by John Murphy. There is a chapter on enclosure design and sizing.

https://www.trueaudio.com/ild_rev1.htm

 

[hoopsontoast]

If they are ceiling speakers, they are likely to have a high Qts and Vas so will either need a large enclosure or be used in IB (Infinate Baffle like a ceiling/wall) or in OB, Open Baffle.

You will really need the specific Theil Small specifications of the driver to make an informed choice/sixe/tuning of the enclosure.

 

[atticus]

Try contacting the people who manufactured the drivers, they could have some useful advice.

 

[lecson]

To make a good job of it, you need the detailed specs of your drive units. These may be available from the manufacturer if you don't already have them. Make sure you have the exact model names as they can vary by batch.

One of the best books on loudspeaker design is 'The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook' by Vance Dickinson. It's has been going for some years and is regularly up-dated. It is relatively straightforward and much more of how-to book than the Martin Colloms, which is more of a survey of current art than a DIY guide.

The simplest enclosure to design is the totally enclosed box (sometimes called infinite baffle). Reflex and transmission designs require more tuning, although there are websites which have the basics in the form of a spreadsheet where you input your driver data and the results pop out. For example there are several calculators on here:

http://www.mh-audio.nl/spk_calc.asp

In general, if you are new to this, the simpler the better. It is tempting to go for something complex and clever (just because you can) but a disappointment when it turns out to sound sub-par.

Finally the DIYaudio.com website has lots of information and people who can help.

 

[dbbloke]

You can probably still get this book?

The loudspeaker design cookbook, vance dickerson from memory.

Read it a Very long time ago, somewhere in storage now. Probably a new edition if available is better. Also tannoy did some stuff, diyhifi website, home theatre shack etc.. if you need a sub