Speaker Cabinet Upgrade Companies

[lejockey]

Hi

I was wandering if anyone knew of any speaker enclusre upgrade companies? I don't mean upgrades to crossovers/components but to the actual boxes themselves? With all the knowledge of acoustics etc for example the benefits of an asymetrical cross section, it seems a shame that most companies just build standard oblong shaped boxes. Is there a company out there that will upgrade the cabinets for you?

Thanks

 

[lejockey]

Bump

 

[andyjm]

The speaker cabinet / driver / crossover combination is highly interdependent. I would have thought that the chances of changing one significantly (for example a different cabinet design) without needing to alter one or more of the others and not have the end result sound grim are small.

 

[drummerman]

Most speaker manufacturers (all?) use software to caculate volume etc. The rest is a compromise of cost.

If you go to the scanspeak website (and others), they often give plans for speaker construction to go with individual drivers. - I don't know if they supply any more 'adventurous' designs than the 'boxes' you are talking about but worth a try? - Wilmslow also do kits.

For what it is worth, asymetrical box shape alone doesn't guarantee better sound, driver design (including the basket), the front baffle and the port play arguably a more important role. It's relatively easy to design out standing waves/rear reflections in a conventional box. I sometimes think its just a marketing thing though I agree that a 'boat shaped' speaker looks slightly better usually. A slanting front baffle for tweeter time alignment is also a good idea.

Would be interesting to hear from AE. The MD frequently appears on here.

regards

 

[RobinKidderminster]

What speakera do u have requiring new enclosures? No business model would ever support such an idea. Even diy businesses are few

 

[lejockey]

Hi Guys

Thanks for all the replies. I have some KEF Q15.2s I was hoping to upgrade. The drivers are decent, and they sound good, but the box's are made of chipboard, and I am sure they could sound a bit better if put into a better enclosure. I was just wandering whether there was a design consultancy type company out there who would do cainet upgrades.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Are you willing to spend £1k for this bespoke design & build - then look no further

 

[DylanFan]

Speaker enclosures over the years have been made of just about every material there is & shape, the JR149's were a cylinder made of aluminium, cones have used some weird & wonderful materials yet some of the best sounding speakers are often boxes with pulp cones, Spendor is one company that comes to mind. There is far more to speaker design than a fancy shape, you also need higher quality drivers, crossovers, etc. One guy I know welded a cabinet together out of steel checker plate! (he wasn't married)

 

[John Duncan]

You're right that a good cabinet will improve the performance of a loudspeaker, but cabinet volume should be exactly the same. You can try Timberworx (who make cabinets for a number of manufacturers) but expect to pay through the nose for a one-off.

You might be cheaper buying a better loudspeaker...

 

[Richard Allen]

You're right that a good cabinet will improve the performance of a loudspeaker, but cabinet volume should be exactly the same. You can try Timberworx (who make cabinets for a number of manufacturers) but expect to pay through the nose for a one-off.

You might be cheaper buying a better loudspeaker...

Or.... Give me a call as I have done this thing before and I have the tech gear to 'fine-tune' the crossovers to suit as well.And it won't cost an arm and a leg.