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Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64203] Wed, 06 October 2010 08:02 Go to next message
3dfreak is currently offline  3dfreak
Messages: 25
Registered: September 2010
Chancellor
1. Do you choose a speaker size and ram it into a room? or do you choose it based on the size of the room?
2. Will the material used for the construction of the speaker box matter? I mean, for as long as it's wood, will any kind of wood do based on availability?
Re: Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64208 is a reply to message #64203] Wed, 06 October 2010 18:33 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Well, the materials for building the box matter some, sure, but I think even more important is the bracing. You just want a dead box, one that doesn't vibrate and make sympathetic secondary vibrations on its own. I usually use MDF for smaller cabinets that will be used indoors, unlikely to be exposed to moisture. I use baltic birch for larger cabinets, ones that will be used in more humid environments or outdoors, and spekaers that will be moved a lot.

As for sizing the speaker to the room, I think that's as much a matter of aesthetics as it is anything else. Then again, very small speakers tend to have sound sources tightly spaced, so you don't have to be as far from them for them to integrate. And then again again, if the speaker is designed to provide a nice forward lobe, it probably doesn't need much room to integrate. The two things tend to go together, because its all a matter of point sources verses arrays. Different systems (points sources, arrays, monopoles, dipoles, etc.) radiate differently, and interact with boundary (wall reflections) differently too.

Re: Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64212 is a reply to message #64208] Thu, 07 October 2010 07:56 Go to previous messageGo to next message
3dfreak is currently offline  3dfreak
Messages: 25
Registered: September 2010
Chancellor
Thanks Wayne.

But kindly confirm if I get your reply right ...

Speaker size - aesthetics plus balance of point sources and array considerations

Material for cabinet matters, but not as much as the bracing. We need to ensure it's a "dead box." I find the term creepy but I get your point Smile
Re: Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64214 is a reply to message #64212] Thu, 07 October 2010 08:57 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Yes, that's basically it. My point about box size was really it isn't so much about the size that matters with respect to room interaction, it's the directivity characteristics that count. What's important is the shape, size and directions of the lobes and nulls.

Re: Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64220 is a reply to message #64214] Fri, 08 October 2010 05:23 Go to previous messageGo to next message
3dfreak is currently offline  3dfreak
Messages: 25
Registered: September 2010
Chancellor
Now I get it. It's the directivity that counts more than size. I now understand why there's so much discussion here about monopoles, dipoles, carpets on the floors and walls (for studios), bouncing surfaces, etc.

I need to speed up my reading on these matters. It appears I have underestimated their importance.
Re: Two questions on how to construct a sound box [message #64359 is a reply to message #64220] Mon, 18 October 2010 05:07 Go to previous message
Danny is currently offline  Danny
Messages: 195
Registered: September 2010
Master
I would have to say that I am pretty ignorant about a lot of this stuff, too. There is more to consider than you would think! Just starting with the type of wood alone, is something I didn't even think about!
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