Home » Sponsored » Pi Speakers » making custom cabinets
making custom cabinets [message #49579] Tue, 06 June 2006 16:21 Go to next message
James is currently offline  James
Messages: 23
Registered: May 2009
Chancellor
Hello!

I have been making project speaker cabinets for a few years now, and I have decided to start doing small time sound reinforcement for local bands. I can make a decent sounding speaker and enjoy doing so. Do you guys think that it is worth it to build my own cabinets for my live sound gigs, or is it better to go with store-bought cabinets????


Re: making custom cabinets [message #49580 is a reply to message #49579] Tue, 06 June 2006 19:01 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18687
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Making your own cabinets is kind of fun. You have the potential of doing a better job than commercial products. But I suppose you also take a risk of doing a worse job too. It all depends on how much time and effort you put into it; It's all about design, execution and quality of materials.


Another question for Wayne [message #49585 is a reply to message #49580] Wed, 07 June 2006 08:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
James is currently offline  James
Messages: 23
Registered: May 2009
Chancellor
Hey Wayne,

You're absolutely right!!! I do have the potential to make something better than the commercial product,at the same time, risking to do a worse job too. But I do make sure that cabinets are done right and that I ask as much advice from the experienced builders such as yourself. The cabinet I would like to make need to be versatile, where single cabinets are great for small to medium venues, and sevral cabinets stacked together can be used for larger venues. I decided on either a 3-way direct radiating system with a 15" for LF, 10" for Mf, and an eminence PSD2002 compression driver for Highs. The other design would be a dual 15" 2-way cabinet. I really like the sound of three way cabinets such as the 4628B's from JBL's cabaret series (Stuff that was out before I was even born). They sound smooth and dont blast people when you place them close to a crowd. We all know that a double 15" can throw out a whopping amount of bass, but can sound harsh when using a 2 inch throat compression driver for hi mids and hi's. In your opinion, what would you pick and why???

Re: Another question for Wayne [message #49586 is a reply to message #49585] Wed, 07 June 2006 09:43 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18687
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

I'd use the Stage or Professional Series four π. Perhaps add the midhorn and crossover that's used in the seven π speakers. One can also add a sub, such as the four π-18 or 12π hornsub.


Re: making custom cabinets [message #49600 is a reply to message #49579] Thu, 08 June 2006 09:02 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Chris R is currently offline  Chris R
Messages: 133
Registered: May 2009
Master
James, for small time stuff you're probably OK either way. For jobs that have "riders", you may get disqualified if you don't have name
brand equipment. Try reading the rec.audio.pro.live-sound news group archives. Tons of info, this subject included. Lots of flame
wars too so you have to work around that.
Chris

Re: Another question for Wayne [message #49613 is a reply to message #49585] Fri, 09 June 2006 02:58 Go to previous message
dB is currently offline  dB
Messages: 234
Registered: May 2009
Master
Hi,
Do some number crunching also, in a spreadsheet like Excel, because the xover parts might cost as much as the price for a driver. This is much worse if you go 3 way and up. If you get the parts from Wayne you have one problem solved.

The wood for the boxes, with out paint and handwork, can also vary from 1 to 10 fold depending of the quality. You end-up with one much better vue of the final price if you put it all together. Now I understand why the speakers from good factories come with bad xover parts.
Regards

Previous Topic: Please help me decide my next project : 4Pi or something else
Next Topic: Testing for T/S
Goto Forum:
  


Current Time: Sat May 11 13:56:06 CDT 2024

Sponsoring Organizations

DIY Audio Projects
DIY Audio Projects
OddWatt Audio
OddWatt Audio
Pi Speakers
Pi Speakers
Prosound Shootout
Prosound Shootout
Smith & Larson Audio
Smith & Larson Audio
Tubes For Amps
TubesForAmps.com

Lone Star Audiofest