Building a PC sound deck... with a twist!

PC Speakers haven't been that great... until now! AD: join BetterHelp and get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com...
Discuss this project on the new forum! forum.diyperks...
FULL BUILD GUIDE: • DIY PC Soundbar (full ...
Download the resource pack here: diyperks.com/t...
CHANNEL LINKS:
Support me on Patreon: / diyperks
Forum: forum.diyperks...
Discord: / discord
Twitter: / diyperks
Purchasing links for the various components required:
Disclosure: These are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase from the various merchants they link to, DIY Perks may earn a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to the eBay Partner Network and Amazon Associates.
Subwoofer: ebay.us/su8tk4
Tweeters: amzn.to/3LKEVoy
Midtone-drivers: ebay.us/bLsuag
Amplifier (subwoofer): ebay.us/KPoUSN
Amplifier (main): ebay.us/sjf6c6
Black-tack putty: amzn.to/3uiRfXf
LEDs: ebay.us/RMQPfs
LED Channelling: amzn.to/3uYC0Sl
DAC (expensive but GOOD!) amzn.to/3v2SEQJ

[@KevinOMalleyisonlysmallreally]

I think the thing that really stands out about your videos is your design eye. Your craft skills are great aswell, but there's a lot of great makers on YT. There are not many makers with as good a design style (both in terms of aesthetics and function) as you. Excellent work.

[@misanthropicleo]

I agree!

[@masudurrahaman2637]

Exactly true....

[@InvadersDie]

Assthethiccs is nice

[@kaytosgeneralshow9006]

Yes I agree too

[@OmNiMaN5000]

True

[@Spaniard47]

This is EXACTLY the creativity we need in the DIY audio space. You could sell a ton of these

[@paulmichaelfreedman8334]

I was particularly impressed with the DIY 4K beamer.

[@jeremystover256]

I would buy it!!

[@CustomPrintsOnDemand]

I'd like to buy as well

[@artt3231]

I'd buy one too 😍.... So bad at soldering 😅

[@freelifeproductions]

@@artt3231 make it. this is a channel for the makers. not the buyers

[@OnurHunuma]

As an audio engineer, I have to say that I totally loved your subwoofer unit design. A very clever piece of engineering! Dude, you should start an audio company where you build custom hand-made speakers for various customers like Hi-Fi enthusiasts, casual desktop listeners, mobile listeners etc. And I would be one of your first Hi-Fi customers! Keep up the amazing work!

[@philosophiabme]

I have to imagine the prices would be crazy crazy high! The prices for the diy builds are deceiving because they don’t cover his invaluable expertise and experience 😅

[@SavvasPe]

The fact is that he can make nearly anything, so sticking in hifi isn’t that good for him, hoping you catch the point

[@MaticTheProto]

Yeah but 4 days of work… at what, let’s say 20€ an hour (probably too low but idk). 8 x 4 x 20 = 640€ without material costs. Admittedly still cheaper than the mass produced speakers

[@RSdrawingsz]

@@MaticTheProto 20 an hour is waaaay too low for craftmanship like this. I'd expect more like 50 an hour. that being said, the 4 days was JUST on figuring out the crossover settings, so i'd guess the final price would be closer to 4000, or even more as it's a custom piece.

[@hamyantti]

@@MaticTheProto he used 4 days to fine tune crossover.

[@danielkurnath9118]

Admittedly I do think the $1200 speakers have a more detailed mid range... but at 5 times the cost you kill it in bang for the buck and the aesthetics of this build are fantastic. Plus it's always way cooler using something you build yourself!

[@spill1t]

Exact same thoughts as I listened to the comparison too. Bass was surprisingly better according to my setup I'm listening to it on (10" Ultra cabinets).

[@ZZPxFTW]

Thats what so many commenters on this video are missing about the fundamental concept behind this channel. So many are saying how much he could make selling these, or that they'd buy one in a heartbeat (one comment even from an self-proclaimed audio engineer, who I would assume would be much more inclined to do his own tuning anyway?) BUT ITS A DIY CHANNEL. Its not only a resource for those of us who want to get hands on, and achieve amazing value and pride in what we craft, but also an inspiration for those who may have been less inclined to do so. He made over $40K on this video as of this comment (2M views) by making one unit... for himself lol; I'm pretty sure he understands his business quite well, and entering the production space is not in the cards.

[@klausschaeffer365]

I would definitely buy that if someone would sell it. I was almost onboard with trying to build it myself but the audio fine tuning of the speakers got the better of me.

[@klausschaeffer365]

@hoiy vinosa nobody was unsupportive. It got my like and I added this video to my Favorites list. Chill out man

[@ggk7605]

@@klausschaeffer365 think he answerd on accident xD

[@jamesthomson13]

@@klausschaeffer365 I think you misunderstood. Don't reply so aggressively

[@klausschaeffer365]

@@jamesthomson13 wtf??

[@Waitwhat469]

Honestly would be interested in someone wanting to make an automated way to do the audio tunning, I think that would hopefully lower the bar

[@martinshoosterman]

Man, I was really expecting you to announce that the extended build guide would be available on Patreon or on some other paid platform. Massive props for making it free to everyone

[@pradeepkliyanage]

I was thinking the same

[@nitsujeknay516]

I would pay for that!

[@A.Mere.Creator]

It's quite spacious in that monitor stand, someone could almost fit a whole PC in the monitor stand 👀

[@janmartinzamudio3031]

SOMEONE WRITE THIS DOWN

[@reptarien]

Ohohohoh!!!

[@mattx5499]

There are pretty powerful mini PCs that are not much bigger than a CD box, so it's possible. Mainboard scavenged from a laptop with broken display and messed up case could fit too. I don't count SBCs like RPi and similar ones because they are not very powerful in most cases.

[@hotrodluke]

he already put the pc in the desk!

[@elmotuz]

That space is needed to give better sound, if you build pc there the sound quality suffers, since the sound waves doesn't have enough room, like said in video the woofer needs 10liters space to sound optimal.

[@justajeffyes]

Truly the real significance of DIY and the fact that you can find ideas each month. Your imagination is you limit Unfortunately I don't have that much of imagination. Amazing build.

[@Praxis4RageBaiting]

don't have imagination or don't have the budget to explore it?

[@justajeffyes]

@@Praxis4RageBaiting Hm possibly both

[@OliveDoctor]

@@Praxis4RageBaiting for me it's more budget limitations. Even more considering I'm from Brazil and things are expensive here!

[@tj_enju]

He says "After much research, testing, and experimentation..." and at this point I just have to accept... the stuff he makes always seems well thought through.

[@Odyseuss08]

after 4 days of adjusting just the frequency splitter.... and its not shown how. so either ur a genius like him but even with such videos its impossible to build one on ur own.

[@tj_enju]

@Odysuess08 I too noticed that some of the steps in his builds often turn out to be exceptionally difficult to replicate. I think one has to have a higher level of understanding in engineering or some piece of tech that he keeps behind the scenes.

[@Odyseuss08]

@@tj_enju I think thats the magic of the channel to make the people feel they could if they wanted even its just an illusion.

[@personthing88]

@@Odyseuss08 No you can do it - some of the stuff requires googling but you can do it But no you do need to have time and the effort to donate to a project like this

[@DarkExternalHeart]

@@personthing88 I wonder if there is a much easier way to power those speakers and tune them, because to me that's way above my head.

[@ayrtontagaban611]

I love how your speakers sounds brighter and the low end is more tight. Than to the bookshelf speakers which sounds the bass is all over the place and the high end sound you put a slight low pass filter.

[@MagicMoose14587]

I really appreciate that you generally only use hand tools or cheaper power tools. As someone who doesn't have a shop with thousands of dollars of tools, it's great to see projects I could actually do!

[@DrSpaceman42]

totally agree

[@Incommensurabilities]

That's a great point, the more I look into doing more projects, and realise I would need a lot of tools, I appreciate the more accessible yet awesome products that Matt does :)

[@ThaJay]

agreed but 95% of what they do on those big machines can also be done with small, cheap, secondhand tools if you know how to use them. For some projects it would take 10x more time, but in other cases it's only a little bit more complex.

[@MagicMoose14587]

@@ThaJay True but this way an idiot like me doesn't have to work out how to do it, I can just follow the video :)

[@ThaJay]

@@MagicMoose14587 I agree, if you know how to use your limited tools in many good ways and avoid danger, you would not be watching this video.

[@freshcha7877]

this channel's content is extremely i mean extremly good, entertaining and profetional. This channel deserves more attention due to the hard work and effort put in to each and every video. I really wish he posts his videos regularly since watching them is so much fun entertaining and also we learn so much through this channel. Thank you so much for taking your time to entertain us and provide such good content. I will always be a supporter and hope your channels grows further more much love!

[@DIYPerks]

Kind words, thank you!

[@freshcha7877]

@@DIYPerks I love you sooo much! thank you for the replyyy

[@jonbarto9146]

The infrequency of the videos is what makes them a treat to me. Whenever a new one posts it’s like a special surprise!

[@Dev-lc4cd]

@@DIYPerks You should make a video of all the plants you feature in your videos, with links to buy the pots and soil, lol! But seriously, could you identify the plants in the thumbnail of this video?

[@Bas3008]

Well, over 3,5 million subs is not 'so underrated', is it? Don't get me wrong I wish Matt all the success, but I got the feeling it's already going really damn well.

[@SzymonRichert]

MDF is also used in order to get uniform sound wave dissipation through the material. Because wood is not uniform, it might affect the sound characteristics of the speakers.

[@amcomma]

Actually it doesn't make that much of a difference

[@MaxC_1]

@@amcomma for cheap 40-50$ speakers? obviously. For a stand for speakers? again won't make much difference But for enclosures for higher end Audiophile gear or just better audio in general especially if you already know what you're looking for, yeah it makes a difference, not massive but definitely exists and can be noticed

[@NRobbo]

I reckon any inconsistencies of the wood could be balanced out through the manual tuning of the crossover circuit.

[@JaenEngineering]

The real downside of natural wood is s it's tendancy to twist and warp with changes in temperature and humidity. That's way sealed MDF or marine plywood are preferred.

[@tobymarol7329]

it's less about uniformity but rather the sound of the material. the little particles and bonding glue in mdf give it a dead sound with little resonance, while hardwood resonates more and colors the sound (which is obviously suboptimal). that's why enclosures usually use some type of compound material with veneer on top

[@jefgirdler7232]

Okay THIS has to be one of THE sickest builds I’ve seen thus far on the channel. I want one. I want one so bad.

[@丅-i6x]

@doire aintu the diy build sounds richer than those bookshelf speakers.

[@endall39]

When comparing two systems, like you do at the end, it would be interesting to see the measured response curves with pink noise compared. That would provide some objective comparison to go along with the subjective listening test. My guess is that your system produced a lot more bass below 60Hz than the bookshelf speakers, and the bookshelf speakers sound too heavy in the mid. But, would the curves show this?

[@craigmosley3875]

This, was thinking the same thing. It'd also be interesting to see how far we could dial these in with either a quality physical EQ, or something like APO.

[@cubertmiso]

that would be really good information to have and he have the the know how. probably better to have 2 decent speakers and therefore nullifying the project.

[@UKnaZo]

That feeling when you see a new DIY Perks video in your feed.

[@theghostleader140]

The quality of production on these videos are just incredible probably the best YT channel when it comes to creativity and attention to detail.

[@cjay2]

The clean video editing is what I find refreshing about his videos.

[@Brainwave36]

I was listening on my 5.2 surround system and the DIY build had far superior sound in my humble opinion (as a home theater install tech guy). The aesthetic of the build is right out of a sci-fi film. Great job as always.

[@bananam0nk597]

1200$ were better ;), DIY he made, IS AWSOME, but i doubt 99% here can reproduce the video it self and as well, he's DIY got huge bass, meanwhile with 1200's, you are hearing high frequencies, which were missing on DIY and because they are high, they cover the lows and ofcourse, lows are thick and leave a feel for "superior"........ :) Summary, DIY project he present, awsome, i would like having one (meanwhile couple of monitor speakers are on my desk), but those professional speakers are hitting really good. :)

[@shazbaz5015]

Its a really cool project, and the diy definitely has more bass and highs, but the high mids sound like there is a huge cut, and there are some resonances throughout the frequency spectrum. Still insanely impressive for what it is and how much it costs though

[@MaethorDerien]

@@bananam0nk597 Yeah, the 1200s definately had a fuller warmer sound and sounded better on the first song but his DIY solution had a bit more fun sound or sparkle on the second song at the end test, sadly it can be hard to describe the difference. It can be a hugely subjective experience though and sadly many people never really get a chance to experience a good pair of headphones or speakers.

[@libbylebyane3681]

This man actually buys a house and literally creates his own furniture.

[@thewolfin]

actually literally

[@no-lifenoah7861]

you think he BOUGHT the house?

[@Odyseuss08]

thats disrespectful! obviously he would built the house himself.

[@benwhitford5703]

builds the house my guy

[@crzxm]

Living the dream.

[@pangtundure]

0:13 I still have these chilling above my cupboard

[@industrialvectors]

This sounds like a great base idea for a TV/bookshelf/speaker combo furniture.

[@mattx5499]

Yeah, but the point of this design is a monitor stand with speakers set up for close-up listening. It's for someone who plays games, listens to music while doing office work or watches movies on PC.

[@Murmadamus]

Fantasic project. One Suggestion: add a headphone/microphone Jack wich the sound automatically switches to (or with a button) to allow headphone gaming as well. This would be fanastic.

[@johannesssssssss]

Maybe integrate an DAC. Would be super useful for all the streamers and people with microphones.

[@JustMamba]

Or just hook up your headphones to the dedicated headphone jack on the pc?

[@seb9940]

@@JustMamba exactly what i thought aswell lmao

[@JossFox]

so do I :)

[@reptarien]

The only reason this would be worth doing is if that headphone jack was ALSO an improved audio format, because if it was just wired verbatim to the motherboard, it would only sound as good as the motherboard is capable of. A dedicated DAC to plug headphones into as well could definitely be a cool addition, though.

[@Spaniard47]

One thing to note is that higher quality crossover components will have a noticeable impact on sound quality, if the speaker is designed well.

[@chrismerklin8460]

I’ve been involved with the speaker design process for architectural speakers and never saw parts that small in a crossover!! I’m worried that the tiny crossover components may easily overheat.

[@Spaniard47]

@@chrismerklin8460 well he said something about them being part of the circuit before amplification, so not much power going through but I'd still imagine the parts make a difference at low level signals.

[@Odyseuss08]

@@chrismerklin8460 sadly this part which seems to be really intersting he even doesnt touch in his process of the work he shows. when he shares everything about the material it would have made sense to share the final version of the crossover.

[@tatianaes3354]

@@Odyseuss08The chap has linked a separate video with more details on all that.

[@Odyseuss08]

@@tatianaes3354 where? i dont find it.

[@hundvd_7]

5:30 Maaan, that's such a good idea. I never would have thought of using a bucket of sand to stabilize something diagonally (without any destructive modifications) That's incredibly smart

[@hgbugalou]

Cambridge Soundworks... That bring backs memories of my first high end speakers I bought for my computer back in the early 00s. After using crap PC speakers for so long it was mind blowing.

[@KingMinhvuong]

Nice soundbar and clean work. Keep up your great work bro!

[@mrproplayer7687]

First comment Edit: nevermind

[@TheSpotify95]

Hello again King :)

[@phoenixyt124]

You here!?

[@realfoggy]

As someone who repairs the things I own, I know even the best quality things eventually break. That being said the speakers being glued in triggered a no go reaction. Great looking, great sound quality, tough to repair without breaking apart.

[@noe9250]

then just use screws

[@unicodefox]

I mean, if you build it, it's your choice if you want to use glue or screws.

[@asandax6]

It's hot glue just use some rubbing alcohol and a heat gun or hair dryer and it'll come off.

[@realfoggy]

@@noe9250 yup I would. Thanks.

[@thebaldconvict]

@@asandax6 And how do you get to them?

[@andrewberg9611]

The expensive ones sound just a bit more "open", but the DIY are well worth the money

[@Azer1125]

I find the highs laughable on the pros compared to the DIYs, what listening device did you use?

[@nightowl7546]

@@Azer1125 imma have to agree with Andrew here, the pros sound way clearer and differentiated. The DIY system sounds good, but doesn't have a neutral sound, its bass heavy and muddy in the upper mids, which is perfect for gaming (it actually sounds amazing in that case) as most gaming Headphones have a similar frequency curve ("V-Shape"). I wouldn't use it for critical listening or other genres than bass heavy ones tho:)

[@AlexandreMachado0]

I listened using KZ ZSN Pro in-ear phones, and I agree with Andrew.

[@nightowl7546]

@@Azer1125 I was listening on HD660S's and LSR-305s btw

[@EddyKorgo]

i mean you can always use equalizer to make it sound how ever u want.

[@Karaon]

As a longtime viewer I throroughtly enjoy most of your builds, the priority of top engeneering and affordability combined makes this channel an amazing knowledge source for basically anyone. The work you put into the videos is immersive, making the viewer a part of an actual thing happening in front of your eyes, yet it's kept really tight and informative not to bore anyone in detail, which is obviously a secondary plane which anyone can find elsewhere or probably just ask you to put a loupe on that particular subject. Since the very first time I've seen your video (bluetooth battery powered tannoy bookshelf speakers) I knew this is a passionate channel. It's really a pleasure seeing you grow in skill and knowledge whilst sharing it online almost as if it's on the go.

[@abinjoseph2156]

This is exactly what I want... You're awesome...

[@UncleManuel]

This is one of the KZbin channels where you always can hit "Like" even before the video starts. The production quality and the projects are always amazing! 😎👍

[@thebiasbios5328]

Hi Matt, Good project and unique design, and absolutely impressive sound quality! However one recommendation is that I think you should use a active crossover or a DSP instead of a passive one, as it would be affected by input impedance which will weirdly affect the crossover frequency. Plus it allows you to push the speakers louder as the input signal may not be enough to push the amplifiers to a loud volume. You could just use some op amps, like ne5532 (most affordable with good sound quality) or lm4562 (absolute best sound quality) in order to construct a active crossover. A DSP (such as the analog devices adau1701) will allow you to do many awesome things, like constructing a crossover that you could tweak the crossover frequency on the computer without changing the electronic components and even add cool things like algorithms to give a effect of a wide Soundstage or use psychoaccustic bass enhancement. But still, good job! You inspired me to make many diy speakers, including some 3d printed ones!

[@alexruedi1995]

do you mind to share your setup? mine is jlsound i2s, ak4493 and drv603. all running off some pretty custom linux sbc. (jack + clean alsa config, no bs like pulseaudio..) running local flac files. If you are using adau1701: is it intercepting i2s while increasing bit depth and sample rate on the soundcard? Mine is running the native resolution right now. So any sound effect just decreases quality a lot.. But i'd love to have some room correction or bass boost, reverb etc..

[@thebiasbios5328]

@@alexruedi1995 I use a sure electronics APM2 (adau1701) with the connection board, which the left and right channels are both connected to 1 TDA7498E amplifier (the sanwu red board), and the 1 sub channel is connected to another 2 TDA7498E boards that outputs 4 x 160w. One of the boards are running off a 250W 36v power supply and the other 2 powering the subs are using a 1000w 36v power supply in order to have excess power. the setup is used as computer speakers and sounds pretty good. For the I2C stuff, I'm not there yet, although I'm trying to use a Arduino with a display + rotary encoder in order to make a interface to control the DSP. However, I've seen many examples of it being controlled by i2c on google.

[@jorisbonson386]

You can always go one better...

[@carbon_no6]

One of my absolute favorite builds you’ve done is the cement Bluetooth speaker! That was an awesome video and an even more impressive video design!

[@Vinz3ntR]

You never fail to disappoint, I simply watch to see your enthusiasm and the end result. This time you've outdone yourself!

[@sonosus]

"the soundbar fires towards the chest" - prop it up at an angle then! Cool build though, you really do have an eye for design.

[@nixx5490]

And every speaker is not always designed to be listened on axis

[@bringbackwindowsphone]

I thought this as well. The project is great but a lot of his justification recently is quite silly.

[@rickmortyson4861]

The electronics part looks really complicated to me. But I guess with a lil tutorial video I would be able to get the result I want. Diy is so amazing and I love that our society is changing and starts to repair things again.

[@markbernhardt6281]

You can buy crossovers off the shelf, no worries about that

[@SianaGearz]

MDF is used due to a material survey by Visaton Labs from i think 1986 thereabouts, and i'm sure others came to a similar conclusion. It has a unique property that it absorbs and dissipates vibration, helping the simulated model and the speaker converge. It was the material least prone to emitting resonant noises after the concrete-bitumen-concrete sandwich, which wasn't deemed very practical. More speakers should have a tilt. This is because the radiation plane of the midbass is often inset compared to tweeter, so the natural neutral axis on a 2-way speaker that looks like it's firing forward is actually pointing down; around it there's a pattern of cancellation lobes. Sitting in one of those cancellation lobes is not a good time. But due to people being weirded out by such design, manufacturers prefer crossover compensation, or just ignore the issue.

[@turbokadett]

Do you have any more detail or articles I could read up on cancellation lobes? Thanks 🙂

[@thephantompsychic]

@@turbokadett I'm not sure of any articles but a cancellation lobe is just a region where the phase of one wave is 0° and the other is 180°. Polar plots depict this very well in driver measurements. Certain websites will provide polar plots when measuring speakers off and on axis.

[@ProbsNotNova]

Your speakers are sooo much better. Especially because of the style, build quality, and sound quality for the price

[@ErCanEverything]

Beautiful Desk, well done my Friend👏🤝🤝🤝

[@michaelrobinson6292]

This looks incredible and there is a simple way to take it to the next level: fasten a sonic transducer to your chair. This will send the bass vibrations through the chair and really give you the feel of the "punch" from a serious sound system without disturbing anyone else. You just need one additional bass signal output since transducers use the same signal/wiring as speakers. Total cost of this sort of a transducer upgrade is about $50-$100 USD.

[@frstwhsprs]

Or maybe the ButtKicker.

[@JosephQPublic]

Wouldn’t this create a tripping hazard?

[@sean6992]

That's sounds a bit silly tbh😂

[@sanrasuzumaki942]

For the difference in size of the drivers this built is clearly a winner, another great video M8!

[@gabsinventions9135]

I definitely have preferred your sound-signature. Overall I feel like the sound on the factory ones had more space on, but they sacrificed crispness. Yours could have maybe the base slightly toned down, but that's obviously my opinion. Really great project. hope I replicate it some day.

[@sridipta]

One of the best DIY project outcomes that I have seen. The idea, design and the execution are fabulous!

[@bongjores]

you should create your own factory and share to the world your builds!

[@bashkillszombies]

Why when everything he makes is massively inferior quality than what you can buy already?

[@HH-le1vi]

​@@bashkillszombies yes. Lets see you do one better then

[@chomp54321]

Nice build as always, and really appreciate all the efforts that you've expended to make sure the sound is the best that you can get out of the speakers. However, I would like to comment on the sound when compared to the $1200 speakers. With my headphones, I prefer the expensive speakers over the DIY speakers. How audio devices sound to a user is highly subjective. Even using headphones as you have suggested, they still colour the sound because of the preference of the user. For example, I prefer the sound signature of Shure earphones over other more expensive brands.

[@florianmuller9598]

Prefer the expensive speaker too. They seem more clear and the DIYs seem to have some emphasis on the mids. Would be interesting to see a frequency diagram comparison.

[@hahaahah7214]

The DIY’s are for gaming while the 1200 ones are for music. I would understand the reason for the mid heavy response he prefers for that reason (speech in gaming etc)

[@ajbp95]

I was surprised when I listened to the comparison. For the first song I preferred the 1200 ones since they sounded fuller but on the other song it was the other way around and I preferred the DIY. Weird!

[@shuaglenn6802]

I agree; I used a couple different headphones thinking " well there's no way he would use an example that made his DIY project sound worse" ... idk maybe it's just my preference but the 1200s sounded way better. The DIY almost sounded like there were instruments missing. Would definitely like to see that frequency diagram.

[@ZVLIAN]

@@shuaglenn6802 the diy just kinda sound metallic and missing warmth

[@cyberuyi]

The DIY speakers certainly had a richer, deeper bass compared to the more expensive speakers. Really good. Well done mate.

[@ZVLIAN]

i personally think the diy speaker cannot compare to the professional ones. the diy ones are Good, but not perfect

[@dimdimdu54]

@@ZVLIAN same opinion

[@Icessassin]

as with the two above me, you are not paying so much for the deep bass in the expensive speaker but more for accurate recreation of audio. Though for just enjoying music and gameplay the are amazing for the cost and knowledge you'd get from DIYing it

[@VavrMar]

Agree but professional speakers has much clearer hights.

[@Jahangir_Hossain_CA]

Your right by the way why does a more expensive speaker sound worser 😡😡😡😡😡

[@PaulMurrayCanberra]

The other advantage of MDF is that it doesn't add any timbre of its own to the sound, which wood will do. Speaker enclosures are usually made of plywood for this reason: it's strong, and it doesn't colour the sound.

[@ViciousTuna2012]

That whole wood coloring the sound myth is nonsense

[@Toilet_Sniper]

All speaker enclosures have a resonance - a frequency where the chamber starts to amplify sound. With MDF, the panel resonance is less noticeable and it is probably a good compromise for cost/performance with commercial designs. But I don't like MDF, especially for DIY, it is not sustainable, easily damaged by chipping, cracking and from liquids and doesn't give a nice finish. I think bamboo is a great alternative material, but optimising the use of the materials isotropic properties with the speaker design is beyond DIY.

[@socksumi]

All materials vibrate and possess some degree of resonances (stored energy). MDF is more rigid than most woods so it's resonances tend to be higher in frequency. Good enclosure damping and cross bracing is important no matter the material.

[@JosephQPublic]

I’m a bit perplexed by this comment. Does plywood “color the sound” or not?

[@socksumi]

​@@JosephQPublic All materials color the sound to some degree. Some plywoods are favoured because they are characterized by a deep toned but well controlled resonance than say stiffer MDF. This adds a degree of warmth to the sound that some designers have used to good effect. For instance many classic British Monitors of BBC design used birch plywood precisely because of it's acoustic properties. Iconic speakers like the LS3/5A, Spendor BC1, Harbeth Monitor and Mission 770 as well as dozens of other British designs were made from thin wall birch Ply damped with bituminous pads. The highly damped but deep toned resonance of bitch plywood adds to the charm of these speaker's. It adds a degree of warmth without smothering over the lovely midrange of these classic designs.

[@domlecompte2415]

You are an amazing builder with electronics and basic woodworking teacher. Imagination is the limit.

[@Jushwa]

WOW. Your explanation of the ribbon tweeters vs dome tweeter was the best i've heard yet, what a beautiful creation you've made, and it sounds amazing too. Very impressed with the output of that shallow driver. I hope you can post up your crossover settings on the forum. Keep up the great moves Matt!

[@Sphero1984]

I put my ear buds in and felt them gun shots. The absolute thud was powerful and detailed, incredibly impressed. As far as the comparison I would defo take the DIY speakers over the £1200 speakers on sound quality alone, regardless of price, the low cost is icing on the cake

[@fishyjell283]

@hoiy vinosa weirdo

[@carlosr1461]

Oh, man! This channel is outstanding! Great idea again!!

[@wtfgebeurdmij2991]

Would you be interested to try and make a hi end headphone? Im sure it would be amazing to watch you figure out how to tune a driver in a headphone with various damping material, driver placement,ear cup and earpads material and much much more! Think it would be amazing to get educated about sound because it seems like youre interested in good sound aswell. Thank you for being a great example of what we as humans are the best at. Creating.

[@adamiyevsty5086]

man, gotta say I love your projects. I've been around for over 5 years and I really enjoyed everything you have made yet. The level of detail and professionalism is spot on. Your skill level is amazing. Thank you for your time for showing us your ideas

[@rickhalverson2252]

Really like that attention to detail. And you actually known to seal the speakers and port them etc. Very knowledgeable across the subjects, makes it fun to watch.

[@Sylvester1201]

I love the way it looks and sound quality is extremly good compared to a DIY speaker system. I noticed only one thing which might be a tiny issue is that it seats flush with desk's top, but both of the surfaces are hard and on higher volume it can transfer resonation between them and that can mess up the whole experience. Flush mounted rubber feets would solve the probleme as they can reduce any vibration caused on lower frequences.

[@rustkitty]

While watching the intro I just want to say most soundbars have degraded sound quality within 1.5m (5ft) listening range. So unless you have a really deep desk they will produce subpar audio on a desk top while you use keyboard & mouse (fine for gamepad gaming though). I made the mistake not researching this earlier this year...

[@VictoryAviation]

Sound bars in general are all degraded in sound quality. They are a compromise of space for audio quality. The midrange is almost non existent and the lower portion of the midrange is made up by the subwoofer. This becomes a problem because sub bass frequencies are non directional, yet low midrange frequencies are directional, at least to the human ear. That means that where you place your subwoofer becomes more critical because your ear will be able to tell where the subwoofer is or the higher end frequencies coming from the subwoofer will create special distortions when listening. If you ever wonder how much of the frequency band a subwoofer is making up for since a sound bar is lacking, turn off the subwoofer and listen to how terrible the sound bar is by itself.

[@rustkitty]

​@@VictoryAviation I'd call that "downgraded" rather than "degraded". You are talking about a lesser sound quality based on the form factor and design. That's a different story. My issue is about use-case. Sound bars are optimized for living room arrangements, so if you put one on the far end of your desktop and sit in front of the desk like a normal computer user, that's too close. The sound quality is significantly degraded compared to sitting a meter or so further away from the exact same sound bar. By the way I found that specific sound bar fine even without the sub plugged in if I was sitting in the suggested listening distance. It was just not suitable for PC usage. Maybe I picked a good model, maybe I'm just not an audiophile. Doesn't matter to my point I think.

[@CaedenV]

That is why you use a sound bar with a TV, and put the whole thing on a coffee table 3-4 ft away while you sit on the couch. Big media setup perfect for games and movies, and put the TV on a mount that you can pull closer for boring old work dealing with text and emails. Current Gen graphics cards are finally available at OK prices, and have modern hdmi for eARC and full low latency 4k 60fps hdr compatility. It's truly amazing! And yeah, it is no 120hz monitor, but I'll take 4k hdr on a big display at 60fps any day compared to a tiny screen at a higher framerate. At home I am mostly consuming media or doing work. For the 3-6 hours a week I play games vs the 20-60 hours a week doing everything else it just isn't worth it

[@VictoryAviation]

@@rustkitty Degraded sound was correct. A sound bar uses psychoacoustics to give the allusion that you’re hearing a full spectrum of sound. In other words, the sound you are hearing out if it is not the same sound that the audio engineers created in their multi-million dollar studio. The engineers of sound bars take a different sound driver setup and manipulate the EQ to a point where it doesn’t suck. In order to do that, the EQ must be colored (changed) compared to a flat EQ. Almost all modern headphones do this as well by the way, like beats and bose for example. So in the sense of the definition, the sound is certainly degraded from the source material through sound processing and because the equipment is not capable of recreating the same quality of signal.

[@protim9947]

The monitors are gonna vibrate a lot while gaming but despite that, it's amazing. It would be interesting if you had done a comparison clip with the Bluetooth speaker you made out of earbuds.

[@DigitalEkho]

i had an issue with the led backlighting blub plastic covers falling off inside my Philips monitor due to the speaker system underneath my monitor

[@danellom]

What I learned from watching your previous videos, I don’t even have to watch a second of it to know that I will love the content. I like the video before I even start watching

[@philipocallaghan]

Just angle the sound bar upwards with a few sticky rubber/foam tabs under the front "legs", just make sure the plastic casing on the back isn't touching the table by adding a tab there if needed . Problem solved for a couple of bucks at almost any large store ! You're welcome.

[@johnnyashtray]

Awesome build! When you compared them to the $1200 speakers, it sounded like the $1200 ones were in a smaller space. The DIY ones sounded like a much larger space. I would for sure go with the DIY ones!

[@NavneetSharmaa]

It looks like sci fi spaceship or some concrete architecture design. It looks amazing Loved it !! 🌟

[@hondayamaha3]

I just skip this for almost a year but now that I watched it it really sparks inspiration inside me

[@earthisfat6184]

Dude you are literally a genius. Just found this channel and you are now my hero. Wow

[@TebzGo]

It's a gorgeous piece, even before it's a functional sound bar. Brilliant work, sir! *edit - I wrote that comment before I heard the audio.... Now I have and damn, I can't pick my jaw off the floor anymore!!!

[@Builtbypete]

Great build. Really enjoyed it. Thank you.

[@alexcorpo95]

looks great! the only thing I would've done differently is screw in the 30 degree facing speakers into the stand instead of glue... having absolutely no way of access the speakers for replacement of maintenance gives me a bit of an unsettling feeling. either that, or an access port from underneath? what do you think?

[@thewhiterabbit133]

itsjust hot glue you can just pull it out with little effort

[@mattx5499]

@@thewhiterabbit133 Depends what glue it is. Some glues are so freaking strong that you will rather destroy the wood trying to take it apart. Especially industrial quality glues are unbelievably strong and gluing points become stronger than the material itself.

[@gemazarusgaming1549]

@@thewhiterabbit133 If that was woodglue Matt used, he isn't getting the front panel off without destroying the wood. I agree with Alex. I wouldn't have permanently closed that space. It's £300 spent on a home made speakers, (subject to issues) so I'd want it to be fully accessible. That being said, I think they are incredible and they are on my list of things I want to build, but probably never will, hence why I live vicariously through Matt.

[@DuckyBee156]

It amazes me how such an intelligent person can show and share so much passion in a project. He makes it seem so approachable and easy to do.

[@tshirtbusinessreality]

YesYesYes best diy speakers ive seen on youtube so far

[@lio1234234]

Amazing stuff! Love tectonic TEBM-46 drivers, they are truly amazing! I do think adding the AMTs were a poor choice, the tectonics are excellent tweeters with one of the most impressive off axis responses I've seen, and their ability to play over a wide range means you don't get problems that you'd get with a high frequency crossover point such as beaming etc! Give your system a go without the AMTs, I think you'll be well impressed! Saves on costs too!

[@geneaso]

$1200 speaker sounded better definitely. I tried listening with my eyes closed and focusing jusy on the sound and it is much better for me. Of course design+cost wise, diy speaker is a win here.

[@JenniferLaveryFBE]

This is just some beautiful work. Though with my current level of DIY skills, I might just cut some wedges to sit under my sound bar to point it at my face. 🤣

[@Gednebulizer]

You always impress with the level of beauty and elegant efficiency your engineering achieves, with a delivery that feels effortless. You are clearly an extremely talented engineer, content creator, and teacher. Thanks for making this awesome content! I will most definitely be making this.

[@lazerlake]

I just made a wedge to aim up my sound bar but I have to admit that is way cooler.

[@protator]

The DIY speakers sound roomier and warmer, but the mid range is a bit muddier and pulled back. I assume this is because of the material used and the drivers being so far recessed. An easy fix.

[@thresh-]

Any suggestions as how to fix the issue? I'd like to make these for my setup.

[@infernus6278]

Low range is borderline garbage

[@cjay2]

It could also be your listening setup, your ears, etc. Just saying. Other responses in this thread are their opinions as well.

[@cjay2]

@@thresh- If there is an issue, you might try mounting the midrange drivers flush to the face of the cabinet, and/or try altering the crossover component values, using the driver specs to determine things.

[@protator]

@@thresh- Mount the drivers from the front and don't go crazy with the router in case you want to recess the after all. You can make the cage/mounting flange flush with the surface but you shouldn't go further than that. And I'd use MDF instead of random wood scraps. Different types of wood will produce audible differences in sound. MDF isn't the ideal material, but it's good enough and consistent in its properties. One potential cause for issues off the list. I'd maybe try and add a little more volume to the speakers, the woofer's probably going to be happy even with a liter less. There's a lot of simulation software available for zero to a couple bucks. IMO it's always worth it to spend an afternoon or two simulating and fine tuning a setup to your liking before you start cutting material.

[@LesbianLoki]

This man is an interior designer, graphic designer, computer engineer, sound engineer, electrical engineer, chemical engineer, light engineer, carpenter, mathematician and a teacher.

[@isty4491]

He sure is a modern renaissance man

[@mshaftenberg]

Don't forget the ASMR part. Could listen to his calm enthusiastic voice for hours 😂

[@DanLiveOnUTube]

The thing about those ribbons is that they have really narrow sweet spots. The room response is very different with the two speakers. Try some calibration software on both and see how they fair.

[@cptairwolf]

You could make a fortune selling your designs to manufacturing companies. They are always so impressive

[@Adok24]

You are one of my favourite channels. Love building stuff and you make it possible for a lot of us out here. Thank you Matt 🙏🏼

[@pumpmaneuvers9896]

Business idea for you: 1. Assemble all the components needed for your project, minus anything unreasonable to ship. 2. create a list of exactly every tool and material needed that does not come with your assembly, together this should be everything needed from start to finish of the DIY project. Gather these materials in bulk, sell them as advanced DIY kits Edit: At the end of your videos, inform your audience of their ability to prepay and preorder these kits within any time window, describe very specifically what would come in the box and what additional tools and materials they would need, how much your costs are and how much you're charging them for your time and effort and what their prepay total would be before shipping costs. This way you can gather exactly how much bulk material you will need and you'll have the money up front to do it and you're being transparent and honest with people who likely love your channel and are grateful and happy to contribute to you monetarily in exchange for these experiences they could share with their family. I would do it in a heartbeat!

[@Abhishek.p.t.k]

The diy one sounds more roomy and rich its great And with those speaker positioned in such angels should make them more immersive

[@tonyblox]

The DIY speakers lack in high-high-end. For example, you can't really hear the hi-hats that clearly like on the other ones, that also goes for the reverb on the guitars. The DIY sound more warm and full, while the 1200$ ones sound more clear and hollow. The main suspects would be the sub-bass and the tweeters. The sub adds the warmth, but something tells me that the tweeters need to be somewhat louder because you're missing out on some clarity. I listened to this with a pair of mixing headphones. If anybody wants to know...

[@august1870]

the high ends sound absolutely mental, the pinging of metal especially is so realistic

[@TBonerism]

Would have liked to see a frequency response graph of a 20hz-20,000hz sweep. I know so many people say that you can't really see how something sounds, but it helps for sure.

[@confused2537]

The sound comparison at the end was really neat when listening with headphones. The sound comparison really shows how much audio setups for non music production is overpriced, and what you could do yourself at home with some tools and know-how. I would gladly trade in my bookshelf speakers for this DIY monitor stand/mouse+keyboard garage/speaker enclosure!

[@neosonixyz]

Man I really love this aesthetic design. Those angles are so epic and it looks so clean

[@crispy-k]

10/10 build. Gives great ideas, and that slim sub woofer is really cool.

[@aospor5482]

All of his furniture have some built-in electronics for sure. His table is a high-end pc, shelf is a hidden monitor. Monitor stand is sound system and so on.

[@ardonjr]

0:55 about MDF "I'm not too keen on it, becaust it is so dusty when cut" 1:15 .. starts sanding down reclaimed wooding flooring hahaha I actually love that you recycled old wood.. that's better than any dust or finishing issues. Just re-use good stuff.

[@uhlspetznaz]

12:48 Look, I have always enjoyed your videos because I am a husband/father that has often had to do repairs and fixes for my family. But you take basic DIY projects and launch them to the stratosphere, well beyond my own capabilities...And that impresses this old man. But now I have even more respect for you because I see you are a gamer. What's better, is that I saw you do a quick reload with ammo still in the mag, which told me you were a gamer and not just someone looking to attracts gamers by pretending. Mad respect to you. Wish you lived next door here in Texas so I could beg you to sell me some of your creations. Ever think of making build plans for your builds so that others can make them too? Keep up the great work regardless. #Gamers4Life

[@gomalone]

this is why engineering and design should be in one spot.

[@davidchillton1744]

DIY PERKS: Mdf is too dusty when cut Also DIY PERKS: So I got this reclaimed flooring that needs to be sanded instead

[@joshuachebii]

you meant dosty?!

[@cezarghirardello]

I think he imagined that in the sander the dust can be collected by the device, but I agree with you: in both cases it will make a mess. But in the end the idea is very good!

[@JosephQPublic]

Have you worked with MDF? It’s in its own category for being dusty as it’s compressed saw dust essentially. Sanding wood yields less mess all around.

[@Holzider]

@@JosephQPublic also mdf smells worse.

[@davidchillton1744]

@@JosephQPublic I strongly disagree

[@ur1friend437]

I appreciate your videos because they are family friendly and educational.

[@JosueBasurto]

Woooow I'm wearing headphones to feel the audio from your binaural microphones and it is really a difference! Your Speakers are much better! Great! I'll try something for my new desk!

[@matthelton6637]

This is intended to be constructive criticism so I really hope you (if you see this) and others heed that declaration. I think your design is great and it's definitely over my head and far beyond anything I could do. However, you asked what we thought about the comparison, so here it goes! I think you're very close to perfect audio with this setup but your highs are too high. The combination of the highs and mids on the $1200 speaker are much more evenly matched, leading to a crisp sound without a lot of highs or a lot of mids. You can hear this especially well on the last song in the example. Going between the speakers, the highs on the DIY speakers drown out the mids almost entirely. I am no expert in any of this stuff, just some dude watching someone else make cool shit, but I think if you dropped the highs down, and use the toggle between the $1200 and DIY speakers to match the quality (or go beyond), it would probably be the best, cheapest DIY audio setup out there! It should also be noted that this difference was far more difficult to pinpoint without headphones, so your suggestion was spot on. Anyway, love the videos and your ingenuity. Have a good day!!

[@unicornlap]

I very much appreciate your preface so that your comment was taken at face value, which it was. 😊 That being said, I actually hopped into the comments to state that the $1200 speakers sounded flat in comparison. I did also hear the difference between the mid and high tones, but I think it enhanced the sound, not deteriorated it with the fine tuning he did on the circuit board. I would actually bet that can get chalked up to things like the person listening's tonal preferences, their hearing (especially given to fully take the sound in required headphones), as well as simply trying to listen to his audio and it coming out of a wide variety of all of our diff sound devices (from high end headphones to a $5 pair) with each having varying sound output. I know personally I'm listening on Raycons. I know they aren't half bad, but not even close to great. So I will leave it with you this... maybe try listening again from a different set of headphones?? And speakers for sure don't work. I tried before putting headphones in (was being lazy...lmao). I have to say I don't comment on KZbin much, but I was in the comments and was going to make my own telling him how he bested $1200 speakers by making them sound flat and dull, then I ran into your comment. So I thought I'd chat with someone instead of talking to myself in the comments...lmao!!

[@vasocreta]

And I'm going to hit right in the middle of these comments. For gaming, I think the DIY speakers nail it. Some of that "balance" is sacrificed for slightly more detail in my ear. For music, I am inclined to lean toward the bookshelf speakers because they round off some the highs a bit more. However, there are several things to take into account here: 1) the bass fires differently in each type of speaker which will creat a very different feel, I'd think 2) the diy speakers can be be further tuned, whereas the bookshelf speaks are fairly fixed unless you get really adventurous 3) room treatment can have a huge impact and can actually close some meaningful gaps All that said, if the DIY version cost even 30% less, I'd say that the value to performance ratio goes to the DIY. Plus that design just has some sexiness to it. 😉 I'd be inclined to put some felt under the speaker unit to eliminate some resonance in the desk since the speaker housing sits directly on it. Anyway...so many options and things to try. And damn, did I say that design looks sexy?

[@matthelton6637]

@@unicornlap Thanks for the introspective viewpoint, Laura. Arguably, my hearing has likely been damaged by years of loud concerts and music performance. I take better care of it now, but no doubt I've lost a bit of the clarity that others might possess. My take may be completely off from others! Thanks for your comment! :) P.S. I also don't comment much on YT videos, so I totally understand!

[@matthelton6637]

@@vasocreta That's a good point. Different "needs" drive different sounds. I definitely have preferred equalizer settings for music, compared to gaming. I tend to have surround sound increased for games, while focusing more on bass for music. When I saw 'focus,' I don't mean cranking up. the differences are small. However, they're just meaningful enough to hear what I need to hear in each situation. Thanks for the comment and keeping a good conversation going! KZbin comments aren't always toxic. :)

[@vasocreta]

@@matthelton6637 toxic comments suck. lol I love when people can share thoughts and ideas and just have a conversation. This is where the internet shines 🙂

[@PrinceKasanga]

If I were him I’d start up a small speaker company that’d grow into a mega company in a few years.

[@SilverAndCyanide]

I'd buy one, no doubt

[@EddyKorgo]

Its a great concept and it has a ton of possible iterations and shapes it can take. He got a real product there. Product that is not on a market. If he would figure out production part, he could literally turn it into a business. How ever, nowsdays people use headphones so the market is small.

[@wadimek116]

@@EddyKorgo Market is huge but requires a lot of experience. Im disapointed that those diy project would lose in sound to a speaker that is 10 times cheaper. Diy give impression of fuller sound here because of subwoofer and normal monitor speakers usually prefer rolloff to make a space for one and not push the drivers to the limit. If you would add a subwoofer to a 500usd pair of speakers this setup would be far far behind. You just cant fit a good enough subwoofer in that size.

[@bafon]

While it by design looks good, and presumably sounds good, I'm not sure how to feel about electronics creating heat in a small confined area. I would rather have a sideby shelf with a small external amp with volume/EQ controls easily reachable, would also be better for the times you want to opt for the use of headphones. Another thing I want to mention is the mounting of the mid-range and tweeter from the inside, after making a good looking furniture like this, the last thing you wanna do is break it if you have to replace either of the two elements in each cabinet.A solution to this is to mount it from the outside, and use a cover/clothing/ 3D printed bracket that surrounds the elements if you're keen to show them off and so on. Or simply just screw the frontplate in place and cover up the screwholes to your liking.

[@realrockmaniacoki3763]

Bro this setup is soo clean make a clean gaming setup next.

[@keithposehn]

This is a really neat build - well done. A note on the Tectonic BMRs: This kind of driver has really stellar off-axis response. This means you can use them in a lot of esoteric builds where the drivers are mounted in different places or different angle. I'm currently working on a 2x20 driver line array integrated into the wall for example. I hope you experiment with them some more - they're a lot of fun!

[@rouldiy]

Honestly: I love your projects. There is just one small problem: every time you do something with speakers, you miss half of what it needs to really make speakers sound great. Videos like this make people believe, that building a speaker is just about plugging a tweeter and a midbass driver together, run it through a sound board or DSP (or even worse: an online crossover calculator) and that's it. But it's much, much more than that. You need to take measurements, take the baffle step into consideration as well as the on- and off-axis responses. The response that you showed is a measurement on a DIN baffle. This is not the response you'll get once the driver is mounted to a smaller baffle (baffle step, edge diffraction...). For speakers so close to the desk, you have to take the desk as a reflective surface into consideration as well. And these are just the basics...

[@thephantompsychic]

I agree. I am a DiY speaker designer as well and all of the things you have mentioned matter a lot. There is something to be said about making a compact video though... if he went into detail on every single aspect of speaker design that he would NEED to do in order to make an actually decent speaker, this video would be 5 hours long.

[@rouldiy]

@@thephantompsychic yeah that’s true. But: I doubt that these things were taken into consideration at all. I might be wrong.

[@mattx5499]

@@rouldiy Tell that to those popular brands that make PC speakers. They dgaf what they put into their mostly plastic enclosures. They use random parts, shitty drivers, amps so badly designed they distort at half of the volume etc. Compared to them Matt did an awesome job.

[@Civilian08]

@@mattx5499 If you're spending more than $320 (that amount doesn't include the wood, or LEDs for that matter), you could probably get a decent set of speakers for that amount. Yeah, these are going to sound better than a pair of $20 plastic speakers, but they also cost quite a lot of money to only sound awesome compared to, by your own admission, shit.

[@mattx5499]

@@Civilian08 I can asure you that there are plastic speakers that cost far more than $20. And this project is not only about speakers, but a quality monitor stand without any cable mess and a desk lighting. All made of quality parts and materials.

[@therealchayd]

That sound quality is pretty damn good; I noticed that your speakers didn't have the enclosure colouration exhibited by the $1200 speakers. 10/10!

[@cjay2]

Noticed this too. Agreed.