Why Do People Love This Speaker!?

[@TorontoJon]

I was shocked, "shocked" to discover that speaker concoction sounded terrible. Haha! Thanks for taking one for the team, Randy, with that audio project. :)

[@johndavidson1765]

I have a friend who has built these speakers. He used 4 panels, 2 on each side, so the exciter placement was identical on both sides. After sanding, he also coated the panels with mix of water and PVA glue. He used epoxy to put the hooks in the foam to hang them. The panels where then painted black with a specific spray paint. He built a rack to hold the panels taut at the corners. They sound amazing. He does use a sub with them to cover the lowest frequency but the sound is detail, spacious, the highest are natural and airy.

[@Clint3571]

Techingredients did a way more involved video on KZbin that seems like a way more legit build than the Tictoc video.

[@thcfoto]

Exactly, also explains everything using data and with more than just his personal opinion.

[@asx1248]

Randy, The funniest thing about this video was your face whenever those ‘speakers’ were playing. You didn’t need to describe the sound your face said it all! 😂

[@BruceCross]

Yes, that's a very unhappy face. I loved how quickly he could identify their faults and the differences between the two panels.

[@manuellazarocarus9614]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣creo que es el video más divertido del año

[@michaeltuohy1249]

If they were piano black and cost about $10k. An audio magazine would recommend them! 😅😅😅

[@cheapaudioman]

That made me chuckle

[@njm1971nyc]

If I recall correctly, the hifi press DID praise a bunch of NXT flat panel speakers about 25 years ago. I tried some, HATED them. 🤷‍♂️

[@michaelrossmaessler200]

At that price they would have look wood and retro. Black just looks too cheap 😁

[@romeovoigt]

That well. It’s true!

[@kohnfutner9637]

As long as you pay them for the first place finish. =}

[@REVCO54]

“I got this recipe for bread, I’m gonna wing it with instructions “

[@xXDaReasonXx]

Im glad someone said something.

[@IzziedeD]

was thinking that. if randy had not only listened to 100s of speakers but also built 100s of speakers, the results and/or setup might be quite different.

[@Basscouch]

No worries, I made the best bread in the world already in 1998. Any future attempt to make the best bread would be considered disinformation.

[@Avruthlelbh]

No matter how funky the implementation, it'd take a lot to convince anyone with ears that his made the sound THAT BAD compared to absolute peak performance.

[@IzziedeD]

@@Avruthlelbh maybe... his attempt was not only just a bit half-hearted though. he didn't use the exciter that was spec'd, so it's kinda like building a half-assed enclosure, then ordering a random "40 watt" driver to install in it. that's not a recipe for success.

[@steveh545]

My wife says looks don’t matter if they’re well hung. I have no idea what she means or course. Kudos for thinking outside the box.

[@r-ratedstudios3847]

any audio gear that the wife likes, isn't worth buying

[@condoruite]

that's what she said....

[@AnthonyAnthony-tk4ye]

😜😂😂😂😎😎

[@eddents]

"Hot Garbage" That was the name of my garage band as a teenager! Of course it sounded crappy!

[@dazed73]

Wonderful and hilarious video, Randy, thanks!

[@cheapaudioman]

Thank you so much! Really appreciate the support, my friend

[@Blizzard1508]

@cheapaudioman, It's really funny that you made this video, because building this speaker myself ultimately led me to find your channel. I was initially into headphones and decided I wanted to experiment with speakers at an affordable price. That and I was looking for a project to do with my father-in-law to build our relationship. Built them, sounded terrible, decided maybe it was the crappy amp I used. Looked for a cheap decent amp, found your review of the Aiyima amps. Bought the amp, came to the same conclusions you did on the speakers. Now I have Jamo speakers (per your review) connected to the Aiyima and am happy I went down that journey. DMS (KZbinr) also had an interesting take on these speakers... He used a thinner foam core, but 12 of them and mounted them to completely cover a wall. He then used a ton of software to correct the missing frequencies. It looked cool and he said that it produced a unique "expansive" sound that was decent but ultimately was a lot of work to get a that sound.

[@jordanrussell345]

No replacement for displacement. Good enclosures are the majority of the fidelity.

[@shinygravel]

​@@jordanrussell345 This ain't a drag race, and IB disagrees.

[@xaviermontalban717]

Have you watched the videos of the original creators? I think it was tech ingredients. If I'm not mistaken, the panels looked different, and they already stated you need a sub. They also superglued the exitors to the panels.

[@spartancrown]

There were also 8 panels in total of various shapes and materials.

[@chancedunn2724]

Tech ingredients channel did some videos on worlds best speakers 5 or 6 years ago that looked promising or at least like a fun experiment. Alot more in depth than the TikTok crap.

[@bryanmcgivney3778]

I'm betting he (tech ingredients) originated the design.

[@paoiue]

@@bryanmcgivney3778 I think Tech Ingredients was the one who came up with this design. I watched that video years ago. You can even see that video at 1:10 in this video. I'm pretty sure it just spread much more on Tiktok and that's where most people hear about this. If I remember correctly, Tech Ingredients also glued some metal bars at certain locations across the back of the foam board to help with resonance or something. The few videos I saw replicating this speaker never included this step. How much this will actually help to be seen.

[@dakken74]

​@@bryanmcgivney3778 That's a bet you would lose, these types of speakers have been around for years.

[@xaviermontalban717]

​@@bryanmcgivney3778 yes

[@Hare_deLune]

Yes, Tech Ingredients was the OG poster, with instructions on how to make separate bass panels too, out of ceiling tiles. Very complete, detailed instructions.

[@justavian]

I built the ones with the acoustic ceiling tiles, and they sound ten times better than the ones with the thick foam. I'm not an audiophile, but for the price i've never had a more room-filling non-directional sound than what i get from these.

[@rabmccudden683]

Any previous videos on these says They’re supposed to made with acoustic panels. The tictoc video mustn’t have mentioned that or I’m sure he’d have used them. Hopefully he tries them in future. I’d like to see them working with ribbon tweeters & a good sub

[@bobpreston9394]

Even the power of social media can't change the laws of physics.

[@silvertamman3218]

I did similar project. I glued frame behind the board and screwed the exciter on the crossmember wich connects to sides of the frame. This took away this rattling distortion and gave little more bass. Now with the help of equalizer they are playing backround music for the back yard on my balcony. I did measure frequenzy responce and usable range is between 90-8k hz. Under 90hz is nothing! But over 8k it fades down somewhat smooth.

[@MarkGray-h7z]

Omg, the entertainment value... Between the sound being produced, the song selection, the look on your face as you tried to say something redeeming about the outcome and finally the look on my dog's face as i laughed until i cried. What a fun video. Thanks Randy! 😂

[@Luke-qs2cg]

Couple things, 1, ceiling tile, the kind used for absorbtion, or something similar. Plain packing type foam board isnt really gonna do much. 2. Mount them using rubber bands in the corners to hooks on the wall putting them maybe an inch away from the wall, 3. I used a 4x8 sheet for my builds 4. run dsp correction. Mine are hooked to my 4x8 for a reason 5. Sub or bassbin woofer for everything below 200hz Ive got 4 4x8 panels hooked up around the living room with 2 6 inch woofers in 2 corners, everything sounds pretty darn good. Nothing like this demo. But yes, was a good bit of work to get it done like this.

[@FrightfulMess]

If you actually construct these according to directions using the proper drivers, hang them PROPERLY (which will YES rule them out for most people), and supplement them with sub woofers to provide the bass, I think you would end up something that sounds much better. GIGO? When you go into a project with a defeatist attitude using subpar ingredients you end up with a subpar experience. Try building a Sony SSCS5 with "whatever you have laying around" , using whatever tools you happen to have even tho doing so you know going in would kill it, then what, you think you're gonna end up with a perfect clone of the Sony? I Don't THINK so..............

[@cheapaudioman]

You’re right.

[@fubartotale3389]

Don't hold back, tell us how you really feel.

[@onceuponafarmnz]

Loved your face and the delivery of your initial listening verdict! I came to your channel for a speaker review and now watch thoroughly as I love your hosting and writing. Great work!

[@markmelton9187]

I saw the same video a few years ago and decided to make the speakers. I used the same parameters as the professor that made the video. Especially placement of the exciters. As you profess, they didn’t sound great when I made them. I used an in-line capacitor as a cheap crossover. I bought a 10 inch subwoofer from Goodwill and I hooked them up to a, The Fisher 195. They are in my garage where there is a lot of room. I still have to turn down the treble on the fisher. You can make them sound decent, but you have to put some work into them.

[@krihanek117]

Thanks for taking one for the team.

[@chrishernandez2490]

Thank you Randy for this video!! I came across the tech ingredients video a couple years back and have been super curious about these. I appreciate that you took a great attention to detail and created these in the same exact way other videos have instructed. Im almost positive if I would have done these, I would have had the same exact result you did. I'm pretty sure your issue lies in the exciter itself. I would try to use the same exact one Tech Ingredients used, as he does not come off as a guy that would try to decieve his audience.

[@DragnetSound]

Thanks!

[@danstein2467]

Thanks! I’ve been curious about these for a long time. Thanks for doing this so I don’t have to. Use this money to buy audiophile grade shish kabob skewers.

[@cheapaudioman]

I love it. I’ll make you a pair next time I’m out there

[@kenandbarbie-b6c]

It’s the lack of room treatment😂

[@VladimirPutin-p3t]

I was thinking it was the non-thousand dollar cables

[@gaziltapig]

"Garbage"

[@ultraneight]

Probably too much toe-in.

[@simonhickie7589]

The best panel material I've used so far is 2mm thick ceiba plywood. I use 60 x 40cm panels attached at intervals to a frame of the same size. My exciters are cheap £12 for two jobs. With separate open baffle bass support, the whole system can play flat from 35hz to 20khz using DSP and active XO. I actually tune mine to an in-room RTINGS curve. The Harman curve can work well too. The panels you used were (a) too thick and (b) didn't have the 'skin fully removed. Once the skin has been removed from both sides, the panels need to be treated with two thin coats of 50/50 PVA/water mix. Also EPS tends to work better than XPS, although I prefer the aforementioned 2mm plywood.

[@fgroen1225]

Hilarious video! Thanks man for taking one for the team. I was quite skeptical about the whole story.

[@lanedj801]

I built these with 5w drivers. I can say that you definitely need a 2.1 amp with eq control and a sub, also you cannot overdrive them. They are best used as ambient mid/high clarity paired with other panels or speakers. Honestly you should pair them with wood panels to capture low frequency. The foam inherently doesn’t do well with low frequency. But they are definitely a fun build to tinker with. I suggest buying a couple different Dayton audio ones and testing them on doors and cupboards. Things that have thinner wood panels so that you can understand how their frequencies differ with different placements.

[@KennethCrickmore-sl8jl]

for the best sound you can use 2 exciters one center and the other in the ofset position for relly full range and you can increase the size of the panel to 2'X4' for even more sound.

[@stephenperry8855]

You have confirmed my observations after listening to other videos. The only explanation I can think of is that unskilled listeners used to music on their iPhone find them somehow appealing!!

[@OldNerdyMeathead]

Almost positive the problem is you still need crossover and need 1 exciter on a pannel to do highs and 1 on a pannel for lower end. You can try it since you already have everything you need(now half the size lol) but will end up with one speaker channel. Would be a fun test and an extra video if it came out sounding good

[@andrewgiovannini6613]

If he was playing it back and it sounded full-range, but was having trouble with distortion and maintain control, then this would make sense. But separating the frequencies isn't going to magically make the setup capable of playing frequencies down low.

[@xaviermontalban717]

I seem to recall the original creators said something along those lines

[@shinygravel]

I have built these out of everything from 7 dollar home store "paintings", to frame stretched resin impregnated hemp canvas, to this foam. They may be "cheap" but they take a lot of time, effort, and creativity. Slapping them together just doesn't cut it. A few points: Bigger panels= more bass= even less practical. A sub will almost always be necessary. A frame with foam suspension makes a big difference. Also, with a frame, you can have a solid brace to actually mount the exciter to. If it's kind of just flopping around back there, of course it is going to distort, and have resonance issues. Maintaing linearity of the coil is crucial. Foam panel should have paper sanded off,and surface essentially plasticized, with thinned out glue such as elmers. Corners should not be necessarily be the same radius, helps reduce standing waves. .same with sides, they should be routed. Hard edges on any surface will affect sound. If there are areas of offensive resonance, you can glue small weights to that spot to dampen. Another you tuber had decent success creating "tweeters" with funnily enough, compact discs. Others have mounted real tweeters to the frame. They can absolutely be made to have a fulfilling sound. But it takes time effort and eventually enough money to where they are no longer cheap. The best bass response I ever got was the 7$ 14x14" print. It was on a hollow plastic frame that acted like a resonant chamber of a sort. While not loudly, it played to the low 30s at a reasonable, and usable volume. It also played significantly higher than foam board as it was a thin, plastic like membrane. Subwoofer, Eq or passive crossover, tweeter that can play relatively low, and you (could) have a very full and rich midrange. A full range speaker, it is not. Audiophile, of course not... But also maybe. Fun and satisfying? Absolutely! I'll try to find, and post video of it if anyone is curious. But yeah, buy one these for 3 bucks, and turn you bedroom door in to a speaker. Or whatever else you wanna stick it to that can vibrate. Have fun, they're pretty cool.

[@jalexander510]

I love this. I am so glad that I didn't waste 2 days making these. Classic CheapAudioMan...

[@gbrm6077]

I played around with these a couple of years ago. You need to sand off the panels until dull and apply two coats of 50/50 water and white carpenter glue. Apply heavy duty foam weather stripping around the edges. This improves the sound. In my dedicated listening room, they were fun, more like being at a live concert, warts and all. But they certainly aren't hi-fi by any stretch. They do scale well with high end amps which really surprised me. I doubt if the technology could be improved even if the panels were made of some near perfect materials.

[@clydesight]

I remember reading an article in Popular Mechanics in 1968 or so that examined the value of flat panel speakers. In that article, they attached the exciter to the entire wall of the room! They reported that the results were suitable for "party" speakers (i.e. patio) where critical listening was less important than having sound as ambience. Think "Musak" as in the grocery store background. Radio Shack and Lafayette Radio sold exciters in their catalogs alongside more traditional cone speakers. Of course, living in an apartment and turning your entire wall into a speaker might cause a stir among your neighbors! That was in 1968!

[@deanrantala]

My father has a set of vintage speakers from the 1970's that are literally exactly this. I think they were by Toshiba or something IIRC. Walnut picture frames and an aluminum frame on the backside that also supports the magnet/motor from the backside. They actually have TWO motors/coils on each one - a large one with the coil attached to the larger part of the foam (but thinener) for bass and smaller motor/coils with the coils attached to the upper corners where the foam is thicker for tweeters. I recal them actually sounding rather good.

[@gilpena9591]

It's hilariousness at the angry look on your face that the speakers are giving you

[@brunokahn8113]

People should try out some medicine, was the best. 😂

[@bertbos7341]

I work at a cardboard packaging company, and as a fun project built these out of reboard (2 layers of paper separated by a honeycomb structure) Also stiff and lightweight. Same results all high-mid, no lower end. Paired them with a little sub, and now they sound decent enough to act as good conversation starter. ( Yep, even our speakers are made from paper ) Was able to full colour print the reboard though. That gives it a nice touch. Nice video!

[@luckytech7186]

Exciters do have their place, but not here. My sister and brother in-law were building a house and wanted to have background music in their living room for when they entertain guests. They were going to use in-wall speakers, but my sister didn't want to be able to see them.I suggested putting exciters in the attic space. We attached the exciters to the ceiling Sheetrock between the joists, one in each corner (total of 4). We connected them to a Dayton audio class D amp, and for background music, they sounded rather good. Great for Christmas music. They were thrilled with the results and the fact they don't have to look at them. It's all about the application and expectation.

[@marksimms2126]

In one of Lenny's recent videos he travels to a vintage store in PA and toward the end of the video the store owner shows him a pair of speakers that are remarkably similar to these in concept. Lenny was impressed.

[@hailtothevictorz]

Check it from the 15:30 mark to see the Bertagni speakers... almost the exact same thing, which leads me to believe the shape of the panel and the frame have a lot to do with the sound. Thanks for taking the time to build it Randy.

[@jeffsparks4209]

The pair I made sounded pretty good. I ran then through a subwoofer with an adjustable crossover. Gotta have a subwoofer. I never used them because I have no place to hang them.

[@jeffsoard5056]

I too was drawn back into the hifi audio world by the evil allure of the dyi panels. Yes, the DYI foam panels are absolute crap. That said, the foam does have remarkable sound transfer properties so I decided to try a different route. First I needed an affordable yet decent and highly flexible, basic stereo system. So, based on many of your recommendations and lots of research I settled on the Fosi BT30 amp and their matching little pre-amp. (Amazing stuff) Then I added a Pyle 6 zone selector to be able to isolate and AB lots of speaker combinations. I grabbed a couple of cheap 6 inch Sony subs for $20 from the thrift store. I bought a pair of Klispch 500 rp bookshelves and I re-foamed my dad's old early 90's AT-8 Vegas. Finally I decided to try the dyi panels. The first thing I did was to not slap an actuator on a flat panel and call it done. I used my 30 or so years experience in the audio visual world and as an artist and maker to shape and construct the foam into proper speaker heads. I then placed them into a housing with soft surrounds just like an actual speaker...duh. Right out of the gate I knew I was on to something. They sounded incredibly clear and rich. My guess is that the cellular nature of the foam is a more efficient transfer medium than compressed paper. I can't speak. to the other types of cone materials used. All the needed frequencies are in those little full spectrum actuators but you have to tease them out with the proper shapes. It took about 3-4 months of prototyping and experimentation to understand what works and doesn't but I can say with some conviction that they are actually now superior to the manufactured speakers I currently have access to. For one they have far more latitude in tuning than speakers with built in crossovers or preset tunings. Being able to shape the sound to the desired texture is what I am fundamentally after and I'll never be able to afford Band and Olufsen speakers so I'm left with figuring it out myself. Bottom line is, don't throw the baby out with the bath water. You really can dyi good speakers using stone knives and bearskins as Spock once famously said as he cobbled together a video time machine from 1930's electronics.

[@waffle911]

@@jeffsoard5056 Would love to see what the the result of these efforts was!

[@dilon491]

I made them and it takes a lot of handy work to sound decent and you have to break off the plastic top layer. Tech ingredients did a good video on the nuances.

[@colestowing8695]

Ive been kind of wanting to try these since seeing the og "tech ingredients" video a couple years ago. Well, i'm glad i saw this, I just deleted a bunch of the "excitors" out of my wish list on amazon. Thank you for the honest review-you definitely saved me some time and cash

[@dstillman]

The thing I’m troubled the most by is the panel is attached to the voice coil and the magnet is floating in space. I’m imagining a constant battle between the mass of the magnet and the panel. Maybe if there was a way to mount the exciter stiffly and have all of the output of the voice coil going into the panel, you might be onto something. Then you would at least be on the road to a planar driver.

[@PaulSavage-i7b]

To get base, you need to make a couple of subs from two 4' x 8' sheets! Reminds me of the tin cans & string "telephones" we made as kids.

[@IliyaOsnovikov]

I believe exiter placement position is the most important design consideration for these sound radiators. Also thickness and flexibility of a pannel should matter a lot.

[@theurgy69]

I built these as well, put a lot of thought into building and mounting them (suspended with fishing wire etc). I did the 4 panel setup (squared edge and rounded edge pair with slightly offset exciter placement), then I wired in a subwoofer to get those frequencies below 120HZ. All that, played them and you are completely right, they are tinny, peaky hot garbage. They look cool, and I have kept them there, however I never use them and stick to my pair of Tannoys.

[@James-dt7ky]

Thanks for sharing the truth.

[@fortyfukinseven]

I don't have the experience with a variety of speakers like you do, but I made these according to the Tech Ingredients youtube video. There are key differences that may be impacting the sound. I think your exciters are way too big and heavy, so not letting the board vibrate. The hangers are too long, not letting it vibrate. The board appears to be 1 inch, not 3/4, not allowing it to vibrate, you see a theme? I can't say they're the best, but when paired with a woofer for the low end, they sound really good to me.

[@JoeJ-8282]

I already pretty much knew they were gonna sound exactly like you described, so yeah... Gimmick, nothing more, nothing less, LOL!

[@rakitakhan]

The long pins you used for hanging will definitely alter the sound by making that area of the panel more rigid. I saw the original video by Tech Ingredients a few years ago. I'd hang them by using a large needle to thread either embroidery thread or fishing line thru the panel.

[@iwanbroodryk3655]

Audio myth busting and experimenting. Love it! Are those Deposition Sound FDM5 loudspeakers in the background?! ;)

[@michaelrossmaessler200]

"This time on Mythbusters, Randy delves into...." I can hear the theme music now.

[@condoruite]

Saves me the time and money. Thanks! I've been exciter curious for a couple years.

[@AnthonyAnthony-tk4ye]

I think they shine more with classical music, but you definitely need a subwoofer box with them as the Tech guy (can’t remember the name of the channel) said

[@thepracticalaudiophile]

I'm impressed it played at all.

[@dlapointeus]

I built these exactly as they did on tech ingedients - with additional 4x2 panels from ceiling tiles, and hung them just like he did, across our barn. Powered with aiyima t9, and threw in a sub. They didnt compete with any of my real speakers - but to people not into the hobby they sounded great. And the investment was maybe $100. I'd say if you want a cool project with your kids, or to have a conversation piece at your next party....definitely worth the time and cost

[@thcfoto]

This.

[@markmelton9187]

That is exactly what I said. You have to take some time and do some experiments with it, but I found that a cheap crossover capacitor and the subwoofer made a world of difference. They are in my garage and people are amazed that the sound is coming from these panels. Fun project!

[@chrishernandez2490]

Thank you Randy for this video!! I came across the tech ingredients video a couple years back and have been super curious about these. I appreciate that you took a great attention to detail and created these in the same exact way other videos have instructed. Im almost positive if I would have done these, I would have had the same exact result you did. I'm pretty sure your issue lies in the exciter itself. I would try to use the same exact one Tech Ingredients used, as he does not come off as a guy that would try to decieve his audience.

[@Sunnbobb]

Pretty cool you served on the Nevada. Not many folks can make that claim. Thanks for your service! Did you ever make a tour into Puget Sound? I've seen her in the straits here over the years.

[@WireHedd]

Magged a watch once and it suuucked. Mom and Dad gave me a Milguass for grad in 94 and to this day it's my go to for high energy contracts. Love it. Those noise emitters are seriously old skool dorm noise speakers. This was great. Thanks Randy.

[@NonEuclideanTacoCannon]

I had some of those exciters kickin' around for a project. For fun, I put one on the soundboard of my piano. Now my piano is a bluetooth speaker when I'm not playing it.

[@ravaholics]

The original video had these panels and 2 other wooden ones you had to add weights to for acoustic vibration. These are just the highs.

[@paulalexander2740]

Hey, insert the wire hanger-thingys into the foam at a 45 angle & forget the glue ! Luv ya & yer vids - subscribed the other day !

[@tuber2kh]

I always heard the 2/3 ratio thing for mounting position was the same for both speakers, except mirror images of each other. One exciter in the middle sounds wrong, but probably wouldn't make a huge difference in overall sound IMO. I made a pair once, and for mid-range voices like Sarah McLachlan, they sounded amazing and more in-person than any other speaker I'd ever heard. The bass buzzed on mine though, and they were ugly pink, so eventually they got trashed. I kept one exciter just in case mounting it to a motorcycle helmet makes for more volume / better sound than typical headphone-sized drivers used there.

[@Bradimus1]

I have always thought about installing those exciters to put behind the wall of the shower. I haven't, because that's way to much work for bad sound, but I've thought about it.

[@KennethCrickmore-sl8jl]

You should have used monofiliment fishing line to hang the panels for a better renonance and the larger the panels the deeper the tones. and using 2 exciters will give more and better sound. and did you sand both sides of the panels as you should have. these are all factors in the sound quality of these flat panel units.

[@cheapaudioman]

Thanks so much for watching

[@kohnfutner9637]

There's always gonna be a "latest and greatest", supposedly. I've learned if what i got is good enough, don't worry about it. New stuff = new problems. Set up is a bear, and it's usually worth more setting up what you got than replacing it. As in, keep running your room correction, practice with mic placement and speaker placement and you'll probably take months finding the right spot. Once you find it, you'll probably never care to do it again and Walla, journey done until you can afford end game - like going from top line $800 a pair to top line $8000 a pair. That's a true upgrade. If you are using a cheap roku to watch TV and Spotify to listen to music, uber expensive gear might not make much sense.

[@eleckson]

11:29 to 11:35 is the best thing I've ever seen on this channel. That's not a knock, it just had me in tears laughing!

[@TorontoJon]

Ha! I was listening to this video using my Fosi Audio T20 tube amplifier and a pair of Sony SS-CS5 speakers (which I love) and yeah, those makeshift speakers do not sound great, but for someone interested in tinkering around with an audio experiment, I hope they have fun with the learning process while not expecting amazing sound as a result. :)

[@HHLoveMyFam]

You should give these speakers another try, and build them according to tech ingredients. You had them inches apart up against an equipment rack too. I'm pretty sure you don't do that when you audition other speakers.

[@TimJohnson-x1o]

honestly all you did in this video was expose yourself. in many ways. lack of media literacy. carelessness. mediocre knowledge even for an amateur. bad attitude. etc. 285k subs with the level of effort you put in is pretty impressive, that or an indictment of the medium.

[@jimcain7778]

BSR did the foam speaker thing in the 70’s/80’s. Actually sounded pretty good, but the styrofoam panels were much more complicated, and the “exciter” part was rigidly mounted to a frame at the rear. These foam panels seem way too heavy, as well. Oof.

[@davidnewell3232]

You need some No-Rez and tube connectors.

[@scotth6814]

Needs expensive components for the crossovers! edit: spelling

[@jasongarcia8733]

I knew it wouldn't be the best speaker design or else other reputable companies would be doing it but I didn't think it would be that bad. Thanks for still being an inquisitive person and making this video!

[@knobbshots]

Nice experiment! I think we knew where that was going, but i was willing to be surprised 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@jahmahrahdesafilli6268]

Hi, the theory comes from the late 90's / early 00's when flat panel speakers were going to be the next best thing, and we were all going to have fabulous sound quality from speakers hung on the walls! though nobody ever got a quality panel driver up and running and the theory was fundamentally flawed, and it all died really quickly. I do remember having a small panel driver that was like a paperweight that actually worked and added a bit of bass to your portable system when placed on a table., I added it to My portable Minidisc setup, The best flat panel speakers I heard were high quality Magnepan, from Canada |I believe. They were quite expensive but if You ever get a chance of picking up an old used pair, they're well worth a listen.

[@jimwhite9989]

“Blown 80’s Tv speaker”😂. My wife showed me this tik tok video, thinking she found a replacement to my big NHT 2.9s…..i am going to show this video to her. 😂

[@Zoyx]

This video inspired me to build these panels. Not hot garbage. They definitely need the help of a subwoofer though. I would call the audio coming from these as "bright". Perhaps, too bright. But I have them hanging in my basement. I'll paint them or put a thin cloth over them. The pink color won't work for me.

[@rickmelton1]

I made these. I put the exciters in the same place on both panels (not center). The separation is amazing! Yes, there is no bass. But try it after you move the center exciter to match the other. Then move them about 6 feet apart. Would you review any other pair of speakers right next to each other? Smdh

[@raleighpurtzer4601]

I made some too. I used better exciters; They sound terrible, but it is a super interesting project. It’s impressive that a foam board sounds this good, but it’s not a good speaker.

[@TheRealWindlePoons]

Good tip regarding drive unit magnets. Lowther magnets are so powerful that the manufacturers recommend storing the drivers in sealed plastic bags. If you get a little magnetic detritus in the magnet gap then the driver will need dismantling to clear it out...

[@mdavisyates]

Yeah, I tried the exciter thing way back when Partsexpress started selling them. Definitely not meant for hi-fi purposes. More for point of sale displays where it would be cool that sound is coming from no speakers... I bought a portable dayton speaker that also had an exciter as the sound source it was tolerable but it was a pocket sized speaker.

[@cboyamg]

It’s two weeks later and this guy is still finding purple foam dust from sanding in his dining room

[@davewhipp5051]

I built a larger pair with rectangular foam board, 2 ft X 3 1/2 ft and used 2 exciters on each, all exciters mounted in the offset (Non-central) position. Got them hanging up in my workshop and they sound fairly reasonable to me, but only with the sub connected as well. Without the sub I'd have been snapping them up after a couple of days. Nice little project providing you have a sub. Wouldn't have them in the house though. Great in the garage.

[@natei.3859]

Acoustic ceiling tiles are waaay better than the foam in my experience. Very little bass extension (needs a sub), but the clarity from the celling tiles was great. I also used the slightly better exciters.

[@panplayer]

In most of the other implementations I’ve seen, the panel has been hung up against a wall. I’m wondering if that makes it sound even better?

[@tothehilt]

If the speaker wire is at all touching the panel, no goo. They may sound ok to some when backed by a sub.

[@NeilBlanchard]

The corners should be radiused because it changes the resonance pattern(s) of the panel. The other big issue is they are 2' wide - they will be very directional above about 563Hz - which is smack in the midrange. They are dipole i.e. the sound also comes off the back of the panel; so that backwave will help somewhat? Like you say - they are open baffle speakers. So bass is cancelled out, by definition. The shish kabob skewers will slightly affect the panel's resonances, as well. If you have a fan blowing in the room, or you have the windows open and there is a breeze through the room - these speakers are possibly going to swing a bit?

[@xAnAngelOfDeathx]

I use 2" screws to hang the panels, works great and no glue.

[@robertpeterson8640]

I’ve seen the original video. I’m thinking GATORBOARD which is like very dense foamcore. There are many types of these thingys. I would have built it EXACTLY like the engineer prof in the original video. He did a lot of testing with materials etc to arrive at the final product. This type of thing is standard stuff in the world of museum displays and trade show setups that need audio. Fun video.

[@xXDaReasonXx]

If you look to the originator of this project. Techingredients, They tell you that they have no low end, and require a subwoofer. They do a pretty in depth tutorial, and tell you how to actually assemble these things. I believe what youve done is jammed a metal rod through the resonant surface, 2 of them in fact. As well as the shape and structure of the exciter, they are shaped differently for different applications. Different material. Sure theyre not really "the best speaker", but if youre going to judge a totally different platform of sound, AT LEAST BUILD IT CORRECTLY. It deserves a fair shot. DMS has a pretty good video on these as well.

[@endoplasreh]

Ha, ha, ha. Love the description of "Hot garbage". Really like your channel.

[@danieldimitri6133]

When you have an open back speaker the low end depends on the minimum diameter of the baffle. So its no surprise they don't have bass.

[@JeremyAlexander-m9d]

I've played around with some of these exciters from parts express (dayton audio) and it really depends on what you attach them to. Try different materials and thickness of those materials. Cardboard can be fairly good. They have one that's mega bass exciter and those actually have some thump to them but lacks some in the highs. Any of these exciters can sound great but just depends on what you put them to.

[@pauloleksyn1289]

I built a pair of these using the 2'x4' plastic cardboard you can find in art supply stores. They actually sounded pretty good, very detailed highs and a fairly rich and full mid range, however, they had absolutely no bass. Definitely need a good sub to go with them.

[@Cyberbronco]

Set output to 4 ohm?

[@TheAceofFate]

I used a big piece of plexiglass and 2 10w exciters and was blown away by how good they sounded. I uploaded a couple videos of them.

[@abxaudiophiles]

AWESOME CONTENT!! That was a fun project and a great watch.. :)

[@nancy4don]

This was fun! Now you've got me thinking. What would happen if you used plexiglass, really thin, with those exciters? Or maybe a really thin plank of Masonite? Or sheet aluminum? What the hell, Randy, this could be a whole series!

[@sighheinrich]

This video was good. Thanks!

[@ichigobankai2343]

DML's are design dependent, the better the design the better they will sound. The design you built is an entry level beginners design intro into DML technology.