How To Build "The World's Best Speakers" - Are Flat Panel Speakers Really Any Good?

[@AmplifyDIY]

Follow-up video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@anthonyharding4852]

The best test of this audio would be outdoors to eliminate the acoustic value of the garage

[@readhistory2023]

I saw a these at DoD research facility back in 1980. The engineer used expanded polystyrene foam and the sound wasn't that great. You explained why his sounded so bad. He hung them on the wall vs susended them and his mounting points were on the upper corners. The kind of foam he used probably had a impact too.

[@northwiebesick7136]

@AmplifyDIY I've used those kind of speakers 15 years or more ago, except back then when you bought the 2 speaker set, at if I remember correctly, something like 6x12 in size, they used a stiff cardboard or what looked like cardboard anyway... Another couple of differences were the fact that it somehow made sound by using something like a piezoelectric speaker, such as you find in a talking birthday card, and not an exciter, and also, they weren't hanging off the wall, they were in a plastic shell so they "looked" like a "thin" desktop speaker... Not trying to throw shade on your video, it's just something that I thought you might find interesting

[@Wbroach24]

A guy sure does like that hat 😁

[@AmplifyDIY]

@@Wbroach24 Well, I'll be dipped!

[@TheNightstalker80]

I built a pair of these about a year ago, you will need a good amp to drive these but they (can) sound ridiculously good for what they are. After building (or let's better say, slapping them together) I ended up sitting in my basement and listening to all kinds of music for hours because I was so amazed of the sound.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Hearing is believing. I was absolutely stunned by how good they are.

[@NEMOZAC]

i made concrete pipe speakers 8 inch round 4 foot long it was a 8 foot long pipe cut inb half with a 8 inch bass in the top full freq in the bottom you can paint them the colour of your room and the sound is like this put them in the corner of a rectangler room and the sound travells the floor and ceiling reflects of the back wall and if you are in the middle of the room its surround sound with 2 speakers whereever you are in the room the sound is around you and is strongest dead centre and they are heavy dont vibrate its amazing the loud sound behind and level with your ears its like being on the stage with 2 speakers

[@jimgardner5129]

Nice.

[@jonathanbailie]

It's always the "for what they are" part of this discussion that gets me. How do they sound compared to something like a decent set of bookshelf speakers? Is there any comparison there? I'd love to give these a shot, just to have a cool conversation piece, but am actually concerned about sound quality.

[@ohbogey]

Lol that's what I'm thinking! I don't think I'd be going anywhere for a few hours. Just sitting next to my self built speakers and enjoying my favorite tunes as if it was the first time hearing them!

[@DracolegacyOfficial]

Tech Ingredients is a remarkable channel and i love to see what they come up with

[@AmplifyDIY]

Some of the stuff they do is simply amazing!

[@dingdong2103]

it's a great channel but they're pretty off with speakers. If you want panel speakers that are actually good, you need to go electrostatic and they need to be BIG. I'm speaking 2ft x 6ft5 size.

[@HerbaMachina]

@@dingdong2103 you clearly did not pay attention when watching their videos, or you would know they actually talk about the drawbacks of their speaker designs, how to compensate for them, and what is actually better.

[@dingdong2103]

@@HerbaMachina Yeah granted I stopped watching after they made outrageous claims that I knew couldn't be true.

[@kj_H65f]

@@dingdong2103 like what?

[@pacalvotan3380]

I ordered (and have received) the parts and found that our local hardware store stopped carrying the pink Stryofoam insulation panels. However, their new supplier offers black Styrofoam panels and they assured me that these were just as good (although I didn't tell them I was building speakers either LOL). I opted to try the 1" x 24" x 96 " panel cut into two equal halves and found that these speakers (although not studio quality) are perfect for sitting outside around our fire pit in the summer. They work really well, and the sound is above average...much better than those little outdoor bookshelf speakers one usually sees for sale at 4 times the price.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Awesome, Pacal!

[@klausjones9012]

If you want to go for a full sound, you just need to daisy chain a subwoofer with build in Crossover before each panel. That will step up the sound tremendously.

[@anthonybollon3212]

Yup can confirm. I had good results with that setup

[@futatn]

I wouldn't do that as you are trying to connect a low wattage thing (the actuator) to a higher wattage thing (subwoofer) and the amp won't play nice at all with a mismatch like that. Everything in a series is going to receive about the same output of power, of course a little diminishing because of resistance from start to finish. If you did this you you are either under powering a sub woofer; which is pointless, or you are overpowering the actuator; which damages that.

[@leeknivek]

​@@futatnwell you need a two channel amplifier to accomplish that anyway so you will have control over power attenuation.

[@SpencerThayer]

I've been thinking about building some of these for three years. Thanks for convincing me to give it a shot.

[@AmplifyDIY]

I'd love to hear what you think of yours when you are done!

[@wege85]

You get best result with multible exciters. But the tweeters to corners and bass mid´range exciters to somewhere middle.

[@lancecluster]

@@wege85 Do you have suggestions for which tweeter exciter and which bass mid range to use? Curious. I assume that also requires a crossover?

[@wege85]

@@lancecluster Next time I use better ones but this is my setup: DAEX25X4-4, DAEX25CT-4, DAEX25W-8, two DAEX9CT-4 (these are way too weak but I still added them to the setup). No need crossover. I recommend to use orthodynamic or ribbon tweeter also.

[@lancecluster]

@@wege85 Thank you for the added detail, much appreciated

[@ChainsawFPV]

The look on your face when the music started says it all. Never would have thought this worked.

[@MarkHarmer]

I have a pair of Carlsbro flat panel speakers and use one of them for busking. The sound carries amazingly well outdoors even at long distances in noisy places, but they’re not any louder close-to. Also stops the issue of people close to the speaker talking very loud. Flat panel speakers have amazing properties! The sound is also really clean and well-defined even at a distance.

[@steveluck9541]

I had to buy an 8ft sheet so used most of it to build two pairs of different sizes panels. Did all the sanding and painting and gave them away as a Christmas present along with a cheap class d amp that had a seperate sub out put. It needed it couple months later picked up a very cheap junk shop passive sub. Just picked out the one that felt heaviest to get and idea of cabinet and driver quality. Now it works very well for peanuts money.

[@ChrisTexan]

Going to have to try this (especially for "garage" use!)... a few tips I noted, others probably have already volunteered also... #1 - For the mounting support holes, use a nail (bolt, or even the cotter pins themselves) in a pair of vice grips, heat up with a torch, and plunge them into the foam (rather than trying to drill it)... they'll easily melt their way in to make nice holes (if you want larger holes, use whatever is appropriately large enough). Also, classic error, don't make the mounting holes "straight in"... angle each mounting hole a bit from "outside to inside" (so they start closer to the edge, and angle inwards inside the foam so their tips are closer together than the loops on the outside).... then, after epoxying in place, tie/attach a string, wire, etc (something fine and unnoticeable, doesn't have to be super strong, light fishing line for instance) between the loops, binding them together. Now, because of the angles, neither pin can come out fully, if one loses it's grip, and starts trying to slide out of it's hole, the string between them will pull it towards the other pin, but since the holes are angled outwards, they can't go anywhere (in fact, no need to epoxy if the foam was strong enough, just leverage would hold them in, but I'd use the epoxy given this is foam and not really strong). That's just a backup method to ensure no pull-out. (Same way baseboard (or other lengths of materials) nails should be installed at alternating angles, so if the board tries to warp from the wall, the counter-angled nails keep it from budging). Finally, I don't know how it would affect the sound, but there is a "bedcoating" spray from rustoleum (available in rattle can at wally world and elsewhere I'm sure, rumors are the roll-on variety has a different consistency, don't use that). I'd actually spray that on the back of these before mounting the transducers. It dries to an EXTREMELY tough surface (it's not rubbery, which I'd originally hoped for in my application, but live and learn)... anyhow, that would probably greatly strengthen the backside of the panel, and probably have little to no affect on the sound reproduction (worth an experiment anyhow)... If I do this, I'll follow some of these tips myself and maybe put something together to share, I'm not good at that though, I always "do" projects and never really do good documenting them. Thanks for this, it was fun!

[@AmplifyDIY]

Awesome write up! I actually have a can of that bed liner spray from a different project. However, based on the testing I did in the follow-up video to this one, I'm pretty sure spraying the back of the panel will have a pretty large effect on the performance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c I'd love to hear about it if you do put something together. Good luck!

[@williamhustonrn6160]

Good video, I saw the original video a while back and did 4 of these in my office and the sound quality is out of this world. I did full 4ftx8ft sections instead of the smaller ones on 2 of the walls, then I did 2 of the smaller 2ftx4ft ones. The larger panels for sure have more low-end compared to the smaller panel. I bought some black ink and painted the surfaces black with the ink and did some white ink making the foam boards look like playing cards. I found when I tried to spray paint them, the sound drastically changed and didn't sound as good. The ink didn't affect the sound as much.

[@ganormand]

I would guess that when paint hardens, it made the boards less flexible-so either much more power was needed, or certain frequencies weren't reproduced, or both.

[@riothero313]

You can buy dye in spray cans made by SEM. It would probably work perfectly as it's not a paint.

[@allthesorrow1]

How many sound exciters on the 4*8 panel?

[@zigmogcreator]

I built a pair for my shop when the tech ingredients vid posted. I have two large traditional and a big subwoofer and it's much better than my Klipsch set up in the house. My shop system gets blasted very loud for hours each day. They are really durable as well. Good video.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Very cool!

[@ObsoleteTechnologies]

4:15 alternatively flip the drill bit around , heat the end with a propane torch ,and burn the holes in.

[@runnergo1398]

Wouldn't drilling in reverse do the same thing?

[@miettoisdev]

good to see a proper peer review for that project, I was starting to think it was too good to be true!

[@AmplifyDIY]

You and me both!

[@briansc5148]

I know this isn't audiophile level design, but I thought I'd add some thoughts. That very large amount of free swinging and inertia complications, especially in placed close to the wall behind it causes clarity and phase problems. With its' surface area and problems I mentioned, maybe that can be worked to your favor with near room corner placement, with a diagonal orientation. This can enhance some frequencies, plus the added wall reflected sound will give you a wider/deeper/more complex soundfield, sort of like old Bose direct/reflecting speakers for a bit more 'concert hall' effect.

[@wssometimesavowel3639]

Good idea! If it's missing depth or meat as he says it could be like mid range frequencies or resonance being off either too little, in which case I was thinking that could be mimicked by adding more surface area larger plates, and resonance could be mimicked on a flat plane with increased perimeter, like a string being either lengthened or loosened makes a deeper tone, but each method has a different depth or meat 😂.. maybe a kites and darts pattern like veratasium used in his penrose tile video or those fractal antennae designs they use in cell phones. 3d cut one add a speaker and try it experimenting is the only way to know. I'm a science girl, But I have a woman's intuition that because Fibonacci sequence is found in musical notes, that kites and darts or sunflower holes or some other fractal containing phi would be an ideal design constraint if you wish to keep a flat surface. The easiest way to check nodes and anti nodes is by laying it level and sprinkling salt while scanning through frequency ranges. ❤ Lol I wanna try this now!!

[@snake_eater71]

@@wssometimesavowel3639 That definitely would be a great way to see the various frequency locations.

[@VigiHunter]

I can report that these sound way more roomy and bassy when mounted up in the corner at an 45° angle (center of the speaker is pointing into the corner) i recommend getting an amp with an equalizer as the mids are kinda weak.

[@gervaiscurrie6675]

@@wssometimesavowel3639 That's interesting - the stereo distributed-mode + subwoofer might be described as 2.1 - are you heading towards 5.1?

[@gervaiscurrie6675]

- now you mention 'soundfield', might there be any mileage in some form of 'reverse-soundfield microphone' -style speaker (employing drivers/exciters instead of mics?) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soundfield_microphone

[@altemose_prime]

Just saw this on TT. I’m gonna make two of these for my office computer speakers thank you for the tutorial on how to make these looks amazing.

[@AmplifyDIY]

You're very welcome!

[@MrVolksbeetle]

I have a pair of these mated to a Acoustimass 7 sub. I absolutely love the voice clarity, midrange detail and overall fill rate of sound. (I hope that comes across ok, I really don’t know how else to describe it.) I usually get away with much lower volumes than I used to need. Best ~$30.00 I’ve ever spent.

[@justgivemethetruth]

I have seen this speaker design several times on YT and it is really fascinating. One guy did a 2 stage speaker design with one rectangle being made of the foam board and another out of balsa wood ... which might act to give the sound that mid-range "heart". I am really thinking of doing this ... though my music blasting days are pretty far behind me for the most part.

[@CameronLawson2001]

My uncle was an inventor, and designed many speakers. Many of which were flat panel HiFi designs. However, he built magnet coil diaphragms, much like a traditional cone speaker- except custom built of course, with a flat Kevlar or carbon fiber as the surface material. What’s interesting about this is, his speakers have a very similar effect of “lacking body, too much high range” when playing digital material... despite having a completely different design. The only similarity is the nature of the speaker having a very large, flat, fast response surface area. My uncle would always frown heavily on digital mediums for audiophile playback, saying the signal was very “dirty” and didn’t carry any detail when compared to an analog recording medium. Now, I’m speaking as a professional sound engineer, and I work with digital equipment every day. I’ve researched in depth the nyquist theorem, and all of the reasons digital *should* be better than analog. But when you play an original record from the pre-digital era and compare it to a digital mastering on flat panels, it’s a night and day difference. High quality digital recordings, mastered well, with a good DAC also makes a difference. The biggest difference has been listening to a recording I made of a classical concert, where I recorded simultaneously to 15IPS reel to reel tape, AND to digital. The difference between the two on the flat panels is absolutely ridiculous. I’d be really curious to hear if that difference is also present on this design. Maybe I should build a pair, and carry the torch for my uncle. 😂

[@BottleOfCoke]

Interesting!

[@fablesofsilence]

So what exactly is the difference you are talking about?

[@JaenEngineering]

I used to have a pair of Wharfedale PPS-1 flat panel speakers back in the day. Think they were about £180 back in the day, and I've seen them going for as little as £90 today if you can find them. On the plus side, they also come with a matched sub woofer to fill in the missing bottom end.

[@ahmetturkmen0011]

This guy is straight to the point, professional and down to Earth. Instantly Subscribed!

[@dutchlife2885]

Cutting corners I see

[@W0303]

😂

[@kriznasanjumia]

Creation of this speaker, and the look on his face proves it's Awesome

[@geheirnwaeshen]

If you want to improve bass output, add a bit of extra mass to the back of the driver. Other options to try would be adding a layer of fiberglass backing between the foam and driver to help stiffen the panel.

[@xAnAngelOfDeathx]

Just add a subwoofer, trust me you'll be blown away.

[@satibel]

@@xAnAngelOfDeathx I think adding a bass shaker on your seat would be a great way to give you a lot more bass, it makes it feel a lot more powerful because you feel the sound in addition to hearing it, and you can turn the audio a lot lower.

[@saftigesfruchtchen456]

Love the smile that lights up when you test the speakers.

[@floydloonie4880]

In my opinion this type of DIY speaker is the best sounding -FOR THE PRICE!! Dipole, box-less, open back, and similar panel type speakers are amazing, and these similar panel speakers tend to give amazing room filling fields of sound. Also there are no crossover wiring ! to deal with Of course they are not "THE BEST..." But if you apply some art to the panels, hang them on the walls, and your friends will go nuts trying to figure out where ALL THE music is coming from in a room with ordinary speaker boxes are not to be found. Or build a couple of really small speakers that can be placed near the panels, and people will think those are the source and scratch their heads in wonder!

[@quelorepario]

As soon as I clicked on this channel the first thing that crossed my mind was about fig newtons. I don't know why...

[@jfnahabedian]

I love your bloopers! Makes this video real and relatable

[@AmplifyDIY]

Thanks for watching!

[@MrYoyojuan]

I made a couple of these to see how they were, I tried the foam with the 24w and a thin ply with 2x40w. I found them kinda meh for most modern music, however I was blown away with any instrumental music. Piano, violin, cello and especially guitar sounded real, like the actual instrument was in the room.

[@TheSmokie55]

Love the content, glad to have found you. Well shot, edited and imaginative videos. Great Job. BTW, love the Vice Grip Garage hat. :Thumbs-up:

[@AmplifyDIY]

A guy went ahead and did the right thing.

[@jabberwockey619]

I built a pair of these two years ago, using drop ceiling panels...the fidelity and volume output is unheard of for what they are. Put on Madonnas Immaculate Conception album ( which has the cleanest audio besides a record), and be amazed

[@rickstevens1479]

Ess, sound as clear as light ...best speakers ever. Love the Heil air motion transformers

[@peterweeds4682]

isn't 2/5 from left and 3/5 from the bottom exactly the same as the simpler 2/5 from side and top?

[@Alex-zw7sr]

Lol I didn't catch this until you said it. Frames of reference aye!

[@maddogmccoy3203]

When I was in college , in the early 70's , 4X8 plywood panels , with Transducers were all the rage...... now , 50 years later....we have THIS! Looks like we just took a giant step BACKWARDS!.......Still cool as hell though!

[@gl0ryandh0n0r6]

I never realized how good Ode to Joy sounded when it isn’t coming from an elementary school kid’s recorder lol

[@thatunknownguy2680]

Try sticking one on each side of a single panel and running one with reverse polarity.

[@AugmentedPixel]

Isn’t that noise canceling?

[@thatunknownguy2680]

@@AugmentedPixel it's a push/pull setup. It'll extend the low end. There shouldn't be any cancellation.

[@bluebaconjake405]

@@thatunknownguy2680 wait, how does it amplify the low end tho? isnt reversing the polarity gonna reverse the sound waves and they cancel each other? Isnt the sound just going to be quieter?

[@ninethirtyone4264]

@@bluebaconjake405 That's what would happen if they were in phase, if you reverse the polarity on one of them they will be in antiphase and the power output will double.

[@thatunknownguy2680]

@@bluebaconjake405 because you have one pushing and the other pulling. Imagine stacking 2 on top of each other. These little exciters move in and out a good bit. Stacking 2 won't work, so you'd have to put one on each side of the panel in reverse polarity. As one is pushing out, the other is pulling in which makes the panel move back and forth. If you place one on each side with the same polarity, then you'll get cancellation.

[@ScottHigdon]

Speakers arriving today. Ordered 3 pairs of exciters from parts express and have shared the video with several friends and family. Thanks for the video.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Awesome! I'd love to hear what you think of them once you've heard them in person. Good luck!

[@johnxina2140]

Love your vice grip garage hat!! I can appreciate another fan of a great channel

[@AmplifyDIY]

Bring the Thunder!

[@zachsmith3376]

Yamaha made guitar amps in the late 1960's that have trapezoid shape polystyrene speakers. They sound fantastic at lower volumes

[@asaltnado5168]

In you next video could you compare more speakers to the boards? They sound amazing plan on making a few myself

[@AmplifyDIY]

Yes! I have a decent set of Klipsch bookshelf speakers that I'll use for a comparison. Thanks for watching!

[@mjakersusmc]

Question: Could you paint the surface of the foam board black and then build a frame around the boards out of 1x4’s... almost like a picture frame? Also, what would happen to the sound if you “anchored” them at the top, bottom and sides, suspending them in the middle of said frame?

[@mhgscrubadub9917]

fixing the edges of the panel would probably deaden the sound a lot

[@Vito_Tuxedo]

@@mhgscrubadub9917 Right. The ability of the panel to freely vibrate in the air is part of its efficient transfer of the transducer's energy to the air. Anchoring the edges would be equivalent to increasing the mass of the panel, making the transducer work harder (using more power) to create less sound. Very inefficient. I would only do that if the panel were mounted to a horn, for a long-throw application, which would increase the efficiency.

[@davidoneill4797]

i had forgotten about these - thnks for the review - i got 4 dual channel Haflers (8x75W) waitin on a build.

[@consaka1]

And is that a vice grip garage hat I see? Holy cow! I been watching him and tech ingredients since they darn near started making videos.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Well, I'll be dipped! (I've been a fan of both channels since their beginning as well. Thanks for stopping by!)

[@justtinkering6713]

I made a flat guitar amplifier using dollar store foam board, transducers and a 7 dollar amplifier board. Works great for room filling practice amp. My Fender amp is now in the closet.

[@vinylcabasse]

6:20 - interesting that you are tuning them asymetrically, not unlike how magnepan does with their LRS and .7's

[@AnJo888]

From the original video, this one and a couple others, I start considering the hipotesys of using 3 different layers of coating: a more rigid one, at the bottom, for the low freqs, a medium one at the middle and a light one at the top, for high freqs (maybe concentric circles would work better, with high freqs at the edge of the panels?).

[@MrLandslide84]

8:27 I was shocked when I upgraded my speakers too. Stuff seems to be set for classical (ear-splitting violin and cello). And yes, my treble was too high until it broke in. Took 4-5 week of 5hrs day music. Some things have a break in.

[@allenbournes4697]

Hello Need…. - may I ask- what amplifier and music source did you use?

[@mehmetonurlu]

Because of the speakers are free, they cannot transmit the vibration completely. But the idea of this project is inspiring 🙏

[@mehmetonurlu]

If you can stable the speakers they probably sound more than this set-up.

[@nacoran]

I wonder how they could be ruggedized. I could see roadies at small shows appreciating the light weight of them.

[@AmplifyDIY]

They are pretty delicate. That foam dents if you look at it funny. Thanks for watching!

[@tissuepaper9962]

@@AmplifyDIY I wonder if you could coat the surface in a thin layer of silicone or bedliner.

[@jvon3885]

So you have the mids, now build the highs with thinner material and maybe even use some kind of acrylic or Mylar. Maybe thin aluminum like fins on freezer units. I'm interested in full body tones for a hyperbolic chamber I'm building.

[@darkshadowsx5949]

i forgot i wanted to try this. its been a few years since i seen the original video.

[@pugnugger4600]

Your references and detail are fantastic. Enjoyed the video.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Thanks, Pugnugger! Did you happen to see my follow-up? LOTS more testing etc... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@MeTuLHeD]

Apogee, Carver, Magnepan, etc have all made speakers built around this same principle. In every case, the manufacturer added subwoofers to the design to augment the bass. I can confirm that Carver's Amazing Loudspeakers were indeed just that.

[@AmplifyDIY]

I've tested these with a subwoofer added to the mix since posting this first video, and they are incredible that way.

[@worryphree]

What about,...the larger panel like you said for more bass, AND use maybe 3 drivers per panel to possibly mitigate the muddiness?

[@jamesfrancisco3130]

I saw the original Tech Ingredients video and I was also a bit sceptical. I wanted to build them myself and see what they could do. Your video was very interesting and informative. I wonder if the lack of midrange (which is what I assume you meant by the "body" of the sound) might be improved with a little stiffer board, or maybe laminating a small piece of paneling to one sections of the foam board? One other possiblity is to have another set of transducers mounted to a stiffer panel and mounted close to the others? Anyway, loved the video! Thanks for doing it!

[@420jacksonian]

looks pretty cool, without being able to push any air ,what is the lowest frequency you can get, i am skeptical that you can get anything that would be considered bass, but it sounds like it .

[@AmplifyDIY]

They do lack a bit in the low end. Larger panels would produce bass better, but this size panel needs a subwoofer for sure. Check out my follow-up for more: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@420jacksonian]

@@AmplifyDIY i know you need at least a 10" speaker to push enough air to create a subsonic frequency, but i dont know how low you can get without any excursion ,how does a bigger panel get more bass, i love this whole idea and want to try it, much respect.

[@mirighan1407]

first guy ever seen on you tube testing speakers that played music instead of noise.

[@plecofanadam9818]

Someone is going to perfect these and start manufacturing

[@mozzmann]

Same principle I used for my simulator tactile input well before ButtKicker made a fortune doing this. I simply used 2 sub woofer Amps that were fed from my PC and frequency tunable for things like Rifle Shots and Race track Ripple strips , my seat vibrates in sync with Engine and Cars interaction with the ground , even flight simming was transformed. So the Foam board here could be an actual wall panel in a room , and THAT would blow your mind as far as sound goes , and YES you should use a an equaliser to account for various room acoustics , now as for the harmonics and frequency response of these panels I'd be tempted to use 2 transducer's for each panel and experiment with the most suitable location.

[@kirkjohnson3530]

You could've used Gotye Somebody I Used To Know. He allows anyone to use it. You can also use Cruella "Rampage" album for Heavy Metal, it's my band.

[@RichTheNoun]

Back in the day, my go-to audio equipment test song was (still is really) Kalimba by Mr. Scruff, because it came installed on every Windows 7 computer, has a nice blend of highs, lows and mid tones, and it’s public domain!

[@AmplifyDIY]

I’ll keep that in mind - thanks!

[@qzwxecrv0192837465]

EQ is a great idea, but but a few more panels and experiment with stacked panels on the corners, center, etc. Play with frequency diffusion through/via symmetrical foam stacks

[@melb5996]

I think I’ll have to take your word for it but they don’t come even close to sounding like high quality speakers. I imagine they are pretty good for a cheap speaker though. Thanks for the video 👍

[@anthonyharding4852]

I'm sort of wondering what the volume to feedback ratio would be for things like violin upright Bass acoustic guitar and microphone could they go to acoustic drum set volume without feeding back? I may just have to put them together and try it out myself

[@AmplifyDIY]

Go for it!

[@venkatramanraguraman]

If you start with Classical, you work your way DOWN, not UP

[@StCreed]

I heard him say that and immediately thought "I know some people who would disagree" 😀

[@HappyAccidentVideos]

Do these have to hang straight down to work, or could you hang them from your ceiling, facing at a downward angle? Using four strings (two at the top and two at the bottom) to get it to be parallel with the floor. Thinking about the aesthetics here. Also would be cool to get the foam boards in black!

[@AmplifyDIY]

There are 2 things to consider: 1) These panels are pretty directional. You want to position them so that your listening position is more or less "in front" of them. If you could hang them at around a 45º angle in an upper corner of the room, that may work well. 2) When placed close to a reflective surface such as a wall, the reflections from the sound coming off the back of the panel and bouncing off the wall behind become a problem. If you do plan a permanent install in an upper corner, add some sound dampening material to that corner behind the speaker panel. Good luck!

[@HappyAccidentVideos]

@@AmplifyDIY Thanks! I most likely would have angled then also.

[@odin2259]

Did you ever try the ceiling technique?

[@MAGnetICus_Attractus]

Well you gave me some ideas. Makes me wonder what my cats cradle will do holding the speaker.

[@DrDeepspace]

I cannot find any follow-up vids to this...can these be painted/coated without severely impacting the performance? Even a solid color would be helpful in the aesthetics of putting these into interior spaces. I'm getting ready to order the exciters now and I, too, am excited!

[@AmplifyDIY]

Follow up video coming very soon. (Probably this week). In it I demonstrate a few ways to make these look better in your interior spaces. Stay tuned!

[@DrDeepspace]

Thanks- i have this material on hand because I use it for terrain and bases for table top rpgs- have coated several different ways. Mod podge makes it pretty rigid…spray paint can react with the untreated foam…looking forward to your experimentations 🤓

[@truemendas]

Checking audio quality playing back via bluetooth? Really?

[@douglasmore5600]

You wearing a vice grip garage hat? I approve instantly

[@AmplifyDIY]

A guy went ahead and did the right thing.

[@searchiemusic]

i was so offput from the title of the original i never watched it but as soon as you layed down the concept i was like holy fuck these are something i might need to make myself

[@scottb721]

Anyone doing multiple panels of different sizes per side? Thinking I might explore some crossovers for them.

[@ryanrichmond2832]

Love the Vice Grip Garage hat!

[@AmplifyDIY]

Well, I'll be dipped! Another guy with discerning taste and sophistication.

[@andrewcrane777]

Perhaps make a couple (ported) subs out of that white pegboard behind you? ;-)

[@kasualskeptik2584]

I'd be curious to know if you tried any other materials, but sheet metal or glass ? Sounds like a fun project to try out...

[@michaelschuler7397]

Could you add a traditional subwoofer to the mix?

[@AmplifyDIY]

Yes. And it's great!

[@kennethrand1032]

Is there a parts list available I'd like to make these for my garage thanks for the video.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Everything is listed in the video description. The exciters are from Dayton Audio, the XPS foam is from Home Depot (Lowes sells it as well, but it's a green color there).

[@RichFeasel]

Unless I missed it. I would have appreciated a detailed description of how you hooked the wiring up to the exciter and to the amp. Other than than that great video

[@AmplifyDIY]

Hi Rich - the exciters are wired up the same way you would wire just about any speaker. The exciters have tabs on the back meant to receive a female spade connector. I simply connected negative from the amp to negative on the exciter, same with positives. The amp is a 2 channel amp, so each exciter had it's own channel to drive it. There are more details in my follow-up video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@roygumpel8415]

man this is cool! And so simple that even I will try it!

[@GiuseppeRedscarf]

I wondered about what these would actually sound like. Thank you, sir. Liked & subbed!

[@AmplifyDIY]

Awesome, thank you!

[@mikeg9554]

I have built a set of these speakers and with a subwoofer and a ten band equalizer connected they sounded pretty nice. The problem with the transducers is that their weight tents to pull the voice coils out of linearity with the magnet structure causing them to buzz and distort. So I found that wadding some tissue paper up and putting it at the bottom corrected this problem for the most part. Anyway, for the price of the materials used, it was a worthwhile project.

[@LeroySains]

I recognize a Vice Grip Garage hat when I see one 👍🏼

[@6Twisted]

They look great too and take up very little space

[@Fehrway_Engines]

Can you do a home projector and screen mount video. Great contents

[@AmplifyDIY]

Hi Nathan - I love suggestions from my audience. I'll add that to my (rather long) list. Thanks for watching!

[@coronapack]

What about building a box out of same stuff with same driver? For the lows and bass.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Interesting idea....

[@terrydouglas2777]

I remember tech channel when they made their video an 2 years later I found yours making same thing. I love that you made this video. This is what science is all about right here brother. Tech Channel made something an told how an using exactly what parts so others could replicate it and make their own. Just like a inventor or scientist who discovered something new and or built it. They build a cool thing and to have others believe it's real and works just as the creator says it does, the creator says an shows exactly how to make it and where to get the exact same parts to build it yourself and it works better than we think. I've shared this video with about 10 people and I shared the tech channel with those same people back then. But everyone I shared it with will wait till I make it then say ok you made it great, (then I guarantee you), they all but two of them will say, you know how to make these speakers because you can build an make anything so I'll take this set of speakers and you can build yourself another set of them. But the 2 who won't say that, they will want to come over and help me make more of them. Who are they, they are my girls, my two beautiful grand daughters who love building cool and fun things with their Papa, like we built their catapults and that was really a fun build. I even taught them both how to hunt an fish when they were only 4 an 5 years old. They are 2 of the smartest girls I know because I taught them how to do it all. Even cleaning the game we caught or something we got from the woods. Great video, an teach the children at the same time we built an I guarantee you all, they will love it. So I'm going to need to order 4 sets of those items needed to build these cool speakers and have my 2 girls and their younger little brother come here to help Papa build these things. That booster has Bluetooth built in, when you said that I was automatically in, hook line and sinker on this idea and said to myself oh yes definitely going to build this one. Thank you so much for making then posting it, even tho it's 2 years later, I watched, shared, comment and tapped the like button and now getting ready to subscribe to your channel my new build cool things brother in the tool shop. You do know, the one who dyes and has the most tools wins, right. Just sit his cool trophy next to him in his casket an close the lid. Got to love humor my friends. Share Love and share knowledge so others will know you are a Great Teacher and a Master of the Tool Shop that can build and fix anything. Hahaha till next time my friends take care an stay safe and most importantly check on your elderly neighbors and see if they need anything. Even just saying hello to them might cheer them up. Try it, even if you don't really know them. Atleast you will make a new friend.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Thanks, Terry!

[@AmplifyDIY]

And say hello to your grandkids for me!

[@dragosdiaconu629]

Hey buddy. Great video. Wouldn't maybe gluing the driver to a hard surface produce even more vibrations to the foam ? When you showed to foam i could see the driver vibrating pretty hard too

[@AmplifyDIY]

Check out the follow-up video where I test that! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@DRUM0501_PG]

These would have sounded so much better but placed from the exciter back down and the foam up, I believe the suspension is where you are losing a lot of low end, also if a box were made supporting exciter with the foam on top these lying flat like a table and a box to support the exciter I have seen these work very well suspended differently.

[@krutto]

So, one excitor was 3:5 and the other was centre? A good result. I think them FOS amplifier helps a lot.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Yes, that is how I positioned the exciters in this video. I did more comprehensive testing/comparisons in this follow-up video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@eSchlumpberger]

Why the meat is missing is they are not in a chamber. Look at that Bose tiny shelf speaker. Build a box where these can be suspended and the pressures within will fill the mid and lows. Plus the larger panel and thin the larger panel by 1/8 th an inch to allow more flex for lows.

[@apocraphontripp4728]

I was a MECP installer at best buy. I installed the bass shakers on a jeep and was impressed by the bass. Ive heard of these transducers being used for pranks on walls or other objects. I always wanted to try them on a windshield to see what kind of sound you get. Thank you for the vid. Now im wondering what if you added a set of pannels with the bass transducers would it fill in the gaps? Anyways thanks again.

[@AmplifyDIY]

The panels definitely need more bass - adding a subwoofer produces excellent results, but I've not tried a bass shaker or transducer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@redpiper1]

I know this is a 2 year old video but I'm curious if these could be painted in something like flat black to make them a little nicer looking without a hit to sound quality?

[@AmplifyDIY]

Paint does affect the sound sound… But not as much as you might think: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@LarryB-inFL]

No comment from you as to the difference between the driver at the midpoint vs mounted offset?? I was curious about that.

[@thetylersherman]

These would probably be sick to run a crossover around 150Hz and pass the bass frequencies to a sub-woofer.

[@AmplifyDIY]

They do sound great that way: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@riav2785]

Nice VGG hat!

[@immrnoidall]

Just attach 20-30 of those exciters to the walls and floors of your room or all over the house and watch people wonder where the sound is coming from. tell them it's magic.

[@shadowcat314]

I had some flat panel speakers. I thought they were pretty cool, back in like 2002.

[@PokerGuts]

that amp might have a crossover feature which you need to turn off to hear the low end.

[@AmplifyDIY]

No crossover on the amp. Thanks for watching - you may be interested in my follow-up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnSbYmerhs-fl6c

[@bhante1345]

That was a lovely introduction.

[@Techlifeandmore]

If I build this, I would use five exciters. I would put 2 on the top, 1 in each corner, and use a high pass filter to play only treble frequencies out of those two exciters. In the middle, I would place an exciter which would play all of the frequencies. In the bottom left and right corners, I would place 2 more exciters which would have low pass filters which would play only the base part of the music. I would put all of those exciters on one panel. Let me know if this hypothetical build has any problems, and if so, how they could be fixed.

[@AmplifyDIY]

Hey Tech and Life - I'd be very interested to hear what you think of them if you do actually build these. Sounds like a great project!