Ultimate DIY Studio Monitor Build - Design, Build, Measure

[@brianboro5278]

A from the ground up speaker build video. Great job!!!!

[@Toid]

Great video as always! You killed it!

[@blue3880]

can you make a video of how to measure speaker individual driver? that would teach me alot ! thanks!

[@engineerstoolkit4900]

Hey mate, great job, and thanks for sharing. I'm looking at doin my first speaker build so this is helpful and inspiring. On another note I'm no expert and I don't mean to be "that guy" on the internet but I wanted to just draw attention to what appears to be a safety risk here in case you're not aware of it. The table saw cut you're making at 2:22 appears very risky, as you've removed the riving knife, are cutting a piece that appears wider that it is long against the fence, and you're not using a push stick. I note you're standing well to the side which suggests you're probably cognizant of the kickback risk here, but I wanted to just draw attention to this as this cut has a significant risk of the blade grabbing the piece, and hurling it backwards. If you see such a kick back in slow motion you'll see it results in the piece rotating as it binds, and this will tend to draw your hand with it towards the blade faster than you can react with obviously potentially ugly results! There's some pretty scary examples of this happening with table saws on KZbin, with some of the things mentioned above being risk factors. I'm not a table saw expert but my understanding is that when making a cut like this (wider than it is long) it's far safer to do it with a cross cut sled (which admittedly requires you to build one, but with your skills it's straight forward). And the riving knife serves to help prevent kick back and should not be removed unless absolutely necessary (eg dado cuts). If you're already aware of all this and are consciously choosing to cut like this then of course that's your choice, but just wanted to point it out in case you weren't aware of the risk here, and the options to mitigate it. Anyways, again, appreciate the upload and keep up the great work mate Cheers!

[@danrussell9357]

Liked the video. Thanks for producing regular speaker content!

[@DIYhyfy]

More to come!

[@andersonfought3178]

Great video! Would you have the schematic files for the speaker box?

[@Kevinsph1]

Love your content. Pls include a playback demo.

[@macsmith2013]

Nice work! I'd have countersunk the mid and woofer as well, to get a flush front, doubling up the front board if neccessary to have enough thickness to set the screws. Also, I don't like the protruded cable terminals on the back too much. None of that has and influence on sound, so it may just be my OCD talking.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Bet those would sound good with a passive radiator on the back fully sealed a la ESS.

[@נדבגבר-נ1ט]

These look great man Was wondering how you amp them

[@Jayson54156]

awesome build!! amazing work i subscribed

[@hazedtape]

Whats up with the messed up surround foam on left speaker?

[@RRRRRRandy]

Please note that schedule 40 2" PVC pipe has an ID of 2.067 which results in an area of 3.36 in sq, which is larger than using a nominal 2" ID calculation. Always shoot for accuracy

[@RRRRRRandy]

Forgot to say, great project!

[@mikerick6955]

Not one person on earth would hear the difference

[@RRRRRRandy]

@@mikerick6955 - Most DIY'ers are fanatical about using accurate calculations and using the nominal 2" as the diameter arrives at an 11% miscalculation. To me an 11% error is intolerable. I spent 15 months on an M60 main battle tank and everything above 12khz is a mystery to me, BUT, I still perform the most accurate calculations possible and always attempt to arrive at a full range solution with a decent tweeter.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

Anal Retentive Randy​@@RRRRRRandy

[@mauserkk98]

Why is the veneer orientation different?.

[@donniellepugh6582]

No plans?

[@marcomorales3641]

Awesome video , really made this feel approachable , are the building & crossover plans still available ?

[@DIYhyfy]

I'm waiting to hear back from the Hivi company. I need to be sure the dome midrange is still available before making plans available. I'll post an update in the community tab when they get back to me.

[@marcomorales3641]

@@DIYhyfy i believe parts express has them, thank you ill be on the look out

[@tomsettles6873]

I've loved watching your builds. I've been planning on building a higher-quality copy of the Wharfedale Lintons. 3-way with 8" woofer, 5" mid, tweeter. Using hardwood box or hardwood plywood for box. May use MDF for front panel. I'm considering using Datyton Reference series 8 ohm for woofer and mid. Also might use Dayton crossovers. Unsure about which tweeter. I would appreciate any feedback, and maybe this is a speaker you might consider building?

[@DIYhyfy]

The Wharfedales would be a great speaker to take inspiration from. Dayton Reference Series are great value, and great sounding drivers. Using hardwood or mdf is really up to you. Some hardwoods can be great for speaker cabinets, other not. Just do your research. The most important thing you mentioned is the crossover. A pre-built xover will take the nice drivers, and turn them into something you don't want. If you have the budget, a measurement microphone is would be most useful. If you can't afford one, maybe you have a friend with one. Crossover design relies on having measurements from a microphone, taken from the speakers in the box they will live in. Without this, it is a total guess what will happen when using a pre-built xover. I hope this helps. Please ask more questions if you have them.

[@tomsettles6873]

@@DIYhyfy I appreciate the feedback & wisdom. How much does the measurement mic cost?

[@RC_Gubben]

How did you do time align drivers in crossover?? Midrange is like 1" I front of the other?? Did you measure phase response? I learned that never have reflexport close to a wall. Always leave space around it. So it can breath.

[@Undec_id]

Time alignment isn't really an issue there. An inch would result in a 0.07 ms delay i.e. not audible. Any phase issues would come from the crossover but from what I can tell there's no issue. The thing about ports is generally true; they're definitely too close to the walls here as they're completely blocked off (essentially creating leaky closed boxes). You can get away with having them 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 to a wall as long as you design them with that intention and that goes for all types of boxes.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

​@Undecid just like most polk rear ported speakers with wall hangers from factory.

[@bpalpha]

Do an acoustic suspension build!

[@DIYhyfy]

Without DSP it can be tough to do sealed drivers. Lower efficiency, and higher roll off without EQ. There are benefits, but mist people are looking for lower F3s these days

[@bpalpha]

@DIYhyfy AR used to do it without all the fancy computers we have now. The newer KLH series is acoustic suspension.

[@CraigLafferty]

How did you anchor your crossover board in the cabinet?

[@DIYhyfy]

I don't remember exactly what I used here, but either hot-glue, or a type of super glue. It's admittedly risky if you need to pull the xover back out. More safe play is to use velcro strips on both board & cabinet for easy removal.

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

​@DIYhyfy the best way is to buy some circuit board standoffs from parts express.

[@treywilliams8508]

"Was not compensated for this video" Yet you got a free 3 way setup, 6 drivers, which do have monetary value. Aside from that, wonderful video, and beautiful work on the speakers.

[@DIYhyfy]

That's a fair criticism. I could think of a better way to word that. I'm always transparent that things were sent to me, but want to be clear that I'm not being paid to create a video, or say anything nice about them. They get no pre approval of my content. I'll work on how to talk about it more clearly. Appreciate the watch!

[@baruchdor]

Excellent work!👏 i only have a slight criticism of the lacquer painting technique, use the spraygun at a fixed distance as you spray (robotic movement) ,there is no need to make a circular movement that changes the distance and thus the amount of material coming out so the result will be much better😁

[@CharlieNg-o5x]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@mndlessdrwer]

I'm a little surprised that these studio monitors are so approachable. Most people who go out of their way to build a set of studio monitors will also use 3-way integrated amplifiers with DSP correction for absolute in-room linear neutral response. The SEAS KingRo4y mk.III DIY studio monitors call for this kind of setup, which makes them quite expensive to build. Seems like the sound quality is worth it, based on the reviews I've seen, but it's still a steep price increase.

[@DIYhyfy]

There are definitely ways to improve with DSP. It really is hard to beat when it comes to low end extension, and linearity.

[@mndlessdrwer]

@@DIYhyfy DSP correction combined with durable drivers, powerful amplification, and a suitably rigid cabinet are really the only effective means to cheat the rule that there is no replacement for displacement. Combine all of those things and you can get much more powerful bass response out of a speaker than it should really be capable of through conventional means. But the kind of design you used is far better for the average person considering a set of DIY studio monitors, since the barrier to entry is significantly reduced by the conventional speaker design. Fairly simple crossover, standard amplifier requirements, and the drivers aren't even unreasonably priced. I think the only thing I'd bother investigating an alternative to is to find some appropriately sized flared ports to reduce chuffing at high excursion on the woofer. Any other changes would either increase the cost too dramatically or would inherently modify the sound signature (like using a mid-woofer and tweeter with better extension so you can use a dedicated subwoofer driver for the woofer instead of a conventional woofer that just happens to have acceptable low end extension). This is to say that your design looks very good for the intended purpose and audience, so there's little room to improve it without detriment to one or more aspects.

[@kio-h2s]

멋지네요 미드레인지 제작사나 구입처를 알려주세요

[@DIYhyfy]

The midrange is from Hivi. I'm waiting to see if this model is available for purchase. This is not the same model you can find online.

[@kio-h2s]

영상초반에 제품설명이 있는데 못보구 질문 드렸네요. 친절한 답변 감사드립니다. ^^

[@INFO_SELABX]

It's car speaker... Look wise

[@Acoustic_Theory]

It looks like one woofer speaker suffered a damaged surround in transit. It will have higher harmonic distortion during operation than an unspoiled unit due to asymmetric Kms, and may even present uneven compliance from side to side, resulting in coil rocking if the woofers ever really get hopping. You'll want to replace this unit to get consistent performance and the best longevity from the speaker.

[@DIYhyfy]

I would definitely agree for the long term. I did also do a listening test in free air to listen for coil rub. Ironically it was the protective cover that slipped sideways and was pressed against the surround for some time.

[@selassie123GA]

10 seconds into the video and all i think is: fine looking speakers, but those first reflections and resoances from the table will destroy all your efforts.

[@DIYhyfy]

Yes, they certainly would. I mentioned later in the video that they wouldn't be well suited for use directly on a desk against a wall etc.

[@selassie123GA]

@@DIYhyfy my bad, shouldve watched until the end before commenting, great work