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Next speaker project

PWRRYDPWRRYD
in DIY
So my 6 and a half year old son approached me this weekend with this drawing he made.  He said he wants to build these and asked if he could have some drivers, wood, and some help.

Like most of you I have way too many drivers just sitting on shelves collecting dust...  so we will be building a pair of 40 Liter monkey coffins this spring using the following drivers:

SD215A-88 woofers
TC9FD18-08 mids
ND16FA-6 tweeters

I want to teach him how to set up the power tools then I'll do the actual cutting.  He should be able to do a lot of the tasks like measuring/marking/drilling holes, applying glue and clamping, rolling Duratex, etc.  He has expressly asked me to teach him how to solder.  My Dad taught me how to solder when I was his age :)

GowasquamishdrocSilver1omoRon_Edynamoani_101S7910D1PP1Nkennykkonfyousedand 2 others.
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Comments

  • jhollanderjhollander

    Craig, are you sure? It looks like your son wants an RS225 on the bottom.  ;)

     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    Then he should have made a small dot right in the middle to show it as an extended pole piece with a point :)
    ThumperTomS7910
  • 6thplanet6thplanet
    Sonny has been watching daddy sketchin up to many squares and circles... :# That should be a fun project!
  • jholtzjholtz
    That is very cool! Good job Dad!

    Jim
  • rjj45rjj45
    That is SO cool! Give him a little practice time with a jigsaw and a drill, maybe.
    But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
  • kenrhodeskenrhodes
    I love working with the kids, I hope you both have a great time working on this project.
  • squamishdrocsquamishdroc
    fun!
  • WolfWolf
    Last summer, my daughter wanted to make a catapult. I found some simple ideas on-line, and then had to make it work and better than the initial assembly. It was really fun! I have a BTbox planned for us in the near future.

    InDIYana Event Website

  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    Sanding his first pair of speakers 2 years ago!


    rjj45jr@macS7910kennykSilver1omo
  • isaeagle4031isaeagle4031
    That is very cool! Tyler was about his age when I got back into car audio. He would help me in the shop, setting up tools, etc. Sometimes, it would just be him practicing nailing boards together. That was 15 years ago. Good memories!
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    Total driver cost for the pair is only $126  :)
    jhollander
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    edited February 2019
    Lowes has a sale on 3/4" x 4 x 8 sheets right now for $21.28.  And a coworker gave me a discount receipt for $10 off any purchase over $75.  So I bought 4 full sheets.  Ended up costing $18.78 each!!!  I usually pay almost $13 for a 2' x 4' handy panel.  I think I have enough MDF for the rest of 2019 :)
  • Tom_STom_S
    Very cool!! Enjoy every minute - it really goes by too quick. It won't be long before he wants your help building subs for his first car!
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    edited March 2019
    I'm having second thoughts about building another speaker like this with budget drivers.  It takes the same amount of work to build whether with inexpensive or moderately priced drivers...  

    I happen to buy a pair of those Peerless 830-869 8" woofers when PE had them for only ~$37.  I also have a new pair of Peerless NE19VTT-04 tweeters.  I think these drivers are a better match to the TC9FD's.  So without even knowing it my son is getting an upgrade.
    kennykjholtz
  • Tom_STom_S
    Those DVC 8's aren't horrible, I built Paul C's Aethers years ago and was surprised how good they sound, given their price. But you are right - it's the same amount of work and the Peerless HDS should take things a notch or two up on the quality scale. And with those NE tweeters, you'll have some seriously nice speakers. If you go the all Peerless route, you have to bring them to Dakota or Iowa!. If you don't, I may have to make a road trip to Rockford to hear them!
  • rjj45rjj45
    PWRRYD said:
    I'm having second thoughts about building another speaker like this with budget drivers.  It takes the same amount of work to build whether with inexpensive or moderately priced drivers...  

    I happen to buy a pair of those Peerless 830-869 8" woofers when PE had them for only ~$37.  I also have a new pair of Peerless NE19VTT-04 tweeters.  I think these drivers are a better match to the TC9FD's.  So without even knowing it my son is getting an upgrade.
    Exactly what I decided about 2 years ago. It takes me several weeks (or months  :o) to design, build and tune a speaker, and I need to use decent, if not top-line drivers. Since my woodworking skills are "limited", I needed to focus on absolute sound quality from mid-line drivers. One of the really neat thing about this hobby is that drivers have gotten a lot better (for the money) over the last 10 years.
    jholtz
    But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
  • WolfWolf
    One thing has resonated with me for awhile now in the same vane. Jim Griffin said this one year to me at MWAF, "I've never understood why people spend all of this effort in beautiful cabinetry for shitty drivers." And, well- he's right! There is a lot of complexity in most of what we build that really deserve to use nicer elements.
    jholtzrjj45

    InDIYana Event Website

  • jr@macjr@mac
    I'll voice an opposite opinion and say that only the builder knows if what he is doing is appropriate or not. Over the years, my habit of budget builds has garnered a lot of asshole comments from a surprising number of people. I do what I do. 

    Conversely, why are more people not spending more time on their aesthetic development? 
    jhollander
    I have a signature.
  • Nicholas_23Nicholas_23
    People also listen with their eyes unfortunately 
  • jr@macjr@mac
    edited March 2019
    Absolutely they do, Nick. I just wonder why we are not spending more time on destructive baffle effects and how to integrate mitigation into something that looks nice. 
    I have a signature.
  • rjj45rjj45
    edited March 2019
    jr@mac said:

    Conversely, why are more people not spending more time on their aesthetic development? 
    Somehow, I can't seem to improve my aesthetics. Think I missed that train in elementary school. 
     Like you, "I do what I do". <shrug>
    But I know what I like, and keep a folder of beautiful (to me) speakers to help me design "the next one".
    But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
  • jr@macjr@mac
    Just for reference, I am not talking about what anyone is doing here - just a commentary that I have often heard or read comments about "cheap drivers". Sometimes from the same people who give rave reviews to Andrew Jones/Pioneer/Elac. 

    Those speakers use some pretty cheap drivers, for example.

    All that being said, if we are DIY'ing for reasons not related to our own personal goals - we are not doing it right. Only we can decide if the approach we take has value, we only need please ourselves on the final aesthetics of each speaker, and working towards peer recognition, I believe, strips away some of the higher reasons for DIY. 
    rjj45Silver1omo
    I have a signature.
  • rjj45rjj45
    jr@mac said:
    Just for reference, I am not talking about what anyone is doing here - just a commentary that I have often heard or read comments about "cheap drivers". Sometimes from the same people who give rave reviews to Andrew Jones/Pioneer/Elac. 

    Those speakers use some pretty cheap drivers, for example.

    All that being said, if we are DIY'ing for reasons not related to our own personal goals - we are not doing it right. Only we can decide if the approach we take has value, we only need please ourselves on the final aesthetics of each speaker, and working towards peer recognition, I believe, strips away some of the higher reasons for DIY. 
    Agree, the most accolades usually accrue to master woodworkers who usually use cheap drivers.
    The guys who use Scans in a rattle can box do not receive the same kind of feedback.

    But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
  • S7910S7910
    Wolf said:
    One thing has resonated with me for awhile now in the same vane. Jim Griffin said this one year to me at MWAF, "I've never understood why people spend all of this effort in beautiful cabinetry for shitty drivers." And, well- he's right! There is a lot of complexity in most of what we build that really deserve to use nicer elements.
    I'm of the opinion that there are no shitty drivers, just differing levels of experience. YMMV.
  • jhollanderjhollander
    S7910 said:

    I'm of the opinion that there are no shitty drivers, just differing levels of experience. YMMV.
    I have some purple drivers that can be yours in October...
     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • S7910S7910
    jhollander said:
    S7910 said:

    I'm of the opinion that there are no shitty drivers, just differing levels of experience. YMMV.
    I have some purple drivers that can be yours in October...
    We'll see, I don't know that I'm quite that experienced yet ;) .

    @PWRRYD : sorry for the derail. Looks like a fun father / son project and a great speaker to boot.
  • PWRRYDPWRRYD
    edited March 2019
    No worries guys.  This isn't really a build thread.  And I find differing DIY opinions/goals/philosophy interesting.  This forum would be kinda boring if we all built the same speakers.
    rjj45
  • WolfWolf
    Yeah, who needs more of the same boring half-cube black rectilinear prism boxes?

    InDIYana Event Website

  • jr@macjr@mac
    I don't even finish most of mine these days - I find too much joy in the engineering side. 
    rjj45kennyk
    I have a signature.
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