DIY speakers

How hard can it be to build your own speakers? Heck, the drivers themselves are easy enough to get—Parts Express has just about every cool driver, crossover, and enclosure you might want. Many are identical to what's found in the most expensive products in the world. Pick the best you can afford, solder them up, and kick back to great sound. Right? Maybe, but more than likely not. While we understand drivers, crossovers, and enclosures are about all that's in the speakers we really love, the true skill in building world-class speakers isn't exclusive to the parts. Without benefit of a capable designer, you often wind up disappointed. If I had two bags of parts in my hand, one with all the necessary components for a speaker, the other to build a DAC, you'd likely have a better chance with the first than the second. Still, getting great sounding music out of a wooden box with speaker drivers, coils, capacitors, and binding posts is nothing too trivial. Many designers invest a lifetime of experience into making loudspeakers that honor the music. One of my readers asked if he might take in-wall speakers and line them on the outside of a cabinet to get good results. If you're curious what my answer might be, and it might surprise you, click to WATCH THE VIDEO.