You too can have the best loudspeakers in the world

I’m looking to build some speakers too! I know you are right

World's First GRANITE Open Baffle Speakers from MACO Acoustic are REVELATORY !
This changes everything...

How can this gasbag generate so much hot air without saying anything ?

Listen to 10 amplifiers in the same price range and you will hear ten more or less similar sounds. Listen to 10 speakers in the same price range and you will hear ten very different sounds. That means, LISTEN and listen. And then choose the ones that sound best to you.

Not exactly stereo monitor/speakers, but I had an experience when looking for something to amplify my guitar when I was a teenager in the very early 80s.
My mum had an old stereogram, one of those radio record players with a function to play another record after the first one via a stack feature. Of course it could only play one side of an LP but I think people were so amazed that this thing could play more than one side of one record at a time when it was built, I’m guessing mid 60s, that nobody minded that they had moved on to the next LP before finishing the first. Remember kids, records were supposed to be played one side and then the next in order. No shuffle.
Anyway, the crappy Bakelite/plastic tonearm was broken somehow and it was impossible to get a replacement. Our family had also bought an NAD, Nakamichi, KEF setup so the old stereogram was no longer required.
I noticed that the amplifier in the thing had tubes, and being a young guitarist who could only afford a pretty grainy sounding Yamaha guitar amp (solid state sounded pretty blah back in the day) I wondered if I could somehow use this, rather low wattage, amplifier.
Now, I knew nothing about impedance, levels or RIAA curves. What I did was created a jack socket that went in right where the cartridge, if you can call it that, was hardwired in.
Wow. The creamiest, most gorgeous distorted tone I’d ever heard came out of the ‘full range’ 8 inch drivers.
I did a bunch of recording with that stereogram, which I’d sawn in half and cut the legs off leaving me a cube about 2 feet on all dimensions. It only had one sound, but boy. It was a good ‘un.
I moved on as soon as I grew up a bit and bought a Fender Twin but I could never get that chocolate, smooth but distorted sound I was getting from the Franken-gram.
I probably couldn’t march it for anything now, it was 40 years ago but I do wish I still had that thing. Maybe it wasn’t as good as I remembered, but to me, at that time, it was the prefect guitar sound.

I don't believe such a beast exists, or ever will :).

clickbait -

My amstrad speakers are the best and my bush radio and alba turntable lol 😝

A far-cry from "Perfection" - Altec 891v series are cheap, & some of the most musical, warm, open, fast, present & life-like speakers I've ever enjoyed hearing. They make Music - not just sound

Tubes or Solid State, Class-A or AB, Large Speakers or Small & Time Aligned or Flat-Faced, unless it begins from a well-voiced Moving Coil phono cartridge, it's not music, it's just sound.

I just love this. Starting in the early 70:s with no money and big dreams. Many speakers have past and now i'm planing to build my last speakers, a pair of JBL L250 copys.

Best speakers ever made - ‘ER AUDIO Electrostat’s’ from Australia. Buy them as a DIY or complete, build crossovers, even tension and glue the Mylar and coat it in conductive solution. Rob from ER Audio has even resolved original issues that ESL’s were know for, resulting in a modern ESL that is free from beaming, drum resonance and low bass out put.

Nobody wants to build their own speakers. They want to pay for overpricep speakers so they feel better. You don't get positive reinforcement if you make the speakers yourself. That's why food always taste better in the restaurant because you had nothing to do with it. Once you start making your own food it never taste as good.

Excellent !! I love it. Home made is special. I followed a similar history with making my own speaker boxes from midiocre, to good sounding. For the last 12 years I've mostly used my homemade speakers on gigs. They have worked beautifully. And, I got to taylor the sound (ported) bump, in the bass end, to a frequency of my choice. I've built several pairs, and through, the same study, combined with trial and error, ended up making boxes that, when musicians come by, they comment on the good sound of them. I used book called Advanced Speaker Design by Ray Alden. Originally this book was sold at Radio Shack. I think that it's been reprinted by another company. I used this book and an online calculator (for port length), which you can find with query in google. Here are a few general rules that I've found. These are not set in stone, because there are product that can compensate, to some degree for these things. The deeper the box, the more bass you''ll get. A rubber surrond on a woofer is a sign of better bass response (rather than paper or foam.) Porting tubes do a very good job of pumping up the low frequencies. The larger the diameter of the woofer, generally, the bigger the postential bass response. Small woofers, with help increase the treble response (3.5" woofer studio monitors, with a rubber surround, can sound really accurate, and add to the treble response from a tweeter.) Particle board is best for stationary speakers because os the lower possiblity of resonant frequencies. Plywood is more durable, and although not as resonant frequency resistand, is a good choice for a speaker box that you'll be hauling around. A single, non polarized, electrolitic capacitor will work fine as a cross over. Put a cover over your speakers, for protection. The trend is for studion speakers to come with no grill. I disagree with that. Yes, you'll get 2% better sound without a grill, but it's not worth having your speakers be vulnerable. JBLs have had grills (or speaker covers) for a long time. That didn't seem to hurt them as used as studio monitors. Live you can get away with less great sounding speakers, than if you're using them to mix with in a studio setting. Live, there are lots of things competing sonically. A good enough box will work just fine.

Great episode (As usual)!

I built a pair of >6 ft. Voigt pipe speakers this year. Wonderful project. Love ‘em.

Hard to compete with companys like B&W who will invest 3-4 hundres thousand to develope $500 - 600 bookshelf speakers

I think it was more financially practical to make your own speakers 30 or 40 years ago. I hoped to make speakers a few years ago and after a lot of research, realised it would cost twice as much as buying similarly spec'd new ones. I made a few amps and preamps, they cost around 400 each in components alone. And took 3 years to really get the circuitry right. I don't regret the time and they are the best amps I've ever heard!

The best speakers in the world are a pair of electrostatic headphones. Seriously. Once you had cans, you never go back. ;-)

8-inch dual cone driver from Goodmans or Wharfdale (can't remember which) in a cabinet built to the drawing that came with the driver. Only one required to go with the Armstrong 127M valve tuner/amp and the Garrard SP25 with Decca Deram ceramic cartridge. The best set-up in the world in about 1966.
I wanted to try the same driver in a drain pipe, popular at the time, but never got around to it.

Still use the LS3/5a Wilmslow Audio copies in the bedroom which I built forty years ago after my A-levels. Then it was the WA SPL1 monitors with Morel drive units yadda yadda which i used for twenty five years and which then became THE BEST SPEAKERS IN THE WORLD! But now, I've ahem acquired a pair of factory built Mirage speakers plus stands, from Canada. Holy shit. These things blow the socks off anything home-made. Problem is, I've now also acquired a pair of 15" Tannoy dual concentric drive units...which are up in the loft but which will of course, in time be used as the basis of my home-designed BEST SPEAKERS IN THE WORLD (Mk II).

Hi, I would really be interested to ask you what do you recommend as some of the best speakers in terms of Spectral decay and flat frequency response on and off axis. For speakers up to £2000 either assembled and or self assembly, (possibly a top 10 list). Thank you for your excellent video, liked and subscribed

I built the Amiga MT and then bought a speedwoofer. It sounds very good.

For a second I thought you were going to say Infinity are the best speakers in the world.

So many comments to dig through…assuming people have already mention using it and was great to see it in the description. But I also got my start using “The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook” by Vance Dickason …. No idea what version they are on now…

I used it to design and build subwoofer boxes for cars…. Sealed, ported, band pass ….. all that jazz. MDF was hard to come by those days.. early 90s…

Thanks for the great walk down memory lane

Can you review the idea of making flat speakers. Basically a rectangular flat wood, foam or whatever with a sound actuator stuck to the back. There is claims that it is a very good speaker for little money

best party speaker that totaly rocks....the cerwin vega single 15 inch woofer or the dual 15 inch woofermmy buddy said wich is a great hifi nerd said the bose 901s arnt realy effient

Hate to rain on your parade....but my theory as to why DIY speaker builders believe they have created the best speakers in the world is primarily due to the solvents used in finishing the cabinets having caused brain damage!!
😅

David Weems has an excellent book as well

Happy with my modest entry level Dali spektor 2

I just discovered your channel, and I love it. What I cherish the most is your down-to-earth, no-bullshit attitude. Thank you, and kudos for that!

Auratone cubes i once copied as additional monitors, they worked fine and did the job, saving a lot of money. Still a fan of widerange speakers and/ or 2 way speakers.

You are a likable chap. I enjoy the way you encompass your life story into a well mashed out focus on making your own speakers. All in under 12 minutes. Thank You. :D

I built my own car stereo setup with my choice of drivers and tweeters Also made up my own crossovers using charts and books I found on the subject Not bad results but I always learned something new which I love to do still. Still amazing alpine demo TA with dozen 6x9s in the rear prior to subs coming to the forefront of car audio I still believe it would rock today 😁🎵🎵

If you want to know just how bad a speaker can sound buy a BOSE 901

Yes! I have this experience! 😂😂😂

I've recently discovered your channel and I'm really enjoying your videos. Please, keep it up!

ESS HEIL AIR MOTION TRANSFORMERS DELIVER THE BEST HIGH FREQUENCIES --- BASS IS EASY TO REPRODUCE...

i have kef Q60. Still my best pair speakers

Please stop pointing at us, most rude indeed.

Thanks Paul... What speakers you guys used with the other boys ....

I don't hate anybody, but I could come close with this guy.

Anything I built myself would not be the best to me or anyone else. I'm very good at somethings but not woodworking and not electronics! I know my limitations and interests and that is not it. That said thank you for an entertaining video!

Excellent video. Thank you sir.
Ahh, the memories… my Dad had a workshop with all the tools (radial arm saw, drills, fasteners, etc.). I managed to order a book on how to build speakers (this was the 70’s - pre- internet obviously).
I perused the information and came up with a design. I reused some Radio Shack mids from a friends old speakers, bought a Phillips Dome tweeter and an 8” woofer from somewhere. I don’t recall where i got the crossover from.
Anyway, I assembled the cabinet, gave it a beautiful finish and framed and covered the speaker covers with some material I found in my mother’s sewing room.
They looked fantastic!
I installed a 1” strip of wood on the front underside of the speakers so they would sit tilted slightly back.
Excitedly I hooked up my 20 Watt Realistic (a Toshiba that sounded like 50 Watts) amp, put a record on my Dual 510 and…
They did not sound as I had hoped/ dreamed.
The bass was completely anemic. Mids and Highs were ok.
The point of my long ramble is that no matter how disappointing the results it was a very satisfying venture.
I then turned my ambitious thoughts to building a pair of 12” Karlson (open baffle) Enclosures. I even managed to get the plans. (I still have them somewhere although they can be found via a brief google search.) Alas, I never got around to building them.
My son has excellent woodworking skills so perhaps one day soon we could build a set together.
And just maybe he too will get to experience the joy of building your own speakers no matter the outcome.

One can not go wrong from parts or a kit from Parts Express! To up your game take a look at GR Research

Tonsil

I've built great speakers and some pretty damn shitty ones too. Haha

I own the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, and it is amazing.

Can't believe that many of the commentators have built their own speakers.

Have you heard the Telegrapher Gorilla yet - looking for feedback before I buy!