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Small 2-way speakers with linear on-axis and power response characteristics (Scan Speak and SB Acoustics drivers). H&V off-axis measurements included

The French said:
It took me couple of months (well, few hours within couple of months), but the wood part is nearly over.
It's not perfectly done (I'm not a manual guy, but I'm still picky), but it's done well enough.

It's more a message for those who are newbies, like me.
Others will be like : :facepalm::eek::rolleyes:

My first mistake has been to try to lower the cost of the router and bits (knowing that the chance of using them ever again is very unlikely)
Aliexpress Router (45 USD), bits sold with it.
My initial testings were fine on MDF. Perfect holes. Perfect depth.
But plywood is much harder than MDF.
So the router and its bits were strugling, ruined some wood.
I bought a tool to make circles, but as the router was struggling, it quickly broke.
Bought a second one, which also broke after I finished the tweeter holes.
The router itself was bad, but so was its plastic case : setup for a 5mm depth, after few seconds, it was 10, sometimes more.

I finally bought a more expensive router (Bosch), better bits, and made my own circle tools using plywood.
And it was much easier.
The only big downside of my own router circle tool, is that I can't make small holes.
Hopefully, I only had the woofer holes left, to make.
Bought a 45mm hole saw to make the hole at the back.
I have painted both front sides in white, more to mask wood filler I had to use, than for an aesthetic reason.

Now, the crossover.
See you in 2026. :cool:

PS : anyone could tell me what size the crossover board should be ?
Or even better, if I can buy two boards for the crossover somewhere ?
Click to expand...

Everybody that has ever built a speaker... Built their first one!! Great job for hanging in there and getting it done. You learned one valuable lesson that everyone learns at some point in their life, it just doesn't pay to buy cheap tools! Yes, you can buy lower cost tools and not the most expensive ones, but the totally cheap ones almost always wind up costing you more after you trash them and then buy another one.

There are many ways to do crossovers. I have bought ABS plastic sheets, cut it to size (after you layout your components on it), and glue the components on with silicon. You can do the same thing with 1/8" plywood pieces. If you do it this way, literally anything thin you can find (that's not conductive) you can mount the components on.

Here's an example.

Xover.jpg
 
The French said:
It took me couple of months (well, few hours within couple of months), but the wood part is nearly over.
It's not perfectly done (I'm not a manual guy, but I'm still picky), but it's done well enough.

It's more a message for those who are newbies, like me.
Others will be like : :facepalm::eek::rolleyes:

My first mistake has been to try to lower the cost of the router and bits (knowing that the chance of using them ever again is very unlikely)
Aliexpress Router (45 USD), bits sold with it.
My initial testings were fine on MDF. Perfect holes. Perfect depth.
But plywood is much harder than MDF.
So the router and its bits were strugling, ruined some wood.
I bought a tool to make circles, but as the router was struggling, it quickly broke.
Bought a second one, which also broke after I finished the tweeter holes.
The router itself was bad, but so was its plastic case : setup for a 5mm depth, after few seconds, it was 10, sometimes more.

I finally bought a more expensive router (Bosch), better bits, and made my own circle tools using plywood.
And it was much easier.
The only big downside of my own router circle tool, is that I can't make small holes.
Hopefully, I only had the woofer holes left, to make.
Bought a 45mm hole saw to make the hole at the back.
I have painted both front sides in white, more to mask wood filler I had to use, than for an aesthetic reason.

Now, the crossover.
See you in 2026. :cool:

PS : anyone could tell me what size the crossover board should be ?
Or even better, if I can buy two boards for the crossover somewhere ?
Click to expand...
@wineds was kind enough to create and provide suitable boards.
Ordering them is inexpensive and the cleanest solution.
In post #297, you'll find the link to GitHub and the .rar file.
 
Sie können
The French said:
PS : anyone could tell me what size the crossover board should be ?
Or even better, if I can buy two boards for the crossover somewhere ?
Click to expand...
You can also build the circuit for the bass-midrange driver and the tweeter on separate, smaller circuit boards. This gives you a little more flexibility when placing them in the cabinet. At least that's what I usually do. Example:

1761494884833.png


It is the crossover for this speaker:

1761494988414.png
 
The French said:
It took me couple of months (well, few hours within couple of months), but the wood part is nearly over.
It's not perfectly done (I'm not a manual guy, but I'm still picky), but it's done well enough.

It's more a message for those who are newbies, like me.
Others will be like : :facepalm::eek::rolleyes:

My first mistake has been to try to lower the cost of the router and bits (knowing that the chance of using them ever again is very unlikely)
Aliexpress Router (45 USD), bits sold with it.
My initial testings were fine on MDF. Perfect holes. Perfect depth.
But plywood is much harder than MDF.
So the router and its bits were strugling, ruined some wood.
I bought a tool to make circles, but as the router was struggling, it quickly broke.
Bought a second one, which also broke after I finished the tweeter holes.
The router itself was bad, but so was its plastic case : setup for a 5mm depth, after few seconds, it was 10, sometimes more.

I finally bought a more expensive router (Bosch), better bits, and made my own circle tools using plywood.
And it was much easier.
The only big downside of my own router circle tool, is that I can't make small holes.
Hopefully, I only had the woofer holes left, to make.
Bought a 45mm hole saw to make the hole at the back.
I have painted both front sides in white, more to mask wood filler I had to use, than for an aesthetic reason.

Now, the crossover.
See you in 2026. :cool:

PS : anyone could tell me what size the crossover board should be ?
Or even better, if I can buy two boards for the crossover somewhere ?
Click to expand...
I might have 2 cross over pc boards (Wineds design), let me check.

I’ll DM you
 
Last edited:
The French said:
Once again, many thanks. :)
I've ordered 5 (if I understood correctly) yesterday.
I may, like you, have 1 spare to give.
Click to expand...
Great, the boards are well worth it (at least for me) and made assembly much easier.

I have been listening to my completed pair for several months now and am honestly still quite happy with them. Paired with a small sub they quite nice (IMHO)!
 
good job, It would be perfect if a comparison video could be added to see the difference in sound effect compared to other similar speakers. :facepalm:
 
Hi,
I'm sourcing the parts for the Crossovers.

I've received the electronics.
Waiting for the board.

And I've got some newbie questions. :(

- Will I need 20 grams of Tin, or more ?
- Is there differences in Tin's quality ?


I'm also reading on the PDF that I also need :

10 x double spade connectors
• 6 x red 1/4” female spade connectors
• 6 x blue 1/4” female spade connectors
• 6 x small blue 1/8” female spade connectors
• 12 x cable ties (150mm x 2.5mm)
• Black and red 18AWG wire
• Blue and brown 17AWG wire
• 8 x M4x10 bolts and nuts

- What is a double spade connectors ? Is it available on Soundimport ?
- Red, Blue, Brown, 18AWG, 17AWG... Can I just use speaker cable I have, eventually marking it with colored tape ? 2.5mm.
 
The French said:
What is a double spade connectors ?
Click to expand...
As far as I can tell, this is a method of creating connections to the crossover board. One of the spades is soldered to the circuit and the other one is used as the actual connector.
Other solutions can be used. e.g. in the original implementattion I used single connectors, which were screwed with a brass screw that was soldered on the bottom side of the board. In other crossovers didn't use connectors for the crossover board at all; the cables were simply soldered to the board.
The French said:
Can I just use speaker cable I have, eventually marking it with colored tape ?
Click to expand...
You can use any speaker cables you have. Cable colors are somewhat helpful during assembly but are not required.
 
MT_bassbone said:
Is this approachable for a first time speaker build? Where can the PCB board be obtained?
Click to expand...
It doesn't get much easier for beginners, and here you have a really good speaker that easily rivals commercial models of this size, even more expensive ones.

You'll need to order the circuit boards yourself using the Gerber files posted in the thread; jlcpcb.com is a good and affordable source.
 
Roland68 said:
You'll need to order the circuit boards yourself using the Gerber files posted in the thread;
Click to expand...
Or etch and drill your own - a crossover board is about as easy an etch as it gets. Or do it point to point with components tied/glued to a bit of board, although this needs a little more care and attention. See #701 above for an example of this.
 
somebodyelse said:
Or etch and drill your own - a crossover board is about as easy an etch as it gets. Or do it point to point with components tied/glued to a bit of board, although this needs a little more care and attention. See #701 above for an example of this.
Click to expand...
It's no longer worth doing that; it's much easier and cheaper to order or mill the circuit boards.
It also no longer makes sense to use such chemicals, both for environmental reasons and because of disposal.
 
MT_bassbone said:
Is this approachable for a first time speaker build? Where can the PCB board be obtained?
Click to expand...

I am a first time speaker builder myself. And not really a manual guy at all.
I've finished the wood part, and am trying to find someone "who knows", to guide me for the crossover soldering.
I'm pretty sure that, when they'll be done, I'll say it was pretty easy, though.

You can search posts from me in the thread, and replies made, it may give you some advices (having a PCB board is a HUGE advantage for a first timer).

But keep in mind that if you, like me, starts with no tools, the initial cost, given in the first post, will be irrelevant.
You'll have to add, if you haven't : a router, gabarit (for the circle), bits, glu, wood filler, clamps (at least 6, I've bought 8), eventually paint, oil (or shellac or anything), the PCB is cheap but postage is 30€.
 
The French said:
I am a first time speaker builder myself. And not really a manual guy at all.
I've finished the wood part, and am trying to find someone "who knows", to guide me for the crossover soldering.
I'm pretty sure that, when they'll be done, I'll say it was pretty easy, though.

You can search posts from me in the thread, and replies made, it may give you some advices (having a PCB board is a HUGE advantage for a first timer).

But keep in mind that if you, like me, starts with no tools, the initial cost, given in the first post, will be irrelevant.
You'll have to add, if you haven't : a router, gabarit (for the circle), bits, glu, wood filler, clamps (at least 6, I've bought 8), eventually paint, oil (or shellac or anything), the PCB is cheap but postage is 30€.
Click to expand...

Not sure what inductors you have but if the leads have enamel on the them make sure to scrape it off the ends before soldering. If you haven't soldered before check some YouTube videos on the subject and maybe find something to practice on first.
 
Can all of the parts be obtained from Parts Express or is it better to order from Solen? Would tariffs apply if I am in the US?
 
MT_bassbone said:
Can all of the parts be obtained from Parts Express or is it better to order from Solen? Would tariffs apply if I am in the US?
Click to expand...
If the goods you import from Canada are deemed to originate from a 3rd country, U.S. tariffs based on that 3rd country's rates will apply.
 
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