[net.audio] HOME BUILT SPEAKERS

hoel@null.DEC (07/11/84)

Recently during a Friday afternoon filled with severe ugliness and more beer
than any frat boy deserves , I had my speakers nuked during a Dead Kennedies
LP .  I have begun the  search for a new set of speakers in the  $200 - $400
price range, with the chief requirements being :

 	1.   They sound decent ( this is a misnomer , they'll  probably only 
 	     be playing rock and punk music )
 	2.   They are virtually indestructable (I live in a UC Berkeley frat)
 	3.   Their  lifetime  need only be one to five years, depending upon
 	     when I decide to enter the real world , and at that  point I'll
 	     look for a higher quality set which will play real music

After  going through the  motions of visiting  various  'warehouse' stereo
stores , I came upon one curious salesman  that  suggested that I build my
own ( his store did carry a large number of drivers ) .  He stated that
I could build a fairly good quality set rather inexpensively , which could
handle all the power and distortion I would ever want to pump through them 
( 90 watt amp ).  He also suggested that I stick with a closed cabinet for 
design simplicity.

I have had a fairly good  amount of experience with wood working, although
I  would probalbly make the  speakers out of particle board , two by fours,
vast quantities of  Elmer's glue, and a can of black spray paint - basical-
ly I don't care what they look like.  

Is this idea of building my own speakers far too stupid and naive to con-
tinue with, or have others had experience with building their own at some 
point in the past .  All comments are more than welcome, but if you think 
that the idea of building my own is not worthwhile, please suggest some-
thing in the $ 200 - $ 400 price range ( remember , these will not be the 
last set of speakers I'll ever own).

 			THANKS A BUNCH -   Erik Hoel
 			 		   DEC - Hudson

ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie <ron>) (07/14/84)

If you can find a used pair of Electrovoice Sentry IV speakers they
are going to be your best bet.  First, they are the only decent speaker
EV makes.  Two, they are not pretty, but finished in Roadie black.
Three, they are a little big.  Four, they are some of the most efficient
things I've seen in a while.

-Ron

spoo@utcsrgv.UUCP (Suk Lee) (07/18/84)

This isn't HI-FI (fanfare to follow),
but you could try what my house did:
after nearly demolishing several pairs
of very nice speakers at parties, we
used our tiny little minds and bought
a second-hand pair of Cerwin-Vega
stage speakers for $300/pair from a
pro instrument shop.  They look horrid,
but with judicious equalization they
sound okay for blasting and they are
EFFICIENT.  A 50-watt amp is enough
to blow away your eardrums for the rest
of the week.

-- 

From the pooped paws of:
Suk Lee
..!{decvax,linus,allegra,ihnp4}!utcsrgv!spoo