The speaker projects on this page mostly can still be build using available drivers and components, however that situation is ever evolving. They also have been measured to some level of fidelity and demonstrated at DIY events, primarily DIY Iowa and InDIYana. Those are great places to acquire and share knowledge and friendship among fellow enthusiasts and, in some cases, professionals. Many of these designs started out as ideas based on a driver or style of speaker I heard and liked, but wanted to put a different spin on a design of my own.
I think my musical taste steers more toward clarity than warmth in pursuit of an end goal of "relaxed detail" that offers both. Most of my projects are value oriented (trying to approach state of the art sound at a significantly lower price point). I do occasionally explore either end of that spectrum (nicer parts or extreme budget parts). At the end of the day, learning and musical enjoyment are the goals.
Mini Speaker Projects
Lithium - A compact, value priced monitor speaker using the Dayton ND105-4 woofer and Peerless BC25SC06-04 tweeter. Plays like a large monitor extending below 50 Hz, but in a mini speaker form factor.
Helium - A micromonitor using the Dayton ND91-4 woofer and ND16FA-6 in the Parts Express 0.04 cu. ft. flat pack cabinet. One could realistically throw a pair of these in an overnight bag along with a small class D amplifier and enjoy surprisingly full sound away from home.
Rhodium - A Ribbon micromonitor using the Fountek NeoCD 1.0 tweeter and SB Acoustics SB12PAC25-04 woofer. Bigger than the Helium, but still small enough to serve as a high end desktop system. These drivers blend very well to give a smooth, yet detailed sound. The SB Acoustics woofer has enough bass and output capability to cross to a sub in a small to medium sized home theater application.
Bookshelf/Standmount Speaker Projects
Shrubbery - A large "bookshelf" speaker using the HiVi D6.8 woofer and Seas H1499 DXT tweeter in the Parts Express 0.75 cu. ft. MT cabinet.
LithMTM - An MTM version of Lithium. This has a slightly laid back voicing, which works well for home theater and higher SPL applications (these can take a pounding).
Hafnium - A compact 3 way monitor using the Parts Express 0.38 cu. ft. cabinet. These can provide true full range sound down to 30 Hz for a small room.
Mercury - A value priced two way speaker using the HiVi M5n and Peerless BC25SC06-04 in the Parts Express 0.25 cu. ft. enclosure.
Argon - A full range monitor using the curved Parts Express 0.75 cu ft MTM cabinet. Drivers are the Denovo Anarchy woofer, Airborne wood cone midrange and Peerless BC25SC06-04 tweeter. This design has a neutral, low distortion presentation and bass extension below 30 Hz.
Zirconium - A 3 way monitor using the 0.56 cu. ft. Parts Express flat pack cabinet kit. Drivers are the Tang Band W6-1139SMF woofer, Dayton PS95-8 mid, and Dayton AMT Mini8 tweeter. This was my first 2016 Parts Express Speaker Building Design Team project. This design has more output capability than Hafnium and is lower cost with more detailed mids and highs vs. Argon.
Volare - the movie Step Brothers was always a family favorite, so when my son needed some speakers for college, I set out to try to design something worthy of the Catalina Wine Mixer. This is a seemingly simple two way design using the a 5" SB Acoustics woofer and Seas 29mm dome tweeter that wound up presenting a few design challenges.
Floorstanding Speaker Projects
Indium 7 - Another 2016 Parts Express Speaker Building Design Team project, the Indium 7 is a wide, shallow 3 way floorstander that is reminiscent of the Infinity Kappa series from the late 80's to early 90's. Demonstrates the virtues of a larger woofer in a sealed cabinet, along with a dome midrange and planar tweeter. Now that we have flat screen TV's hanging on our walls, maybe this form factor makes sense again...
Matrix Revolution - A slim tower (only 7" wide) using the Bohlender Graebener Neo3PDR tweeter, Neo8 Midrange, and a pair of Dayton ND140-8 woofers. The planar Neo3 and Neo8 drivers are great at resolving detail. The ND140's are compact, cost effective bass monsters and blend quite well with the mid and tweeter (maybe because their width is similar).
Manganese - an even slimmer tower (5" wide and 6" deep) designed for low cost and outdoor use. This speaker uses high value drivers (HiVi M4n and Peerless DX20) and may also work well for indoor applications requiring a small footprint, particularly in combination with a subwoofer.
Other Projects
Helium Soundbar - A compact soundbar based on the Helium Micromonitor design and the SMSL Q5 Pro amplifier. This uses the 8 ohm ND91 instead of the 4 ohm ND91 used in the Micromonitor, so the crossover is different.
HiVi DIY 3.1 Alternate Crossover - This is an affordable kit available on Amazon that uses high quality components. The stock crossover results in a significant high frequency emphasis, which those used to a more neutral presentation may find fatiguing. This project identifies several modifications to address the high frequency emphasis, ranging from adding a couple resistors to the completed speaker to changing out more than half of the crossover components.