Dayton Diy Soundbar

[123Toid]

I have a living room that had a really cheap Samsung sound bar that we picked up with a gift card a few years back. But I have always wanted to design and build a soundbar from scratch. So recently I did just that.

Goal: Is to have a soundbar that sounds great and is compact for most living rooms. I also wanted it to be aesthetically pleasing. With this is mind, I wanted it about 4" in height and length 36" or shorter. I also didn't really want frequencies below 90hz, as I planned to use a separate subwoofer with it. Since this is the case, each side would be placed in its own sealed enclosure. With those design goals in mind, I started picking out the drivers.2 x

Parts Used:

4x Dayton ND65-8
2x Dayton ND25FA-4
Dayton 2x15 Amp (I may upgrade this, but I had this on hand)


Materials Used:
1/4" MDF (doubled in the speaker enclosure)
1/4" Walnut Baffle (doubled in the speaker enclosure)

Final Picture:

 

[123Toid]

Theoretical Response:

Current Response with Current Crossover:

 

[123Toid]

I finished the Video Tutorial. I will work on the schematics for you guys and will post them when I am finished.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Unfortunately such high DB Scale and crude smoothing, is making this graph not very informative.
If you could please remeasure with 50-60 db scale and no smoothing

 

[rojo]

Unfortunately such high DB Scale and crude smoothing, is making this graph not very informative.
If you could please remeasure with 50-60 db scale and no smoothing

Nice catch. I didn't even notice there were 20dB between each hash mark on the measurement graph. I assumed the two graphs were the same scale. I wouldn't mind 1/12 octave smoothing if OP deems it necessary.

@123Toid, are you familiar with gating your measurements to limit the impact of room reflections on your graph? Also, you do beautiful work.

 

[shadyJ]

The woodwork is very nice. I also like the original NES- does that still work? Given the design of the speaker, there is no real reason to make it into a single 'bar.' I would have instead just made two separate speakers. That might have measured better and made incorporating a center channel much easier. That would also have allowed you to use them vertically if you ever wanted to. And believe me, those speakers would measure much better vertically than horizontally.

 

[Pogre]

Unfortunately such high DB Scale and crude smoothing, is making this graph not very informative.
If you could please remeasure with 50-60 db scale and no smoothing

Ohh... yeah, that one snuck past me too. I thought the scale was 10db too.

 

[its phillip]

The woodwork is very nice. I also like the original NES- does that still work? Given the design of the speaker, there is no real reason to make it into a single 'bar.' I would have instead just made two separate speakers. That might have measured better and made incorporating a center channel much easier. That would also have allowed you to use them vertically if you ever wanted to. And believe me, those speakers would measure much better vertically than horizontally.

My NES still works

 

[123Toid]

The NES still lives! Which is a great thing. I am still working on the crossover. That is why I haven't actually posted the crossover network yet. I am still experimenting with adding a zobel on the woofers and a baffle step. But then I have to attenuate the tweeters more than what they are right now. Those Daytons are fantastic little speakers, but have a nasty peak around 1800hz. (note: picture is from a crossover program, the actual peak is much less severe, but still a zobel may help with response). If the Zobel doesn't work, I may try an RLC filter.

You guys have brought up some great points. I had a lot of people asking me to design a soundbar, so I went ahead and did it. I am not the biggest fan of soundbars, but a lot of people right now really like them.

As far as the measurement goes, I can blow it up later if you want and add smoothing. That is an in-room response at MLP with both room reflection and diffraction in the measurement. It is also tested as both together, since you cannot just move them wherever you want. I could easily add smoothing, or test each speaker individually, but I hate when people give out this silky smooth graph at 1/3 or 1/6 smoothing. As far as removing the reflections in the room, I am not that savvy yet in rew. I would definitely need some guidance. I tried to do that unsuccessfully today. So i know it is something I am doing wrong.

When I finalize my crossover, I'll see what I can do to get rid of the problems within the room. And try to test it in a way that you guys find beneficial.

 

[MrBoat]

Nice work.

In spite of what the measurement says, what does it actually sound like?

 

[123Toid]

Nice work.

In spite of what the measurement says, what does it actually sound like?

Thank you. It sounds really good. I am really impressed with it's sound quality. There are a lot of intricacies that you typically miss, that are clear as day. In fact, I have theater room in the basement and never enjoyed watching a movie upstairs due to the poor sound. Now, I don't mind at all. In fact, I sometimes just demo some of my favorite scenes. And it brings a nice smile to my face.

This is where I usually watch my movies (this was taken in the construction phase).