Building speaker cabinets

[ken k]

I have a pair of Newport Audio in wall speakers that I would like to make into floor standing speakers, if possible. I'm not sure if it's even possible to do this. They are dual 6" monitors with a CAT Audio cross over. I don't have the specs on them as there is no info on them any where. Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[lovinthehd]

Really need the T/S parameters (Thiele/Small) to design the box, if no way to get them then I'd just forget about it. Generally a thread like this is better off in the diy subforum as well. I'd suggest you build or buy a diy/aiy kit for a proven design, the in-wall speakers may or may not work well in another application, especially without specifics. Take a look at some of the available kits at diysoundgroup.com....

 

[ken k]

Thanks for the reply. I knew it was a tall order but I was hoping someone out there knew something about them. I had them installed by a dealer a few years ago and they are no longer in business. We are redoing the space to the studs and the wife doesn't want the holes in the wall. I'm keep the surrounds in wall (same speakers). They are awesome speakers! Just thought I'd give it a shot.
Thanks so much

 

[Stebono]

You already have the speakers and although you don't have the T/S parameters there are some things you can take for granted. You know the enclosure would be forgiving, walls are far from standards, on these because they are made for a space designed for 16" on center studs which are about 3.5" deep by approximately 8' high plus or minus feet. You can figure you cabinets volume roughly based on that. You also have the required crossover designed already, your crossover point(s) are already done. If you build a sealed box it would just follow these given parameters but you could use a passive radiator or go to a ported box if you wanted, this would be more of a guessing game.

What can you lose by building a set of boxes, only time and materials, MDF isn't real expensive so time. Also even if you had the driver(s) parameters if you wanted to get the most from your speakers you would still have to play with tuning them which would require box changes and possibly network tuning depending on how complex your design was. The nice thing about T/S is it gets you in the ball park, but it's never perfect so it depends on how picky you are.

It would be a great experience for you to use these speakers and build your first set of home made boxes, if that is the case, I just wouldn't finish them until you've test drove the enclosures and are happy with your builds.