Where to buy raw speakers

[swagguy8]

HI guys, i want to build a hifi subwoofer, but can't find anywhere i can buy raw speakers. on amazon and many other places i find some car subwoofers, but they don't have good fidelity. is that statement true, or is there a place to find some raw speakers?



thanks

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Parts express has plenty of raw drivers

 

[swagguy8]

Parts express has plenty of raw drivers

I understand that, but none of them are hifi

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I understand that, but none of them are hifi

Yes, none of them are "swag", but there plenty of hifi drivers like Morel for example
http://www.parts-express.com/brand/morel/121
And if you don't think that $500 for 12" sub driver is a pocket change then i have a bridge to sell to you.
Plenty of Dayton drivers, which are great value and if used right -> great sounding systems.

 

[TLS Guy]

I understand that, but none of them are hifi

Parts Express have a lot of junk drivers, but also some very good ones.

If you don't like their offerings, try Madisound. They carry excellent budget drivers and the most exotic high end OEM drivers available.

 

[swagguy8]

heres the thing, i haven't bought not-so-famous brand speakers before, so i don't know which ones are good and which ones are bad. i dont want to take any big risks, especially speakers cost in the hundreds these dayz.

 

[TLS Guy]

heres the thing, i haven't bought not-so-famous brand speakers before, so i don't know which ones are good and which ones are bad. i dont want to take any big risks, especially speakers cost in the hundreds these dayz.

In that case I also suspect you do not have the first clue as to how to design and build a speaker.

Do you know what Thiel/Small parameters are, and how to use them to asses suitability for your design and how to design for given T/S parameters?

On both the above sites T/S parameters are published.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

I would highly recommend you NOT to buy raw drivers at all, except then you already have proved design. Parts express has excellent dayton 18" ultimax sub and a flat pack box for only $354. It would give you mountains of great bass. I was tempted recently to buy it, but after careful examination of all pieces I've decided to buy hsu sub instead.

 

[oppman99]

Parts Express carries TC Sounds drivers. Those are definitely not junk if you go with the Epic or LMS. Quality wise you would have to spend significantly more to get better. I used an epic 12 for my first DIY sub and sold my jl F112 shortly after.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

[swagguy8]

In that case I also suspect you do not have the first clue as to how to design and build a speaker.

Do you know what Thiel/Small parameters are, and how to use them to asses suitability for your design and how to design for given T/S parameters?

On both the above sites T/S parameters are published.

I hate to buy speakers online, because i can't hear it before i buy it. yeah, maybe theres specs i can look at, but when buying speakers, specs on paper doesn't really tell you much. Especially when it doesn't tell me the most important (to me) factor, THD. Because theses speakers are for home audio, and not car audio, sound quality plays a really important role.

 

[TLS Guy]

I hate to buy speakers online, because i can't hear it before i buy it. yeah, maybe theres specs i can look at, but when buying speakers, specs on paper doesn't really tell you much. Especially when it doesn't tell me the most important (to me) factor, THD. Because theses speakers are for home audio, and not car audio, sound quality plays a really important role.

As I thought you have no clue. The T/S parameters tell you everything, as long as the manufacturer has measured and stated them honestly and his product is consistent unit to unit to unit.

In particular, the European manufacturer's T/S parameters and acoustic responses are brutally honest.

Between the T/S parameters and the acoustic response the driver is precisely defined.

If you don't know what these are and how to use them you can NOT build a speaker.

I really doubt you could get anything worthwhile no matter how good the driver was you bought. You have yet to convince me you know how to use the specification to design a speaker that is any good.

The distortion is only really relevant in the measurement of the total design.

The loading and total finished design and build will determine that. The driver is only one component determining that.

And one other thing, pray tell me how you audition a raw driver!

Your posts so far have enough red flags to line an esplanade.

 

[Swerd]

Although everything TLS Guy says seems to be the case here, you can still begin by learning what the T/S parameters are:

http://www.eminence.com/support/understanding-loudspeaker-data/

http://www.speakerplans.com/page89.html

Next, you can begin to learn how to use them to select a raw sub woofer and design an appropriate cabinet for it. Understanding how a woofer and cabinet interact will get you much better results than throwing down some money and hoping for the best.

Hint:
TLS Guy may be gruff and doesn't suffer fools, but he does know a thing or two about how to successfully design speaker cabinets. You could do much worse by ignoring what he may have to offer.

 

[markw]

I hate to buy speakers online, because i can't hear it before i buy it. yeah, maybe theres specs i can look at, but when buying speakers, specs on paper doesn't really tell you much. Especially when it doesn't tell me the most important (to me) factor, THD. Because theses speakers are for home audio, and not car audio, sound quality plays a really important role.

Hearing a raw speaker is useless.

the driver is but a small part of a good subwoofer. The proper enclosure can make or break a subwoofer.

At this point I must agree with the others. Stick to a proven design with proven drivers.

 

[Seth=L]

This thread is proof positive that this hobby attracts all kinds.