I've been experimenting building some speakers from salvaged parts from http://www.allelectronics.com/. Here you can see some pictures of what I came up with:
I used a wine box, and cut it in half. I'm not really a wine drinker, but the local liquor store was kind enough to give me two empty wooden boxes.
The reason I've been playing around with this is because I feel like there should be a cheaper and simpler way to realize multi-channel works. With ANALOG we had the opportunity to present two massive works by Stockhausen. The whole production was very expensive and involved. Although the rental place we were working with was incredibly helpful and patient, their equipment was all designed for commercial or rock-oriented use. It was difficult to get everything we needed for an experimental and indoor production without breaking the bank.
The list of requirements piles up pretty fast. Once you've taken care of the sound source (computer with multi-channel interface) you have to deal with 8 channels of equipment: each one with two speakers and a subwoofer, including amplification, crossover, cables, power... We ended up with massive speakers for a smallish hall with a small (but dedicated) audience.
It was a great experience, but got me thinking that it might be possible with smaller speakers, in a smaller room, for a more intimate, simpler, and less-expensive experience.
So, this is my first experiment. I used these drivers:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/GT-322/3.75-SQUARE-DOME-TWEETER/-/1.html
and
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/GM-658/5.25-50W-MIDRANGE-SPEAKER/-/1.html
with a passive crossover:
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/XVR-21/2-WAY-CROSSOVER-INFINITY/1.html
and an amp:
http://paia.com/proddetail.asp?prod=K143
That's a stereo amp, so I included extra ins and outs from this cabinet. There are two ins: one that goes through the amp - the crossover - and to these two drivers; and another that goes through the other channel of the amp - and right back out to a jack. There are two outs: one (that I just mentioned) that comes straight from the amp; and another that comes from the low frequency part of the crossover - intended for a separate woofer.
So far, I haven't reached my goal yet. This midrange driver sounds too tinny - and there is not enough bass for it to sound good. I've ordered a woofer driver: http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/GW-2058/5.25-70W-SHIELDED-WOOFER-8-OHM/-/1.html to see if that helps. I didn't tune the case at all, and considering these are pretty small and corner-shaped, that could also be the problem.
We'll see what happens.
Labels: analog, crossover, multi-channel, speaker, stockhausen
posted by rkamper @ 12:07 PM
2 Comments:
The trick with those Stockhausen pieces is the sheer range of signal they send through the speakers.
Your speakers look great, but these will only be able to handle a very small signal, and you'd need the absolutely perfect room to maximize it for even a 10-person audience.
While your tinkering is interesting, and I can't wait to hear the results, I wonder if you don't see all this effort as just as bothersome as renting the gear? You may end up spending less money, but I doubt it. You'll definitely end up spending way more time than you would if you just rented the gear.
To be sure, this setup will never work for Stockhausen. That's not the idea. This would be for multi-channel works of a lesser signal, as well as pieces that are designed for it. Considering a realistic showing of audience, this would be designed for a small room with a few people.
The reason I am pursuing this avenue, rather than just renting all of the gear, is because of the scarcity of availability for exactly the gear we needed. The idea is to have a ready-made package with limited setup. Basically, the idea is to unpack, plug in, and go. The sound source and everything would be part of the package. Also, eventually the goal would be to incorporate more than just 8 channels.
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