Design Goals  |  Driver Selection  |  Enclosure Design  |  Crossover Design  |  Conclusion
  Design Goals  

The goal was to construct a simple tower speaker to replace my small 5 1/4" Advent speaker mounted on a pedestal. After listening to many speakers from the price range of $500 to $2000 each I couldn't find one that I liked the sound of. What I was looking for is a tower speaker with crisp highs, bright mids, and bass to fill in where my subwoofer left off.

I started off looking at the PE 5-1/4" Dayton that a friend has in his home theater because I liked the sound he achieved. Then he showed me the Dayton 5-1/4" aluminum drivers and I thought that they would look nice in a tower. Yes I was concerned how they would sound but I decided just to go for it.



  Driver Selection  

The purpose of this design was a dual-woofer loudspeaker with high sensitivity and improved mid range response. A dual woofer loudspeaker using the Dayton 6-1/2" shielded woofer, Dayton 5-1/4" shielded mid woofer, and Dayton 1-1/8" silk dome tweeter. These drivers are among the "best bang for the buck" in low price loudspeaker drivers. These speakers provide quality sound at reasonable price.

VIFA PL27TG-35-06
1" DOME TWEETER


DAYTON DA135-8 5-1/4"
ALUMINUM CONE WOOFER


DAYTON DA175-8 7"
ALUMINUM CONE WOOFE


  Enclosure Design  

I choose to build the cabinets out of 3/4 inch oak plywood (the next ones I build will be out of 3/4 inch MDF particle board and covered with veneer). The finish is an application of MinWax light oak stain and then two applications of MinWax Polyurethane Satin finish

The platforms are made from MDF particle board glued together to make a 1 1/2 inch thick base, I made my own spikes out of 1/2 inch x 3inch bolts, these allow me to level the tower and makes them very stable. The finish on the platforms is black lacquer.

Tower Speaker Design


Baffel Board Layout


Center Channel Front View


Center Channel Top View


  Crossover Design  

My next problem was crossovers; my new good friend Curt C. guided me through the speaker design, letting me decide what I wanted to build and then designed the crossovers.

Crossover Construction and Installation

The crossovers are mounted on 1/8 inch white board, I soldered all connections and used wire ties and hot glue to hold the components solid on the board.

Tweeter Crossover


Midrange Crossover


Woofer Crossover


Center Channel Crossover


Tower


Center Channel


  Conclusion  
Building a project of this magnitude was very rewarding, but at the same time it was very stressful from the fear that the money invested would turnout a speaker that didn't work or sound good. Needless to say these speakers brought a big smile on my face when I had them all hooked up and running. Even my audiophile friend was surprised at the quality of sound my system produces. I would describe the sound at crisp and clean, slightly bright but not too harsh and very detailed. All speakers sound the same and produce an excellent sound stage and surround sound. I would put these speakers up against a $2000 speaker any day and my approximate cost for all five speakers is only at $1100.00. Of course I didn't add in the hours of labor, but when you're doing something you enjoy-- who cares. I contribute my success to the excellent designed crossovers by Curt C. and baffle board layout. And would like to thank all my friends for all their help.



DISCLAIMER - Parts Express posts the "Project Showcase" as a community service. Projects displayed have not been tested or evaluated by our staff. We make no warranties whatsoever in regard to the projects' fitness for a particular purpose. Claims of performance or fitness are those of the contributor and not of Parts Express. Project re-production for commercial resale may be a violation of United States patent or trademark laws.
  • Buyout Specials
  • Price Reductions
  • Great Sale Pricing
  • Limited Quantity Offers
  • New Product Arrivals
  • And More....
Customer Service Rating by LivePerson

 • Authorized Distributor

 • Fast Shipping

 • No Hassle Returns

 • Highly Acclaimed Service

 • Testimonials

181-774

Dayton HR13C22 High-Speed HDMI Cable V1.3 C2 CL3 2m (6.6 ft)
(74 reviews)
Now: $4.00
374-100

Stahl Tools STSSVT Variable Temperature Soldering Station
(51 reviews)
Now: $12.00
260-335

Grill Cloth Black Yard 70" Wide
(130 reviews)
Now: $6.90
091-1245

Dayton BPA-38G HD Binding Post Pair Gold
(57 reviews)
Now: $7.89

Speaker Deals!
Vifa A16CJ-21-04 6-1/2" Coaxial with Audax Tweeter 4 Ohm
  
Was: $59.99
Save 57%
Buyout Price: $26.00


About Us
Affiliate Program
Contact Us
Catalog Signup
Link To Us
Retail Store
Security/Privacy
Sell To Us
Terms & Conditions
Education Sales
Wholesale
Clearance Center
E-mail Flyer
Special Offers
Online Survey
Customer FAQs
Technical Help
En Español
Forms
Site Help
Tech Talk
Track Shipments
View Your Invoice
Return A Product
Popular Searches
Current Catalog
Current Flyer
Photo Albums
Videos
Parts-Express.com on Facebook
Parts-Express.com on Twitter
Parts-Express.com on You Tube
Parts-Express.com RSS Feeds
BizRate Customer Certified (GOLD) Site - Parts Express Reviews at Bizrate SSL
Parts Express • 725 Pleasant Valley Dr. • Springboro, Ohio 45066 • USA
© 1996-2009 Parts Express, All Rights Reserved