Building REALLY cheap test speakers
Posted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:00 am
We all want to test our mixes on as many systems as possible before publishing. Here is a very cheap way to add another sonic opinion before burning that first test CD.
I've been interested in flat panel speakers for decades, ever since I heard my first pair of Quads. A couple of months ago I came upon this video which lead me to the Parts Express website which lead me to this 150+-page topic which also linked to another huge thread on another forum that addressed the same topic and also had links to the original NXT patents and white papers on the subject.
Well I decided to give it a try and, as extruded styrofoam seemed to be the best affordable material of choice, I bought 2 one inch x 2' x 8' SM "Cladmate" panels and some exciters from Parts Express and went for it. The results so far are not the speakers of my dreams but will be very useful for testing mixes as they are brutally honest in exposing mistakes of the mixing and mastering variety. If you are any kind of tinkerer this is an enjoyable project with a useful outcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBa3vaPwqIs
EDIT:Tech Ingredients has come out with a second video adding to their research. I'll be experimenting with some of his changes next time I work on the project.
I've been interested in flat panel speakers for decades, ever since I heard my first pair of Quads. A couple of months ago I came upon this video which lead me to the Parts Express website which lead me to this 150+-page topic which also linked to another huge thread on another forum that addressed the same topic and also had links to the original NXT patents and white papers on the subject.
Well I decided to give it a try and, as extruded styrofoam seemed to be the best affordable material of choice, I bought 2 one inch x 2' x 8' SM "Cladmate" panels and some exciters from Parts Express and went for it. The results so far are not the speakers of my dreams but will be very useful for testing mixes as they are brutally honest in exposing mistakes of the mixing and mastering variety. If you are any kind of tinkerer this is an enjoyable project with a useful outcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBa3vaPwqIs
EDIT:Tech Ingredients has come out with a second video adding to their research. I'll be experimenting with some of his changes next time I work on the project.