How to make a loudspeaker

[Racers]

T+E dosn't have enough strands to sound good, it will give you lots of midrange but not much else, it can make systems with problems sound good.

Pete

Ok, I'll bite. Why does the number of strands make a difference?

(electrically speaking, that is. Obviously it would be more flexible)

Skin effect.

Pete

 

[skipdiver]

Yep, it's confirmation bias at work. I used to fall for the Hi-Fi propaganda and spend fortunes on all sorts of stuff that purportedly made the sound better. Then i saw the light, got rid of all my stereo equipment and have a pair of active speakers rigged up to my computer with some cables from Ebay that cost a fiver each. Shock horror, it sounds great.

I now fully expect some posters to tell me how wrong i am, but like a good sharpening thread, it is a contentious subject.

 

[Racers]

Their are some snake oil salesmen about selling all sorts of pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo, just like any hobby.

Eg http://www.shunmook.com/text1.htm

Pete

 

[Beau]

It's perceived snobbery. if you spend £500 on a piece of wire, your brain will definitely hear the difference.

The same when you spend a Million squids on a car, it'll be so much better than a £500k one (in the mind of the purchaser).

Take a big swig of James Randi's Snake Oil and call me in the morning if you still feel the same.

Q: How can you tell if someone has £7,000 speakers?
A: Don't worry, they'll tell you.

Not sure that is fair. In the tests I mentioned I had no idea of the costs when listening. Sure it's a case of ever diminishing returns and if you cant hear the difference dont spent the extra but suggesting it's all in the mind is not always the case.

Does ghetto blaster sound better than a phone?

Does a mini Hifi sound better than a ghetto blaster?

Does a separates system sound better than a mini stereo etc etc,



Some years ago my parents wanted a new amplifier and they were just going to buy blind. I suggested going for a demo. They took the line they would never hear the difference but were happy to do along for a demo. Went into Radfords Hifi who set up a bunch of £150-£200 amps and we set about listening to them all. Think we tried five and they all had a different character. The most startling thing was the one that had one every review going at the time was by far their least favourite (Pioneer A400). Ended up with a very safe sounding Rotel. As I said above if you cant hear the difference dont spend the money but it's surprising what most people can hear.

 

[DTR]

T+E dosn't have enough strands to sound good, it will give you lots of midrange but not much else, it can make systems with problems sound good.

Pete

Ok, I'll bite. Why does the number of strands make a difference?

(electrically speaking, that is. Obviously it would be more flexible)

Skin effect.

Pete

Unless the strands are individually insulated, the strands in contact with each other act as a single conductor. Therefore the stranded cable will have a similar skin effect to that of a solid core with the same cross-sectional area.

*ducks below the parapet*

 

[Racers]

Theory and practice can be some way apart...


Pete

 

[Jake]

I did mine (many moons ago) from a Focal kit (pre JMLab) - cabinets are a sandwich of MDF/PolyUfoam/Plywood. Slightly impractical weightwise.

Wilmslow make nice stuff or did - I built my dad a couple of pairs of one of their bookshelf models which got me into the whole idea.

Cross-overs and tuning cabinet size/porting etc are the complex bit (which I ducked).

Did you refinish some a while ago in high gloss, or have I got my wires crossed?

No crossed wires there! Yes that's right, thread on Rustins plastic coating - those are mine. Started out oak veneer but that was 1995 or 1996! Still sounding awesome to me.

 

[Jake]

Theory and practice can be some way apart...

Yes, in practice skin effect is meaningful for RF

 

[ColeyS1]

I did mine (many moons ago) from a Focal kit (pre JMLab) - cabinets are a sandwich of MDF/PolyUfoam/Plywood. Slightly impractical weightwise.

Wilmslow make nice stuff or did - I built my dad a couple of pairs of one of their bookshelf models which got me into the whole idea.

Cross-overs and tuning cabinet size/porting etc are the complex bit (which I ducked).

Did you refinish some a while ago in high gloss, or have I got my wires crossed?

No crossed wires there! Yes that's right, thread on Rustins plastic coating - those are mine. Started out oak veneer but that was 1995 or 1996! Still sounding awesome to me.

They looked amazing !!! Could you possibly post a link so I can have another look please ? Until I saw that thread I thought achieving a high gloss wasn't possible unless having an expensive spray setup.
Cheers
Coley

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[RogerS]

I still have my BC1's

 

[Jake]

They looked amazing !!! Could you possibly post a link so I can have another look please ? Until I saw that thread I thought achieving a high gloss wasn't possible unless having an expensive spray setup.
Cheers
Coley

Ah thanks - my pleasure, re-upped it with some new pictures because the links died - 'rustins plastic coating reprised'