(Part 3) Top products from r/diyaudio

You really need a set of helping hands or a vise or something. Trying to hold everything in place, control an iron and control the solder is a challenge without it. In a pinch I have used my feet as a quick clamp, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Secondly, properly prepare your wire. You only need to expose about 1/8" or so of bare wire. make sure you have a nice twist on each bare cable, and if necessary, go ahead and apply solder to it so it stays together. I do t usually like to do this personally, because it makes the end too rigid and difficult to maneuver at times, but sometimes it is necessary to keep the wire and connection clean.
Also, with TRS jacks, you want to trim the shield back a little bit so that everything lines up. (If there is a ton of shield, feel free to trim a little off to make the wire a bit more manageable- you don't have to connect the whole rap to have a good connection.) Use a pair of small pliers to open the strain relief on the jack (the part you were trying to thread through) and bend the shield pin down a bit if necessary.

As far a flux, hopefully you have rosin core 65/35 or 60/40 lead solder (I still don't trust the lead-free stuff); if you do then the flux isn't really necessary. The rosin core contains flux, which has a lower melting point than solder, so flux is applied by the iron heating solder on the surface. There are occasions when the solder type or the board you're trying to solder to needs a flux coat to prep the surface, but this isn't one of them.

Thirdly, make sure you have a decent iron that gets hot enough, and is properly tined. You should have a little solder on the tip (that is shiny) so that heat is properly transferred to the surface. Make sure you apply the iron to both the cable and the surface so both get equally hot. Once you flow solder on them, keep the cable still until the joint cools- it should also look shiny when done, (if it looks really dull, you have a cold joint, and need to reheat it.

Clamp the strain relief down on the cable and seal it up (I hope you remembered to put the sleeve and any shrink or cover over the wire before you started soldering..)

I've had to do hundreds of jacks for patchbays and audio cable tielines. You'll get better at it with practice.

For the price, I think the Pyle 8 channel amp that somebody posted is a great choice. Here's and Amazon link, a little cheaper than B&H. Seems to have good reviews, although I really doubt it's 1000w/ch. Probably something like ~150RMS. Pyle's okay, and GREAT when you consider the price. I've got a few stupid-cheap Pyle amps and speakers here and there and they're fine. Cool thing about that amp is that you could break the zones into different audio sources if you want.
I'd pair it with these - you might not even need a woofer.
When you set the system up listen carefully for clipping/distortion and label your nominal operating level and your 'ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GO LOUDER THAN THIS' level in big bright labels.
If you do end up getting a sub I second /r/CashKeyboard's recommendation to go with an active (aka Powered) sub, and remember placement is important for getting the most out of it.

[Glen Ballou's book] (http://www.amazon.com/Handbook-Sound-Engineers-4th-Edition/dp/0240809696/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=17XRBA75YDQ47T230Q36) has a lot of really good information in it. Also , this [one] (http://www.amazon.com/Timer-Amp-Optoelectronic-Circuits-Projects/dp/0945053290/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406325087&sr=1-1&keywords=timers+and+op+amps) from Forrest Mims is cheap effective. Learning some BEE (basic electronics and electricity) is a great place to start. The one /u/tvdf mentioned has a ton of useful information as well. Good luck, it's a lot of fun once you get started!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Floyd Toole's Sound Reproduction, or Geddes' Audio Transducers. Toole's is more related to psycoacousics and implies guidelines for speaker building more than specific speaker building tips. From there, I'd probably go with AES and SMPTE Papers and obviously the great info on DIYAudio and AVSForum.

I/We can happily try to point you toward some good AES papers if you find a topic you're interested in. I have saved a ton of papers on waveguide theory and can send you some links if you find that interesting.

The patents can become interesting once you've really got a hand on things - I've been slowly working through the Danley paraline patents for hours and have barely scratched the surface.

Sound waves have length based on their frequency, called wavelength. Higher pitched sounds have shorter wavelengths. Any sounds which reach a full wavelength within the distance from the driver to the edge of the baffle are reflected back to the listener and sound louder, and any which leave the baffle before hitting a full wavelength are not, and are quieter as a result. This is called "baffle step loss".

One way to minimize this effect is to spread it out - if the tweeter is the same distance from two sides (or even three sides, if it's close to the top), the baffle reinforces the same frequency range in every direction. If you offset the tweeter so it's a different distance from each edge, it reinforces a slightly different frequency range in each direction, giving it a smoother response across the frequency range. This sounds better on its own, and may also make it easier for the designer to incorporate a "baffle step compensation" into the crossover, toning down the reinforced frequencies.

Another reason it's done, in "MTM" or bigger speakers with multiple low-frequency woofers and a single tweeter, is to get the big drivers a bit closer together.

Now, tweeters aren't always offset on homemade speakers. There are plenty of designs with centered tweeters, and some sound very good. And sometimes they're offset on commercial speakers. It just happens that a few very common DIY designs, like the Overnight Sensations here, use offset tweeters. If I had to guess, I'd say that commercial speakers are either more concerned about symmetry for aesthetics, or are designed using more custom components that make the baffle step easy to deal with, while DIY speakers are more likely to worry about getting the best performance possible without tricks.

Those are passive speakers. On the wall are terminals for the speakers. Each pair is for one speaker. To use these with your TV you will need some kind of amplifier/receiver. You can also use a stereo amplifier if you use only the left and right speakers. If your TV has a headphone jack, you can get good results with a very simple, inexpensive amplifier like this and a cable like this. Using the headphone jack will let the TV remote control the volume.

You can test the speakers by just tapping a regular old 9-volt battery to the terminals. When you tap it the speaker will make a loud pop. Don't CONNECT the battery, just tap it momentarily on the terminals.

Have fun!

This is a great company, I have a pair of their older speakers and they sound great.

Speakers: $344.50

http://www.amazon.com/SpeakerCraft-OE5-One-Outdoor-Speaker/dp/B0017LADVW/ref=sr_1_6?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1394418175&sr=1-6&keywords=speakercraft+outdoor

Amplifier: $100

http://www.amazon.com/AudioSource-AMP-100-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B00026BQJ6/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394418458&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=ausiosource+amp-100

RCA Cable: $10

http://www.amazon.com/Mediabridge-3-5mm-Male-2-Male-Adapter/dp/B004YEBK66/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1394418952&sr=8-13&keywords=rca+cable

Speaker Cable: $10

http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-16-gauge-Speaker-Wire-Feet/dp/B006LW0W5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394419011&sr=8-1&keywords=speaker+cable

For Wireless music, Bluetooth receiver, $32

http://www.amazon.com/HomeSpot-NFC-enabled-Bluetooth-Receiver-System/dp/B009OBCAW2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394419052&sr=8-1&keywords=bluetooth+music+receiver

Total Cost: $496.50

I built one of these a few years ago and its still working great. Here is the link to my post

Here are some of the parts I used copied form that post:


AMP: Lapai Tripath

Speakers: 4 inch full range speakers I would go larger if you have the room in your project.

Battery power: 10 NiMh rechargeable AA

input: Dash Mount Stereo Jack

Bus bars to try to keep the wiring organized

Nice little flush mount switches i will use on the next version to control the lights power etc:

For fun I also added a 12v charging port, and a USB charging port for my phone.

Well yes and no. (I understand that does not answer any of your questions)

The two leads (wires) coming off the mic are (+) and (-). If you want to make the mic work on its own you will need to get a jack that has T/S (Tip and Sleeve) and solder the (+) to the tip and the (-) to the sleeve. Then you will have to attach the mic to the Sennheisers, which may or may not last. This is a lot of work and the cost of the jack alone is probably more than a new mic that already has means to clip on to the cable of your headphones.

I personally would recommend the Zalman ZM-1 as a replacement. It will look and probably sound better.

(http://www.amazon.com/Zalman-Zm-Mic1-Sensitivity-Headphone-Microphone/dp/B00029MTMQ)


If you want an upgrade to the mic I'd recommend the V-MODA BoomPro Gaming.

(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BJ17WKK/)


And if you really want to drop some cash on Microphones and interfaces check out /r/audioengineering and depending on your needs /r/livesound. ~$200 can get you pro-sumer levels of audio (SM58/AT2020 + Interface)

The amp you listed would work fine from a 12v battery. You then need some suitable speakers, bearing in mind you don't want anything to heavy or bulky. You'll also need to ensure that the output of your audio source (phone, MP3 player?) has sufficient output to drive that amp effectively. You've might also need to think about how you charge said battery. Sealed Lead Acid batteries are reasonably cheap and are available in more portable sizes than a full car battery.

If you want to go full DIY have a look at this Instructable

Flush cutters. This pair and this pair are the industry standard workhorse. Absolutely essential tools.

PanaVise clamps are a must have. This one and this one are my favorites.

A manually operated solder sucker will be an important buy as well.

Easiest would probably be a tabletop beltsander and some practice. Something like this would be perfect although you can get that type of machine cheaper - this one is just and example, the first one that popped up when I searched Amazon.

Here's the fancy updated version of that text, with better figures and a DVD and stuff. Kinda spendy, but I highly recommend it.

Cool project! You mentioned that you are starting to work on flush mounting speakers. I am not sure what tools you are using for the cutting the holes, but if you do not have a Jasper Jig, I would highly recommend one. I built my last set using it, and it made the project so much easier.

Jasper Jig

Ok so here's my list of stuff. Please tell me if I'm off on anything.

Speaker wire

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-G-2-bulk-speaker-cable/dp/B000F1X6GE

Subwoofer cable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003P63SP0/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1504795218&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=subwoofer+cable

Fishing tool

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0026TBOU8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504795375&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=fish+tape&dpPl=1&dpID=415cJ-VZ12L&ref=plSrch

I've already got the rear speakers, subwoofer and mounts.

These will really help if you start to get into the hobby more:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009K77A/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1383050908&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00009K77D/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1383050908&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

There's also the separate version: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XD1F8G8/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?keywords=xbox+adapter&qid=1572323345&sprefix=Xbox+a&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzTTRZOUExSkZKRjdEJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjgxOTg3MkM4WVlVVFJMWDEwTiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODY2NTgzMlhESDZZMk1ZQVVXQyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

They make an adapter for this.

https://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Console-Adapter-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B0006U3ACY

As a former Sennheiser die hard who owned both 580's and 650's I was able to cure my cable problem pretty easily with this gadget:

http://www.amazon.com/AKG-K-701-Headphones-White/dp/B000EBBJ6Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1396647158&sr=8-2&keywords=akg+k701

On my Lepai the 8 small front and back panel screws are just really small Phillips screws, but I've got the older silver version, and it looks like you've got the black one. You might be able to superglue a screw that fits a screwdriver you have to the bolts and try to get them off that way if you can't find Torx small enough. It's a pretty crude solution, though.

I believe, however, if you undo the 3 larger screws in the back, the board should just come loose through the front. Although I don't have it with me at the moment to double-check.

E: thinking about it, you'll probably still have to take off at least the front four small screws to get that approach to work. Are the screws too small for even a set like this or this?