Hi i'm sick and tired of the complete crap speakers and sub systems you buy for computers.
The tiny satellites and the tiny driver size subwoofer you get in these packages give awful sound.
Having just spent £80 on a 2.1 pc sound system which sounds like crap,i'm very very annoyed.
The sub just rumbles at about 35hz and gives a horrible one note bass giving no deep bass or 80hz kick drum sounding bass.
And the Satellites are thin sounding lacking any midrange sounding muffled.
So I need advice on how to build a 2.1 system for pc but using diy parts.
I think maybe some 3 inch Tangband magnetic sheilded speakers,in small MDF cubes and a 6 inch or 8 inch sub in a ported box.Thats simple enough,but finding the amps to power the satellites and sub is much harder to find.
Unless I make the miniture amps and processors.
Also my limit is £100 to bulid a 2.1 system. Or I could build some high quality speakers like a Tang band 4 inch in a ported mini MDF cube,at least it would be easier than trying to look for a mini sized crossover and three mini sized amps.
If I built a 20cm x 20cm MDF cube to house a 4 inch fullrange Tangband speaker and add a small port and a small amp in each,or a seperate small amp outside the cabinet probably would be easier?.😕 😕 😕
The tiny satellites and the tiny driver size subwoofer you get in these packages give awful sound.
Having just spent £80 on a 2.1 pc sound system which sounds like crap,i'm very very annoyed.
The sub just rumbles at about 35hz and gives a horrible one note bass giving no deep bass or 80hz kick drum sounding bass.
And the Satellites are thin sounding lacking any midrange sounding muffled.
So I need advice on how to build a 2.1 system for pc but using diy parts.
I think maybe some 3 inch Tangband magnetic sheilded speakers,in small MDF cubes and a 6 inch or 8 inch sub in a ported box.Thats simple enough,but finding the amps to power the satellites and sub is much harder to find.
Unless I make the miniture amps and processors.
Also my limit is £100 to bulid a 2.1 system. Or I could build some high quality speakers like a Tang band 4 inch in a ported mini MDF cube,at least it would be easier than trying to look for a mini sized crossover and three mini sized amps.
If I built a 20cm x 20cm MDF cube to house a 4 inch fullrange Tangband speaker and add a small port and a small amp in each,or a seperate small amp outside the cabinet probably would be easier?.😕 😕 😕
😀 yeah, Altec lansing I guess ! anyway, most of em do sound like crappy ±@£¢ these days...No mid-highs at all, ''impressive'' mid-bass and low RMS. I understand you !
Well, 2.1...If you chose to build a sub, youll need an amp for it or a 2VC driver... I suggest you to go for 2 quality sat. Have you heard of Silverflute or MCM? You'd get the bass you need and the mid highs you wish from almost any tweeters. I'm sure you can find an old receiver to drive them! Or you may build a little GC 😉.
Well, 2.1...If you chose to build a sub, youll need an amp for it or a 2VC driver... I suggest you to go for 2 quality sat. Have you heard of Silverflute or MCM? You'd get the bass you need and the mid highs you wish from almost any tweeters. I'm sure you can find an old receiver to drive them! Or you may build a little GC 😉.
I have Monsoon MH-350s, planar-magnetic transducers up high....2.5" for mids and an active 4" ported to 50..Not impressive bass, but fairly accurate up high and great imaging. I WAS looking at a similar idea, but couldn't find an affordable amp-design...and I hadn't built a single amplifier to my name.
Now that I understand the electronics much better after having repaired a few remote controls and a car audio amp...I'm feeling ready to tackle a plug-in type amplifier. Will be interested in your amps....also, if you go active...you can go louder with less distortion also, you can add seperate EQ and such...hmmm...I'm drooling now
Now that I understand the electronics much better after having repaired a few remote controls and a car audio amp...I'm feeling ready to tackle a plug-in type amplifier. Will be interested in your amps....also, if you go active...you can go louder with less distortion also, you can add seperate EQ and such...hmmm...I'm drooling now
I've built the ELF 1.0 and 1.5 using the W3-871S and a sub with the Adire AV8. Something along those lines may work nicely.
My stuff
Marchand Electronics makes an interesting amp for PC's.
My stuff
Marchand Electronics makes an interesting amp for PC's.
You might look into some of the small Tripath amps.
I remember that they used to have a board similar to that Marchand board.
kiwi
I remember that they used to have a board similar to that Marchand board.
kiwi
computer subs..
have any of guys heard of logitech's z680's?
definitely not your crappy set of comp speakers..
have any of guys heard of logitech's z680's?
definitely not your crappy set of comp speakers..
Yes I heard 3 set of logitech speakers, it sounds good! They don't tend to emphasis the ''bass'' that much, they have a better overall response with clear mids and less distortion...What annoyed me is that the model I own work with 2 AA batteries... I don't know where the cie is landed right now but they use to build good little computer spks unit.
Few years ago Elektor magazine have one PC amplifier schematic which can be plugged in PCI slot.
Looks very similar as Marchand.
Looks very similar as Marchand.
you could use the amps from the crappy speakers you already have. all the connectors too. 20 watts ain't bad if you are sitting 3 feet from the speakers.
reply
Well the speakers i got for £80 were Logitech 2.1 Z340
The sub is awful, no 80hz kick,no deep bass.Just boom boom one note bass and a crappy rumble.Which the sub uses a 4 inch 20w rms driver and a 8 inch passive radiator.
And the Satellites use a 2 inch 6.5 w rms fullrange which gives good treble but very poor midrange and it sounds very muffled and closed in.
Just shows not everything expensive is good.
My soundcard is Creative ES1373 [64 voices] fairly crap soundcard. And the music I listen to is only MP3 reggae and drum and bass and online internet radio stations playing drum and bass,reggae.
And the other thing I notice is there is a very loud hum coming from the speakers and sub when listening to audio online.
Either it's the music online and the downloaded mp3 is very badly edited/broadcasted or it's my soundcard and the speakers or both
😕
😡 
Well the speakers i got for £80 were Logitech 2.1 Z340
The sub is awful, no 80hz kick,no deep bass.Just boom boom one note bass and a crappy rumble.Which the sub uses a 4 inch 20w rms driver and a 8 inch passive radiator.
And the Satellites use a 2 inch 6.5 w rms fullrange which gives good treble but very poor midrange and it sounds very muffled and closed in.
Just shows not everything expensive is good.
My soundcard is Creative ES1373 [64 voices] fairly crap soundcard. And the music I listen to is only MP3 reggae and drum and bass and online internet radio stations playing drum and bass,reggae.
And the other thing I notice is there is a very loud hum coming from the speakers and sub when listening to audio online.
Either it's the music online and the downloaded mp3 is very badly edited/broadcasted or it's my soundcard and the speakers or both
😕
😡 
Re: reply
Try with real loudspeakers, or with a real CD. You'll know 😉
Bull said:
Either it's the music online and the downloaded mp3 is very badly edited/broadcasted or it's my soundcard and the speakers or both
😕
Try with real loudspeakers, or with a real CD. You'll know 😉
I built some for my son -- they use Audax AP100Z0 4" shielded woofer/mid and AW0101E1 tweeters. This is the set I built the quadruple gainclone for -- using the LM1876 (the low power double chip amp.) The tweeter needs a little taming -- I found that it was easier to do with an RC network than twiddling with filter software (but I will revisit the latter.)
you can build the filter, at least 12db/8vo right into the chip-amp (JBL has done this) but I prefer a separate opamp XOVR.
jack
you can build the filter, at least 12db/8vo right into the chip-amp (JBL has done this) but I prefer a separate opamp XOVR.
jack
Bull...
Also my limit is £100 to bulid a 2.1 system.
In or excluding the amps?
What puzzles me a bit is the 4" bass combinated with a 8" passive radiator????😕 😕
Okay.....
Since you're looking for a pc-sound-system i would't bother too much about high quality sound. but there are some things that can narrow down the huge amount of speakers avail.
First, as listener you're positioned fairly close to the speakers. To create a good sound level over a 1[m] distance is not that difficult, So any speaker (from a sensibillity/sound pressure level point of view) would do. Personally i would choose a shielded small full-range which can play, lets say, down to 120 [hz].
(or are you looking for room filling sound???😀 ).
Second, since you're close to the speaker set it is a challange to create a full spectrum sound scheme for all frequencies including the bass and sub-bass. Also to create a good spatial stereo sound is more difficult at small distances. This also points out to a full-range couple fairly low to the sub 120[hz]. Do not go any lower than that. Since us humans cannot detect stereo below 150-200[hz] lets use this at our advantage.
For a bass or sub-bass you could use a 5" or 6" 4 [ohm].This will give you a starting point round around 35[hz]/45[hz] at moderate case volumes, 7 - 15 liters and a good sound level.
Car-subs will do nicely.
If your current amp has the capabillity to alter cutt-of freq. and alter bass-boost, even phase correction i would use the amp. else add it to your collection of oil lamps and steam engines 😀
Atleast use a amp with controllable cutt-of freq.
Well, let us know which choice you're thinkin' off. 🙄
Mazz.
Also my limit is £100 to bulid a 2.1 system.
In or excluding the amps?
What puzzles me a bit is the 4" bass combinated with a 8" passive radiator????😕 😕
Okay.....
Since you're looking for a pc-sound-system i would't bother too much about high quality sound. but there are some things that can narrow down the huge amount of speakers avail.
First, as listener you're positioned fairly close to the speakers. To create a good sound level over a 1[m] distance is not that difficult, So any speaker (from a sensibillity/sound pressure level point of view) would do. Personally i would choose a shielded small full-range which can play, lets say, down to 120 [hz].
(or are you looking for room filling sound???😀 ).
Second, since you're close to the speaker set it is a challange to create a full spectrum sound scheme for all frequencies including the bass and sub-bass. Also to create a good spatial stereo sound is more difficult at small distances. This also points out to a full-range couple fairly low to the sub 120[hz]. Do not go any lower than that. Since us humans cannot detect stereo below 150-200[hz] lets use this at our advantage.
For a bass or sub-bass you could use a 5" or 6" 4 [ohm].This will give you a starting point round around 35[hz]/45[hz] at moderate case volumes, 7 - 15 liters and a good sound level.
Car-subs will do nicely.
If your current amp has the capabillity to alter cutt-of freq. and alter bass-boost, even phase correction i would use the amp. else add it to your collection of oil lamps and steam engines 😀
Atleast use a amp with controllable cutt-of freq.
Well, let us know which choice you're thinkin' off. 🙄
Mazz.
reply
Yep £100 for the lot including the amps[not bothered if i buy 2nd hand amps] cos the pc is only some lousy rubbish with 32 mb memory anyway, and needs many parts upgrading.
So a gainclone or 2nd hand 30w rms or lower transistor amp would suit me fine.
All I need is speakers which produce almost full range sound about 50hz-20khz and intergrate well and go loud with room filling sound.And handles bass well,without 'bottoming out' on the woofers.
Since I listen to drum and bass and reggae on my pc and broke the original computer speakers buy blasting out too much bass.
And the new ones i bought don't distort but sound harsh,muffled and lack mid bass and midrange.
So I want a room filling sound which is balanced across the entire frequency range[no hissy treble or boomy bass or harsh midrange] and is loud and is capable of handling heavy bass at loud/medium volume levels for long time.
It's probably harder to build a sub and satellites with internal amps than just buying a domestic hifi amp and build some small but rugged 2 way which is magnetically sheilded.
Last but not least the connection to my soundcard needs to be a single stereo minijack.
For the tweeters i was thinking of mini dome tweeters and for the bass everything between 4 inch-6 1/2 inch long throw.And a simple crossover network in a small MDF square cube--since space is at a minimum.
Yep £100 for the lot including the amps[not bothered if i buy 2nd hand amps] cos the pc is only some lousy rubbish with 32 mb memory anyway, and needs many parts upgrading.
So a gainclone or 2nd hand 30w rms or lower transistor amp would suit me fine.
All I need is speakers which produce almost full range sound about 50hz-20khz and intergrate well and go loud with room filling sound.And handles bass well,without 'bottoming out' on the woofers.
Since I listen to drum and bass and reggae on my pc and broke the original computer speakers buy blasting out too much bass.
And the new ones i bought don't distort but sound harsh,muffled and lack mid bass and midrange.
So I want a room filling sound which is balanced across the entire frequency range[no hissy treble or boomy bass or harsh midrange] and is loud and is capable of handling heavy bass at loud/medium volume levels for long time.
It's probably harder to build a sub and satellites with internal amps than just buying a domestic hifi amp and build some small but rugged 2 way which is magnetically sheilded.
Last but not least the connection to my soundcard needs to be a single stereo minijack.
For the tweeters i was thinking of mini dome tweeters and for the bass everything between 4 inch-6 1/2 inch long throw.And a simple crossover network in a small MDF square cube--since space is at a minimum.
I've heard reasonably good things about the JBL/Harman Kardon 2.1 speakers. They might at least be worth trying to listen to, as they run in at $100 or so.
kiwi
kiwi
2 tangband 3" drivers - $32
1 dayton 8" dvc driver - $26
2 "dual 25" amps from apexJR - $60
no frills x-over - $20
those prices should be pretty close to their shipped value
alittle over your budget...but would be a very nice computer setup
that can get down low and have a nice high end as well
1 dayton 8" dvc driver - $26
2 "dual 25" amps from apexJR - $60
no frills x-over - $20
those prices should be pretty close to their shipped value
alittle over your budget...but would be a very nice computer setup
that can get down low and have a nice high end as well
Bull..
It's probably harder to build a sub and satellites with internal amps than just buying a domestic hifi amp and build some small but rugged 2 way which is magnetically sheilded.
So...., you're not really interrested in a pc-sound system.
Why not use your own hi-fi set hooked up to your computer🙂
Buy a mini jack cable and of you go..😀
...... There are losts of good designs out there which satisfy your needs. Just look out for sourround system designs (center or effect speakers)
Mazz.....
It's probably harder to build a sub and satellites with internal amps than just buying a domestic hifi amp and build some small but rugged 2 way which is magnetically sheilded.
So...., you're not really interrested in a pc-sound system.
Why not use your own hi-fi set hooked up to your computer🙂
Buy a mini jack cable and of you go..😀
...... There are losts of good designs out there which satisfy your needs. Just look out for sourround system designs (center or effect speakers)
Mazz.....
reply
HAHA I can't use my own hifi set because the speakers are so large they would take up almost the whole room where the computer is.
And I want speakers which can sit on the desktop next to the monitor,since the computer room is very small and space is very limited.And the speakers have to be shielded.
So I think I'll forget the satellite/sub idea.
Here are my options:
[1] Buy some ready made 2 way active speakers such as the Maplin ones with a 4 inch bass and 2 inch tweeter rated 18w rms each enclosure,which will sound better than crappy single driver fullrange computer speakers,but not sure if the maplin ones are magnetically sheilded.
[2] Make a pair using 4 inch-6 inch Audax or Tangband bass/mid and Audax round miniture dome tweeter and crossover in MDF cabinet driven with cheap hifi amp that i've just discovered in my loft[ Radioshack 2x 25 W rms mini sized hifi amp]
[3] Use 4w rms miniture amps from old pc speakers and build these into a small MDF cabinet with some very efficent 4 inch woofers and dome tweeter plus x over.
😕
HAHA I can't use my own hifi set because the speakers are so large they would take up almost the whole room where the computer is.
And I want speakers which can sit on the desktop next to the monitor,since the computer room is very small and space is very limited.And the speakers have to be shielded.
So I think I'll forget the satellite/sub idea.
Here are my options:
[1] Buy some ready made 2 way active speakers such as the Maplin ones with a 4 inch bass and 2 inch tweeter rated 18w rms each enclosure,which will sound better than crappy single driver fullrange computer speakers,but not sure if the maplin ones are magnetically sheilded.
[2] Make a pair using 4 inch-6 inch Audax or Tangband bass/mid and Audax round miniture dome tweeter and crossover in MDF cabinet driven with cheap hifi amp that i've just discovered in my loft[ Radioshack 2x 25 W rms mini sized hifi amp]
[3] Use 4w rms miniture amps from old pc speakers and build these into a small MDF cabinet with some very efficent 4 inch woofers and dome tweeter plus x over.
😕
- Status
- Not open for further replies.