Speaker Enclosures

Gmkowal it's great to hear that you are jumping into our hobby! You are many steps ahead of most of us(me included) in that you are a woodworker. As far as kits go, you have a lot of options. Check out Orca Design's(orcadesign.com) website for some great information. Make sure to request literature from them, as when I have gone there, the designs were nowhere near as numerous as what they used to send me through the mail. Kimon Bellas(GREAT guy) runs the show, and they are the US parts division of JMLabs. Have excellent drivers from Focal, Cabasse, Vieta, Raven, etc. They used to regularly send me a pack of information as thick as a phone book loaded with advice, designs, kits, and parts. The big contributors in this information(in addition to Kimon) were Joe D'Appolito(EVERYBODY uses his designs), Dick Olsher, and the folks from Focal and Cabasse. Next to try is Madisound, they have parts and kits from everywhere. Kits are good for a novice, but you will find the sound quality lacking once you become more advanced. But, Madisound will always remain a resource for you for their parts(real good prices). Check out North Creek design for their excellent ideas on putting together cabinet walls. Their coils(12, 10, & 8 gauge!) are some of the best you can buy. They turned me on to Ohmite wirewound resistors. Take it from me, there is no more cost effective way to improved sound than wirewound resistors. Alpha Core Goertz(same people who make cable) also have nice coils(including silver), but the sound is much different than North Creek's(more forward, less relaxed and sunny). Best large value caps come from SCR, same company as Solen. SCR's sound much better though(use better film and foil). Smaller value caps can come from Wonder, Hovland, or MIT/Rel(my favorite). Get wire from Orca or HomeGrown Audio. And finally, Zalytron is a great resource(assuming you are not put off by Elliot's demeanor). He has as much "real world" knowledge as anyone. You can show him something that looks great on paper, and he'll tell you to forget it. He will then change your crossover values to numbers that don't jive with any chart around. 99% of the time he is right. You'll get excellent crossover designs from either Elliot or Kimon.

Suburuguru, sounds like you are an actual speaker hobbyist. To me, it's like being in R&D. Even the best around have a 95%(at least) failure rate. Yes, it is a wonderful hobby. But, no matter what you do, you gain experience and knowledge from it(the most important tools in this hobby). There is no perfect speaker, and it will not be coming in the near future. But, IT SURE IS FUN(and frustrating) chasing the Holy Grail. Gmkowal, I think your using MDF for your first speaker is a wise move. Look at your first project as more of a learning experience, rather than building a masterpiece. You may want to invest in cheaper parts for this go around, or build from a kit. If you feel comfortable in this area(or come to the conclusion that you should employ the work of a cabinet maker), on your next project look into multilayered enclosures(tons of directions to go in this area - the granite is interesting). Good luck! Please keep us posted, and don't hesitate to ask for advice.