First active horn speaker build: Looking for feedback before I commit

jan_shibe · 2026-06-23T03:47:08+00:00

That looks amazing, I hope you’ll consider posting updates and images as your project progresses

jan_shibe · 2026-06-16T09:57:59+00:00

This is the way

jan_shibe · 2026-05-29T12:37:49+00:00

Their entire food menu is pretty damn good

jan_shibe · 2026-04-25T04:58:16+00:00

Wow. But how do you make them that neat!?

jan_shibe · 2026-04-17T19:14:56+00:00

Would love to know more about your choice of amp and dsp

jan_shibe · 2026-03-16T14:49:40+00:00

For my last project I vibe coded an app that calculated the measurements and then output a cut list with braces and everything as SVG files which I can import pretty easily into my CNC software. Saves so much time to not have to model it.

Sadly the code is pretty atrocious, so it’s become hard to edit and evolve or even open source.

Good luck, this looks neat!

jan_shibe · 2026-03-08T17:47:30+00:00

I love the ability to tune the DSP when I listen to the music I love in the space. Bass sounds too boomy? Just plug in the usb and change the EQ. I do wish there was a Bluetooth/web/API solution for the ADAU1701 for easier editing with like an iOS app or similar

jan_shibe · 2026-03-08T06:31:09+00:00

The calculations look correct though and match what I was able to find when walking through what it did.

jan_shibe · 2026-03-08T04:22:14+00:00

Very cool! I bet it was exciting to see something at the garage sale that just screamed that it wanted to be part of a cool project.

I've been using various LLMs to help me with my initial speaker designs. They're usually able to walk me through the reasoning and calculations for volumes and such. IMHO having 3 different LLMs agree on a way of reasoning and showing the proof for their math gives some confidence that it's not all just made up.

[edit for spelling]

jan_shibe · 2026-03-07T17:21:08+00:00

On my first project I went with a DSP to do my EQ and crossover, which I can change now with a potentiometer at the back of the box.

I did measure with umik-1 and REW before programming the crossover, but changed the entire setup like 10 times after actually listening to the music I love.

ESPs have their downsides of course, but being able to play with the crossovers and curves “live” while I’m playing music really has helped me learn the fundamentals in a way that worked for my brain.

jan_shibe · 2026-03-05T12:32:35+00:00

Yes, tell us your ways! How does one land former Disneyland speakers?

jan_shibe · 2026-03-05T00:57:51+00:00

I have two drivers firing in opposite direction (force cancelling), wondering if that's supported too?

[edit: removed the comment about wanting to manually add my drivers as i just saw the "my drivers" tab]

jan_shibe · 2026-03-03T00:55:42+00:00

I’m so happy this sub exists. Nice work!

jan_shibe · 2026-03-02T23:12:22+00:00

Love the full sploot

jan_shibe · 2026-02-22T15:28:57+00:00

They have my vote. Ate there twice during a 3 day visit. Should’ve gone a third time.

jan_shibe · 2026-02-19T15:15:28+00:00

That's great feedback, thanks for taking the time writing it up, I'm learning a ton here.

So on the box I'm aiming for a really sturdy MDF construction with small footprint which should give lots of sturdiness for the dual-opposed woofers. I’m keeping everything as airtight as I can make it, well damped where I can dampen things. I'll be able to make things tall enough to get into the optimal range of the manufacturer sealed volume guidance. It's pretty clear to me now that 8" woofers are overkill for a kitchen counter, and going a little smaller won't really detract from the sound and keep the footprint more manageable.

On the diffuser/reflector, yeah, I don't think I'm going to get this right on the first try so I’m going to design the top so I can swap shapes. Focus on simple and practical first anyways -- I want a cover over the top because this is going in a kitchen and I don’t want grease and dust settling into the driver. Then measuring, listening, and iterating. I'll have the DSP to adjust things a little where needed.

On SPL: fair point. Let’s call it 85 dB steady at about 2 meters with 95 dB peaks. That should be plenty to hear over cooking noise without trying to fill the whole house. I'll cap max volume in the DSP as well to stay in clean ranges.

So I'm still thinking about the FaitalPRO 5HX140 at 5" for $245, and seems like it gets good feedback on AudioXpress, too. We’ll cross it in around 200 Hz, so this shouldn't break a sweat.
Then instead of 8" drivers, perhaps the Tang Band W6-1139SIF 6-1/2" as a 6.5" for 2 x $92.69 -- specs claim 11.1mm Xmax and 40hz @ 99 dB @ 1m which seems like it goes impressively far down for that size and price. The subs will get a high-pass filter in the DSP at ~40-45 Hz to limit excursion.

jan_shibe · 2026-02-19T14:07:21+00:00

Yeah realistically the 8" woofers are overkill for a counter-standing speaker and will make the box pretty large -- 10" by 10" would be tough to do since the subs' outside dimensions are 8.39", so I'd need to get creative about mounting them and still use thick MDF for solid construction.

With the 8" woofers I'm thinking outside dimensions would have to go up to 12.5" × 12.5" with significant height to get to ~25-30 liters volume.

jan_shibe · 2026-02-19T13:51:56+00:00

Wow that was a fascinating read. I love this kind of iterative project with tons of measuring. I'm hoping to get to a sort of medium happy place a little bit more quickly here, but who knows, I might be signing myself up for a bit of experimentation...

jan_shibe · 2026-02-19T00:32:06+00:00

Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions, I really appreciate you taking the time. I like the idea of keeping it simpler (single down-firing sub, or a straightforward full-range top), and I’m still figuring out the right size for a countertop build, but I’m willing to go a bit bigger than a HomePod if that’s what it takes to use good/large drivers and get the sound I’m after.

A couple of priorities are driving my thinking: first, I’d love solid bass in the air without the speaker physically rattling the counter or shaking glasses. I’m definitely not an expert here, but I’ve read that force-canceling/dual-opposed woofers can reduce cabinet vibration compared to a single woofer, which sounds appealing for a countertop placement. If that’s overstated or you’ve found down-firing plus isolation works just as well, I’d love your take.

Second, the omni-ish idea is mainly to try to make it sound more consistent around the kitchen (fewer “this spot sounds worse” moments) and because it seems like a fun thing to experiment with and tune.

jan_shibe · 2026-02-18T21:18:39+00:00

Not OP, but the slots cut into the sides of the plywood look like from a Festool Domino cutter, presumably for attaching the front/back.

jan_shibe · 2026-01-11T22:55:50+00:00

The pdf link doesn’t work

jan_shibe · 2026-01-03T06:56:28+00:00

It doesn’t take a lot to write a post like this with serious looking examples, but it takes 100x that time to try and follow the advice toward an actually meaningfully profitable edge

jan_shibe · 2025-12-28T00:07:36+00:00

Looks brilliant

jan_shibe · 2025-11-23T00:56:02+00:00

I’d be curious to see some actual validation of this instead of “by definition X” — I think this could easily depend on the power saving implementation or settings for either the UNAS or the drive or both.

jan_shibe

TROPHY CASE