DIY Sealed Jordan JX92S Bookshelf Speaker

A while back I purchased a pair of Jordan JX92S fullrange speakers. At the time I purchased them I didn't really know what I was going to do with them, but having read so many positive comments about these drivers, I really wanted to hear them for myself. At $180 each, the drivers are costly, but these drivers have a large Xmax, good low end extension and a fairly smooth frequency response. It is uncommon to find all of these attributes in a medium sized fullrange unit. I was eager to hear these drivers, so I figured I would first try them in a sealed loudspeaker enclosure, with the idea to convert the box to a bass reflex or aperiodic enclosure later on. Figure 1 shows the calculated frequency response for the JX92S driver in a 0.25 ft^3 sealed box. The orange line is the calculated response using the manufacturers T/S parameters and the yellow line is the calculated response using parameters that I measured with a Dayton Audio Woofer Tester 3 (WT3). The calculated impedance is shown in Figure 2. See the Jordan JX92S fullrange driver page for the measured Thiele-Small (T/S) Parameters.

Figure 1: Calculated Frequency Response - Jordan JX92S in 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Box

Figure 2: Calculated Impedance Response - Jordan JX92S in 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Box

For the loudspeaker enclosure I used prefabricated 0.25 ft^3 curved cabinets from Parts Express
. A rectangular or do-it-yourself (DIY) box of the same volume would also be fine. Damp the walls of the cabinet with upholsterers felt or use poly fill to stuff the box. Adjust the damping materials to suit your taste. The driver is counter sunk, but I didn't have any black low profiles screws on hand and I wasn't about to run out to buy some.

Photograph 1: Jordan JX92S in a 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Loudspeaker Box - Front

Photograph 2: Jordan JX92S in a 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Loudspeaker Box - Rear

The measured frequency response is shown in Figure 3. The frequency response measurements were completed using a Radio Shack 33-2050 SPL Meter. On axis, this is a fairly smooth driver. At about 15 degrees and more off axis, the high frequency response drops off rapidly due to beaming.

Figure 3: Measured Frequency Response - Jordan JX92S in 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Box

The impedance response was measured using the Dayton Audio Woofer Tester 3 and is shown below in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Measured Impedance Response - Jordan JX92S in 0.25 ft^3 Sealed Box

The temptation will be run these drivers fullrange and some may actually be happy by only sucking the drivers up against the wall. However, most people will likely prefer some amount of baffle step correction / compensation (BSC). The amount of attenuation required will be a function of the listening room, amplifier and personal taste. I was happy with about 4.5 dB of attenuation (Lbsc=1mH and Rbsc=3R9 for a 7.5" wide baffle). You can use the online baffle step correction calculator to determine a suitable circuit for your baffle width and desired attenuation.

Photograph 3: Temporary BSC for Jordan JX92S Sealed Loudspeaker

Most will likely be satisfied with this driver running fullrange plus a simple BSC. However, off-axis the high frequency response starts to quickly disappear. Personally, I like to toe the speakers so they cross just in front of the listening position with Radio Shack 40-1310 Super Tweeters toed out at the same angle. Add a diy active subwoofer (I cross mine in at ~60 Hz) and this makes for a very pleasant and simple 2 channel system. It seems that everyone who hears these drivers prefers them over the Fostex FX120. Myself, I prefer the FX120. I don't find the JX92S as "engaging" as the FX120. Next step is to convert the speaker box into an Aperiodic Loudspeaker Enclosure. Stay tuned.

Related DIY Loudspeaker Projects:

• DIY Jordan JX92S Mass Loaded Transmission Line (ML-TL) Speaker Project

What's Playing: Sarah McLachlan -The Path of Thorns (Terms)

Fostex FX120 ML-TQWT Speaker Project

Martin from Germany has put together a great looking pair of tower loudspeakers. His speaker project uses the Fostex FX120 fullrange driver. I have used this driver myself and it is my favorite Fostex driver.


The speaker enclosure is a Mass Loaded - Tapered Quarter Wavelength Tube (ML-TQWT). As you can see, Martin has done a great job with the finish on the DIY speaker cabinet. He came up with the design on his own using the MathCAD worksheets available from Martin J. King at quarter-wave.com. His speaker project includes a design for a baffle step correction circuit which he found necessary to balance the sound.


Martin reports that the sound is relaxed with a detailed midrange and good highs. He also indicates that the ML-TQWT enclosure gets good low end extension from the small Fostex driver. Having recently used the FX120, I can confirm that this is one sweet sounding driver.

For additional information, pictures and the speaker cabinet design, see Martin's Fostex FX120 DIY ML-TQWT Speaker Project.

Related DIY Audio Projects:

• Fostex FX120 Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speaker Project
  
• Jordan JX92S Transmission Line Loudspeaker Project
  

What's Playing: Jewel - Morning Song

Jordan JX92S Fullrange Drivers

Recently I aquired a pair of Jordan JX92S Fullrange Speakers as part of a group buy organized through diyAudio.com. Ted Jordan of E J Jordan Designs has been developing his drivers for some 50 years and his drivers are very well regarded. The Jordan drivers are different from most similar sized fullrange drivers in that they cover almost nine octaves! The Jordan JX92S speakers are well built and use a cast frame. The cone and dust cap are metalic. The pole piece is vented and the magnet is sheilded. I measured the Theile/Small T/S parameters using the new Dayton Audio Woofer Tester 3 (WT3). The measured parameters I came up with do not match very closley with those published by the manufacturer. See the Jordan JX92S Fullrange Speaker page for a detailed comparison of the T/S parameters. However, do note that the parameters measured by myself using WT3 are consistent with those measured by Zaph|Audio using SoundEasy and the Dayton Audio Woofer Tester 3 (WT3).


Given that Qts was measured to be near 0.6, a relatively large vented enclosure will be required to get some bass depth from this driver. To try minimize the size of the enclosure (for WAF), an Aperiodic Speaker Cabinet Design can be considered. Seeing that I have a unused pair of 0.25 ft^3 curved Parts Express speaker cabinets, I may go this route. The JX92S drivers have been used successfully in a wide variety of enclosures.

Related DIY Loudspeaker Projects:

• DIY Jordan JX92S Mass Loaded Transmission Line (ML-TL) Speakers
  
• DIY Jordan JX92S Sealed Bookshelf Speakers
  

What's Playing: Lisa Loeb - Snow Day

Fostex FE127E DIY Bass Reflex Speakers

Peter in Australia has put together a nice looking pair of DIY speakers. The speakers are a fullrange (single driver) design in a 12.5L bookshelf sized enclosure. The enclosure design is a simple bass reflex cabinet using the Fostex FE127E fullrange speaker drivers (shown below).


The DIY speaker cabinets are constructed using MDF and finished with a real wood veneer. The speakers can be run fullrnage or through a Baffle Step Compensation Circuit. Peter reports that these relatively small speakers work well in small to medium sized rooms and have very special sonics which can bring out spectacular mids.


For additional information, pictures and the speaker cabinet design, see Fostex FE127E DIY Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers.

Related Posts:

• Gio's Fostex FX120 DIY Bass Reflex Speaker Project
  
• Jesse's Aura NS3-194-8E DelSol - DIY Fullrange Speaker Project

What's Playing: George Harrison - Cloud 9

Fostex FX120 Bass Reflex Speakers

A few months back I posted some pictures and comments about the new great looking curved speaker cabinets from Parts Express. The cabinet I ordered are 0.38 ft³ and have a black piano gloss finish.


Having built a couple pairs of speakers using inexpensive fullrange Fostex drivers, I really wanted to hear what more expensive fullrange drivers sound like. So I ordered up a pair of Fostex FX120 fullrange drivers.


For the enclosure, I decided to try a simple bass reflex cabinet tuned to about 63 Hz. The dimensions and tuning is very similar to that recommended by Fostex. The results are pretty good (both looks and sound). The FX120 is a very smooth and detailed driver and I prefer over the Fostex FE127E driver (which is very good considering the low cost).


In a small sized room the speakers deliver decent bass extension and it also blends in well with a subwoofer. The FX120 has great sonics and a fantastic midrange. The relatively small bookshelf speaker also work great as near field monitors.

For more information about this DIY speaker project see the project page, Fostex FX120 Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers.

Related Posts:

• Martin's Fostex FX120 DIY ML-TQWT Speaker Project
  
• Peter's Fostex FE127E DIY Bass Reflex Speaker Project

What's Playing: U2 -Wire

DIY Speakers - Ready Made Enclosures

If you are like me and lack the wood working skills, tools and workspace to build a fine looking pair of speaker enclosures, there is some hope. Buy some ready made enclosures!


I want to try another fullrange speaker project over the Christmas holidays, and I don't have the skills or time to build nice looking enclosures. So I opted for a ready made Dayton 0.38 ft³ Curved Cabinet finished in Gloss Black from Parts Express.


You can see that the cabinet has a great high gloss piano finish. The baffle is 1" MDF and removable. The grill is secured to the baffle by magnets in line with the machine screws that hold the baffle in place.


The enclosure is constructed out of 3/4" MDF side and back panels with a 3/4" MDF brace running vertically up the sides and across the top and bottom. The overall dimensions are 14" H x (8" Front, 4.5" Back) W x 11.3" D.

With quality ready made cabinets like this, a finished DIY speaker should only be a few holes away! Somehow, I know it won't be that simple! :)

UPDATE - 24 March 2008

The cabinets shown above were used to make a pair for Fostex FX120 Bookshelf speakers. I liked the curved PE cabinets so much I just had to purchase another pair. This time, I opted for the 0.25 ft³ cabinets in a Maple finish. The plan is to house Jordan JX92S Fullrange drivers in these new cabinets.



What's Playing: Strange Advance -The Second That I Saw You

Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E

Barry's first DIY Audio Project was a small pair of DIY DelSol Aura NS3-194-8E Bookshelf Speakers. He has since moved on to bigger and taller speakers! His latest are another pair of fullrange loudspeakers, the Fostex FE103E Zigmahornets. The original Zigmahornets were designed using the now discontinued Fostex FE103 driver. But like many others, Barry is reporting good results with the newer Fostex FE103E speaker driver.


In his short article, Barry shows us how simple this speaker project is and how you can easily build a great sounding set of speakers without your own table saw. Barry reports that the sound is clear and clean with good bass response from the small driver.

For additional information and pictures, see the complete page of Barry's Fostex FE103E Zigmahornets.

Related Fullrange Speaker Projects:

• DIY Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project
• Jordan JX92S DIY ML-TL (Transmission Line) Speaker
• Fostex FX120 ML-TQWT Speaker Project

What's Playing: Elvis Costello - She

Hi-Vi 3-Way Tower Speaker Project

Adam has constructed a 3-Way DIY Tower Loudspeaker using all Hi-Vi drivers. The speaker enclosure is divided into two parts. A bass reflex portion which contains a single Hi-Vi F8 Woofer and a separate sealed portion that contains a the pair of Hi-Vi F5 mid-woofers and a Hi-Vi SD1.1-A tweeter. The sound is divided using a 3-way 2nd order crossover network shown below.


The speaker enclosure is constructed from MDF and the finish is a black oil based epoxy paint with red oak trim. A picture of the finished speakers in Adams Home Theater room is shown below.


I really like the look of the black black cabinet and red oak trim against the yellow Kevlar cones of the Hi-Vi drivers. Adam excellent bass response and clear and clean sound from these fantastic looking speakers.

For additional information and pictures of this DIY Speaker project, see the DIY Hi-Vi 3-Way Tower Project page.

Related:

• DIY Loudspeaker Projects
  

What's Playing: Stevie Nicks - Rooms on Fire

Tobler-ONE: Jordan JX92S MLTL Speaker

Here is a fine looking Mass Loaded Transmission Line (MLTL) loudspeaker enclosure for the Jordan JX92S fullrange driver that has been put together by Francesco. The enclosure cross-section is trapezoidal and thus this speaker lends itself very well to corner placement. With the tall and narrow baffle, combined with corner placement, this loudspeaker has a high WAF, while not sacrificing the low frequency response.

To match the room decor, the enclosure has been constructed using beech plywood. The result is a fine looking loudspeaker with aesthetic appeal and great sonic qualities. Fantastic work Francesco.

For more information about this DIY Speaker Project, see the Tobler-ONE: DIY Jordan JX92S T-Line, single driver loudspeaker project.

Related Jordan JX92S Information:

• Jordan JX92S Fullrange Speaker Driver
• DIY Jordan JX92S Sealed Bookshelf Speakers

What's Playing: Jeff Lynne - Lift Me Up

K-502 Tube Amplifier Kit & The DelSol Speaker

Barry has put together his first two DIY Audio Projects. A build of the inexpensive K-502 Tube Amplifier Kit and the DelSol Speaker.


The enclosure for the K-502 Tube Amp Kit is wood and plexiglass.


The DelSol projects uses the Aura NS3-194-8E fullrange driver. For the enclosure, Barry used 3/4" MDF and 1/2" oak.


Together these two simple DIY projects make a simple hi-fi unit. For more information, see Barry's project page the DIY K-502 Tube Amplifier Kit and Aura NS3-194-8E DelSol Speaker.

Related DIY Audio Projects:

• K-502 Valve (Vacuum Tube) Amplifier Kit
• Aura NS3-194-8E DIY Bookshelf Speaker Project

What's Playing: Duran Duran - Like An Angel

DelSol - DIY Fullrange Speaker Project

Here is Jesse's speaker project, the Aura NS3-194-8E DelSol fullrange bookshelf Speaker. The DelSol is a small and inexpensive fullrange bookshelf / monitor speaker project that uses the Aura NS3-194-8E fullrange driver. The enclosure is a simple bass reflex cabinet with no crossover or correction circuit.

For more information see the DelSol Aura NS3-194E DIY Speaker Project project page.

Related Posts:

• Gio's Fostex FX120 DIY Bass Reflex Speaker Project
• Peter's Fostex FE127E DIY Bass Reflex Speakers

What's Playing: The Smiths - There is a Light that Never Goes Out

Alex's build of the Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole

A while back I finished up a DIY Sealed Tower Loudspeaker project using the Fostex FE127E driver. A short time later, I was contacted by Alex in the Philippines who told me that he was constructing this project.


The above picture is Alex's build of the DIY Sealed Bipole Speaker Project using the Fostex FE127E. Alex did a great job constructing the enclosure using MDF for the baffles and solid Narra for the sides. I was very pleased when Alex sent me pictures of his finished project and his positive comments regarding how nice these speakers sound.

For more pictures, see Alex's build log of the DIY Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project.

To be notified of new projects added to the DIY Audio Projects website, subscribe to our RSS feed.

Related DIY Audio Projects:

• Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project
  
• DIY Fostex FE127E Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers
• Zigmahornet Speakers with Fostex FE103E

What's Playing: George Harrison - Cloud Nine

Fostex FE127E Sealed Bi-pole

Originally Posted: 13 June 2006

Another set of DIY full-range speakers! The small fellows in the picture are a pair of 23L sealed bi-poles speakers using the Fostex FE127E driver and built with MDF. Many thanks go out to Mark from mach5audio.com who did most of the woodworking. The wife pleaser in the middle is an experiment of his ... A 20" subwoofer in an open baffle! The test setup was a Luxman preamp, Behringer DCX and Luxman power amp. Cross over points between 80 and 120Hz were tested with 90-100Hz working well with the 20" open baffle sub. It was tough trying to place the speakers as we found the 20" sub was often in the way of the music, but we did manage to get it set up nicely. We were very pleased with the initial results and are expecting even better performance with a tube amp.

Overall, I am very pleased with the results from this very simple project. More information about this project and an enclosure plan is available on the DIY Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project page.

Related DIY Audio Projects:

• Alex's build of the Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project
  
• DIY Fostex FE127E Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers
  

What's Playing: Marc Almond & Softcell - Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

BD-Pipes with Radioshack 40-1197

Originally Posted: 22 January 2006

Football sucked today! Jake Plummer should stick to taking field goal snaps.

On the bright side, I finished a BD-Pipes Project with the Radio Shack 40-1197 today! Almost two years of planning and finally some results. A special thank you goes out to Andrea and her dad at the Minnedosa speaker factory for all their fine carpentry work.

The drivers are 4" Radio Shack 40-1197 (FE103) full rangers, two of them per enclosure and thus no need for a baffle step compensation (BSC) circuit! The speakers are still being broken in, but thus far they sound pretty darn good. I am surprised how much bass these little four inch drivers produce. Being full range, the imaging is great. So far, I am pretty pleased with the sound. I'm looking forward to hearing how these sound when they are broken in.

For additional information about this DIY Speaker project, see the Radio Shack 40-1197 BD-Pipes Project page.

Related DIY Audio Projects:

• Fostex FX120 ML-TQWT Speaker Project
  
• Jordan JX92S Transmission Line Loudspeaker Project

What's Playing: R.E.M. - End of the world