Re: DIY Speaker and Subwoofer Enclosure Tools
Here are some additional tools I'd consider getting:
Beginner
Table Saw -- a circular saw would get the job done, but a table saw is just so much better/easier.
Multimeter -- just one of those things you're going to need to be sure that your electronics are working correctly.
This is one of the better sites I've found offering advice for a new DIY person. It's geared towards headphone amps, but the issues are pretty much the same. If you take a look at the first movie he's got, he makes suggestions for different types of equipment to buy, including multimeters.
Soldering Iron -- same site offers advice on buying an iron and has some excellent
instructional videos.
Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason -- a great reference book for the DIY speaker builder. There are other books out there that are good too, I just have experience with this one.
Intermediate
REW/TrueRTA -- It's kind of ironic, I'm a mod here but still haven't used REW yet. Anyway, some sort of testing software will be needed. REW is free and, I've been told, does a good of taking all of the relevant measurements needed during testing.
TrueRTA is relatively inexpensive and has been recommended many times in the past. If you're going to buy TrueRTA, just go for the top of the line version -- you're just cheating yourself if you don't.
SPL Meter -- Frankly, EVERYONE with a sound system should have a
RS SPL Meter. There are just too many reasons to have one.
Laptop/External SoundCard -- You'll need some sort of computer to run REW/TrueRTA. An external sound card will also be required as the built in soundcards are terrible. A soundcard I've seen recommended is this
one by M-Audio, and this
one as a step down.
Advanced
Woofer Tester -- Wanna get the true T/S parameters of your specific driver?
This is the tool for you. You CAN get the same information with a mic and keeping a log and performing some calculations, but this is SO much easier.
Calibrated Mic -- Probably the best inexpensive microphone would be the
Behringer ECM8000. The RS meter can also be used, but the ECM is (much?) more accurate.
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JCD