DIY HiVi Research Swans M1 Speakers We got an email from Daniel Bolduc (Quebec, Canada) letting us know that he has followed up his DIY Swans Tempus

We got an email from Daniel Bolduc (Quebec, Canada) letting us know that he has followed up his DIY Swans Tempus Bookshelf Speakers with another DIY build of a HiVi Research speaker. Daniel tells us that the speakers were built for his uncle who was very impressed with the Tempus speakers, but wanted something a little smaller and finished in a piano black high gloss finish.

Sticking with drivers from HiVi, Daniel proposed to build a DIY version of the Swans M1 Speakers. For the enclosure Daniel used a pair of ready made speaker enclosure from Parts Express. I used a pair of the curved Dayton Audio 0.38 ft^3 enclosures with black piano gloss finish for my Fostex FX120 bookshelf speakers and the enclosures are well built and look great.

The high gloss finish on the speaker cabinets will scratch easily so be sure to cover the area well so you don't scratch it with the router when cutting the port and driver holes. The crossover schematic is shown below and Daniel wound his own inductors for the crossover.

The drivers used in Swans M1 speakers are the HiVi F5 (5" bass / midrange) and the HiVi RT1C planer tweeter.

The speaker project cost about $550CDN for the pair and Daniel estimates he invested about 55 hours. I think Daniels build looks much better than the original Swans M1 speakers.

Daniel writes: "So far, I'm very satisfied with the M1's and my uncle is rediscovering his discography with the pair I built for him and is also impressed by the sound reproduction quality."

For full details, more photographs and a materials list for this DIY speaker project, see Daniel's Swans M1 speaker build.

READ MORE - DIY HiVi Research Swans M1 Speakers We got an email from Daniel Bolduc (Quebec, Canada) letting us know that he has followed up his DIY Swans Tempus

New Fullrange Drivers by Tang Band Speakers Tang Band Speakers has announced four new fullrange speaker drivers which will be added to their growing l

New Fullrange Drivers by Tang Band Speakers

Tang Band Speakers has announced four new fullrange speaker drivers which will be added to their growing lineup of drivers. The new paper fullrange drivers are sized at 3" ,4" ,5" and 6". The drivers appear very similar to the 8" Tang Band W8-1772B and W8-1808B fullrange drivers in that they all feature a die cast frame an underhung motor design with a multiple-element neodymium magnet system. Instead of a cloth half-roll surround the new drivers use a rubber surround. The Xmax of the fullrange drivers is a healthy 4mm for the 3" unit and 5mm for the 4", 5" and 6" drivers. A unique looking phase plug is used to prevent phase cancellations and improve high frequency extension and dispersion.

Tang Band W3-1878 Fullrange Driver

Nominal Impedance 8 ohms, DCR 6.5 ohms
Sensitivity 1W/1m, 88 dB
Frequency Response, 75-20kHz
Free Air Resonance, 75 Hz
Rated Power, 12 W
Maximum Power, 25 W
Qts, 0.28
W3-1878 datasheet.

Tang Band W4-1879 Fullrange Driver

Nominal Impedance 8 ohms, DCR 6.3 ohms
Sensitivity 1W/1m, 87 dB
Frequency Response, 55-20kHz
Free Air Resonance, 55 Hz
Rated Power, 25 W
Maximum Power, 50 W
Qts, 0.43

W4-1879 datasheet.

Tang Band W5-1880 Fullrange Driver Nominal Impedance 8 ohms, DCR 6.3 ohms
Sensitivity 1W/1m, 88 dB
Frequency Response, 45-20kHz
Free Air Resonance, 45 Hz
Rated Power, 30 W
Maximum Power, 60 W
Qts, 0.32

W5-1880 datasheet.

Tang Band W6-1916 Fullrange Driver

Nominal Impedance 8 ohms, DCR 6.8 ohms
Sensitivity 1W/1m, 91 dB
Frequency Response, 60-20kHz
Free Air Resonance, 60 Hz
Rated Power, 30 W
Maximum Power, 60 W
Qts, 0.46

W6-1916 datasheet.


There is no indication on pricing or when the drivers will be available.

READ MORE - New Fullrange Drivers by Tang Band Speakers Tang Band Speakers has announced four new fullrange speaker drivers which will be added to their growing l

Giveaway #5 - Fundamental Amplifier Techniques with Electron Tubes

The good folks at Elektor have provided us with a copy of Rudolf Moers' new book, Fundamental Amplifier Techniques with Electron Tubes for this giveaway. Fundamental Amplifier Techniques with Electron Tubes is the English translation of Fundamentele versterkertechniek met elektronenbuizen (ISBN 978-90-5381-226-6) and has been available since last month. The 834 page hard bound book covers the fundamentals of vacuum tubes and shows how to apply that information towards audio amplifier design.

We will be giving away one copy of the book. The giveaway winner will be selected at random from the giveaway list on 10 January 2011. You can get on the giveaway list twice. Once by signing up for our RSS Feed through Email (you don't need to sign up again if you are already subscribed), and you can earn an second entry on the list by participating in the Giveaway #5 thread on the forum. Note that the verification emails often ends up in the spam folder so be sure to check there after you have signed up to verify your subscription. The randomly selected winner will be contacted through email for their shipping details.

Good luck!

READ MORE - Giveaway #5 - Fundamental Amplifier Techniques with Electron Tubes