DIY AUDIO PROJECTS
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A collection of DIY Audio Projects for audiophiles, music lovers, electronic hobbyists, woodworkers and those who just like to build, listen and enjoy. This site exists for the purpose of promoting the DIY Audio Hobby. There is nothing for sale here. All project documentation presented on this site is free for personal use only. If you have a DIY Audio Project that you would like to share on this site, or if you have any comments, please contact me. Questions about a specific DIY Audio Project should be sent to the project author noted at the top of the project page.
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Fostex FX120 ML-TQWT Speaker Project - 5 May 2008 
Martin from Germany has put together a great looking pair of tower loudspeakers using the Fostex FX120 fullrange driver. The enclosure is a Mass Loaded - Tapered Quarter Wavelength Tube (ML-TQWT). As you can see Martin has done a bang up job with the speaker enclosure. His design was created using the MathCAD worksheets from Martin J. King. His speaker project includes a baffle step correction circuit. 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 this little driver. Great work Martin! |
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Fostex FX120 Bass Reflex Bookshelf Speakers - 25 February 2008 
My latest pair of DIY speakers is another fullrange design, but this time in a bookshelf sized enclosure. The enclosure is a simple bass reflex cabinet using Fostex FX120 fullrange drivers. The great looking curved enclosures are prefabricated and from Parts Express. The FX120 is a really smooth driver and I prefer it over the FE127E. On it's own, FX120 delivers decent bass extension in a small sized room and it also blends in well with a subwoofer. The FX120 has great sonics and a great midrange. This relatively small speaker is great as nearfeild monitor. |
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Jean Hiraga - Le Monstre 8W Class A Amplifier - 12 January 2008 
Dan has put together a great looking amplifier which is based on Jean Hiraga's popular article "Le Monstre" (The Monster). Dan has used the original board layout, transistors and JFETs noted in the article. However, he did make some chages to the power supply. Instead of a battery, Dan's power supply is regulated. |
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AMP6: DIY Class-T Amplifier Kit - 3 December 2007
This is my first Class-T amplifier, an AMP6 kit from 41hz.com. It is a simple, compact and inexpensive kit that provides great preformance. It uses the Tripath TA2020 chip and includes an onboard regulated power supply. |
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CMoy / Grado RA1 Headphone Amplifier - 28 November 2007
Mark's latest project is a simple battery powered headphone amplifier. His DIY headphone amplifier projects follows the idea of the popular CMoy headphone amplifier. Power is supplied from two 9-volt batteries. The idea to house the Headphone Amplifier in a wooden enclosure comes from the Grado RA1 headphone amplifier. |
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Zigmahornets with Fostex FE103E - 7 November 2007
Barry has completed another pair of single driver loudspeakers. This time it is a nice looking pair of Zigmahornets. While the Zigmahornets were originally designed for use with the now discontinued Fostex FE103, Barry is reporting good results using the newer Fostex FE103E Fullrange Driver. In his short article, Barry shows us just how simple it is to build yourself a great sounding set of speakers even if you don't have a table saw at your disposal. Barry reports that the sound is clear and clean with very good bass response from such a small driver. |
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EL84 Push Pull Tube Amplifier Project - 22 October 2007 
Bruce latest project, the "OddWatt" is a EL84/6BQ5 Push-Pull Tube Amplifier. The driver stage is an SRPP with ECC802S tubes, while ultra linear operation is used for the output stage with Sovtek EL84 tubes. LM317 Regulators are used for constant current sources (CCS) of the output stages. 12VDC is used for the tube heaters. |
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Synergy LM3875 Gainclone Chip Amplifier - 5 October 2007
Mark has been cooking and put together another Gainclone amplifier. This chip amplifier uses the LM3875 chip and point-to-point wiring. This amp follows the idea of the 47 Laboratory gaincard amplifier, "rigid and compact". The enclosure for this amplifier is an aluminum cooking pan and a wooden cutting board. |
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DIY Hi-Vi 3-Way Tower Loudspeaker Project - 10 September 2007
Adam has completed a fantastic looking 3-Way Tower Loudspeaker project using all Hi-Vi Research drivers. The Hi-Vi F8 Woofer is housed in a bass reflex enclosure which is separated from a sealed portion of the enclosure that contains a 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. The enclosure is constructed from MDF and is finished using black oil based epoxy paint and red oak trim. I really like how the black and red oak compliment the yellow Kevlar cones of the Hi-Vi drivers. Adam reports that the sound is clear and clean with great bass response. |
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K-502 Tube (Valve) Amplifier Kit - 9 July 2007 
Given the low cost and great sound of these tube amp kits, it is no surprise they are popping up everywhere. This is Scott's build of the inexpensive K-502 tube amp kit. It features a fantastic looking enclosure and uses a stepped attenuator for volume control. |
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KT88 Single Ended (SE) Tube Amp - 11 June 2007 
Alex has pulled together a simple single ended tube amp that is based around the popular KT88 valve. As an alternative, EL34 tubes can be used in place of the KT88 tubes. The preamplifier tube is a 6N1P, but the 6DJ8 / ECC88 / E88CC family of tubes can also be used. The power supply uses a 5U4 dual rectifier. |
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Tobler-ONE Jordan JX92S MLTL Speaker Project - 9 May 2007 
Francesco has put together an elegant Mass Loaded Transmission Line (MLTL) loudspeaker enclosure for the Jordan JX92S fullrange driver. The enclosure cross-section is trapezoidal and thus it lends itself well to corner placement. The narrow baffle and corner placement result in a high WAF, while not sacrificing the low frequency response. To match the room decor, the enclosure is constructed from beech plywood. The result is an aesthetically pleasing loudspeaker with great sonic qualities. |
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DIY 5687 LED Biased Tube Preamplifier - 1 March 2007 
Vincent has pulled together a fine looking preamplifier that is based around the 5687 twin triode. Each channel uses both sections of a 5687 vacuum tube with LED biasing used on each section. To keep potential hum at a minimum, the heater filaments are supplies with DC. To further minimize the potential for unwanted noise, the power supply is external to the preamp section and consists of a RCA-83 mercury rectifier and two 50H chokes. Very nice work Vincent. |
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12AX7 Tube Preamplifier Kit - 12 February 2007
This is Mark's build of a simple and inexpensive tube preamplifier kit featured in Silicon Chip Magazine. The preamplifier kit is based around the common 12AX7 dual triode. What makes this kit relatively inexpensive is that power comes from a switch mode power supply which is fed using a 17 volt DC wall wart! Mark's modifications to the preamplifier kit include snubbers and upgraded capacitors. The end result is a simple DIY tube preamplifier that sounds great and will keep some money in your pocket for the next project. |
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Aura NS3-194-8E DIY Bookshelf Speaker Project - 5 January 2007
Jesse has put together a small and inexpensive fullrange bookshelf/monitor speaker that uses the Aura NS3-194-8E fullrange driver. The enclosure is a simple bass reflex cabinet with no crossover or correction circuit. The results are a fun and small DIY project that makes a great near field monitor which will work well with a small amplifier such as the inexpensive Sonic Impact T-Amp. |
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LM3875 (Gainclone) Chip Amplifier Project - 18 December 2006
Another Gainclone project! This chip amp project is Mark's tiny Nanoo Amplifier. The enclosure is constructed from an aluminum box that measures only 119 X 94 X 34 mm. The amplifier is non-inverting and uses the popular LM3875 chip amp with point-to-point wiring. Power to the amplifier is supplied via a seperate external power supply. |
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DIY Class A MOSFET Amplifier - 18 November 2006
Mark has put together a very simple MOSFET amplifier that he fashioned after a single-ended (SE) tube amplifier. The amplifier uses a single MOSFET and the results are a very simple Class A SE amplifier with a low parts count. |
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DIY 10" Ported Subwoofer Project - 1 November 2006
I needed a matching subwoofer to fill in the bottom end of the Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole project and the result is the MAW-10 Ported Subwoofer. The enclosure is constructed from 3/4" MDF and active power is supplied by a small partsexpress plate amplifier. On the underside of the enclosure is a speaker terminal so I can switch between passive and active power. The enclosure was finished with the same cream color paint used on the Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole to make a matching set. This is an easy to build project that delivers nice tight bass without breaking the bank. |
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DIY Fostex FE127E Sealed Bipole Speaker Project - 19 June 2006
As a follow up to the BD-Pipes, I decided to try out another full-range speaker project. In an attempt to get better mid-range and more bass, I decided to try a sealed tower enclosure that would be coupled with a subwoofer. This speaker project uses Fostex FE127E drivers and a simple sealed bipole enclosure constructed from MDF. The results are a great sounding speaker with higher attainable output levels and much improved mid-range in comparison to the BD-Pipes. Again, with a single driver covering most of the frequency range, you get pretty good imaging. The bipole configuration eliminates the need for a BSC and provides a wide soundstage with good depth. With the sealed enclosure, you get excellent cone control, great mid-range and you can develop moderate SPL. The bottom end is filled in with a subwoofer crossing over at about 80Hz. |
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LM3886 Chip Amplifier (Gainclone) - 9 May 2006
Having completed a couple of tube amps, curiosity got the better of me and it came time to hear for myself what all the Chipamp (gainclone) rave is about. Using PCBs from Chipamp.com, some passive parts I had collected, and a Hammond Chassis, I put together a Chip Amp around the LM3886 chip. The results were very surprising as this amplifier sounds far better than it should considering the simplicity and low cost required to build it. The Chip Amp has a lot of available power and is suitable for a wide variety of speaker loads. |
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K-12M Tube Amplifier Kit - 2 January 2005
At $139US for the kit, this is the cheapest Tube Amplifier kit on the block. However, don't let the inexpensive price tag fool you, as this tube amp can go head to head with amps that cost $800. With its very modest price tag, this kit is an affordable step into the wonderful world of vacuum tube audio. I have provided information about my experiences with the K-12M kit as well as several modifications and upgrades that I have tried out. |
