"Sphericals" project takes DIY speakers to eye-catching new levels
By Donald Melanson 
posted Nov 28th 2007 3:39PM
posted Nov 28th 2007 3:39PM
While the idea of DIY speakers may not strike most folks as the type of thing they'd want to show off in their living room, the so-called "Sphericals" project from Parts Express puts as much emphasis on form as on function, and should at least appeal to those with more adventuresome taste. For the latter part of the equation, Parts Express relied on standard off-the-shelf components (which they'll gladly sell you), but for the former, they pulled parts from wherever they could get 'em, including steel tubing, some candle-making molds, and even the odd frying pan. Audiophiles will likely want to steer clear, however, as Parts Express only describes the speakers' sound as "pretty good," but the rest of you up for a challenge can find all the information you need to build your own by hitting up the read link below.
[Via Audio Junkies]
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Am I hearing them -- or are they watching me?
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Actually, I like these diy speakers better: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=11463745#post11463745
How many watts is that? I need one of those at my house!
I think it may be more like 'How many "WHAT is that"s' that you'll be sure to get from folks coming over
GlaDOS? Is that you? These remind me of GlaDOS from the end of Portal
You stole my thought! I was going to comment the same thing. It was the first thing that came to me when I saw the picture.
The cake is a lie.
probably looks really sweet with those spherical seats from M.I.B.
There's a nice looking chair on George Michael's music video for "Fast Love." It has speakers all over the headboard area. I wish I could have it.
Um... These are knock-offs of Anthony Gallo speakers (www.roundsound.com). They have been using spheres for years.
how do you wire 21 drivers in series or parallel? thats some sophistimicated stuff...
They're actually a set of 5 speakers (L, R, C, LS, RS), so it's actually only 3x5 and 2x3 drivers.
Despite having the best surface area to volume ratio of a 3 dimensional solid, spherical speakers maximize your problems with standing wave interference. Unless, of course, you put lots of crap on the insides.
Funny, my first thought was of the original Nintendo Metroid...you know, the level where you can fall into the lava and just have to wait till you die...anyone, anyone??
I've been getting the Parts Express catalogs for months now, ever since I ordered an RCA cable extension from them for about a buck. lol. The speaker building projects are always interesting, though I seem to recall something very similar a few months back.
They probably don't sound all that great, but they do look cool. Reminds me of the Proclaim speakers I heard at HE2007. Those sounded really good...of course they where $30k. http://www.proclaimaudioworks.com/
Speakers should be heard and not seen. -Confucious
This is also a knock off the "orb" speakers www.orbaudio.com
They look like a bunch of EYEBALLS on skewers.
It's about time to see Parts Express getting some props for the DIY work that they do. They put together some truly amazing, good sounding speaker systems every quarter in their 'zine. Glad to see these made Engadget!