Hello

[nabisco]

Hi,
I'm starting a DIY project to build some concrete speakers and any advice on this topic would be gratefully appreciated! I have my components purchased, just need advice on molding methods, mixtures and anything else that's not obvious.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Chris,
Welcome to AoS.
Concrete speakers eh? What does the rest of your gear consist of & what sort of music do you like to listen to?

Cheers

[Audio Al]

Hello Chris

Welcome to the forum

I assume you mean concrete speaker cabinets ?

Not come across this construction before , good luck with the project

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Chris, welcome to AoS from me to Interesting sounding project you have there, might pay you to look up about shuttering if you haven't already

Maybe get a couple of tubes like the Sonotubes that are available stateside & make something more cylindrical?


Hope you enjoy it here & get some inspiration! All the best

[Alex_UK]

Hi Chris, welcome to the forum from me as well - hope you enjoy it.

[YNWaN]

I've been involved with the construction of two concrete based speaker systems. One was an omni-directional design that used a cast concrete pyramidal element to diffract sound. The other used pre-cast concrete elements to form one piece sides, top and bottom with tensioned acrylic front and rear panels.

If you intend to cast cabinet walls I would recommend that you made the walls thick, included ballast, didn't use too much cement and embedded a strengthening mesh. You also want to agitate the mould to discourage air bubbles.

Concrete may seem an initially alluring material for cabinet construction, but the reality is that it is difficult, unwieldy and overly bulky. If a steam-punk aesthetic is your aim then it may be worth wile but in technical terms a similarly stiff and well damped structure can be constructed using alternative materials and techniques.

Any way, I believe the membership confirmation email requests you to post details about your system and musical tastes rather than just a statement of project intent...

[AlfaGTV]

Have a look at the Opus 3 Chaconne and Rauna models for inspiration. They have sold quite well here in Sweden!
There was also another swedish speaker which was called Skanska i believe but iirc that was a concrete compound with some form of plastic. Those were small pyramidal floorstanders with quite some heft!

Regards
/Mike

[Barry]

Hi Chris,
Welcome to AoS.
Concrete speakers eh? What does the rest of your gear consist of & what sort of music do you like to listen to?

Cheers

Oh! that's easy - musique concrète of course!

Welcome to AoS Chris,

Forgive my punning humour. I have known a couple of people who have used concrete speakers. One set was made by a company called Faraday, in the '80s. The other was a Kef Kit 3 (?), not exactly sure: it definitely used three Kef units, on of which was the B139) built into a concrete enclosure and heard way back in 1970/1.

I have always thought reinforced concrete would be a good construction for a really inert 'dead' speaker cabinet - despite the enormous weight!

Good luck with yours. Lets see some pictures when you have built them.

Welcome again