Fostex FE103NV Speakers

home made speakers with fostex fe103nvWhile I was looking for amplifiers to build, I realized I probably need some speakers as well. Again, I had very simple requirements: small, inexpensive and easy to build. Inexpensive part comes from the fact that enclosures are recycled material from old shelves. Fostex FE103NV speaker drivers were about 60€ each. That's not much either. Other small parts like connectors and reflex tubes I had already on hand. Speaker damping material is leftover polyester from some blanket or something... Recycling.

I used Fostex datasheet to build these reflex enclosures. Why look further than that? Maybe there are better designs around, but I have no experience to determine that. And anyway, I'm not a hi-fi enthusiast at all. I think the enclosure is visually pleasing and that's good enough for me. Like I said before the material is old shelves from my clothes cupboard, and I used mainly hand tools to build these. Main tools were circular saw, jigsaw, glue and clamps. Easy! I also used Casco superfix to seal the joints, but I don't know if that was necessary.

These are not hi-fi speakers. And “full range” is not exactly completely full. Subwoofer might be a good addition to these speakers. Shame I don't have my Yamaha yst-sw45 anymore. I think that was nice little sub. Seems to be difficult to find one used today (at least in Europe). Anyway, I'm happy with my speakers. These were fun to build and are fun to listen. And like everything I don't care about naysayers, and neither should you. There's always one whatever you do.

With this short story I would like to emphasize the fact that you don't need a woodworking shop to build speakers (or anything else). You can do it in your balcony or backyard or almost anywhere else with basic tools. Don't be fooled by YouTube woodworking channels or some social media posts. Don't be afraid to make stuff.

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