Reader Question: Can I cut my own speaker port?

A reader wrote in and asked:

I have rear ported speakers bit do not have enough free space. can I block off the rear ports and reverse the front port, my woodworking skills are good enough but my knowledge is not lol.

The short answer is no. You'd have to move the port tube which would mean opening the cabinet which would be a very bad idea. Your best bet is to find an inexpensive front ported speaker like the tSc P5 or P6 Bookshelf speakers for under $100 a pair. Best Buy also has their Insignia brand for $89.

Greenhouse speaker placement

A reader wrote in..

I have a rectangle room (retail Glass greenhouse) 80x25. I have 4
Klipsch indoor/outdoor speakers... the larger of the series. there are
entrances at 3, 6 and 9 0'clock positions. 6 being the main
entrance. I have the at each end facing in left and right as you face
them. Should i make left and right the same for both? should I move one
pair half way down and face them to the enterance as well? what to doing
and also the songs are playing at diffent volumes... on there own.

August

If you're planning on playing different material though each set than the left and right placement should not matter. In fact since this is not a critical listening situation you can likely place them any way you'd like. I would suggest that if they are playing the same music pu the speakers in the far end facing in, left and right as you face them, then put the other pair half way in facing hte same direction toward the "front" door at 6 O'Clock. Happy gardening and happy listening. Quick question, what type of music do the plants like?

TSG

Question on speaker placement

A reader wrote to TSG...

I bought a tx-sr 806 onkyo reciever, boston acoustics book shelf cs26
center c cs 225c and in wall dsi 460. My living room is a tough set up, i
have a book shelf that starts 5ft off from the left wall, and 8ft to where
the fireplace starts, which is 13 ft from the left wall. so my book shelf
speakers are 8ft apart with the tv and center chanel in the middle. the wall that my tv is on is 26.5 ft. and the wall that my couch sits against is 20.6 ft and the couch has to be off set to be center of the tv, center of couch is 8ft off the left wall. the left wall has three huge glass windows, and the right goes into the kitchen, hall and dinning room.how should i place the in wall speakers? the hieght and width and what it will sound like has me worried.please solve this head scratcher.
Todd

TSG says

Just a bit too many factors going on here for me to figure out what to tell
you. What are you using the DSI460's for? I'm assuming the rear speakers? Does not look like you could place them in the back.

In general spekaers should be at ear level for the person listening. If they are surround then you can go higher. If they have pivoting tweeters you have a bit more flexibility also. You'd be better off with angled in-ceiling speakers like the NT Series from the speaker company - www.thespeakercompany.com. others also make in ceilings like this that can be used as main speakers as well.

TSG

Fix a Loudspeaker or Trash it?

Nothing lasts forever including loudspeakers. Sometimes loudspeakers break. It might be from age or a 3 year old sticking a pencil through your driver. You then have to decide do I fix the speaker or get new ones. There are of course multiple considerations when you reach this point.

1. How old are the speakers
2. How good are the speakers (and how expensive)
3. Can I get an exact match on the drivers
4. And of course how much money do I have

Reasonable price on speakers If you have the money and your speakers are more than 10 years old and cost less than $500 to start with, the best solution might be to buy new ones. After all you've used them for 10 years at a cost of $50 a year which is not bad. Plus it's unlikely you'll find a driver that is an exact match at this point.
If the speakers cost a great deal more and you love them it might be worth looking for a replacement driver. First check with the manufacturer but if they don't have one then search google for replacement speaker drivers.

The main thing to remember is just don't go to Radio Shack or some other generic source and put any old driver in the broken speaker, it just won't sound right.
In many cases replacement of the set is likely the best idea. The good thing is that today there are many discount speaker companies out there that make excellent products even though they are not "name brands". Search Google for Discount Speakers for a start.
Think of a broken speaker as a chance to view your music through a fresh lens of new speakers. You might hear something unexpected.