Deciding what you want to make

It's probably a good idea to do this step near the start – a loudspeaker project is one of those things where you won't get far unless you have a pretty clear idea of what you actually want to make. Look around on the Internet for sources of inspiration. Search through hi-fi journals, DIY forums, review magazines, other people's systems and what's available in shops...

How about 2-way speakers? 3-way speakers? Small "bookshelf" speakers that might literally fit on a bookshelf? Large floor-standing speakers? P.A. style party speakers with lots of grunt? A 5.1 HT system?

You should probably start off with a relatively small project and attempt a larger project later on when you have gained some experience. (Personally, I can be quite ambitious sometimes, but even I learnt the hard way that it's better to make mistakes on a reasonably small project rather than costlier ones on a larger project.)

As a starter option I'd recommend a two-way bookshelf system using a 25mm (1") tweeters and 12cm to 18cm (4.5 to 7") woofers, housed in a pair of 10 to 20 litre boxes. Getting this step out of the way makes it easier to cover the other bases such as driver selection, box design and so forth.