In the Loudspeaker Design Project, second year Engineering students are tasked with designing and manufacturing a hi-fi two-way active loudspeaker system.

Supervisor

Dr Felix Langfeldt

At the beginning of the project, the students are provided with two loudspeaker drivers (a “woofer”for low frequencies and a “tweeter” for high frequencies), a 2-channel power amplifier, and a real-time digital signal processing platform bela.

The actual design task spans across different disciplines: the students have to design an en- closure that holds the two loudspeaker drivers. The design of the enclosure not only involves taking into account acoustic considerations but also needs to consider the mechanical behaviour of the enclosure material.

They also need to apply their signal processing and programming knowledge to implement a digital cross-over filter on the bela platform.

The woofer and tweeter need to be connected to the amplifier and bela platform using suitable electrical connections. The students also need to integrate a power supply, audio and volume control.

At the end of the project, the students build a prototype of their loudspeaker design and take it to the world-class anechoic chamber at the Institute of Sound & Vibration Research for acoustic measurements.