How a professional loudspeaker is designed: from concept to production

Speaker design is often presented online as some kind of mystical art:

a mix of “secret recipes”, intuition, and sound magic.

In reality, designing a loudspeaker is first and foremost an industrial process, with clear stages, trade-offs, constraints, and a method. No magic, just rigorous work and lots of iterations.

Today I’ll show you, in a condensed way, how I develop a professional loudspeaker, from the initial idea to the start of production.

It’s not the only possible method, but it’s the one that lets me avoid 95% of the usual traps: pointless back-and-forth, blown budgets, failed prototypes, exploded timelines…

1 — Framing the need (the most important phase)

Before talking about acoustics, you have to define the real objective of the product:

• Budget (per unit, tooling, development)

• Quantities (proto, pre-series, annual volumes)

• Schedule

• Product type (audiophile, party, pro, embedded…)

• Size constraints, materials, standards, possible IP

• Use case (outdoor, indoor, listening distance, power supply, thermal environment…)

• Desired industrial design

• Client capabilities (who approves what? who sources? who handles electronics?)

At this stage, no precise acoustic target is defined.

We’re setting the playing field. Performance comes afterwards.

2 — Acoustic specifications

We translate the need into realistic target values:

• sensitivity

• max SPL

• directivity

• frequency response

• available power

• DSP constraints (IIR, FIR, limiters…)

We set priorities: what matters most?

A party speaker is not optimized like an audiophile speaker, even though both “produce sound”.

3 — Driver selection & first simulation

We select several candidate woofers/tweeters based on:

• T/S parameters

• sensitivity

• Xmax

• power handling

• supplier availability

Then we run an initial sizing with Python scripts and simplified simulation without CAD to validate:

• enclosure volume

• ports / horns

• predicted frequency response

• approximate directivity

• cone excursion at Pmax

• air speed in the port

• group delay

This step is used to eliminate bad options before going deeper.

4 — Electronics & budget

We choose the electronic architecture:

• amplifier

• DSP

• power supply

• battery

• connectors, UI, protections…

This allows us to build a realistic BOM and check:

• voltage / current compatibility

• headroom

• distortion

• thermal dissipation

• DSP ↔ amplifier compatibility

Then we contact suppliers to confirm prices, MOQ, lead times, component lifecycle.

If the budget explodes here → we adjust now, not at the prototype stage.

5 — Industrial design (draft)

Now that the proportions are set, we validate:

• visual identity

• ergonomics

• usage logic

Goal: make sure everyone sees the same product before we dive into heavy simulations.

6 — CAD + advanced acoustic simulation (BEM)

We move to functional CAD and simulate:

• diffraction

• real directivity

• baffle/driver interaction

• behavior of ports/openings

• impact of design on response

CAD ↔ BEM → iterations until we get a model that meets the acoustic spec.

7 — FEM simulation

We check that the enclosure doesn’t “sing”:

• vibration modes

• panel stiffness

• required bracing

• mechanical behavior vs. useful bandwidth

If the structure vibrates in the wrong region, no amount of EQ will fix it.

8 — Prototype + real measurements

Quick proto (3D printing, CNC, etc.) to validate in real life:

• actual SPL

• sensitivity

• directivity

• distortion

• port compression

• thermal compression

• unmodeled resonances

This is where the numerical models meet reality.

9 — DSP / active filter design

We set up:

• crossover

• EQ

• limiters

• delays

• gains

• psychoacoustic corrections

Lots of back-and-forth between measurement, listening, and fine-tuning.

10 — Industrialization (DFM), factory, and production

We prepare production-oriented CAD:

• material choices

• ribs

• inserts

• tolerances

• injection angles

• assembly sequence

Then:

• Manufacturer sourcing

• Factory prototype (aesthetic, mechanical, acoustic, quality validation)

• Final optimizations

• Production launch + first-batch control

Conclusion

Designing a loudspeaker is not just “pick a driver and build a box”.

It’s a full industrial project, with trade-offs, simulations, tests, and above all a method to avoid the usual pitfalls.

The version above is intentionally condensed.

If you’d like the full, detailed workflow with each step broken down, I can share it — send me a message or an email.