Le Petit after Jean Hiraga — building my speakers, part 1

I was 15 when I built my first speakers with a good friend of my mother. They were even three-way speakers. Many years later, the idea of turning individual components into something for listening to music would catch up with me again.

Many years later, I was once again sitting in front of sheets of wood, tools and a set of plans. This time the project was called Le Petit after Jean Hiraga. I had really only wanted to try something over Christmas 2022. Veneering for the first time and having my partner eventually ask about the next step were not part of the original plan. Although, with my hobbies, ‘original plan’ is usually just the polite name for the stage before things become elaborate.

Without Jürgen, whom you know as Iam Mad, and his clearly explained building videos, I would never have started this project. Further down, I have included a special thank-you to him and Martin (Marty HiFi-McFly).

Why I wanted to build speakers again

I enjoy listening closely. When a recording suddenly gains depth on my system, a voice stands between the speakers or I discover an instrument in a familiar piece that I had never noticed before, it can occupy me for a long time. I mostly listen digitally and, even then, was already using TIDAL a great deal.

I enjoy working with my hands just as much. I restored old apothecary cabinets for my workshop and home office. There is something particularly appealing to me about turning something unfinished or inconspicuous into something I then use every day. With speakers, there is also curiosity about the sound.

The specific inspiration came from the YouTube channel Iam Mad. That was where I first encountered the Le Petit. A manageable cabinet, an unusual additional front baffle and a full-range driver: it looked like a project from which I could learn a great deal without immediately having to develop a speaker of my own.

One driver, many questions

A full-range speaker covers a large part of the audible frequency range with a single driver. That approach was precisely what appealed to me about the Le Petit. How much music would come from this comparatively simple design? And how would it hold its own alongside my existing system?

For my build, I chose the Fostex Sigma FE108EZ. I followed the design proposal for the cabinets. I wanted first to understand the dimensions and construction rather than make acoustic changes without any experience of my own. I adjusted only the order of a few working steps.

Then I ordered the cut MDF panels, veneer, felt, drivers and all the many small parts. The packages very quickly made it clear that ‘small speaker’ does not necessarily mean ‘little material’. ‘Le Petit’ sounded pleasantly modest. My shopping list was rather less restrained.

Sheets of MDF slowly become speakers

MDF is easy to work with. It also distributes itself remarkably thoroughly throughout a room as soon as you start sanding. Dust was therefore a permanent part of the project for the next few days.

The first task was to join the cabinet parts neatly, make the intended cut-outs and prepare the surfaces. Drilling and cutting the openings made me realise just how much difference decent tools make. A seemingly small inaccuracy remains visible when a driver or baffle will later sit in that exact place.

When the unfinished cabinets stood in front of me, I could see for the first time where all of this was heading. Until then, I had mainly been working on individual boards. Now they had become two bodies that would one day actually play music.

Before veneering, the joins had to be level and the surfaces clean. It is not particularly spectacular work, but every carelessly treated area would have shown up again afterwards. The wood veneer was meant to make the cabinets look finished, not like my first attempt.

My first veneer — and an unexpected fellow builder

I had never veneered anything before. So I watched tutorials and chose a method using glue and an iron. I coated both surfaces, allowed the glue to dry for the most part, positioned the veneer and then continued with heat. The right method naturally depends on the glue and veneer being used. In any case, this was the first time ironing had become part of my HiFi hobby.

For me, the real challenge was the preparation. Which grain should go on which side? Where could the joins be placed sensibly? And how could I trim the excess without damaging the edge? With a lively veneer, every decision is immediately visible.

Fortunately, I had ordered too much material. At first, that annoyed me. As the work progressed, I became increasingly glad that I did not have to make do with the very last piece. The openings in the front baffle demanded particular patience.

My partner was not especially enthusiastic about my new Christmas project at first. Even so, she helped. Cutting the felt to fit in one piece took her quite some time. Later, she even made the additional front baffle on her own. And at some point, she asked: when are we carrying on?

That was at least as pleasing as the first successful veneered surfaces. My undertaking had become a shared project. We both learned something, corrected mistakes and could see what we had achieved at the end of each working step.

For the later listening test, I had chosen a comparatively low-powered Cambridge amplifier. I had already had good experiences with a DAC from the same manufacturer. Whether the combination would suit my taste, however, could only be decided by listening.

What the Le Petit cost me at the time

The two Fostex drivers were the most expensive single item. Then there were many things that are easy to overlook in an initial rough calculation. At the end of 2022, my figures for the pair looked like this:

Materials for the pair	Cost at the end of 2022
Cut MDF panels	€142
Felt	€55
Veneer in the required quantity	€70
Pair of Fostex Sigma FE108EZ drivers	€380
Small parts	€100
Cables and terminals	€100
Total	€847

By this point, I had already put about 30 hours of work into them. It would probably have been cheaper with painted MDF and different drivers. But by then, I wanted to finish exactly this version. Veneering had long since become part of the enjoyment in its own right. To be on the safe side, I did not convert my working time into euros. It is a hobby, after all. There is no need to endanger the pleasure unnecessarily with a complete cost calculation.

Fully built does not yet mean fully heard

At the end of this first stage, work on the rear panels, damping, wiring and installing the drivers was still outstanding. The speakers also needed suitable stands. I had a height of roughly 40 to 50 centimetres in mind. Naturally, I wanted to build those myself as well. Ready-made stands would have saved time, but then I might already have been able to listen to music. Apparently, we were not quite ready for that yet.

What remains with me

Curiosity about the first listening test

At the time, I could not yet say how the Le Petit would sound in my room. That was exactly what made it exciting: I had already invested a great deal of time in the cabinets without knowing whether the music from them would later move me as well.

Part two brings the stands, a few design detours and finally the first listening test. That was when it became clear why I now call these speakers little divas.

Continue reading: Le Petit — part 2: the little diva →

Sources for this article

I found ideas and experiences from other DIY builders at Iam Mad, Real World Audio, Snake Oil Audio and Böses Vinyl. For my first steps in veneering, I also found this video tutorial helpful. These links complement my personal account; it is not a complete set of building instructions.

This story first appeared on 21 December 2022 on Michi’s Oldtimer. For Klanggeschichten, I retold and structured it on 9 October 2026. The building work and costs described relate to the project at that time.