DIY floorstand speaker help required.

[cmsajith]

Hi I am planning to get the parts for the best DIY speaker (Floorstand) project. Since i am novice to speaker DIY, I dont want to start the project from scratch (design, tune etc). So I am looking for pre-made well praised DIY design. The parts can be from PartsExpress Normal sale or Clearance sale (Parts Express: Featured Categories), but wanted to get the best (to get the SQ of a >30K commercial floorstander). The problem is that i am not able to decide which one is the best speaker and the best combination.

Also if some of the forum member(s) can help me in starting from the scratch, always appreciated. My aim is to get the best sounding floorstander for music and movies in a budget range (flexible) to get the performance of a >30K commercial one like wharfadale\Monitor Audio or in other words a reference level speaker. The design can be open baffle \ a ported or a sealed one. Also for bass (if required), I can use my 15" DIY Dayton sub.
Is it possible to achieve this? Please help..

Edited: I could find some DIY projects in parts express, but i am not sure about the sound signature of those speakers. Is it possible to change\tweak the sound signature (obviously with the help of our forum gurus) of those speakers to our taste?

 

[tally3tally]

you can try this
DIY Loudspeaker Projects
the pictures are all different speaker projects:licklips:

DIY Audio 3-way reference project?? - diyAudio

btw I'm also in the research phase for a good project, just sharing my finds
cheers

 

[GeorgeO]

Sajith

I'm glad you're considering diy-in my view this approach offers far, far better value than commercial designs.

Two excellent sites for very good designs are:

zalytron.com-I used one of their kits using Focal mids and Raven ribbon tweeters.

and

Bamberg Engineering Sound Lab

Both offer floor stander kits, using premium parts-even better than Parts Express, I think. Both offer kits designed by highly rated designers, Zalytron with desings by Joe D'Appolito, the father of the MTM design, and BESL, by Phil Bamberg, the owner.

OTOH, if these price points are a bit high, and they are not cheap, you could consider Bob Brines site, he offers towers using Fostex and Lowther single driver designs. You also need to be clear about how sensitive your speakers need to be-which will depend on your amp.

Good luck in your quest for the Holy Grail.

George

 

[square_wave]

I second the Bamberg recommendation.

Another greatly praised DIY design is by GR Research.
DIY Kits

Believe me, if you do it right they will be miles and miles above the wharfedale /MS Silver etc.
You are in for a pleasant surprise.

 

[cmsajith]

I have not yet fixed the budget (frankly speaking i donno how much is required to get a good DIY speaker). Roughly how much is required for DIY speakers (parts only) to get the SQ we are looking for? I think there will be a price range (like the commercial speakers) after which i need to spend a lot to get the next level of SQ or a decent SQ difference. How about Kamal's latest open baffle design (donno whether he will disclose it to public)? Does it comes under "reference", since it has got good reviews from some of our forum members?

 

[cmsajith]

Bamberg seems to be very expensive, their normal kit, i mean 2 way bookshelf, starts at ~1500$.

 

[cmsajith]

Bamberg Engineering Sound Lab

Bamberg seems to be very expensive, their normal kit, i mean 2 way bookshelf, starts at ~1500$.

 

[suri]

hi cmsajith,

fully documented and tested designs are available here for all budgets - and you cannot go wrong with these - one of them will be right for you -

Zaph|Audio

regards

 

[GeorgeO]

See this one:

Bamberg Engineering Sound Lab

Cost is about $1000 for drivers hardware, design, crossovers+ enclosure.


I havent understood what you mean by reference, can you ( or anyone else) elaborate? Also it is possible that my idea of reference and yours may be different.

I use Scanspeak 18W8545 mids and D2905 tweeters, as well as Focal mids/Raven tweeters in my systems,so I can point to designs that use these drivers.

It may help if you define your budget a bit better, after looking at the various options posted on this thread.

George

 

[GeorgeO]

Sorry-I meant + cost of Enclosure made locally..

George

 

[keith_correa]

Here you go:

Alpheus MkII
Statements
TriuneTL_07
Cinderella
HTGuide Forum - The Miniliths: A project based on the Seas CA21REX, Neo8 PDR & Neo3 PDR
Lou's Speaker Site
Undefinition - DIY
Humble Homemade Hifi
Personal Web Space
Parts-Express.com - Project Showcase Index: Browse Through Speaker Building Projects From The Last Four Years
Home (Brianpowers27 - DIY Speakers)
Loudspeakers by Emil Attlid
Projects Gallery
Madisound Store

Have fun choosing :lol:

 

[kaushik]

cost of importing drivers /kit + duty etc will consume good deal of money .. unless some one carries the drivers/kit to INDIA .
I doubt that ,you can beat the commercial FS speakers ..at the same price point.

 

[cmsajith]

See this one:

Bamberg Engineering Sound Lab

Cost is about $1000 for drivers hardware, design, crossovers+ enclosure.


I havent understood what you mean by reference, can you ( or anyone else) elaborate? Also it is possible that my idea of reference and yours may be different.

I use Scanspeak 18W8545 mids and D2905 tweeters, as well as Focal mids/Raven tweeters in my systems,so I can point to designs that use these drivers.

It may help if you define your budget a bit better, after looking at the various options posted on this thread.

George

I know the word "reference" will be virtual. I just used a word "reference" to define what i am looking for. To me reference is neutral (reproduce sound as original as possible, for both vocals and instruments) \ very detailed and a clear soundstage \ great midbass with a good low mid bass \ more and more detailed and sweet high (w/o any ear fatiguing). Also overall a slight laid back sound w/o any loss of details.

Also some kits with Dayton + vifa comes around 400$ and some from GR research like OB series comes around 900$. I am really confused on the budget part. Does a 900$ kit will give a huge improvement over a 400-500$ kit?
Also I could see people praising open baffle designs with enclosed woofers. Which is the best design?
What about using full range fostrex + woofer through a crossover?
Regarding tweeters, i could find the normal dome \ dual concentric dome \ dual radiator \ Ribbon etc. Among which one sounds natural.
I have not yet decided the amp, may be going for NAD326 BEE \ Azur 650A \ Marantz for 2 channel.

 

[grubyhalo]

MJAO G 098 - The Anagram - Crossover revision

 

[GeorgeO]

A good stand mounted monitor will probably work better since you already have a good sub-do not automatically assume that a tower will do the trick. Do a search for Ego a design by Geoffrey Dillon, it's also a well regarded design using good drivers.

 

[suri]

I know the word "reference" will be virtual. I just used a word "reference" to define what i am looking for. To me reference is neutral (reproduce sound as original as possible, for both vocals and instruments) \ very detailed and a clear soundstage \ great midbass with a good low mid bass \ more and more detailed and sweet high (w/o any ear fatiguing). Also overall a slight laid back sound w/o any loss of details.

Also some kits with Dayton + vifa comes around 400$ and some from GR research like OB series comes around 900$. I am really confused on the budget part. Does a 900$ kit will give a huge improvement over a 400-500$ kit?
Also I could see people praising open baffle designs with enclosed woofers. Which is the best design?
What about using full range fostrex + woofer through a crossover?
Regarding tweeters, i could find the normal dome \ dual concentric dome \ dual radiator \ Ribbon etc. Among which one sounds natural.
I have not yet decided the amp, may be going for NAD326 BEE \ Azur 650A \ Marantz for 2 channel.

hi cmsajith,

getting the different parts of a loudspeaker to work as a harmonious whole is not at all easy, and many hours/days of skilled work( backed by tight theory) are necessary to put such a thing together.

therefore, it is best to implement designs or kits put together/recommended by experts (zaph audio or humblehomemadehifi.com).

at least, your efforts/money will not fail - you can be sure that these designers have put in hundreds of hours into this work, and that they have failed numerous times before coming up with a successful kit.

regards

 

[cmsajith]

hi cmsajith,

getting the different parts of a loudspeaker to work as a harmonious whole is not at all easy, and many hours/days of skilled work( backed by tight theory) are necessary to put such a thing together.

therefore, it is best to implement designs or kits put together/recommended by experts (zaph audio or humblehomemadehifi.com).

at least, your efforts/money will not fail - you can be sure that these designers have put in hundreds of hours into this work, and that they have failed numerous times before coming up with a successful kit.

regards

As i had mentioned in my first post, i am not interested in doing from scratch since it will be an expensive approach for a novice. I am looking only for a best audiophile kit with drivers w/ crossovers or a similar proven design.

@All, which is the best budget for this approach? As i told in my previous post, there will be a point after which we need to spend a lot to get a decent SQ upgrade, similar scenario is there with commercial speakers also (hope you are getting my point). If that price difference is worth or reasonable, i may go for that, otherwise i will be sticking to the previous range. So please help me in finding the best budget.

 

[cmsajith]

A good stand mounted monitor will probably work better since you already have a good sub-do not automatically assume that a tower will do the trick. Do a search for Ego a design by Geoffrey Dillon, it's also a well regarded design using good drivers.

Even i feel the same. Since the sub has a variable frequency cut and the box can be tuned to ~30Hz for music by closing the port (default will be ~ 20 to 22Hz for movies), I am planning (not decided) to find the best standmount speaker design (but w/ a decent bottom extension w/o sacrificing the upper and mid range).
side note : Is it preferred to use a subwoofer for music?

 

[cmsajith]

I do not advocate the use of a sub for music. One would assume that you would want to spend around the same amount for your DIY project as the speakers you want to match - a 30K floorstander, hence, around 25K or so.

At that price range once you subtract the cost of the enclosure there is precious little left for drivers and components. A good enclosure would end up at the 15K mark, if it's properly done. This leaves absolutely zero money - and a standmount will need a good stand, hence is not really going to help from a cost point of view.

You might want to think about restating your objectives. Generally when importing drivers you need not bother if your total budget is under 50K or so. At that price, importing and building your own begins to make sense, unlike USA where they often get shipping free, and no duty either. In that case cheap projects work out well for them, plus DIY there generally includes them making the enclosure themselves, saving labour cost (but increasing tooling cost).

Right now i am not worried about the shipping cost. I will try to find someway to get it here. My only concern is the parts cost and the final outcome of that (SQ).

 

[cmsajith]

Following are the options i could find:

- ZRT (1000$ for the parts including crossover for a TM design and 1500$ for an MTM design)
- TJL (~1500 for speakers itself for a TM w/o crossover) seems to be very expensive.

Designs from GR-Research
- A/V 2 (310$) : A/V-2 - A/V-2
- A/V 3 (339$) : A/V-3 - A/V-3
- N3 (369$ using OEM Neo3) : N3 - N3
- OB5 (816$ using OEM Neo3) : OB-5 - OB-5
All the designs seems to be based on the same M130 speaker.

Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5 (3.5 using Daytons)
All Zalph Audio designs in Madisound : http://www.madisound.com/catalog/ad...ries_id=&search_in_description=1&inc_subcat=1 (starting from 250$ to 450$ including crossovers)

Are there any huge difference in SQ b/n these?