Suggestions for under $200 DIY Speakers

[tally3tally]

Hi,
a friend of mine is going to US and has promised to get me a speaker kit from there.
I was thinking of buying something from Parts Express/Madisound.

My requirements
1. A very high VFM coefficient my budget goes till $200 tops at $300.
2. Basically stereo speakers next to nil home theater use.
3. High sensitivity ie loud sound, i like to listen to music at high volumes.
4. Excellent clarity and a decent Bass. I am open to a Sub later on.
5. I would prefer FS to BS.
Can you guys guide me towards great kits in my budget

One project straightaway hits me
The TriTrix
It seems to me as a simple enough build.
I have little/nil knowledge of speaker building but this doesn't seem rocket science .

If anyone can guide me about his personal experiences with this kit, or any other, ill be mighty grateful.

On a side-note, how much better would this kit{the Tritrix} be (in your perception) as compared to commercial speakers in the same price range, say a mission m33i/m34i/m35 or then again a wharfdale 9.5.
I know sound quality is subjective, but is this tritrix kit even comparable.

thanks

 

[suri]

hi tally3tally -

i will try to research and post my findings re your query - but offhand - i must say this-

most times DIY turns out to be more expensive (and less predictable) than commercially available speakers -

the reason is this-

most times the DIY'er and his/her carpenter are doing it the first time - lot of wasted material and labour (and labour is expensive).

unless the carpenter is a perfectionist, and the DIY'er watches over him/her like a hawk mistakes will be made- and the cabinet construction will be suboptimal. (here - the DIY'er should know what is right and what is wrong - and not rely on the (?) expertise of that (idiot) carpenter/woodworker.

if you get a hugely expert woodworker - you will have to pay him/her handsomely - and then again - you might not be humored!

commercial loudspeaker companies have access to all this (and more) and further - they have economies of scale-

all said and done - unless you are thinking of DIY loudspeakers that will compete with commercial loudspeakers in the more-than-1.5lakh INR category-

much better to buy commercial - the missions are excellent speakers and beating them will take some doing

regds

 

[heliumflight]

Suri guruji thanks for the above tips. That was quite an insight for DIY speaker enthusiats.

 

[GeorgeO]

My take on it is a bit different.

You have two choices for a diy speaker project-one is totally from basics-enclosure, crossovers etc all to be designed using software that you have or have access to. The second is to use a ready made proven design either free( yes these are available freely) or available for a price. Many of these designs are available at different price points-entry level, mid priced and high end.

I have built a few of these, a couple designed by Dr Joe D'Appolito, who came up the with MTM design for the first time, and is a PhD from MIT.
I believe that many in the second category will take you to a point that is as good as if not better than the commercially priced ones for about 50% of their price.

A set of plans for various categories is available at the Zalytron site, here:

Zalytron

 

[GunMo]

Agree with you Suri sir. Probably the threshold wasn't that high (1.5L) a decade back - surely much lower in 80's (during my school days) when I and my brother would lay our hands on the whatever available parts then {including the mud-pot cabinet(?!) similar to someone else mentioned in another thread} and try and build a decent sounding system that only serious money (in those days) can buy.

As the availability, both money power as well as access to better kits (not to say better speakers themselves) has reached new height, the DIY kits these days looks like a CKD (complete knocked down) pack shipped to be built in a cheap offshore factory only avoiding the factory costs as you are doing it on your own! Worst still, some of them resemble like lego kits!!!

This is NOT to offend some of the die-hard DIY fans and enthusiasts - if it sounded so, please pardon me. I respect the enthusiasts that go the full 9 yards despite all odds these days, but given above is my honest opinion on such 1-2-3 kits available dime-a-dozen these days.

Having said that, tally - don't get ridiculed by such comments (of mine) if doing it yourself is what that delights you. If so, then please go ahead. Probably starting from these kits you might reach staggering heights one day! :cheers:

 

[suri]

if doing it yourself is what that delights you. If so, then please go ahead. Probably starting from these kits you might reach staggering heights one day! :cheers:

i think GunMo - that is the real point - DIY should delight you, and should be a passion/need.
- like the need for fresh air when you are on M G road, Bangalore at 12.30 pm(and i know it is like this for GeorgeO!)

and yes, once you have spent a lot of money in the process of learning what not to do - then you can make a cost-effective loudspeaker at different price points - but- i now realise that it is an expensive hobby!

and i think tally3tally's passion lies more with electronics than wood-working?

 

[quad]

I noticed the Tritrix kit is out of stock till end of this month.
While I have no personal experience with the Tritrix, it has been
well spoken of on various forums. There is a nice Tritrix assembly video
available from Parts Express, which should make it easy to put together.

The video is based on their CNC cabinet kit. However, CNC is becoming
affordable and accessible in India too, so you may be able to get a
similar cabinet made here too.
While, the Tritrix build is doable even without CNC nor much prior
carpentry skills, the CNC one will very much simplify the assembly.

You could also try a full ranger, but a sub may be necessary depending
on the type of music you listen to. Some folks feel a supertweeter
helps the high end, though I did not feel the need on the FE206.
There are lots of options for drivers - Fostex, Mark Audio, Tang Band,
Audio Nirvana, Pioneer BOFU etc.
Some of them require a BLH cabinet, which is not too easy to do right.

Not to forget Zaph's site which is a great source for ideas -
http://www.zaphaudio.com/index.html

 

[sachi]

For your price range i can only recommend the Dayton BR-1 kit which I have. Very well made cabinets, quite decent sound, very good in even the 500-600$ range of speakers.

You do need a powerful amp..at least 60-80watts, a Class AB will do well here.

 

[grubyhalo]

Slightly above the OP's budget, but not by too much:

A/V-1 - A/V-1

They are pretty well-regarded for the price from what I've read so far. AV123's X-LS, which was the commercial implementation of this design, bagged quite a few awards if I remember correctly...

 

[GeorgeO]

I agree with Suri-you should enjoy it, or else dont venture into it!

BTW I was around MG Road yesterday around 2PM and didnt enjoy it one bit..

George

 

[rocket_sled]

I have built the Tritrix with the 40" TL design. From my very brief listening experience with the Wharfdale 9.5, the Tritrix seems far smoother and detailed.

The only thing lacking with my speakers is the bass ( for my listening preference ) and i have a subwoofer build underway to take care of this.

 

[rocket_sled]

but then again there isn't much available as a complete kit at this price point.

 

[GeorgeO]

I think it all depends on what you're willing to spend. I feel a single driver Fostex based system is a good beginning-the drivers will cost about $150-200 and the enclosure if done economically will not cost more than 8-9K. As the first post mentioned, if a sub is to be added later, this is an excellent and highly affordable starting point. I did one of these and posted full info on the diy thread in this forum about 6 months ago.

OTOH, if someone tells you that a Merc is a good starting point-it may be that he has deep pockets, but hey many of us started with A or B segment cars to start with!

At the end of the day, IMHO,

A. any music system is as strong as its weakest link, and,

B, you have enjoy going the diy route, even if it means that you make some mistakes along the way( which can also as easily happen going the commercial route!)

George

 

[suri]

I agree with Suri-you should enjoy it, or else dont venture into it!

BTW I was around MG Road yesterday around 2PM and didnt enjoy it one bit..

George

hi GeorgeO -

no human is going to enjoy being jostled and suffocated on MG road at 2pm on a working day! - what i meant is that if you are on MG road at that time, you would definitely NEED a canister of oxygen!-

and that if one is DIY'ing -then that need for DIY should be as strong as the need for oxygen for a person on MG road in the afternoon

regds

 

[sachi]

^^I guess I'll retract that statement, but the Dayton woofers measure terribly.

Of course it is totally possible that the Wharfies measure worse.

Which Dayton drivers are you referring to ? Just the classic range or their entire range?

Then again i applaud your retraction..cause we all know very well measurements are par for the course..finally does it sound good?

 

[keith_correa]

Broadly, there are 3 types of people who DIY

Type-1 - those who want the thrill of choosing drivers, designing the enclosure and the xover and tweaking the design till it sounds right [to them]

Type-2 - Those who copy a seemingly good sounding design from what "Type-1" churns out and want the pleasure of cutting wood and building the enclosures and xover.

Type-3 - Those who build a seemingly good sounding design from what "Type-1" churns from a kit [CKD enclosures and kit of drivers+xover parts+stuffing]

I'm guessing that you fall among the 2nd or 3rd Type.

If the 2nd Type - people on this thread have said all that needs to be said - and more.

If the 3rd Type - specific to your question - I have read opinions of lots of people who have built the TriTrix and rave about how good it is. Parts-Express sells a CKD enclosure for the TriTrix's and the drivers+xover kit too. Both together should cost ~US$230 not including shipping. At that price - considering what you get and based on what I've read about the TriTrix, IMO, you will be hard pressed to find anything better.

 

[GeorgeO]

Suri

I was on my way to collect a Scanspeak mid woofer that had come back from the US after reconing. The drive was pretty long and tiring, but hey after I connected it up to my two ways, the system made sweet music!

George

P.S. Cranky-I apologise if my post came on too strong, didnt mean to sound offensive.

hi GeorgeO -

no human is going to enjoy being jostled and suffocated on MG road at 2pm on a working day! - what i meant is that if you are on MG road at that time, you would definitely NEED a canister of oxygen!-

and that if one is DIY'ing -then that need for DIY should be as strong as the need for oxygen for a person on MG road in the afternoon

regds

 

[tally3tally]

I'm guessing that you fall among the 2nd or 3rd Type.

Bang on!!!
ill refine it further...
I'm the kind of person who would go in for a kit/design that has proven itself.
I am not an audio engineer and barely understand the technicalities of the trade.
Had these things been available in India, i might have still taken a plunge into the unknown just to gain some experience, but alas sourcing the stuff from america is like a one off thing for me, cus i may not find another person to get another set for me.
The shipping on these things is obscene, $250 for just shipping the CKD kit from US to India...that pushes the kit into a different price category ...and then it starts to loose its VFM.
So that's why I'm seeking a suggestion.
The cabinet for the tritrix is not that complicated. If i am successful, maybe, ill fatten my budget again in the future to give another set a go!!!...

@Cranky
ZA5.3t TMM Tower, Pair looks great thanks for the suggestion

 

[GeorgeO]

One more link:

planet_10 hifi

 

[keith_correa]

The shipping on these things is obscene, $250 for just shipping the CKD kit from US to India...that pushes the kit into a different price category ...and then it starts to loose its VFM.

I thought someone promised to get it to you from the US. No?