First timer, Needs guidence

[yousuredo]

Hey everyone, My name is chris...
I am researching a ton, and have found some great sites...
I have to admit, I am overwhelmed...

I want a proven Design for my first(of coarse)...
would love to here from "those who know"...that have built several, and redisigned them ect...

I Have been looking at:
Zaph-audio, Speakerbuilder.net, JohnC, Denis Murphy, Roberst, RJB, dayton III, D8's, Natalie P, Dayton RS, ans sevral other sites as well...
See what I mean, Overwhelmed....

My Budget for the is $200-$250 for electronics...
what is the most bang for buck, best sounding for HT & Music, and Looks as good as it sounds...

Oh this is for My Main Fronts...
Small room, 12'x12' open to the kitchen & dinning room...
I am in an appartment so it needs to sound good at lower level & carnked volumes(for when I move)
I am Leaning towards a floor standing speaker/or something i can make into one, with the lower section for two(one in each cabnet) Powered subs(later on down the road), Side firing...

Any and All advice welcome...
chris

any other locals in the Atlanta area...

[yousuredo]

I can extend my budget another $50-$100 if it going to make a big difference...

My reciever is an Older Sony HT reciever (STR-DE845)
100wx5...
I need to make sure it can handle them fine...

My room is small, so I cain't place them way away form the walls either...
Only a foot or so away, no further...

will tilting the front 5 degrees change or help out any ?
will curve sides of the cabnet help out any ?

thanx chris

[barroter]

Provided Link: David Weem's Book


Welcome to the world of DIY speakers. I am a "second" timer. I have built a pair of two ways and I found out...I'll never buy factory made speakers again.
You're right about being overwhelmed with information. Not only that, you have to wonder how accurate some of that info is since you do not have the experience to discern wrong from right.
I found that this book "Designing, Building and Testing Your Own Speaker System" by David Weems was invaluable to me. I had NO experience in electronics and the book manages to explain it. The book is fairly comphrehensive to teach you most of what you need to build your own speakers. I wouldn't get too fancy, stick to something simple, you will learn as you go as did I.
My first pair was a floor standing two way and it worked great. It was simple and you want your first project to succeed so you won't get discouraged.
Also, ask a ton of annoying, newbie questions here! Someone will answer.

[Dirk]

> I can extend my budget another $50-$100 if
> it going to make a big difference...

> My reciever is an Older Sony HT reciever
> (STR-DE845)
> 100wx5...
> I need to make sure it can handle them
> fine...

> My room is small, so I cain't place them way
> away form the walls either...
> Only a foot or so away, no further...

> will tilting the front 5 degrees change or
> help out any ?
> will curve sides of the cabnet help out any
> ?

> thanx chris

Well, let's look at your requirements there:
1. Easy to drive
2. Must work near walls
3. Full range, if it can be done
4. Well documented design

I would be inclined to say "Triune", as it's a great bang-for-the-project easily modified into a floorstander. And, if placed in a ported box and kept near the walls, they have pretty dang good bass response down to the mid 40's (which is about all we really care about for music, anyway). They were my buddy's first foray into DIY and measured pretty darn flat when we tested them. For $120 in parts for the pair, I don't think there would have been anything mass-market that could touch them for less than $600 or so.

Something else to consider...while TRUE full-range floorstanders are very impressive to look at, they do create an undue load upon your average reciever. The easiest way to combat this is to build smaller "mini-monitor" speakers and offoad the bottom 3 octaves to a good subwoofer. Subs are also a great place to start learning because, not having a crossover to worry about (just one driver), it allows you to concentrate your initial skills on the box alignment, woodworking, and such.

What are your current mains? If excellent results could be had with a set of monitors and separate powered sub, would that be something that interested you?

[yousuredo]

> Well, let's look at your requirements there:
> 1. Easy to drive
> 2. Must work near walls
> 3. Full range, if it can be done
> 4. Well documented design

> I would be inclined to say
> "Triune", as it's a great
> bang-for-the-project easily modified into a
> floorstander. And, if placed in a ported box
> and kept near the walls, they have pretty
> dang good bass response down to the mid 40's
> (which is about all we really care about for
> music, anyway). They were my buddy's first
> foray into DIY and measured pretty darn flat
> when we tested them. For $120 in parts for
> the pair, I don't think there would have
> been anything mass-market that could touch
> them for less than $600 or so.

> Something else to consider...while TRUE
> full-range floorstanders are very impressive
> to look at, they do create an undue load
> upon your average reciever. The easiest way
> to combat this is to build smaller
> "mini-monitor" speakers and offoad
> the bottom 3 octaves to a good subwoofer.
> Subs are also a great place to start
> learning because, not having a crossover to
> worry about (just one driver), it allows you
> to concentrate your initial skills on the
> box alignment, woodworking, and such.

> What are your current mains? If excellent
> results could be had with a set of monitors
> and separate powered sub, would that be
> something that interested you?

My current speakers are:
Polk RTi6 (L & R)
Polk CSi5 (Center)
Infinity Modulus emitK ribbont tweeter (L & R Rear)
(Looking for something to blow these away)

Monitors ?
does that mean Small...?
or simply imply something else...

I dont mind using a seperate Sub at all...
infact I have already ordered 2, 150w(rms@4ohm) BuyOut Plate amp from MCM...

[davidvwebber]

> Hey everyone, My name is chris...
> I am researching a ton, and have found some
> great sites...
> I have to admit, I am overwhelmed...

> I want a proven Design for my first(of
> coarse)...
> would love to here from "those who
> know"...that have built several, and
> redisigned them ect...

> I Have been looking at:
> Zaph-audio, Speakerbuilder.net, JohnC, Denis
> Murphy, Roberst, RJB, dayton III, D8's,
> Natalie P, Dayton RS, ans sevral other sites
> as well...
> See what I mean, Overwhelmed....

> My Budget for the is $200-$250 for
> electronics...
> what is the most bang for buck, best
> sounding for HT & Music, and Looks as
> good as it sounds...

> Oh this is for My Main Fronts...
> Small room, 12'x12' open to the kitchen
> & dinning room...
> I am in an appartment so it needs to sound
> good at lower level & carnked
> volumes(for when I move)
> I am Leaning towards a floor standing
> speaker/or something i can make into one,
> with the lower section for two(one in each
> cabnet) Powered subs(later on down the
> road), Side firing...

> Any and All advice welcome...
> chris

> any other locals in the Atlanta area...
Your " Electronics Budget " ; is that just the
crossover components , terminals , etc. ? Or , do you include the speakers in that ? DVW

[johnastockman]

> My current speakers are:
> Polk RTi6 (L & R)
> Polk CSi5 (Center)
> Infinity Modulus emitK ribbont tweeter (L
> & R Rear)
> (Looking for something to blow these away)

> Monitors ?
> does that mean Small...?
> or simply imply something else...

> I dont mind using a seperate Sub at all...
> infact I have already ordered 2,
> 150w(rms@4ohm) BuyOut Plate amp from MCM...

I agree with Ron's post...my first speaker books were the 2 David Weems books and an old one by Ray Alden that I got at Radio Shack many years ago (now out-of-print). Also, if your budget will allow, Ray has a new book, "Speaker Building 201" that is very beginner friendly. No ? is dumb or stupid, so ask away...we will be happy to help out! You could go with the Triune as suggested. I think there's a floor-standing version. They are terrific speakers for the $, and will be more than a match compared to those retail brands that you have now. Good luck! Hope you aren't even more confused!

John A.

[yousuredo]

> Your " Electronics Budget " ; is
> that just the
> crossover components , terminals , etc. ? Or
> , do you include the speakers in that ? DVW

All electronics...
And I can Add $50-$100 "If It Makes a big defference"
It doesn't include, Tools needed, wood, glue, screw, ect...

I am realy looking for something that will preform as well/or better as some of the higher end stuff at HIFI Buys, cicuit city ect...

[johnastockman]

> All electronics...
> And I can Add $50-$100 "If It Makes a
> big defference"
> It doesn't include, Tools needed, wood,
> glue, screw, ect...

> I am realy looking for something that will
> preform as well/or better as some of the
> higher end stuff at HIFI Buys, cicuit city
> ect...

As someone who worked at a high-end retail audio store in the Seattle area for many years, the suggestions here will get you something that is better than those retail offerings, even if they say it's "high-end". The Triune is a great idea...terrific sound quality for less than what Best Buy or Circuit City has. I've built quite a few pairs (some with matching center) of the Triune's for friends and they all are impressed by the sound quality (me too!), detail and imaging, for such a small investment. Plus, it's a great first-time project that's fairly simple to build. With all the great projects out there, it can be very difficult to pin it down to one or two! Anything else that you're looking at? If it's a particular design, I'm sure someone here has built it and can offer their impressions and advice. Good luck and keep us posted!

John A.

[yousuredo]

I keep hearing that the dayton 'RS' line, is great, and realy making some amazing projects...

So, I think I want to stay with them, or something as good or better for drivers...(in the same price range)...

I do have another question...
there seems to be alot of complicated crossover designs out there...why ?
isn't smarter to get a better driver, that doesn't need as much crossover...
If a driver requires that much crossover parts, it is then more expensive, Yes....
if you get a driver that requires less crossover parts, then it is less expensive, and you could use the money save on an more expensive driver to begin with, yes ?

am I even close on this logic ?

[johnastockman]

> I keep hearing that the dayton 'RS' line, is
> great, and realy making some amazing
> projects...

> So, I think I want to stay with them, or
> something as good or better for
> drivers...(in the same price range)...

> I do have another question...
> there seems to be alot of complicated
> crossover designs out there...why ?
> isn't smarter to get a better driver, that
> doesn't need as much crossover...
> If a driver requires that much crossover
> parts, it is then more expensive, Yes....
> if you get a driver that requires less
> crossover parts, then it is less expensive,
> and you could use the money save on an more
> expensive driver to begin with, yes ?

> am I even close on this logic ?

There are a lot of terrific designs using those drivers...if you're looking at something specific, one of us can point you to a design.

Roman has some <A HREF="http://www.rjbaudio.com/">http://www.rjbaudio.com/</A>

And Paul <A HREF="http://home.stx.rr.com/poneal/">http://home.stx.rr.com/poneal/</A>

Pete Schumacher has done some work with them; so has Jon Marsh (don't have the link handy) with the Modula MT and the Natalie P...terrific reviews, too!

Just because the driver is of higher quality, doesn't mean that you can use a simpler XO. I found this out the hard way after getting some Focal drivers and trying to apply the "less is better" approach. Sometimes, the more expensive the driver, the more difficult it is to get the XO "right"...relative term, for sure, but a very kind and knowledgeable gent here told me that using those expensive drivers in a DIY design is like walking around with a "kick me" sign on your back, unless you know what you're doing when it comes to measuring and XO designing. Since I didn't know what I was doing (at that time) as far as designing a XO, I took his advice and started with some more affordable drivers, and worked my way up. As far as your logic, I had the same thinking when I started out. The ?'s you have are very valid, and I hope we have been able to get you where you want to go with your project!

John A.