Parts Express Kits Comparison

[mike12820]

Looking to get into some nice HT speakers and I've always been interested in the DIY route. How do some of the kits on PE compare to some other brands of speakers? I was previously interested in a system built around Ascend Acoustics CMT-340's or Axiom M22's L/R VP150 Center.

I'm looking to get my feet wet building some AviaTrix, RS722, UA721 for LCR's.

Considering comparable pricing, am I getting a much better / similar / worse product for my $$$?

Thanks,
Mike

[tom_s]

The Axiom M22....I had a pair years ago and sold them within 3 months. Even with tube gear, I could not tolerate the harsh treble. No low end either! I bought them when they were $300/pair and they were not worth it at that price! The Ascend's look much better, but that's speculation on my part based solely on the look of the drivers they used and their published measurements.

I have heard the AviaTrix at a DIY gathering. Much better sounding than the Axioms! I have not heard the other kits, but Usher makes drivers that are very high quality. Consider the woofers in the Axiom are somewhat similar to these - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-330 The UA701 kit (for an example) uses these - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...-600&FTR=8945A

[jcpahman77]

I bought the TriTrix kit. The best way I've heard it described, and I agree, is that they sound better than they have any right to given how much they cost.

I've never been into the higher end retail offerings because they're way out of my budget, but I'd say the DIY offering truly are a way to get very good sounding speakers for a fraction of the cost. The biggest obstacle for me is the woodworking and I think like many other markets you pay for the convenience of having it all assembled and ready to play out of the box. With the DIY you can end up putting a lot of work into a design, even if it's an established design, and by doing that work yourself you can save a lot of money.

[mike12820]

Thanks Tom. That's really what I was looking for, how were you able to determine a 'similar to' driver model for the Axiom's?

Since I'm just diving into this new hobby I don't really have a baseline to compare different products to. Just want to be sure I'm not paying more to have a product of a certain quality just to say I did it myself....

I do see the value in doing something yourself for the knowledge and experience, don't get me wrong. I overspent by probably $2K building an engine for my car when I could have purchased a crate engine straight from GM w/ a warranty that was within 40-50hp of what I built. I do have the satisfaction of doing it myself, just don't want to overspend in this arena... not yet anyway.

[---k---]

I used to own the Ascend 340SE. They are a very nice speaker and a very good retail value. The internet direct sales approach allows them to compete against retail speaks several times their price. I can highly recommend them to non-DIYers.

That said, I compared the Ascend directly to CJD's RS150 MTM http://www.eldamar.net/audio/RS150MTM/ in my room. This was 5 years ago or so. At the time, the DIY was about 1/3 the price at the time and was clearly better. They were actually similar in voicing and all, but the DIY had more defined bass and held up better as the volume went up. It seems like DIY prices have skyrocketed in the last five years but the Ascend have held pretty much.

The AviaTrix use the same midwoofer as my Ochocinco (nice but not quite as nice as the RS150 above) http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=35905 and same Tweeter as in the RS150 MTM mentioned above and same as in my Khans. I just mention these to show I have experience with these parts. Curt does good work. It should be a solid design capable of outperforming the Ascends.

A lot of the money is in the boxes and labor. My Ocho's are designed to fit the PE 0.75 cuft box. At $122/each (though I built my boxes for probably $25/ea), that takes the cost to about $400 a pair. vs. $568 for the Ascend. Probably similar designs. I'd like to think the DIY is better. But, how much better I can't say without listening to both back to back.

I haven't heard Axiom. So no comment.

The RS722 is the DR. K RS180 MTM. I'm sure it is a nice speaker. But, there are a couple other crossovers out there for the same drivers and boxes that many people have built and praise. RJB did a comparison of different crossover version here:
http://www.rjbaudio.com/RS180MTM/rs180-rs28-mtm.html
This may or may not matter to you, depending on how critical you are.

The UA721, I thought I read some criticism about that crossover. My memory may be failing me and/or crazy. So don't take my word for it and do some searching. I seem to remember that it isn't as optimized as it could be and something goofy with the baffle step.

Hope that helps.

[tom_s]

Thanks Tom. That's really what I was looking for, how were you able to determine a 'similar to' driver model for the Axiom's?

Since I'm just diving into this new hobby I don't really have a baseline to compare different products to. Just want to be sure I'm not paying more to have a product of a certain quality just to say I did it myself....

I do see the value in doing something yourself for the knowledge and experience, don't get me wrong. I overspent by probably $2K building an engine for my car when I could have purchased a crate engine straight from GM w/ a warranty that was within 40-50hp of what I built. I do have the satisfaction of doing it myself, just don't want to overspend in this arena... not yet anyway.

I can never resist pulling things apart - so I had to see what was actually in my M22s. Not much! The woofers had thin stamped frames with a corrugated aluminum cone and small motors. The frames actually rang pretty well when you thunked them with your finger. I'm guessing the DA series woofers from PE are a step up from those. The new M22s may use better woofers, but the tweeter looks to be unchanged. In fact, it looks exactly like this one - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=275-045 The response graph on that tweeter does not inspire confidence that they could shape it to a flat response with the few crossover parts that were used in my M22s. If I knew then what I know now, I would have saved myself the trouble of having to deal with those Axioms. Heck, the latest pair of bookshelf speakers I designed and built sound so much smoother (flatter response) than the old M22s that it's almost comical. Not counting the wood and paint, the total cost came in right at $122 for the pair. They won't hit the lowest octaves, but neither will the M22s and that was not the goal for my project.

The guys here won't steer you wrong. Friendly (most of the time) and helpful are two great attributes of this group. You can save quite a bit of money by building a kit or a project that someone poured their time into. If you decide to go the DIY route, look for a design that has been built by a few folks, has made a good impression at one of the DIY gatherings, or has been designed via forum "peer review" and you'll be headed in the right direction. Ask questions if you need more information. It's kind of daunting to think about buying a kit or building a design you have never heard. I sure wouldn't buy a car I didn't test-drive first. But with DIY speakers, you have the option of asking folks here for some help if you want to alter the sound a bit after the fact. Try doing that with a mass market speaker.