Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

[rhodesj]

I'm talking about the kitchen, living, and dining rooms of my house, where I want to be able to listen to music while doing other things... Cooking, entertaining, reading... So no critical listening, no sweet spot, no perfect placement, listeners could be anywhere seated or standing.

So whether anyone has general ideas to mention, ways to approach the project, or specific builds to suggest, I'm all ears.

Thanks.

[dcibel]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

Little fullrange drivers like Vifa TC9/TG9 are perfect for this sort of thing. Minimal or no BSC needed since you'll cram in up against a wall or in a corner, which will also help get the most volume out of small drivers. For small speakers, avoid a ported design if the tuning frequency ends up 80Hz or higher.

[tyger23]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

What size and budget are you looking for?

[Chris Roemer]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

If 0.15cf isn't too large, my Pico Neo uses an ND90-8 (or, at one time, a $12 AURA NS3-193-8) in a vented box to reach down to 50Hz. Not bad for a 3" woofer. No crossover either. A Lepai 2020 is a sweet little amp to drive them with. Some guys take Paul Carmody's "Sprite" (boombox) and split it up into a pair of enclosures, but they could have just built my Pico Neo.

[generic]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/sprite

Built as stereo speakers, they should fit the bill. More importantly, they sound better then you might think. IMO, better then a Bose wave radio.

[rhodesj]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

Budget is flexible, I expect to spread the building out over a few months. Size is somewhat flexible in that there's a couple spots where I could drop relatively svelte floorstanders in, small boxes are easy to tuck in around the room... for that matter I've been eyeing locations that I could hide a Digger8, just to test the limits of WAF.

Those Pico Neos are cheap enough that it just might be worth building a pair to try them out.

[doctormorbius]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

For that application I'd be tempted to go with something that has an angled front baffle for maximum dispersion in the room(s). It would look more like a diapole surround speaker and could possibly be mounted up high on the walls.

Something along the lines of this ...

[Silver1omo]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

For background "noise" at low-ish levels a pair of tactile transducers can be a good option
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...ucer-surrounds

Definitely not hi-fi...

[fbov]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

I'm playing around with some RS100Ps I got last week as DOTD... much flatter response than the Vifa TC9, going by spec sheets, and folks seem to think Dayton's data's good. I'm looking at a simple 2-way for LCR plus some full range surrounds for a "small" HT. I would be listening tonight, save for an accident of fate that's got me avoiding stairs (like those to the basement). No promises as yet... but they model nicely in 4L tuned to 80Hz. We'll see if they deliver.

HAve fun,
Frank

[Eternal Student]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

You could always try the Pico Neo, Minions III, or Wolf's PC speakers.

[JacobRay]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

This is exactly the situation I've been working through, myself...although mine may be a little more complex. My wife keeps seeing the sonos commercials, specifically the ones during the Super Bowl that showed their ability to fill a house, room by room, wirelessly. I will be running about 6 zones (living room, dining room, rec room, master bedroom & bathroom and then the exterior pool area. Sonos is crazy expensive (i'm really cheap), plus it didn't give me enough DIY capabilities as I wanted to try to build as much of the system as I could.

As far as connectivity, I'm running Airfoil on my computer. I have a receiver/Wolfs PC's connected to my apple TV in the living room, a set of bose outdoor speakers ran off a Lepai 2020 connected to an airport express that is in my garage for the pool area and a bose wave radio (to be replaced!) on another airport express in my rec room. Airfoil connects to all of these "airplay" devices and allows me to use the iPhone app to turn zones off and on, change volume, etc. I've still got a ways to go to get all of the zones set up with the speakers I want, but the biggest battle was figuring out how I was going to set it all up. I've been using this for a little over a month and its really been great!

[rhodesj]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

Don't get me wrong, I would like good quality sound, but cooking, at the dinner table, etc, I figure there's only so much I can do when there is no fixed listening position.

That Airfoil software looks pretty cool, I'll have to keep that in mind. I've got a Yamaha AVR with airplay support which I'd been thinking about using for this project, 6 speakers in two zones would be plenty. There also appear to be a number of airplay widgets which one could mate to a T-amp, though I'm less sure how you'd control power on something like that.

[fbov]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

I'm playing around with some RS100Ps I got last week as DOTD... ...

FWIW, I did some box model comparisons of the RS100Ps to the ND90's used in serveral suggestions, and I will modify my prior recommendation to say that something based on ND90's is a better bet for a stand-alone application. Paul Carmody claims an F3 of 50Hz for his Sprite boombox, and I get he same prediction. You'll be hard pressed to get a 70 Hz F3 with the RS100Ps, which is fine with a subwoofer, as I'm planning. Plus, I can't confirm anything as yet; not all drivers perform like the simulators predict, and I've yet to do any measurements.

HAve fun,
Frank

[Navy Guy]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

FWIW, I did some box model comparisons of the RS100Ps to the ND90's used in serveral suggestions, and I will modify my prior recommendation to say that something based on ND90's is a better bet for a stand-alone application. Paul Carmody claims an F3 of 50Hz for his Sprite boombox, and I get he same prediction. You'll be hard pressed to get a 70 Hz F3 with the RS100Ps, which is fine with a subwoofer, as I'm planning. Plus, I can't confirm anything as yet; not all drivers perform like the simulators predict, and I've yet to do any measurements.

HAve fun,
Frank

The aluminum version of the RS100 performs pretty much like this. You can get tuning down to about 60hz but will hit xmax pretty quickly. I used them tuned to 80hz in my build and if crossed at 80-100 to a sub, they can take a lot more power. I would bet, since they use the same motor, that the P version is pretty similar and will probably not go quite as low.

[Jay1]

Re: Hi-Fi builds for Low-Fi listening? I need some suggestions...

Hate to promote my own design, but my Vagrant Monitor would be ideal for this kind of setup.

http://jaysspeakerpage.webs.com/apps...agrant-monitor