# Newbie DIY undecided between 2 models



## apilon (May 18, 2006)

Good morning 

I am plunging into the world of DIY speakers building and stopped my choice on 2 models 

1. Swope HT , professional look speakers, seems to be very good but for a newbie seems to lack a bit of information for building it 

2. Aviatrix MLTL and sealed for mains and MT for surrounds . Seems to have great reviews more details about crossover assemby and overall build 

I am seeking inputs from those who have build either one of these models to finalize my choice 

Thank you 

Alain


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I have not built either kit but i have heard very good things about the Trix set and the Parts Express team is second to none when it comes to needing help as well as asking us here on the Forum.:T


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

Let's start with how much money you got and how big of a box you can handle.
What amp are you using. Size of room etc etc etc.


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## apilon (May 18, 2006)

1Michael said:


> Let's start with how much money you got and how big of a box you can handle.
> What amp are you using. Size of room etc etc etc.


Hi Michael ,

Room is 13.5 X 10.3 X 7.5

budget is around $1000 

I could fit tower for the main in front no problem or bookshelf with stand 

my amp are Emotiva XPA-1 X 3 XPA-2 X 2

Alain


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

Tough call, I've been pretty curious about how those newer Dayton ND drivers sound although the Hi-Vi M_a seem to do pretty well. Have you added up the cost difference of either set? I'm not sure either reall meet the bill for a tower though, so you'd probably be looking at putting them on stands.

Somewhat related:
http://www.zaphaudio.com/5.5test/


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## apilon (May 18, 2006)

fusseli said:


> Tough call, I've been pretty curious about how those newer Dayton ND drivers sound although the Hi-Vi M_a seem to do pretty well. Have you added up the cost difference of either set? I'm not sure either reall meet the bill for a tower though, so you'd probably be looking at putting them on stands.
> 
> Somewhat related:
> http://www.zaphaudio.com/5.5test/



The Swope HT cost to build just the main are $209 for parts plus the cost of wood which i figure to be 2 X MDF 48 X 96 at $35.00 a piece. 

The Aviatrix parts express has the bundle for parts at $248.00 plus $70.00 for wood 

It is not not much about the cost but rather about the difficulty to build them. The Swope looks interesting but i can figure out the cut list base on the cabinet drawing and the crossover drawing as well, , the center channel is a bit trickier , but what i cannot determine is do i line the inside with foam? do i add polyfill? 

I read somewhere to use i pound fill per square feet ? Is that a good rule of thumb? What about foam lining 

Bottom line maybe the aviatrix is a better startup project for a newbie .......


Alain


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

I like the sound of the silk dome on the Avia so my vote would go there.


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

apilon said:


> ... Room is 13.5 X 10.3 X 7.5
> 
> budget is around $1000
> ...
> my amp are Emotiva XPA-1 X 3 XPA-2 X 2...


Seems to me you're looking at speaker designs that are far too small for your amps, even if they are a nice fit to your room size. Both use 5"-class drivers rated for 35W and 40W respectively. The question becomes how much of that 300-500W do you plan to actually use? This is not a jab at your choices, which I hope to hear this Spring, but rather at your expectations. 

Given your initial choices, I'd suggest considering speaker design families (bookshelf, tower, CC, surround) based on larger drivers. If the budget is firm, you'll be limited to TM or MTM 2-way, and I'll suggest Jon Marsh's Modula series. If there's some budget leeway, a 3-way design like the Statements or Statement Monitors will better match the amplifier capability, but at more than a 50% premium in cost and complexity. 
http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=28655

For my part, I made one of the Modula MTM's, Jon's "NatalieP" design, with the Modula MTM CC. Since I'm in the process of building another pair (for surrounds or wide fronts, I'm not sure), I can tell you that today's price is just under $200/speaker for all drivers and XO components (~$300-350 for the CC). A set fo 5 will break your budget, but perhaps if you used MT's for surrounds....

You'll also see driver issues.
- use aluminum or silk dome tweeter interchangably (NatP's use the same tweet as the Aviatrix)
- use unshielded drivers as drop-in replacements for shielded
- you still should model the box to get the low-end alignment you want. (I'll explain if needed.)

Have fun,
Frank


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## 1Michael (Nov 2, 2006)

fbov said:


> (NatP's use the same tweet as the Aviatrix)


The NatP and Modula use the RS28A which is an Aluminum dome. The Aviatrix uses the RS28F which is a silk dome. These sound very different and are not interchangeable.


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## fbov (Aug 28, 2008)

The domes for the two RS28 variants are interchangable, you can go back and forth for under $25. When silk was introduced, designers who had used Al came to the consensus that the base response was unchanged, but the top octave had better extension with the silk dome. Since I'm old enough to be thrilled to hear 14KHz, this isn't an issue for me. 

I've heard RS28A's in many other designs and find them to be a very nice tweeter. I've also seen (heard) their performance vary over the couple years I've been using them, primarily variations in sensitivity, eliminated by padding the tweeters when needed. 

So I can't dispute that you've heard differences, but they most certainly are interchangable in the sense of providing another response optimization option. This is unusual, but not unheard of. 

Have fun,
Frank


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## apilon (May 18, 2006)

fbov said:


> Seems to me you're looking at speaker designs that are far too small for your amps, even if they are a nice fit to your room size. Both use 5"-class drivers rated for 35W and 40W respectively. The question becomes how much of that 300-500W do you plan to actually use? This is not a jab at your choices, which I hope to hear this Spring, but rather at your expectations.
> 
> Given your initial choices, I'd suggest considering speaker design families (bookshelf, tower, CC, surround) based on larger drivers. If the budget is firm, you'll be limited to TM or MTM 2-way, and I'll suggest Jon Marsh's Modula series. If there's some budget leeway, a 3-way design like the Statements or Statement Monitors will better match the amplifier capability, but at more than a 50% premium in cost and complexity.
> http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=28655
> ...



Good afternoon Frank ,

Thank you for your advice .....i will look into the modular mtm . One stupid question. how do you figure out the power rating of these DIY speakers. I am looking for something that will have a minimum of 100 watts, but looking at either the aviatrix or the swope i could not find any information about their power handling

I started to read loudspeaker design cookbook and designing, building and testing your own speaker systems, but until i get a firm grip about design , going with a proven concept is a safe bet for now


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