# DIY Tower design newbie questions



## ovillegas (Jan 30, 2012)

Hello,

I am starting to build my home theater (I'm a newbie ), but after looking through these forums I am now interested on building my own speakers. 

I have seen a couple of kits from the links to the websites just below the menu on the website. 

My first question is: How do these speaker kits compare to manufactured speakers in terms of sound quality and performance? I'm looking to build something that sounds comparable to buying an expensive speaker set (without spending thousands).

Second question: Where can I find different DIY tower designs? I was looking around but I could not find more than a couple of them. I am also interested in the looks of the speakers. I am fairly decent at working with wood and I have the required tools for the job, I would just need some kind of blue prints for the speaker enclosures.

Also, if anyone could point me to a couple of good places where I could find a variety of speakers that would include options such as different colors (i.e. silver or gold, kind of like Klipsch looking speakers).

Again, I am new at this whole thing and maybe I am dreaming, but I would like to learn what options do I have when doing a DIY.

PS. I know that there is a lot of information on this site about DIY, but the sticky threads have too much technical information that is hard for me to process at this time since I'm still learning and I don't understand much of it. :dontknow:


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## kadijk (Jan 23, 2011)

Personally I like Zaph Audio. His designs are excellent, and the parts cost can be very affordable for most of them. Check Madisound for kits, and Parts Express. Look for the ZA5 series...should be something in that list that will suit most home theater applications. My brother has built the "bargain mini's", and they are outstanding.


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## bambino (Feb 21, 2010)

I am one that is also a Zaph fan but PE also makes some quality kits for the first timer and Tech support is second to none.:T


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## JohnnyT009 (Feb 10, 2012)

I would look at http_://meniscusaudio._com they have some nice kits and the SWOPE HT kit https_://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/swope-ht just came out with a tower design for home theater which you can also get at meniscus. Can't post links yet so remove the underscores.


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## tshifrin (Nov 24, 2011)

Depending on what you want to spend, the Tritrix kit is on sale at PE, and it sounds awesome for the money- that and a good sub make a good front system. The flat-pack kits from diysoundgroup.com are also a really good value, and they are about to release several more designs over the next few weeks.
If you're feeling really ambitious, CBT36 Line Array from PE will blow your socks off.

Tom


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## ovillegas (Jan 30, 2012)

Thank you for all the replies. 

It definitely seems like there is a lot of stuff out there. I will spend a lot of time researching what best fits my needs.

This stuff is so addicting, even if it's just reading about it


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## JohnnyT009 (Feb 10, 2012)

ovillegas said:


> Thank you for all the replies.
> This stuff is so addicting, even if it's just reading about it


+1 to that :clap: Also check out http_://billfitzmaurice._info/ if you would like your mind blown :yikes:


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## erwinbel (Mar 23, 2010)

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm

I am starting to build a pair of DTQWT by Troels Gravesen. The parts other than the woofers (Eminence Deltalite II 2510) ship from EU, that might be a downside for anyone outside EU. 

I will make a whole 11 speakers of his design eventually:
DTQWT-12 for LR
DTQWT for surround LR and wide LR
Quattro upside down from ceiling for back surround LR and height LR
Center tbd, some customizing will be in order.


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## ovillegas (Jan 30, 2012)

Thanks for all the suggestions.

One thing I haven't seen yet is mains (front L & R) with passive radiators. Is it even worth it looking at that? The one thing that I found about my receiver is that if I play music from a stereo source, the subwoofers won't play unless I select a DSP mode, which I usually don't like. I like playing my music without sound "enhancements", so I intend to build some front speakers that will produce decent musical bass.


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## JohnnyT009 (Feb 10, 2012)

That seems odd, what kind of receiver is it?


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## ovillegas (Jan 30, 2012)

JohnnyT009 said:


> That seems odd, what kind of receiver is it?


It is a Yamaha RX-V765.


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## JohnnyT009 (Feb 10, 2012)

ovillegas said:


> It is a Yamaha RX-V765.


I have that same receiver and it keeps the sub going no matter what I am listening to. May want to look at the settings some more. Also if you can whatever source you are feeding to it make sure it is digital. Example "use and hdmi or optical cable for a dvd/bluray player" There is also a 7 channel stereo mode which keeps the sub going in my setup.


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