# Affordable Audiophile grade DIY Speaker KIT for L/R (50% Music & 50% Movies)



## cmsajith

I am a novice in electronics and speaker building. Buying a commercial audiophile grade is very expensive, esp. in my country. I am planning to make one set of speaker using an AFFORDABLE Audiophile grade DIY Speaker KIT for Left and Right (50% Music & 50% Movies). This will be used as the front L/R for movies (Center channel will be added later on). What are the best options?

Music : Nakamichi RE-10 2 channel amp
Movies : Onkyo TX SR-606

Please help me.


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## evilskillit

You need to define affordable, there are lots of designs out there. The Statements come to mind weighing in at under $1000 for a pair, or the Natalie Ps for about $550 a pair.


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## cmsajith

evilskillit said:


> You need to define affordable, there are lots of designs out there. The Statements come to mind weighing in at under $1000 for a pair, or the Natalie Ps for about $550 a pair.


Thanks for your response. Since I dont know the cost involved, I have not yet fixed any budget. What would be the best range to make an audiophile speaker which will not cost a bomb. Please help me.


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## evilskillit

Well DIY really shines in the 500-$1000 range with there still being some incredible values in the 1000-2500 range as well.

I'll throw a few out.

The Statements ~ $850

The SR71 ~ $500 There is a Kit

The Cryolites ~ $300

The Revelator Tower ~ $ 1500 There is a Kit

And many many more, what you build, if anything, will be based on personal taste, budget and a bit of randomness. Here is my first project, the Microbes and I've loved it for under $200 for the pair. Now I'm working on a pair of Zaph Waveguide TMMs, they're supposed to be phenominal and you can build a pair for under $600.

So what do you want your speaker to sound like, do you want lots of bass, nice clear mids, do you want it big, do you want a bookshelf and whats the most you think you could reasonably spend?


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## cmsajith

What could be the difference b/n the 800$ kit and the 1500$ kit? Will there be any significant difference?

I am looking for a full range speaker (other than bookshelf) so that i dont have to use the sub for music, may be around 30 - 35Hz. For the remaining, if required, i can use a sub.

The sound preference could be like "it should reproduce what was there in the recording without any coloring in terms of extra bass\extra treble", it should produce all sounds clean and clear, hope you got my point.


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## evilskillit

Considering I have not built a pair that costs $800 or pair that costs $1500 yet I could not exactly say, both of them should sound great to tell the truth. To get an idea of what the difference would sound like my sugguestion would be to go to a hi-fi shop and listen to a pair of speakers costing around 1200 then listen to a pair that costs 2500.

For something that can be used with out a sub you will probably want a floor standing design with 2 woofers that are at least 7". Both the Statements and the Zaph Revelators meet that criteria, there are probably other designs out there that do as well.

Here is a link to a DIY competition where you can view all the designs that were entered, their approximate cost and how they rated in several categories by the judges. It will give you an idea of what the sound is like and how people like them.

http://home.mchsi.com/~iowadiy2009/Results.htm

Typically when the statements are at a DIY competition they will win the Midrange budget category.


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## dyohn

cmsajith said:


> I am a novice in electronics and speaker building. Buying a commercial audiophile grade is very expensive, esp. in my country. I am planning to make one set of speaker using an AFFORDABLE Audiophile grade DIY Speaker KIT for Left and Right (50% Music & 50% Movies). This will be used as the front L/R for movies (Center channel will be added later on). What are the best options?
> 
> Music : Nakamichi RE-10 2 channel amp
> Movies : Onkyo HTR-606
> 
> Please help me.


In general, it is possible to build a system that will out-perform a commercial system selling at the same price point. But as was already mentioned, "affordable" varies from person to person, as does the notion of what constitutes an "audiophile" loudspeaker system. So first I need to ask a few questions:
- Where do you live? (you mention "your country.")
- What is your budget?
- What, to you, makes something "audiophile grade"?
- Do you have any loudspeaker biases, such as preferring single driver or high efficiency systems over multi-element systems? Do you have any brand biases?

Let me know more about what you're thinking and I will offer some additional suggestions to the excellent kits already mentioned.


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## cmsajith

dyohn said:


> In general, it is possible to build a system that will out-perform a commercial system selling at the same price point. But as was already mentioned, "affordable" varies from person to person, as does the notion of what constitutes an "audiophile" loudspeaker system. So first I need to ask a few questions:
> - Where do you live? (you mention "your country.")
> - What is your budget?
> - What, to you, makes something "audiophile grade"?
> - Do you have any loudspeaker biases, such as preferring single driver or high efficiency systems over multi-element systems? Do you have any brand biases?
> 
> Let me know more about what you're thinking and I will offer some additional suggestions to the excellent kits already mentioned.


Thanks for your response. I am from India. I have my cousins in US and canada. So i thought of procuring some good speaker kits. Frankly speaking, i have not yet decided on the budget, it could be ~500-800$ and if we can get a significant improvement in sound i may stretch for more. Since i dont have any idea how DIY 500/800/1000/1500....$ kit performs. I have no bias towards any particular brands or designs. My preference is always on SQ. 
As i had already mentioned: The sound preference could be like "it should reproduce what was there in the recording without any coloring in terms of extra bass\extra treble", it should produce all sounds clean and clear, hope you got my point.


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## StereoClarity

I think the most important thing, besides budget, that we have yet to define is your skill level in terms of building. Do you have some power tools at your disposal? Things like a table saw, sander, and other stuff for wood working? I think that for the price the TriTrix kit that Parts Express offers is hard to beat. Drivers and precut cabinet wood for $199 is a steal.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-702


If you've got some decent wood working skills and are ready to really get into DIY some of the designs on Frugal-horn.com are things you should look at.


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## cmsajith

I have access to some good wood working workshops over here.


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## 1Michael

1 How big of a box can you handle?
2 Exactly how much cash are you willing to spend?
Until these are defined no recommendations will help you...


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## cmsajith

buggers said:


> 1 How big of a box can you handle?
> 2 Exactly how much cash are you willing to spend?
> Until these are defined no recommendations will help you...


Please check : http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...er-kit-l-r-50-music-50-movies.html#post209082 for a rough budget.

The box size cannot be very big as it will be in my living room. The comparable size can be of Wharfadale 10.7 (http://www.wharfedale.co.uk/Product...66/CID/177/language/en-GB/Default.aspx#detail)


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## dyohn

Ah, India. The many suggestions above are excellent but shipping a kit from the US to India might be cost-prohibitive. I am not aware of loudspeaker kit suppliers in India although I expect there are some. I do know of an excellent source in Australia: http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/ Their TL6 transmission line is quite a nice performer, and the M5 bookshelf sounds really good too.

Best of luck to you!


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## cmsajith

dyohn said:


> Ah, India. The many suggestions above are excellent but shipping a kit from the US to India might be cost-prohibitive. I am not aware of loudspeaker kit suppliers in India although I expect there are some. I do know of an excellent source in Australia: http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/ Their TL6 transmission line is quite a nice performer, and the M5 bookshelf sounds really good too.
> 
> Best of luck to you!


Since my relatives are there in US, I can get it through them without any extra cost.


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## cmsajith

Hi all, Sorry for the late reply. I am totally confused. I read some reviews about the ZRT that a lot of people had to tweak the XO which came along with the Scanspeak speakers from madi sound (costs ~1000 - 1500$). Now I am in a dilemma whether to go for a DIY or a ready made one. I am planning to invest ~800$-900$ for a DIY pair for parts. From a rough estimate there are a lot of commercial options from Moudrant Short (Aviano8/Mezzo6), Wharfadale(9.6 / 10.6 / 10.7), Dali Elector, Monitor Audio RS6 and several other options in the same range (1000-1500$). Does the ZRT 1500$ or OB5 from GR Research is same as these options or these DIYs are comparable to some higher end than these?

The following seems to be good designs:
- OB5 (816$ using OEM Neo3) : http://www.gr-research.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=120
- Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5 (3.5 using Daytons) Madisound : http://www.madisound.com/catalog/adv...1&inc_subcat=1
- ZRT using Scan-speaks 3-way (1000 - 1500$), some people had to tweak the XO


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## evilskillit

Well being able to tweak the XO is one of the best parts of DIY. If you want a bit stronger or weaker mids or highs you can just adjust it a bit.

Having said that I haven't heard the (Aviano8/Mezzo6). I've heard some Dali speakers and they were pretty fantastic they were however over $2000 per pair. I don't remember what Monitor Audio speakers sounded like as its been too long, and every pair of Wharfdale speakers I've heard just didn't sound all that good to me.

To put it into prespective, I have a friend who has a pair of these.
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/408tri/
They were MSRP $1000 a pair, he got them for $800 I believe. Then I built a pair of these for $200.
http://rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html

Everyone agrees, they sound 99% as good as the Triangles. The Triangles have a bit more bass but you can always just use a sub.

So you can see the value of DIY. If you pick a good design that costs almost $1000 per pair to build none of the speakers you're looking at should even be able to touch it.

As for your diy selection I don't know much about the GR-Research kits, nobody really talks about them anywhere for a few reasons.

The ZDT3.5 should be fantastic. They do need a decent sized room to really play well, you're supposed to sit at least 2.5 meters away from them or more for the sound to really blend.

The ZRT 2.5way Revelators should be incredible. I've got a friend who is probably going to build a set very soon but so far I can't speak about them from experience. I haven't read any reviews online from anyone who built a ZRT or ZDT3.5 and wasn't completely satisfied with them.

There is also the Zaph Waveguide TMM to consider, the Statements and quite a few other designs.
Just look at this big list of DIY speaker web sites.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gradds55/diy_webs.htm


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## jackfish

The TriTrix MTM transmission line tower is a steal at $200.


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## lsiberian

A fun thread indeed. Building and audiophile grade setup in my mind would require significant effort and lots of materials. Good drivers are relatively cheap and you can even source inexpensive amps that will be adequate. Still I want you to get an idea of what an audiophile enclosure entails.

3 to 4 drivers per side. 
Dual layer construction with a constraint layer in between the layers. 

Bracing ever 3 to 4" one every axis throughout the enclosure. Use of 4" rock wool on all sides of the enclosure. 

Doing this requires very large speakers even for 2-way bookshelf. Now you can compromise on some aspects. using only 2" on the sides for example. But the best enclosures have this sort of construction above.

I'd suggest the tweeter-midrange enclosure be a separate module too. Makes life easier on the construction. For the bottom I suggest the JL Audio 8w7 be used in a narrow ported box. That will get you plenty of extension. For the top you can get nice results out of the Dayton RS drivers or an existing design


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## cmsajith

cmsajith said:


> Hi all, Sorry for the late reply. I am totally confused. I read some reviews about the ZRT that a lot of people had to tweak the XO which came along with the Scanspeak speakers from madi sound (costs ~1000 - 1500$). Now I am in a dilemma whether to go for a DIY or a ready made one. I am planning to invest ~800$-900$ for a DIY pair for parts. From a rough estimate there are a lot of commercial options from Moudrant Short (Aviano8/Mezzo6), Wharfadale(9.6 / 10.6 / 10.7), Dali Elector, Monitor Audio RS6 and several other options in the same range (1000-1500$). Does the ZRT 1500$ or OB5 from GR Research is same as these options or these DIYs are comparable to some higher end than these?
> 
> The following seems to be good designs:
> - OB5 (816$ using OEM Neo3) : http://www.gr-research.com/index.asp...ROD&ProdID=120
> - Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5 (3.5 using Daytons) Madisound : http://www.madisound.com/catalog/adv...1&inc_subcat=1
> - ZRT using Scan-speaks 3-way (1000 - 1500$), some people had to tweak the XO


Adding some additional info about the commercial options that are mentioned above:

- Moudrant Short Aviano 8 
http://www.mordauntshort.com/summary.php?PID=81&Title=Summary
http://www.mordauntshort.com/specifications.php?PID=81&Title=Specifications
- Moudrant Short Mezzo 6
http://www.mordauntshort.com/summary.php?PID=65&Title=Mezzo 6 floorstander
http://www.mordauntshort.com/specifications.php?PID=65&Title=Specifications
- Monitor Audio RS6
http://www.theaudiopeople.net/monitoraudio/m-silver-products.aspx
- Also Usher V202

Any comparison possible with the DIY kits from their specs? Because both the mentioned commercial ones and the DIY after the enclosures will almost come in the same price range. In DIY OB5 \ ZRT 2way basic comes in my price range.


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## lsiberian

DIY should be something you do for the fun of it not just to save money. If this isn't something you want to build. Buy commercial speakers. 

There is a reason we pay to eat out. It's cheaper to cook, but if you don't feel like it and have the cash. Why not give someone else a job that needs the cash?

For commercial options

I suggest Ascend Acoustics or Behringer 2030p's 

Or B&W 700/800 series if you can afford it.


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## xyrium

Matt, if you're interested, I have the waveguides (Pyles frlom MCM) for that design. I bought them when I was interested in building that setup. However, I opted for a 2 way ZRT in a sealed cab instead. If you haven't bought the guides yet, let me know. You can have them (still in their boxes) for the cost of UPS shipping.




evilskillit said:


> Well DIY really shines in the 500-$1000 range with there still being some incredible values in the 1000-2500 range as well.
> 
> Now I'm working on a pair of Zaph Waveguide TMMs they're supposed to be phenominal and you can build a pair for under $600.
> 
> So what do you want your speaker to sound like, do you want lots of bass, nice clear mids, do you want it big, do you want a bookshelf and whats the most you think you could reasonably spend?


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## cmsajith

> DIY should be something you do for the fun of it not just to save money. If this isn't something you want to build. Buy commercial speakers.
> 
> There is a reason we pay to eat out. It's cheaper to cook, but if you don't feel like it and have the cash. Why not give someone else a job that needs the cash?
> 
> For commercial options
> 
> I suggest Ascend Acoustics or Behringer 2030p's
> 
> Or B&W 700/800 series if you can afford it.
> 
> Read more: Affordable Audiophile grade DIY Speaker KIT for L/R (50% Music & 50% Movies) - Home Theater Systems - Electronics and Forum - HomeTheaterShack http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...music-50-movies.html#post213925#ixzz0ZHi3fYPP


My first reason for a DIY speaker is to get a affordable high end speaker which costs a bomb at least in my country. So SQ is the first preference. As a newbie to electronics my R&D skills in that area will be limited. So I preferred kits which are proven. Since I havent heard any DIY speakers (well designed) but have heard the commercial one in the same range, i am trying to compare them w/ the DIYs. If the DIYs are better than the commercial ones in SQ with the same price tag, I will defenitely prefer the DIY route. But I am trying to make sure that the kit selected will perform well than the similar commercial ones, coz' evenafter putting a lot of effort, if the DIY kit performs same as the commercial ones (in the same price range), the effort will be wasted, right? Thats the reason why I am trying to find a better kit with the help of the forum members who are having experience in that. Am I wrong?


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## ironglen

Sounds to me like you're on the right track. Determine how much you can spend, then HTS'ers can help with the short list of (proven) diy speakers that you can build competently. Then you can decide on the final choice by weighing slight performance or visual differences.:nerd:


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## Solid-State

I'd also like to add that Jed Kunz of http://www.clearwaveloudspeaker.com/ has some very nice kits.

For 50/50 duty the Dynamic series would be a great choice. It uses the Vifa ring radiator tweet, with amazing Tangband titanium mids and those Dayton aluminum woofers. It's a fantastic choice of drivers for the money and Jed is a real perfectionist when it comes to xover design so you can imagine he's spend hours upon hours working on it. Also he uses quality parts where it counts and doesn't steer you towards unnecessary expensive components unless it makes a real sonic impact. He's the gentleman that designed the Madisound recession buster kit with the Revelators. He also won a Dayton award for an open baffle design and D'appolito and Linkwitz gave it top points at the competition. Yup IMHO if I had the space and was looking for a 50/50 front I'd go with the Dynamic 4T and 4C for a "wall of sound". Really there is no way a NatP etc can "move air" like that Dynamic design of Jeds!

Solid-State

PS I'm about to do just that myself and I hope to share the building process with everyone.


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## cmsajith

ironglen said:


> Sounds to me like you're on the right track. Determine how much you can spend, then HTS'ers can help with the short list of (proven) diy speakers that you can build competently. Then you can decide on the final choice by weighing slight performance or visual differences.:nerd:


I am thinking about 850-900$ the max for the kit including the XO.


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## ripcard

I have to agree 100% with Solid-State. Although, because of space limitations, I decided to go with a smaller footprint version of Jed's Dynamic 2Ts. I can atest to the quality of sound from the drivers chosen. The clarity and detail is amazing. I will always have a sub in the system so, in my case, there was no need to eek out every last bit of bass extension in the front three. I would like to add also that Jed is one of the nicest guys to deal with and will work with you on custom designs and support you all the way through your build. I think you'll find the full kit 2T right in your price range too. Anyway, take your time and have a good look around. There are many great designs out there. Don't be afraid to contact the speaker designers either, this was key to helping me make my decision. Good luck.


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## Solid-State

WOW FANTASTIC Build quality! Compared to others I've seen attempt it, you're borderline pro. The guy from Affordable Audio had a crooked brace in his. I'm sure it had no acoustic or structural affect though. Please PM me I have some questions regarding your build process and some of the materials used. In terms of the cabinet, that's gotta be one of the best builds I've seen. Do you work in carpentry?

As for cmsajith... I sure hope you've followed this thread because IMHO and it looks to be another Shackster's, your best bet would be Jed's Dynamic Series. I've done so much research and have been a fly on the wall for some years following all of the DIY and commercial audio sites and my faith in design is Clearwave. Jed should be recruited by a major speaker maker as he seems to be able to design and engineer speakers of MUCH higher fidelity than 90% of the commercial stuff out there. What ever you do avoid any of the ID speaker makers including that highly reviewed outfit... The only two I'd ever suggest after listening, testing and owning practically all of them would be Dave at Ascend Acoustics, Salk Sound and some of the AV123 pieces from a few years ago. I wouldn't deal with AV123 at this point though (financial problems) and it seem in India you have access to cabinet building. Yeah if I was you I'd get 4T mains with a 2C center. You wouldn't find a better speaker IMHO cmsajith the world over for your purposes than Clearwave Loudspeaker Design.

I really feel the industry is rather PATHETIC when a high school art teacher, mind ya he's a brilliant engineer/speaker designer, can design a loudspeaker to significant higher fidelity than that Canadian outfit with a multi million dollar factory, anechoic chamber and access to NRC testing.

Yup the truth is DIY is the only way to fly. It's just like building a PC. Not a single prefab PC can compare to a system built with good motherboard RAM and PS. Same goes for speakers it seems.

Solid-State

PS If your also looking for a sub I can't suggest Rythmik Audio's kits enough! They are top notch for the money just like Clearwave. Thank god these guys exist! This audio nut loves your guys! owhh of course you can't forget Emotiva! Thank god these companies/people exist in this rather venal industry!


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## xyrium

Rick, nice job! I second Jed's designs. He's a great guys, very flexible and creative. He's provided tremendous input for the DIY community on various boards as well. I almost went with his C5 design, but I really wanted the Air Circ tweeter, and a sealed cab.




ripcard said:


> I have to agree 100% with Solid-State. Although, because of space limitations, I decided to go with a smaller footprint version of Jed's Dynamic 2Ts. I can atest to the quality of sound from the drivers chosen. The clarity and detail is amazing. I will always have a sub in the system so, in my case, there was no need to eek out every last bit of bass extension in the front three. I would like to add also that Jed is one of the nicest guys to deal with and will work with you on custom designs and support you all the way through your build. I think you'll find the full kit 2T right in your price range too. Anyway, take your time and have a good look around. There are many great designs out there. Don't be afraid to contact the speaker designers either, this was key to helping me make my decision. Good luck.


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## ripcard

Solid-State said:


> WOW FANTASTIC Build quality! Compared to others I've seen attempt it, you're borderline pro. The guy from Affordable Audio had a crooked brace in his. I'm sure it had no acoustic or structural affect though. Please PM me I have some questions regarding your build process and some of the materials used. In terms of the cabinet, that's gotta be one of the best builds I've seen. Do you work in carpentry?


Thank you very much. I'm a former mechanic now working in home renovations. I've always dabbled in wood working, but mostly related to home building. I think the experience I lack in cabinetry is made up for with info from good woodworking and speaker building forums. Also, I tend to be patient and take my time when doing things for the first time. If you follow the time line of my builds, I'm not exactly the fastest speaker builder out there.



Solid-State said:


> I really feel the industry is rather PATHETIC when a high school art teacher, mind ya he's a brilliant engineer/speaker designer, can design a loudspeaker to significant higher fidelity than that Canadian outfit with a multi million dollar factory, anechoic chamber and access to NRC testing.?


Interesting statement. Who and what are you referring to?



xyrium said:


> Rick, nice job! I second Jed's designs. He's a great guys, very flexible and creative. He's provided tremendous input for the DIY community on various boards as well. I almost went with his C5 design, but I really wanted the Air Circ tweeter, and a sealed cab.


Thank you. What design did you settle on?


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## ironglen

He might be referring to...Paradigm? Anyways, very nice job. I was thinking of building on a budget, but at the present figured I'd just get a full set of decent bookshelves on the cheap and put building statement mains, etc on hold for sometime in the distant future. Exceptional build thread that I'm sure many will appreciate.:T


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## CasePro

To the OP:

I have read what seems to be some good advice in this thread. Based on specifications, some of the recommended drivers are certainly high on most folks lists. I have used drivers from both Scanspeak and Dayton and have been extremely pleased. I personally am finishing up a high end car install and in the planning stages of upgrading my home theater.

I spent almost a decade in sales at a high end AV retailer. One thing that I can say is this, one man's gold is another's lead. I sold speakers to "golden eared professionals" that I would never use for myself. And there are some that i recommended which people dismissed as being too inefficient or not "crisp" enough. Taste comes into play.

So my point is this: I have not seen you make a statement in this thread regarding any speakers that you have actually listened to. I think there are a lot of guys on here that have a great deal of experience in having listened extensively to commercially available speakers and DIY systems. If you could post up your impressions of what you have listened to, that might give some guys the ability to point you in the right direction. My ¢.02


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## jliedeka

I think you are on the right track, whatever you choose. At your stated price point, ~$800, you can get a respectable pair of speakers. What you can build, however, will have fewer compromises.

The two areas that get compromised the most are crossovers and cabinets. If you build your own cabinets, you can pay more attention to bracing. You can expect commercial speakers at the $800/pair price point to have some bracing but you can brace your cabinets better. DIY speakers at this price point will have better crossovers, too.

As far as specific recommendations, I'm currently building Natalie Ps. The nice thing about this design is that there are 5 or 6 crossover designs for these drivers so there is room to experiment. The Natalie P is actually the same as the Modula MTM with a less expensive and less complicated crossover. There are other crossover choices available. Roman Bednarek designed 2, there is the Dr. K MTM crossover and one other that I don't remember. IIRC, the current price of a pair of Natalie Ps is still below $500.

If I had to choose a first build, I would seriously consider the Tritrix system. It's much less expensive than your stated price range but has a good reputation and is fairly easy to build.

I'd have no problem recommending designs from Zaph, CurtC, Roman Bednarek, or Jon Marsh and others on HTGuide.com.

Jim


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