# DIY speakers....



## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

When you buy speakers you usually will shop around and listen to all the candidates until you find one you like... How do you choose when you are doing a DIY speaker? Do you select on looks and just take what you get?

tia,
Ron


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

Personally, I select drivers based on specifications or how they've been described in a previous project. Then, using the driver's strengths and weaknesses, design a crossover which does what I want it to, then spend a couple of weeks tweaking it.

You never have to "take what you get" really, if you set out to design a speaker with certain criteria. It's more of a "build what you want" instead of "try to find something you like by listening to what other people wanted."


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## Anthony (Oct 5, 2006)

Yeah, there's a lot more trial and error in DIY speakers. If you see a design you like, you can just copy it and most likely be happy (and since you make the crossover yourself, you can tweak the design a little for small changes like in-wall, on-wall, or other installation/construction specific changes).

That's the best part, really -- dialing it in. It's what separates the DIY from purchased. I guess you can always take a regular speaker and modify the crossover, but I find that the whole design and planning phase makes you much more in tune with how everything interacts and makes tweaking things easier.


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

Anthony said:


> Yeah, there's a lot more trial and error in DIY speakers. *snip*


I'd even go one further than that. Once you have done a couple of designs, I'd even say there's less trial and error in DIY. Once you've got a good handle on what you're really after when it comes to a quality speaker, you can go into various projects with your preferences and expectations in mind, as well as what you've gotta do as far as your own engineering to come out closer to what you're expecting.

I've probably done 30 or so various speaker designs since I got into this hobby about 15 years ago (I'm barely 34), and I think it's easier for me to end up with a product that I like, versus someone who spends a couple of weeks auditioning other people's designs before settling on something that's close enough to what they want.

There might be trial and error, but aside from very few exceptions, the trial and error happens on paper..rather than it happening in the sound room of a retail establishment. Once you come to an understanding with yourself about what your expectations are and know what you like, picking that "out of a lineup" of drivers and designs becomes fairly trivial.

(insert sound of 2 cents hitting the ground here.)


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Well I like my Paradigm Studio 80s but I also loved my Martin Logan 2s... What would be a suggested DIY for my new HT? I will be doing 7.1 or 9.2 in my 2 car garage which is 17'x23' (will be a little smaller after soundproofing the garage walls and ceiling)? I had thought about just building the front wall out and putting my existing speakers behind it, but it I wanted to upgrade is the question at hand here.

tia,
Ron


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

ellisr63 said:


> Well I like my Paradigm Studio 80s but I also loved my Martin Logan 2s...


In that range, I would take a look at:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/JA8008_DTQWT.htm

and

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Jenzen-D.htm

Edit: Multichannel could get pricey with those but it's up to you. You could always try something like the DTQWT for your front speakers and:

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

For the rears.


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

I really like the look of these...
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Jenzen-D.htm

Are they pretty pricey?

Would my ADPs be good for the rears or would I need to upgrade them too?


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

ellisr63 said:


> I really like the look of these...
> http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Jenzen-D.htm
> 
> Are they pretty pricey?
> ...


You would have to e-mail [email protected] for a real quote with shipping. It depends on your idea of pricey 

As far as what to use for rears, it all depends. One should really aim to have the same tonality across all their speakers, so using either _the same for all 7_, or _"close" to the same_, like my example of the DTQWT for mains and then the Quatto, which are fairly similar, except the quattro is smaller and lacks the large eminence woofers. It's tonality is probably very similar, though.

But, don't forget, this is DIY. You're skipping the design stage going with a proven design. If you ordered the kit from Jantzen, you'd get a box with drivers and crossover components and you'd have to build your own cabinets following Troels' instructions. Most of Troels' designs I would place in the "advanced" category, so I wouldn't try it without a full compliment of good power tools, table saw and some fairly well honed woodworkind skills.

Bear in mind, the diamond is probably a lot more pricey than the DTQWT. The diamond tweeter isn't just a name.

Take a look at what goes into the diamond cabinet here:

http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Jenzen-D.htm#CABINET


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## Brewski (Jan 8, 2010)

I'd define them as pricy I think it's around $6400.00 in drivers.
C173 – 6 – 191E - $400 each
JANTZEN JDT-1024 - $1,999.00 each
Audiotechnology Flex Unit 10C772510 KAP - 852.06 each

As for how I select drivers I'll usually take an interest in what I've heard at DIY events listening to different speakers there for project ideas. Especially if I think a driver is outperforming where it's priced at. In some cases the price is too good to be true like the RT2IIs I bought at the closeout price of $35.00. I wanted to design a 2 way on a budget for them so they sat for almost a year until I heard the Aura NS6 at DIY NY last year. At that point I started looking at driver specs to see how I thought they'd match. After that was crossover simulations and then going ahead and buying the driver and crossover parts.

Take it easy
Jay


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## NBPk402 (Feb 21, 2012)

Brewski said:


> I'd define them as pricy I think it's around $6400.00 in drivers.
> C173 – 6 – 191E - $400 each
> JANTZEN JDT-1024 - $1,999.00 each
> Audiotechnology Flex Unit 10C772510 KAP - 852.06 each
> ...


EEK $6400 in drivers... Def will be out of my price range


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

Brewski said:


> I'd define them as pricy I think it's around $6400.00 in drivers.
> C173 – 6 – 191E - $400 each
> JANTZEN JDT-1024 - $1,999.00 each
> Audiotechnology Flex Unit 10C772510 KAP - 852.06 each
> ...



At a price point like that (the price point I tend to find my gems in) I'd suggest looking at something like the ZX spectrum https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/zx-spectrum .

These are what I build last and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone. You can build a pair of them for a few hundred clams, even a smaller sealed version for use with subs...like the ones I built, as you can see on Paul's site if you follow that link at look at the bottom.

They're a great little speaker for a money and I can't think of anything at the 200-300 price point that I'd be more satisfied with.


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## fusseli (May 1, 2007)

What you refer to in "liking the way a speaker sounds" almost sure to be how the crossover is voiced and not because of the drivers themselves. In DIY you have control over the vopicing, and if you have the patience to do the re-work each time, you can keep tweaking until you find the voicing that you like.

Those prices are nuts. There are dozens of top-notch DIY designs out there that use drivers <$100/ea, in my mind there's no reason to be spending thousands. There are diminishing returns in buying the expensive drivers. Oversights or mistakes in the design, or a bad measurement make a way bigger impact on the project than any noticeable "upgrade" from a $100 tweeter to a $500 tweeter.


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## lanayapiper (Oct 6, 2012)

ellisr63 said:


> EEK $6400 in drivers... Def will be out of my price range


$6,400 for drivers? That's way too expensive. But I think this will definitely give a monster sound output! Do you agree?


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## DrDyna (Jul 21, 2011)

lanayapiper said:


> $6,400 for drivers? That's way too expensive. But I think this will definitely give a monster sound output! Do you agree?


That's the diamonds. I really only include that in the list because you never really know what people might be interested in. It's something I'd probably not try to afford myself, but if Jay Leno wanted a nice pair of speakers...you never know.

The majority of Troels' designs that I think look great on paper (and I'd like to try building someday) are all right around $1000 or less. They are what I'd consider to be at the top of the price point that I'd suggest people look into building. The TQWT-II is probably at the top of my list, and possibly the OBL-11, the latter you probably shouldn't even look at unless you're single, or have a dedicated audio room.

More medium range constructions can be had, for instance, Paul Carmody's designs, like the Tarkus or the Amiga / ZX Spectrum (what I currently have for mains.) Not a lot of money, but still probably better than anything on the shelf at a big box store with a comparable price tag.


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