DIY Speaker Kit suggestions

Discussion in 'DIY' started by fraggler, Oct 13, 2016.

  1. fraggler

    fraggler A Happy & Busy Life

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    Recommendations for DIY speaker kits have been asked for in several threads at this point, so hopefully this can be a thread where people can be pointed.

    Here are a few that I have seen recommended a couple times:

    Overnight Sensations from Parts Express: http://www.parts-express.com/overnight-sensations-mt-speaker-kit-pair--300-706

    Fostex P1000-BH from Madisound: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...00-bh-4-full-range-back-loaded-horn-kit-pair/

    Can anyone who makes a recommendation also say why they think it is a good kit, and maybe compare it to other kits or commercial speakers?
     
  2. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    This one is very interesting:

    http://www.audiocraftersguild.com/Loudspeakers/oneZ/oneZ_summary.html

    If you read the page the one-z is a very well thought out design. What makes this unique is that this is also amongst one of the few sand filled designs out there. They have many options from flatpack to fully assembled. Another Fostex kit with a good rep is the the Frugal Horn. A lot of people on diyaudio swear by it. Madisound also has some very reputable Fostex kits that others on this forum are big fans of.

    http://www.frugal-horn.com/FH3.html

    And I pimp this out whenever I can

    https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/lxmini-linkwitz-lab-speaker-kit-pair/

    As great as passive speakers are they have inherent limitations compared to active speakers. Some problems can be avoided by using bi-amplification, however you still have a crossover in between the amp and the driver. However that's a general discussion of active monitors, not specific to this speaker. What I really like about this speaker is the PVC construction. It simplifies construction quite a bit since you don't have to deal with accurately cutting different planks. It also comes straight from one of the very very very important figures in audio. His page on the LXMini is very detailed with plenty of information on his thought process and why he chooses what he does.

    Anything by Troels Gravesen is really well thought out. I don't think I need to say too much about his speakers because he devotes several pages of his own thoughts on everything he makes. I really want to make his TWQT one day.

    http://www.jantzen-audio.com/complete-kits-for-diy-speaker-projects/

    http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2016
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    It depends on on what you want. What room, type of use (desktop, background, temple of sound), what amps (low power, medium power, high power, etc.) All of the kits from the repeatable vendors are good will approximate commercial offerings 3 to 5 times the price. Many of these kits have withstood the test of time, have passed customer scrutiny, and/or have been designed by reputable people who have been doing this for a while.
     
  4. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    My head's spinning with all the possibilities combined with my lack of experience with speakers. My experience is limited to my current Ascend Towers, my previous Kef Q900 towers, a brief evaluation of Kef R700 towers, and Quad 12L actives.

    I'm looking for desktop/nearfield speakers, smallish room (say 13x11 or so), amp whatever I can buy or build to fit the speaker. Of course want the best sound quality possible, but being a noob with diy speakers probably means starting with something inexpensive (and with pre-fabbed cabs). It would be nice to know about those higher-end or more advanced speakers, though, to keep in mind for the future if an initial project isn't a disaster.
     
  5. sphinxvc

    sphinxvc Gear Master (retired)

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  6. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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  7. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    What I consider the ultimate DIY kit

    http://www.audioartistry.com/products_CBT.htm

    Line arrays are really interesting to me. They are standard in large concert venues. These are made with cheap daytons drivers. From the measurements the frequency response remains the same whether you are standing or sitting down.

    That was me
     
  8. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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  9. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    Just about anything by Zaph is pretty good - http://www.zaphaudio.com/

    And he usually keeps his designs very reasonably priced.
     
  10. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Any suggestions for high efficiency speakers that aren't full range single drivers?
     
  11. MrTie

    MrTie Friend

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  12. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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  13. fierce_freak

    fierce_freak Friend

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    Any suggestions for cabinet builders (I know, kinda the point)?
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The Tang Bang wide-bander stuff is pretty good. Just get the PE cabinets and the right size hole saws, one for driver, and another for the port, and you are all set. If you mess up, PE sells replacement baffles. I'm recommending small full rangers because it's a good place to start on speaker DIY. You don't have a deal with crossovers yet, the PE cabinets are mostly made, and the only thing you need to concentrate on is getting the port tuning right. There are adjustable ports can you can set and tape the position set. This PE pre-built cabinet + drivers approach is slightly more difficult than the turnkey 4" Madisound kit. Going from the PE cabinets, the next step up in complexity would be the flatpacks (frugalhorn / planet10), but you'll need to work with wood glue and will need to buy a million wood clamps.

    MarkAudio is less resolving than Fostex drivers, but seem better behaved in FR. I'm not sure about the Dayton drivers.

    OJ just made a desktop monitor speaker based on the Markaudio Alpair 12P: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/alpair12p-desktop-monitor.2809/

    Jeb made some based on the 6.2P: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/alpair-6-2p-speakers.2955/

    BTW, I tend to use the term "wide-bander" more than "full-ranger", although they are essentially interchangeable. Thought I should mention this before discussions get derailed by slightly autistic folks arguing about the meaning of these terms.

    P.S. The most important thing when starting out with DIY, is to pick a project that you know you can successfully complete and feel good about. There's nothing wrong with super easy. You'll learn from even the simplest DIY kit.
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2016
  15. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    If you do opt for the Madisound 4" Fostex kit, keep in mind that you can do awesome stuff like this later: http://telavox.web.fc2.com/speaker_box.html#mms
     
  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Those are for 3" drivers. There are cooler things you can do with 4" drivers.

    The P1000-BH came today. I'll slap em together. I have the older fostex FE103E rather than the FE103EN though.
     
  18. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Speaking of Tang Band, I made a pair of TABAQ speakers.

    http://www.audioxpress.com/article/TABAQ-Tang-Band-Quarter-Wave

    I made them with a hand saw which is the last time I do that. I am too embarrassed to put up pics because of how shitty they look. I'll post pics when I get them painted but even in this state they sound good. I prefer them to my fe83en bookshelf speakers but that could be based solely on bass extension.

    I have plans to make a version with PVC pipe. I really want to do a comparison with wood vs PVC.
     
  19. Pyruvate

    Pyruvate Friend

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    I have been waiting for a good review on these. I might be tight on space next year and am thinking of getting these over the BK12. Figured that I could just use the same drivers and build myself a larger folded horn enclosure once space allows.
     
  20. batriq

    batriq Probably has made you smarter

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    This book that @Cspirou recommended in the other thread is a gem. It just arrived from Amazon.co.jp. Here's the cover and an example for the fe108sigma
    1476575663027-1650908483.jpg 1476575758959626770802.jpg
     
    Last edited: Oct 15, 2016

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