Looking for suitable small speakers

[Telemin]

I am just starting out in the field of DIY audio and am hoping to build a 20W T-amp from the audiodigit kit audiocostruire kit. I am currently looking for some suitable speakers to go with it.

My only real stipulations are that they must be small, suitable to fit on a bookshelf or not much bigger, and must not be too expensive. Other than that I am happy to build myself and equally happy just to buy some suitable ones to start with.

Any suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks in advance

-Telemin-

[loninappleton]

Welcome to the group.

What's not too expensive? That means different things to different builders.

For bookshelf use, the Jordan 92s in Jim Griffin's (2.5l?) design
is worth a first look. I believe the Arum Cantus tweeter was added to this but best research it. 20w is plenty of juice to do a variety of things.


If in-room placement is possible rather than bookshelf that opens up more possibilities.

[nukaidee]

since you are posting I assume you are looking for full rangers? Zaph has a design based on the B3S that is small and sounds decent.
http://zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker18.html

[Nelson Pass]

When size is a constraint, the Jordans or the Alpairs are good
candidates, and there are some really inexpensive Alpairs.

[HareBrained]

Check out the Mark Audio CHR70 thread. It an incredible value. It can be used in 4L sealed (up to 7L), or 5L-10L vented. I did an 8.1L dual chamber reflex that I'm loving. Overall, it very flexible. The published MA specs have been confirmed to be very accurate. It doesn't require any filters for your described location. And it's been reported to respond very well the EnABL tweaks. Lastly, in 4L sealed, it will reach xmax at 20W. The only down side is the sensitivity. It should only be used (by itself) in small- or medium-sized rooms. ~97db@20W.

Mark Audio also makes the Alpairs, mentioned by NP above.

[Telemin]

Thanks for the quick replies guys.

By not too expensive I mean that I would ideally like to keep the cost of the speakers below £100, but to be honest I have no idea how much hardware that actually buys in these circles.

I like the look of the B3S design, although they appear only to be rated at 15W - does this matter with a 20W amp? - and the CHR70s.

Backing up a little however, Harebrained talked about:

It can be used in 4L sealed (up to 7L), or 5L-10L vented. I did an 8.1L dual chamber reflex that I'm loving. Overall, it very flexible. The published MA specs have been confirmed to be very accurate. It doesn't require any filters for your described location. And it's been reported to respond very well the EnABL tweaks. Lastly, in 4L sealed, it will reach xmax at 20W. The only down side is the sensitivity. It should only be used (by itself) in small- or medium-sized rooms. ~97db@20W.

Can someone please point me to some suitable online resources and/or books that can help me understand what all that actually means. I have a decent grasp of the electronics of amplifiers and so on but the physics of sound and the rhyme and reason behind loudspeaker design is still quite mysterious to me. From what I have read so far I think I understand some of the more basic concepts but I haven't found many particularly useful sites for gaining an actual understanding of what everything means, what happens and why, mostly discussion of concepts it is assumed I already understand but don't.

I hope all that makes sense to you guys.

-Telemin-

[planet10]

Originally posted by HareBrained
[B]Check out the Mark Audio CHR70 thread. It an incredible value. It can be used in 4L sealed (up to 7L), or 5L-10L vented.

What kind of BR alignment are you getting that works in 5L? My intention was to make these BR but it was just going to be too lumpy on the bottom.

Indeed these do respond well to EnABL ... they were knocking off some much more expensive stuff, but weren't quite up to the level as the full-zoot mFonken.

dave

[nukaidee]

no, you can use a 25W amp for speakers rated for 20W. just don't turn the volume up to max! but again, if you tried to run 10W at 100hz. chances are you'll still overpower those mini speakers. How loud do you want to listen to them exactly? usually home use for music (not home theater) 10-15W is plenty

[loninappleton]

Originally posted by planet10


What kind of BR alignment are you getting that works in 5L? My intention was to make these BR but it was just going to be too lumpy on the bottom.

Indeed these do respond well to EnABL ... they were knocking off some much more expensive stuff, but weren't quite up to the level as the full-zoot mFonken.

dave

No hijack of thread intended but Dave are these the first pics of the Enabled Alpair?

Many questions like how you paint with a pen on metal.

[planet10]

Originally posted by loninappleton
No hijack of thread intended but Dave are these the first pics of the Enabled Alpair?

Many questions like how you paint with a pen on metal.

Yes, Sorry for the grainy pic. Paint goes on fine with the pen. You just have to be careful.

dave