Hi, im new to DIY audio, im wanting to buy the audax HT kit and have a few questions

[undertoe]

Hi,

Im new to DIY audio, im wanting to buy the audax HT kit and have a few questions

Are the mains in the audax HT kit ok for music? if not is there a mod thats works well to increase music quality but does not destroy the HT imaging?

I also intend on getting the tempest sub with a 500w amp.
any advice on the brand of amp to purchase. Here in australia
a brand called redgum is recommened. Are there others out there for a good price that will do the job?

Thanks

[J. L.]

Check out
this thread
on the AVS forum. Two of us have been building the Audax HT speakers and describing our experiences. I have posted lots of pictures as I progressed.

This is my first DIY loudspeaker project. There is plenty to read. Currently, I am building the rear channel enclosures.

The speakers are very good for music. It has been said that they would benefit from the addition of a subwoofer for the deep bass. Your Tempest would be a great match. (Santa left me a 15 inch Tempest driver under the Christmas tree to be used in my subwoofer project... Looks like you and he are thinking alike)

I don't think you would be unhappy with the Audax HT as originally specified. If anything, a bit of extra bracing wouldn't hurt.

Audax HT Center Channel:

This is not for the feint-of-heart. It weighs nearly 50 pounds.

Audax HT Left/Right Front speakers:

The dimensions of the L/R front enclosures were modified to keep the internal volume the same, but make the cabinets taller and less deep as I made both the front and rear of the enclosure 1.5 inches thick.

Speaker Stand for Front L/R:


Joe L.

[undertoe]

Hi,

Thanks for the great reply, your speakers look awesome. What amp should i use with the tempest? Do i need 500w or would less still do the sub justice? I like the idea of plenty of headroom as far as power goes :P

BTW im thinking of getting the denon avr 3802 , good choice ?

[J. L.]

500 watts would be fine for your sub, the driver would handle it, although you could do with way less. Just how loud do you intend to listen?

Jeff is using a 250 watt amplifier and it is way more than enough for his home theater use.

I am currently using a surplus 15 watt per channel amplifier circuit board to power my front speakers. It gets plenty loud for most movies.

I too will be upgrading the receiver at some point.. I have not even started looking. Sorry, can't give advice (good or bad) on the Denon RX.

Joe L.

[Bose(o)]

According to a few companies, namely Paradigm, you should look at music quality first and once you achieve tonal accuracy and imaging, etc. you essentially have a loudspeaker that is capable for music and home theatre. The system will be able to reproduce dialogue and special effects accurately. I know that in today's low-fi, mid-fi speaker market, Polk audio has speakers that barely compare to Bose (for accuracy and other things not including price). Their top of the line mains were all bass, and sounded like they did a nose dive at about 3500Hz. yuck! Any rate, I know from experience that Audax makes great products, I hope you enoy them!

[undertoe]

Thanks for the great posts guys. I will go with the audax kit and pay a little extra to match the rears with the fronts. Still dont know if i need to go 500w for the sub or if 350w will be fine :P

The audax guy here in australia made the HT kit for himself but went 3 centres at the front and the mains for the rears. What do you guys think of this setup?

[seangoesbonk]

Originally posted by undertoe
...Still dont know if i need to go 500w for the sub or if 350w will be fine...

I think most people would agree with me when I recommend getting a lower power(~250w) amp that is better quality.
Changing 350w to 500w is only a difference of about 1.5db. Barely a difference at all.

[undertoe]

HI,

Heres what im looking at

http://users.bigpond.net.au/redgumaudio/rg_frame.html

What one would you guys choose?

[seangoesbonk]

You should search the forum for "Redgum". There was some discussion about the peculiarities of these amps. They have a real shallow 6db XO which seems a little inadequate. Can you get any Adire amps in OZ? You should search "australia" and "sub" and "amp", or if that fails, just start a new thread specifically for your sub amp.

[J. L.]

undertoe,

Three Audax HT Center Channel speakers would work across the front of your theater. It might give you some flexibility in placement as I think you could position them either horizontally, or vertically.

The Audax center channel is the most heavily braced in the Audax HT set, and it weighs the most. Don't try to put this on top of your TV unless you feel it can handle almost 50 pounds of weight. The basic enclosure/subenclosure looks like this:

The plans call for 1 inch MDF for the front panel, instead I used two 3/4 inch pieces glued together. I did the same for the rear panel, even though it only specified 3/4 MDF.

In this picture, taken prior to my finishing the center channel cabinet, you can see the two additional horizontal braces I installed between the sub-enclosure and the side walls. (mid-enclosure, just above the port tubes)


Joe L.