Advice For First Time Speaker build

[Kirbs252]

Hey guys, my names David. Im 17 and just recently joined HT Guide and have been interested in Hi-Fi for many years. It wasnt until recently until I heard a pair(well actually 4) B&O Beolab 5's. That was beyond amazing.

Im interested in building a set of front floor standing speakers (full range) and need a bit of help. I know a fair bit, but my knowledge is still limited. How many drivers should I be looking at (3 or use 4 for low and high pass) Type of Crossover(was thinking of linkwitz-riley, but then again I know little about crossovers)
Finally, brand of drivers... I want a good quality set without spending huge amounts.Also where to get them(I live in australia).
Price range: have no idea what drivers cost(quality ones that is) People said drivers like usher, but these are asian drivers, have no idea of how good they are. I was thinking something like Polk etc.

What do you think?

Thanks guys..

 

[sreten]

Hi,

Seas drivers are available down under so I suggest taking a look
at this, you would need to find a source for a similar horn lens :

http://www.zaphaudio.com/Waveguidetmm.html

/sreten.

 

[Zarathu]

build something already designed!

You might try the PE website of projects:

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/index.cfm

This floor standing model is terrific and the designer is a very qualified Electrical Engineer:

http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/tritrix/index.cfm

Zarathu

 

[Kirbs252]

thanks sreten, I had actually decided on going Seas but didnt update my post. I was pushed away from them in my other post(different forum) and told to go for Dayton RS 3-way.
How many drivers should I go for. Normal 3 way, or have 1 tweeter, 2 mid and 2 bass? Also, I thought it was a bit strange with the seas excel, their tweeter is 2000-20000hz. Seems like to much of a stretch, wouldnt a mid from the prestige range be better to add to the tweeter?

 

[CeramicMan]

I think B&O use digital room correction in their speakers, so you'll probably have a very hard time equalling that.

If you're just starting off, I definitely wouldn't use any more than 3 different driver sizes:

2-ways are a compromise: they're not really "full-range" unless you put a lot of extra work into building TQWP boxes, vented boxes, or you add a sub.

3-ways seem to have more potential, but you have to design a more complex crossover and more things can go wrong.

As for a 4-way design, I don't see any technical reason why it should be necessary.

 

[Zarathu]

Kirbs,

Whatever you use, you must remember that the passive crossovers are not interchangable. If you change the speaker in a design that already has a schematic for the crossover, then you CANNOT USE THAT CROSSOVER.

Zarathu

 

[sreten]

http://www.rjbaudio.com/projects.html
http://www.zaphaudio.com/
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/

Hi,

You should be able to find something suitable from the above.

possibly :

http://www.rjbaudio.com/AlpheusMkII/alpheusmkii.html

/sreten.

 

[Jay_WJ]

I second sreten's suggestion. Alpheus Mk II uses relatively inexpensive yet excellent drivers. Looks very appropriate for a first-time DIYer who wants to do a 3-Way.

 

[thadman]

http://www.rjbaudio.com/projects.html
http://www.zaphaudio.com/
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/

Hi,

You should be able to find something suitable from the above.

possibly :

http://www.rjbaudio.com/AlpheusMkII/alpheusmkii.html

/sreten.

The Peerless Exclusive 4" is no longer available and are very rare, so unless you talk somebody out of them, I doubt you'll be able to construct the Alpheus MkII

 

[ruerose]

Solen.ca still lists it in the catalogue. They might have them still available.
But at $70 retail CDN each, this system is getting out of budget for me.

http://www.solen.ca/pee.htm

 

[Jay_WJ]

The Peerless Exclusive 4" is no longer available and are very rare, so unless you talk somebody out of them, I doubt you'll be able to construct the Alpheus MkII

Roman B talked with a person in Tymphany and heard that the 4" will soon be supplied via its new factory in China.

 

[Kirbs252]

I actually looking for a design a bit like the B&W CM7. Maybe this project might be the way to go.
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/jubilee/index.htm

 

[Kirbs252]

wont really bother me, I didnt like the design anyway.

 

[augerpro]

Roman B talked with a person in Tymphany and heard that the 4" will soon be supplied via its new factory in China.

Did they say what kind of changes or suppliers will be made? Such as the cone. i know it was changed for one but you would think that would apply to all in the series? And now it could change a second time? That sucks, I was considering using this driver in HT setup. Although my testing of the cousin Nomex 830872 proved to outclass the RS125, so I don't know how much more performance you will get from going to the exclusive in this size.

 

[augerpro]

Roman B talked with a person in Tymphany and heard that the 4" will soon be supplied via its new factory in China.

Did they say what kind of changes or suppliers will be made? Such as the cone. i know it was changed for one but you would think that would apply to all in the series? And now it could change a second time? That sucks, I was considering using this driver in HT setup. Although my testing of the cousin Nomex 830872 proved to outclass the RS125, so I don't know how much more performance you will get from going to the exclusive in this size.

 

[Willitwork]

I actually looking for a design a bit like the B&W CM7. Maybe this project might be the way to go.
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/jubilee/index.htm

That appears to be a decent albeit pretty basic 3-way design but the Dayton drivers will probably cost you quite a bit with overseas shipping fees and currency exchange rate. For the same money you may be able to find something more sophisticated using drivers you don't have to import yourself. As I understand it there is a selection of European drivers available in Australia that could allow you to build many of the designs available on the Net. Most of these, even those from US designers, use European drivers since most North American loudspeaker manufacturers don't seem to be eager to offer the drivers they design for themselves to DIY'ers.