DIY Mini monitors

[hughes123]

I'm considering making some DIY mini monitors to fit in a small shelf space in a bedroom. I can easily construct the cabinet, but as for the drivers and the crossover, I'm stuck of what to buy and where to buy! If you could give me a little bit of advice (it's my first DIY speaker project) I would be very grateful!

Basically, budget is £150 in total including two tweeters and two mid/bass drivers, the crossover, the wiring and the connectors on the rear.

Many thanks!

[Cal Weldon]

Considering the budget, you may be better off starting with a full range driver and adding to it (tweeter and powered woofer) at a later date.

Or even a full range with a helper tweeter and simple XO and add the woofer later.

Or maybe forget the woofer all together.

Or maybe see what others suggest.

Cheers

[Claus]

For a really small speaker with a high waf factor. I would suggest
Klang & Ton CT231 with a Peerless SDS106TV woofer and a Dayton ND20FA-6 tweeter.
This is a german link, but you can buy those drivers almost every where. Ebay is your friend.
http://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/...bau_ct_en.htm.

Claus

[HK26147]

That is a tight budget:
I would suggest looking at the sites that offer kits like the ones just listed or Parts Express extensive speaker kits:

IF that budget does not include the cost of cabs then you can guesstimate that the cost of parts comprise 50% ( approx ) of a kit price.
PE has specific details on each kit so you can source the parts to see what is available to you; at what price.

MTM systems like these might come close to your budget:

A532
(4) Dayton Audio DA135-8 5-1/4" woofers
(2) DC28F-8 tweeter,

A732
(4) Dayton Audio DA175-8 7" woofer
(2) Vifa D25AG35-06 tweeter

+ xover etc

[dublin78]

£150 budget should be fine.

I have built a satisfying pair of 2 way floorstanders for this price: Isis Mk2: http://home.versatel.nl/chiararomee/diy/indexeng.htm

This chap is well respected and has some "Bargain" designs: http://www.zaphaudio.com/index.html

As I did, you will probably have to get the drivers and XO components from the US as they are generally cheaper (Madisound, Parts Express). The shipping costs are not as bad as you might imagine. The dollar is not cheap for us at the moment though.

[blue934]

dublin, what do you think of those isis MK2's?

david

[dublin78]

For the money the Isis Mk2 are very nice indeed. They have a smooth bass that goes plenty deep enough for me, and a sweet midrange. The tweeters do their job alright for the price.

I built them to use up some nice BR cabinets that I had at hand from a high-end ScanSpeak project (18w/4531 + R29/70000) - The Isis Mk2s use similar sized drivers which seemed very good value.

I did not like the Scans in BR and have since built TL cabs for them. Whilst the Asis Mk2s do not have the detail, and sophistication of the previous design, I find the overall sound far preferable. The cost of drivers and XO components for the Isis was £150 inc shipping from the US. The cost of the ScanSpeak project components was over £1000.

Edo, the Isis Mk2 designer and website creator was both pleasant and helpful.

[blue934]

Dublin, sounds great. thanks for all that.

david