Hey! Need a very cheap design (UK)

[leeps]

Looking for a very cheap design, just interested in making some nice speakers for my TV... I want 2 way hopefully, with all the components for the XOs and the drive units, for less than £100. Is this possible at all?

[chris661]

I've done a few such projects, and being from the UK, I know what's available.

Your Search Results | CPC my usual source of drivers. I like the Visaton stuff they sell there.

For television, I'm guessing it will be mainly speech, with a few movies thrown in aswell. If so, will you be adding a subwoofer?
If not, you're going to need something substantial to reproduce the bass properly (think an 8" woofer per side, minimum)

If you're not too bothered about movies, look for some nice full range drivers. These avoid messing with crossovers, and are good for the speech band.

[mondogenerator]

i agree with Chris, CPC has been my main source of drivers since Maplin started selling cr@p.

I recommend Visaton drivers highly, even if you dont want to go for the high end range. I use the Al130 8 and G20SC in a 2 way, with a slightly modded version of the 'vib130TL' kit crossover, and it sounds awesome for a small speaker.

[leeps]

Awesome, yeah an 8" driver and tweet sounds just the ticket. Guessing I'm after a sealed enclosure for the 8? or would it be more expedient to go ported in this case? Movies is something I'd like to use them for. Hopefully without a sub too, especially right now.

Modified Xo in which way? A specific modification? Or a trial and error thing...?

Awesome band btw

[PeteMcK]

Visaton have a buttload of designs to choose from:
Visaton - Lautsprecher und Zubehör, Loudspeakers and Accessories

[gfiandy]

Hi

This doesn't quite fit your budget at £145 but it is a complete design all you need to do is cut the pannels and put it together. I have no experience of it but the drivers used look to be of good quality for the cost.

Visaton Alto 1 - price per pair.

Or cheaper if you are prepared to wait for it to come from europe at about £118-

ALTO I - Visaton full range speaker DIY kit (5966) - EUROPE AUDIO

Regards,
Andrew

[leeps]

Those alto systems do look good... Am I best getting a kit then I guess? It would be nice to get an 8" driver, but that one isn't far off I suppose. I was actually just looking at the 8" version of that driver in fact. You think I could get these sounding good with movies?

More importantly, has anyone heard them?

[wakibaki]

It's a shame nobody imports the Audio Nirvanas as they would offer you a wider range to choose from but you could have a full-range Fostex, the FE206e's are ~£100 (there are some cheaper) and you could put them in a large (or modest) MDF box which needn't cost much depending on your existing materials and tools. They are actually better regarded than the equivalent ANs in some quarters and particularly seem to appeal to the English taste. One of the advantages of a driver like this is that you can change the box size or even switch to a horn in the future (if you move house) and they are very efficient, which gives you access to using comparatively low-power (valve) amps without compromising volume.

Don't worry too much about the bass especially if you can manage big boxes, you can mess with the tone controls somewhat plus many TVs now have an option to split the output for a subwoofer which you can add later. This will improve the overall sound by relieving the FRs from carrying the bass, but you won't need to design a crossover.

w

[leeps]

I am interested in going the route of larger drivers and crossovers. I'm not afraid of the building or the soldering I'm a 1st year sound engineering student, and I've been into car audio for years, so I have a little background.

If I was to go with the same tweet, and the 8" version mid, and the same crossover components from CPC... Think that could work? And work out the length and volume of the ports and do square ports, or find some pipe of the same length/diameter...

I ask because Europe audio is out of stock... and I could perhaps get all the kit myself as cheaply.

As for the amps, is there a DIY tube amp or solid state that I could get as a kit that will do 2x60w? I saw one on ebay, but I figured they would be crap and you probably have people coming on here every 5 minutes asking about them :lol:

[stee-b]

Search for FAST on here in the fullrange section. Relatively easy to cross a mid price full range driver to something to help fill in the lower end. Somebody had a pair of Tangbands for sale in the classifieds, these are fairly well regarded.

Good luck!