2 or 3 way floorstander £600

[drummerbod]

Hi,
I want to build my own speakers and need advice. My criteria is...

Budget £600
Floorstander
2 or 3 way design
I listen to music at relatively high volumes.

I currently have Monitor Audio B4s powered by Marantz 6100 monoblock amps.

I like the idea of using ribbon tweeters but to be honest I have no idea if they are better than more convential metal dome or soft dome varieties.

MDF will be £60 cut. I can router and have soldering skills but limited electronic knowledge. The crossover design build is scaring me.

Any proven designs? Ant recommendations on drive units? In fact anything you advise on will all be helpful.

Thanks

[Ian J]

IPL acoustics based down in Devon are definitely worth a look (I think it's iplacoustics.co.uk) Ivan Leslie has been working with ribbon tweeters and his latest design, a 2 way floorstander with compression driver and waveguide for the treble, looks very interesting (and should go loud). He can supply kits with or without pre-cut cabinets. Good luck!

[Boscoe]

I don't know the sonic differences in ribbon vs soft dome but you will go louder with soft dome. Meeting in the middle with a ribbon tweeter in a two way will be quite hard if you want some decent bass from the woofer. A simple build I'm looking at atm is a Beyma 12BR70 paired with the Vifa DX25TG09-04 in an 80l enclosure tuned to 38Hz gives some nice results although the enclosure is on the large side. You could use different woofers to achieve a smaller box volume but I wasn't bothered in this case. A pair of both these drivers adds to just ~£190 on europe audio too.

I have no clue when it comes to crossovers! I need to read some more!

Oh yeh that is a lot for the MDF have you tried B & Q their wood cutting service is free until the 16th cut.

[drummerbod]

Thanks guys - some good pointers.

The MDF I get cut at a place that cuts to .2mm precision. I built two 15" subs and used them for the cutting. It went together perfectly so it was worth the outlay. They also have a huge variety of materials to choose from.

[drummerbod]

Here was my sub project...

2 x AE AV15X drivers project

I was thinking mor along the lines of 8" bass, 5" mid & ribbon. But if you are saying ribbons aren't as loud\sensitive then that could be an issue.

Maybe two ribbon tweeters in each unit. Anyone done that before? Wouldn't two tweeters produce less distortion at higher volumes instead of one?

[Boscoe]

They are fairly sensitive but that then gives you another problem of finding a woofer to match it fairly well.

Unless you spend a lot on some thing like THIS, then you still need a mid. If you are going for a 3 way I would personally like a 12" woofer.

your sub looks good but give them their due everything I have had cut at b and q was dead on I couldn't of asked for better.

[dublin78]

Hi

I have been meaning to add something to this thread for a while, but I have been using my iphone till now, and it is too much of a hassle to post from.

You should check out Wilmslow Audio, because they are in the UK, and you could listen to examples. Also, for the same reasons: Impact Audio.

Strassacker: Lautsprecher - Boxen - Selbstbau is my favourite in Europe. They are very helpful and speak good english. Have a look at their "Purus" found at the top of the home page. This is within your budget, and seems excellent. If I were starting again with my newfound experience, I would be tempted to give this a go. It looks like it has a very good price to performance ratio. These guys have loads of designs to coose from. In the speaker section, under journals, click on Hobby Hifi, K+T, and CT.

From across the pond, you should look at Madisound.com Their Zaph|Audio ZRT 2-Way: https://www.madisound.com/store/prod...oducts_id=8362 should be close to what is possible from a two-way, within economic reason. It is just in your budget, but there will be shipping costs and the chance of import duties (a bit of a lottery).