Hello all . I am new to this site, and have never built a speaker before so I have a lot to learn.
I want to have a go at making a pair, and from what I have read on here, the ZD5s look like they may be what I am looking for. I was looking at the sealed stand mounts initially, but I like the option of being able to change to floorstanders in the future with the same speakers and electronics.
I have loads of questions. Sorry if some of them appear stupid to the more experienced builders:
Do I have any chance of driving these from an Arcam alpha8 amp? I realise I will have to upgrade this in the future (next project maybe?) but funds and time dictate that any upgrade is done one step at a time.
I can see that crossover is available from Madisound in the USA, but these are too large to fit in the cabinets. I really want to put everything in the cabinets, so need to build my own.
The parts list on the Zaph audio is a little vague to me.
Can someone tell me the resistor power ratings, inductor currents, tolerances etc. I have read on here somewhere that the resistors need to be 10W. Is this enough?
I am in the UK. Has anyone converted Zaph's component list to those available from this country?
Has anyone built these and photographed the sequence? I am especially interested on the internal routing around the speakers, the speaker fixing, where to mount the crossovers, and the stuffing.
In a sealed cabinet, where does the heat go? Surely a lot of power is being dissipated inside those boxes? I would imagine that MDF is a good thermal insulator. Am I worrying about nothing?
Thanks.
I want to have a go at making a pair, and from what I have read on here, the ZD5s look like they may be what I am looking for. I was looking at the sealed stand mounts initially, but I like the option of being able to change to floorstanders in the future with the same speakers and electronics.
I have loads of questions. Sorry if some of them appear stupid to the more experienced builders:
Do I have any chance of driving these from an Arcam alpha8 amp? I realise I will have to upgrade this in the future (next project maybe?) but funds and time dictate that any upgrade is done one step at a time.
I can see that crossover is available from Madisound in the USA, but these are too large to fit in the cabinets. I really want to put everything in the cabinets, so need to build my own.
The parts list on the Zaph audio is a little vague to me.
Can someone tell me the resistor power ratings, inductor currents, tolerances etc. I have read on here somewhere that the resistors need to be 10W. Is this enough?
I am in the UK. Has anyone converted Zaph's component list to those available from this country?
Has anyone built these and photographed the sequence? I am especially interested on the internal routing around the speakers, the speaker fixing, where to mount the crossovers, and the stuffing.
In a sealed cabinet, where does the heat go? Surely a lot of power is being dissipated inside those boxes? I would imagine that MDF is a good thermal insulator. Am I worrying about nothing?
Thanks.
Hi,
As stated in the article the design is not recommended for first timers.
and the article has not been written towards first timers, which is
why you probably think it is a big vague about some of the details.
If no sub is planned floorstanders are the way to go.
Personally I'd recommended this as a first project :
https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy/amiga
It can go in a sealed box as a standmounter if subs are planned.
Note the BOM for the parts from Parts Express.
Get the equivalents from Falcon Acoustics.
They also do the tweeter.
Getting hold of the Dayton bassmid is your only problem.
Europe Audio are currently out of stock.
The Alpha 8 should be fine with the Amigas.
rgds. sreten.
As stated in the article the design is not recommended for first timers.
and the article has not been written towards first timers, which is
why you probably think it is a big vague about some of the details.
If no sub is planned floorstanders are the way to go.
Personally I'd recommended this as a first project :
https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy/amiga
It can go in a sealed box as a standmounter if subs are planned.
Note the BOM for the parts from Parts Express.
Get the equivalents from Falcon Acoustics.
They also do the tweeter.
Getting hold of the Dayton bassmid is your only problem.
Europe Audio are currently out of stock.
The Alpha 8 should be fine with the Amigas.
rgds. sreten.
Hi Sreten,
Thanks for your input. Part of the build is to see what quality stand mounts sound like, so unfortunately the amiga does not fit the bill. The more I read, the more keep getting drawn back to the ZD5s.
I am an Engineer, so have a little insight, but not an analogue design/audio Engineer so do have big holes in my knowledge.
I play at a bit of cabinet making as a hobby, so do not anticipate too many issues making the cabinets, if I understand what I am trying to make.
What problems have I not foreseen that makes the ZD5 a difficult build for a first timer?
Thanks for your input. Part of the build is to see what quality stand mounts sound like, so unfortunately the amiga does not fit the bill. The more I read, the more keep getting drawn back to the ZD5s.
I am an Engineer, so have a little insight, but not an analogue design/audio Engineer so do have big holes in my knowledge.
I play at a bit of cabinet making as a hobby, so do not anticipate too many issues making the cabinets, if I understand what I am trying to make.
What problems have I not foreseen that makes the ZD5 a difficult build for a first timer?
Hi,
I've no doubt you could build the ZD5. However as you learn
more you might not be happy with some of the little details.
That is a presumption.
There are traps for the unaware, like a proper x/o layout.
Zaph|Audio
Things like the final selection of the crossover components
are left to the choice of the builder, as well as working out
things like if 10W is used for R0, 3W or 5W is fine for R3.
High quality standmounters are a bit thin on the ground,
due to the proliferation of subs and multi-channel not
many of them make a decent stab at producing bass.
Still the Amiga can be built into a 8 to11L sealed and stuffed
box, same width and depth, and will still be pretty good, it
will only lose out a little bass compared to the ZD5.
YMMV But if I was building the ZD5 I'd push the boat out a little
more on box construction and effective panel damping, an area
where there is not much constructive concensus and you need
to find your own way.
The ZD5 is necessarily very low efficiency, about 80-81dB/W and really
does need a fair amount of juice to drive it. The Amiga at 83-84dB/W
is still fairly low efficiency, but it pans out that whilst the ZD5 can go
up to 100W per channel, the Amiga will go as loud as the ZD5 with
100W with 50W, and run fullrange doesn't need more that 50W.
rgds, sreten.
https://www.intertechnik.de/Shop/Lautsprecher/Dayton/Dayton-Tief-Mittelton/1768,de,7058
Cabinet design can be creative. e.g. a removable base to a sealed
box that allows it to be linked at a later date to to a second box
/ stand that turns it into a vented floorstander is a possibility.
A bit like Naim's two box speakers.
I've no doubt you could build the ZD5. However as you learn
more you might not be happy with some of the little details.
That is a presumption.
There are traps for the unaware, like a proper x/o layout.
Zaph|Audio
Things like the final selection of the crossover components
are left to the choice of the builder, as well as working out
things like if 10W is used for R0, 3W or 5W is fine for R3.
High quality standmounters are a bit thin on the ground,
due to the proliferation of subs and multi-channel not
many of them make a decent stab at producing bass.
Still the Amiga can be built into a 8 to11L sealed and stuffed
box, same width and depth, and will still be pretty good, it
will only lose out a little bass compared to the ZD5.
YMMV But if I was building the ZD5 I'd push the boat out a little
more on box construction and effective panel damping, an area
where there is not much constructive concensus and you need
to find your own way.
The ZD5 is necessarily very low efficiency, about 80-81dB/W and really
does need a fair amount of juice to drive it. The Amiga at 83-84dB/W
is still fairly low efficiency, but it pans out that whilst the ZD5 can go
up to 100W per channel, the Amiga will go as loud as the ZD5 with
100W with 50W, and run fullrange doesn't need more that 50W.
rgds, sreten.
https://www.intertechnik.de/Shop/Lautsprecher/Dayton/Dayton-Tief-Mittelton/1768,de,7058
Cabinet design can be creative. e.g. a removable base to a sealed
box that allows it to be linked at a later date to to a second box
/ stand that turns it into a vented floorstander is a possibility.
A bit like Naim's two box speakers.
Last edited:
The crossover from Madisound is built on seperate boards for the tweeter and woofer sections and will definitely fit inside the box through the woofer hole, no worries.
When Zaph said this wasn't quite a beginner's design he was refering to the xover design which is somewhat more difficult to layout than a typical xover but since Madisound has these prebuilt, again, no worries.
Heat in a sealed box deisign is a non issue unless a component fails but that is very rare and and would be the same concern in a vented box.
If you are interested in these speakers, I say go for it. I have the woofers in another design and they are fabulous.
As Sreten said, if you don't have a sub, towers would be the way to go but I'm listening to mine in 11L in my small office and they are fine. They just don't have much authority in the lower octaves. In a med to large room they would be a bit anemic.
You might also take a look at Wolf's Scandivifia design with same drivers.
Scandivifa thread?
good luck
David
When Zaph said this wasn't quite a beginner's design he was refering to the xover design which is somewhat more difficult to layout than a typical xover but since Madisound has these prebuilt, again, no worries.
Heat in a sealed box deisign is a non issue unless a component fails but that is very rare and and would be the same concern in a vented box.
If you are interested in these speakers, I say go for it. I have the woofers in another design and they are fabulous.
As Sreten said, if you don't have a sub, towers would be the way to go but I'm listening to mine in 11L in my small office and they are fine. They just don't have much authority in the lower octaves. In a med to large room they would be a bit anemic.
You might also take a look at Wolf's Scandivifia design with same drivers.
Scandivifa thread?
good luck
David
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Buying the cross-over would be the sensible option, but I am concerned that the advert states that they do not fit.
Are we talking about the same boards?
The Madisound Speaker Store
The only way I can see where they would fit is on the sides, vertically behind the cross-braces. A small change to the position of the braces may be required.
Are we talking about the same boards?
The Madisound Speaker Store
The only way I can see where they would fit is on the sides, vertically behind the cross-braces. A small change to the position of the braces may be required.
I built the ZD5's as my first project and they turned out fantastically. But it wasn't easy, that's for sure.
I built them sealed and use a sub and think asking any more from just one 5" driver (even one as good as this one) is perhaps a little too much. Unless the volume is never pushed on them of course (yea right!).
If you want something a little more robust and with even better drivers too then looking at Jeff's Kairos or his flat baffle version, the Adelphos, might indeed be a good idea.
Understand also that with any given design, the front baffle dimensions, the driver placement and the internal net volume need to stay the same but you can play around with the other cabinet parameters like depth, cabinet material, wall thickness and type, amount and placement of bracing. You can put the xo's anywhere as long as the drivers have room behind them to breathe.
I had the same thoughts about the ZD5 as sreten notes above - such good drivers deserved a better cabinet so I did a translam construction with Baltic Birch as similar to the 1st Magico Minis as I could get and believe this has added to the SQ of the speakers. Front baffle dimensions remained exactly the same though.
Sorry, I didn't have a digital camera at the time so I have no construction pictures.
Paul Carmody's site that sreten linked to has some good info in it besides just that 1 project.
See also:
The Speaker Building Bible
DIY Loudspeakers
Here are some pictures that might help you as well:
1- driver cut-outs and chamfers
2- another example with more wood left for the screws
3- someone else's pic of their ZD5 ported built
4- my build
5- I put my xo's in my stands, some of the coils were much larger than I expected
I built them sealed and use a sub and think asking any more from just one 5" driver (even one as good as this one) is perhaps a little too much. Unless the volume is never pushed on them of course (yea right!).
If you want something a little more robust and with even better drivers too then looking at Jeff's Kairos or his flat baffle version, the Adelphos, might indeed be a good idea.
Understand also that with any given design, the front baffle dimensions, the driver placement and the internal net volume need to stay the same but you can play around with the other cabinet parameters like depth, cabinet material, wall thickness and type, amount and placement of bracing. You can put the xo's anywhere as long as the drivers have room behind them to breathe.
I had the same thoughts about the ZD5 as sreten notes above - such good drivers deserved a better cabinet so I did a translam construction with Baltic Birch as similar to the 1st Magico Minis as I could get and believe this has added to the SQ of the speakers. Front baffle dimensions remained exactly the same though.
Sorry, I didn't have a digital camera at the time so I have no construction pictures.
Paul Carmody's site that sreten linked to has some good info in it besides just that 1 project.
See also:
The Speaker Building Bible
DIY Loudspeakers
Here are some pictures that might help you as well:
1- driver cut-outs and chamfers
2- another example with more wood left for the screws
3- someone else's pic of their ZD5 ported built
4- my build
5- I put my xo's in my stands, some of the coils were much larger than I expected
Attachments
You are correct. They do say that they won't fit. They may mean they won't fit through the driver cut-out or that they won't fit given the current bracing design and/or they may also mean that they take up too much internal volume to keep the tuning accurate.
It is possible with the sealed version to increase the depth, add more bracing too and then finish with some extra, high density insulation in the back of the speaker. That might actually help things too. The ported version's internal volume has a tighter tolerance so you have to be more careful there but it's actually not that difficult to re-tune that either.
I remember it was hard to chose a speaker many years ago when I could actually listen to them. Even harder when I can't 
.
Some welcome advice from everyone, and good pictures I was hoping for from jReave. Thanks all.
I am not against building a sub in the future, if it turns out I need one, so I still have not ruled out the ZD5s.
I am off for some more background reading... Any more advice would be appreciated.
.Some welcome advice from everyone, and good pictures I was hoping for from jReave. Thanks all.
I am not against building a sub in the future, if it turns out I need one, so I still have not ruled out the ZD5s.
I am off for some more background reading... Any more advice would be appreciated.
Hi,
Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure the ZD5's are very good
but they are expensive. Bang for buck they are not. If it turns
out they simply don't go loud enough its an expensive way
of finding out you should have built some bigger speakers.
Personally I have some reservations about using a 11L
Vas, 0.55 Qts driver in 14L sealed * and 25L vented ! .
Its not ideal, not by a long way in my book.
! I suspect a TL would be best for the ZD5 bassmid.
YMMV as to the ambition level for a first build. Its
easy to get carried away trying to make the best
thing since sliced bread, whilst IMO its best to try
and make simply a very good speaker first off.
There is so much choice. Some can run before
they can walk. Some cannot. My opinion though
is the floorstanding Amiga would go great with the
Arcam Alpha 8 amplifier for a no sub hifi system,
with the footprint of of a small standmounter.
And probably cost less than the built ZD5 crossovers.
IMO the ZD5 or similar deserves better cabinets. However
the level of ambition for cabinet design is fine for the Amiga's.
rgds, sreten.
http://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy
(see if nothing else, the excellent FAQs)
The Speaker Building Bible
Zaph|Audio
Zaph|Audio - ZA5 Speaker Designs with ZA14W08 woofer and Vifa DQ25SC16-04 tweeter
http://audio.claub.net/Simple Loudspeaker Design ver2.pdf
FRD Consortium tools guide
Designing Crossovers with Software Only
RJB Audio Projects
Jay's DIY Loudspeaker Projects
Speaker Design Works
DIY Loudspeakers
Humble Homemade Hifi
Quarter Wavelength Loudspeaker Design
The Frugal-Horns Site -- High Performance, Low Cost DIY Horn Designs
Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design
Music and Design
* Old school 3rd order bass loading immediately springs to mind .....
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/download/Humble Homemade Hifi_Black Box_copy.pdf
Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty sure the ZD5's are very good
but they are expensive. Bang for buck they are not. If it turns
out they simply don't go loud enough its an expensive way
of finding out you should have built some bigger speakers.
Personally I have some reservations about using a 11L
Vas, 0.55 Qts driver in 14L sealed * and 25L vented ! .
Its not ideal, not by a long way in my book.
! I suspect a TL would be best for the ZD5 bassmid.
YMMV as to the ambition level for a first build. Its
easy to get carried away trying to make the best
thing since sliced bread, whilst IMO its best to try
and make simply a very good speaker first off.
There is so much choice. Some can run before
they can walk. Some cannot. My opinion though
is the floorstanding Amiga would go great with the
Arcam Alpha 8 amplifier for a no sub hifi system,
with the footprint of of a small standmounter.
And probably cost less than the built ZD5 crossovers.
IMO the ZD5 or similar deserves better cabinets. However
the level of ambition for cabinet design is fine for the Amiga's.
rgds, sreten.
http://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy
(see if nothing else, the excellent FAQs)
The Speaker Building Bible
Zaph|Audio
Zaph|Audio - ZA5 Speaker Designs with ZA14W08 woofer and Vifa DQ25SC16-04 tweeter
http://audio.claub.net/Simple Loudspeaker Design ver2.pdf
FRD Consortium tools guide
Designing Crossovers with Software Only
RJB Audio Projects
Jay's DIY Loudspeaker Projects
Speaker Design Works
DIY Loudspeakers
Humble Homemade Hifi
Quarter Wavelength Loudspeaker Design
The Frugal-Horns Site -- High Performance, Low Cost DIY Horn Designs
Linkwitz Lab - Loudspeaker Design
Music and Design
* Old school 3rd order bass loading immediately springs to mind .....
http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com/download/Humble Homemade Hifi_Black Box_copy.pdf
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You might want to define how loud you like to listen to music. With the low sensitivity of the ZD5 (~81dB, 1W/1m), a 50W amp will not be able to push them extremely loud. That may or may not be a good thing depending on your point of view. Sitting about 8ft from the speakers, your max SPL is going to be about 90dB with 50W, so you're going to want to be playing them lower than that to give your amp some headroom.
Just fyi, for every increase of 3dB, you need to double the amp power. That's why higher sensitivity speakers can be such an advantage. So if you had 6dB more sensitive speakers, then the above 90dB Spl levels would be achieved with just 12.5W instead of 50W.
Now 90dB is actually quite loud but many consider having available peaks in the neighborhood of 100dB to be more advantageous. YMMV of course.
Just fyi, for every increase of 3dB, you need to double the amp power. That's why higher sensitivity speakers can be such an advantage. So if you had 6dB more sensitive speakers, then the above 90dB Spl levels would be achieved with just 12.5W instead of 50W.
Now 90dB is actually quite loud but many consider having available peaks in the neighborhood of 100dB to be more advantageous. YMMV of course.
Thanks sreten,
I may get lynched for the next question, but here goes....
How would the Amiga compare to my existing Kef Q35s?
I am concerned that the components for the Amiga are fairly low cost, and I may not get the end result I am hoping for.
Maybe I am wrongly equating price of components with quality, where design - when already done by someone else - costs nothing?
Are there any shows or exhibitions in the UK where DIY speakers can be seen and heard?
I may get lynched for the next question, but here goes....
How would the Amiga compare to my existing Kef Q35s?
I am concerned that the components for the Amiga are fairly low cost, and I may not get the end result I am hoping for.
Maybe I am wrongly equating price of components with quality, where design - when already done by someone else - costs nothing?
Are there any shows or exhibitions in the UK where DIY speakers can be seen and heard?
I agree a kit is the best first project. One well documented so you can retrace the designers steps. I agree with the above comments that the ZD5 is not a beginners project. The quality of the drivers deserves a lot of careful attention to detail only learned after you have done a few. They are not cheap. ( the XT25 is not my favorite tweeter)
Now, are you looking for a great pair of speakers and think DIY is just a cheap way to get there ( it isn't) or are you as foolish as the rest of us and are considering the long spiral of failures that taking up this hobby offers? What background in electronics have you had? At least college physics? Do you have access to a complete woodshop? Are you willing to spend 6 months on a design just to bust up the box and start over?
If you just want great speakers. Go buy some. It is cheaper and you get to hear them. Subs you can do better than most ( because you can make them big enough), but monitors are hard to beat production for the price.
Now, if you are looking to join the fold, I would suggest starting with a cheaper kit or design that has been written up a lot or has a lot of threads about it so you can learn to retrace the designers process and procedures as you learn about the many different engineering disciplines in speaker design.
PS, The Arcam is a very nice little amp. In a REAL room, especially if it is an apartment, it is suitable for about any speaker that won't get you tossed out. Don't expect the amp to make big differences. 99% of the results are the speaker. Yea, my stack of Parasound 1200's really shines on full orchestra in my big system, but the systems I listen to most have a small Creek, Rotel, and my own amps that are only 35 to 45 W or so. They do fine. Spend your money on speakers.
Now, are you looking for a great pair of speakers and think DIY is just a cheap way to get there ( it isn't) or are you as foolish as the rest of us and are considering the long spiral of failures that taking up this hobby offers? What background in electronics have you had? At least college physics? Do you have access to a complete woodshop? Are you willing to spend 6 months on a design just to bust up the box and start over?
If you just want great speakers. Go buy some. It is cheaper and you get to hear them. Subs you can do better than most ( because you can make them big enough), but monitors are hard to beat production for the price.
Now, if you are looking to join the fold, I would suggest starting with a cheaper kit or design that has been written up a lot or has a lot of threads about it so you can learn to retrace the designers process and procedures as you learn about the many different engineering disciplines in speaker design.
PS, The Arcam is a very nice little amp. In a REAL room, especially if it is an apartment, it is suitable for about any speaker that won't get you tossed out. Don't expect the amp to make big differences. 99% of the results are the speaker. Yea, my stack of Parasound 1200's really shines on full orchestra in my big system, but the systems I listen to most have a small Creek, Rotel, and my own amps that are only 35 to 45 W or so. They do fine. Spend your money on speakers.
Hi,
Speaker SPL levels are complicated. Nearfield the nearer you are the
louder they are, but farfield the volume is essentially the same, and
for small speakers this will be be at least half the back floor area.
I don't know the exact numbers but 90dB seems very low for
a pair of speakers with 50W. A 81dB/1W/1m speaker will do
76dB/1W//2m but two speakers gets you back to 81dB/2m.
2m senstivity is a fair approximation of the constant farfield.
10W is 91dB, 100W is 101dB and so 50W is 98dB.
Which all agrees with :
In other words SPL max at 1m for a single speaker is moreorless
SPL max for a pair of speakers farfield in a compact room. For big
rooms the transition to constant farfield is further away from the
speakers, and for small rooms it is nearer. Consequently the level
of the farfield depends on the room size, not just box numbers.
rgds, sreten.
Speaker SPL levels are complicated. Nearfield the nearer you are the
louder they are, but farfield the volume is essentially the same, and
for small speakers this will be be at least half the back floor area.
I don't know the exact numbers but 90dB seems very low for
a pair of speakers with 50W. A 81dB/1W/1m speaker will do
76dB/1W//2m but two speakers gets you back to 81dB/2m.
2m senstivity is a fair approximation of the constant farfield.
10W is 91dB, 100W is 101dB and so 50W is 98dB.
Which all agrees with :
In other words SPL max at 1m for a single speaker is moreorless
SPL max for a pair of speakers farfield in a compact room. For big
rooms the transition to constant farfield is further away from the
speakers, and for small rooms it is nearer. Consequently the level
of the farfield depends on the room size, not just box numbers.
rgds, sreten.
I was considering this to be a 1 off learning curve.
A project to combine a good grounding in electronics (but not audio) with my enjoyment of woodwork (if you can call MDF wood). I was looking at a lower cost way to get a high quality set of speakers.
Volume is not a great issue. I am not looking for loud.
They will be in a medium sized living room. Used for tv, and most types of music.
The possibility of a full strip down is not a concern, as long as I can re-use the electronics. Another reason why the ZD5s appealed to me with the floor standing and stand mount options. I am told that size is a big design constraint - must not be bigger than existing Q35s (but I may be able to get away with a bit bigger if I don't ever stand them side by side.)
Perhaps Ebay is a cheaper route to high quality, but it is nice to think 'I made that'.
A project to combine a good grounding in electronics (but not audio) with my enjoyment of woodwork (if you can call MDF wood). I was looking at a lower cost way to get a high quality set of speakers.
Volume is not a great issue. I am not looking for loud.
They will be in a medium sized living room. Used for tv, and most types of music.
The possibility of a full strip down is not a concern, as long as I can re-use the electronics. Another reason why the ZD5s appealed to me with the floor standing and stand mount options. I am told that size is a big design constraint - must not be bigger than existing Q35s (but I may be able to get away with a bit bigger if I don't ever stand them side by side.)
Perhaps Ebay is a cheaper route to high quality, but it is nice to think 'I made that'.
Last edited:
Hi,
Its a moot point with anyone who already has allegedly good
commercial hifi speakers. And I'd be the first to admit if you
know your stuff you can buy far better used good commercial
speakers than you could possibly build an equivalent for,
if you factor in your time building them as a real cost.
If your after performance / dollar used good speakers are the
way to go. Building good speakers is very time consuming,
even when you get the hang of it, but its very slow at first.
Many shows really illustrate alternative speaker designs much
more than anything designed to take on the mainstream.
YMMV and its just my opinion that the Amiga is one of the
best relatively budget but real hi-fi no sub designs available
to someone in the UK, too many off them are a rip-off.
Claimed sensitivities of 83-84dB versus 91dB should tell you
that you are dealing with two very different kettles of fish *.
The Amiga has high VFM drivers, near the best VFM available.
It won't compare to the Q35, it will be different.
rgds, sreten.
* Given the Arcam Alpha 8 has pre-out power-in it is worth
experimenting with http://sound.westhost.com/bafflestep.htm
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My mistake - I forgot to calculate for 2 speakers. Doh.
Also hadn't heard about 2m=farfield SPL's before. That's helpful. Thanks sreten.
Given that you have background in both electronics and carpentry, I don't think building the ZD5 is going to be over your head, but if you do get stuck, there is always help available on this and other forums. And since you don't need extremely loud but do want very high quality, it also sounds like the right choice for you, or at least 1 of the right choices.
Btw, Dayton's RS line of drivers are something special, especially when you consider value, but they are not quite up to ScanSpeak Revelator levels. Those are rightfully considered some of the best drivers out there although the Satori's may be even better (the Revelator and the Satori drivers happen to have been designed by the same man btw). But all drivers have their limitations and need to be implemented to their maximum benefit. Good designers (Jeff B, Zaph and Paul C among them) know how to do that and you can trust their designs (and others as well - those 3 have just been mentioned so far).
And I think you are correct - there is tremendous satisfaction in having built them yourself. My voice seems to be the dissenting one but I still say go for it.
Btw, Dayton's RS line of drivers are something special, especially when you consider value, but they are not quite up to ScanSpeak Revelator levels. Those are rightfully considered some of the best drivers out there although the Satori's may be even better (the Revelator and the Satori drivers happen to have been designed by the same man btw). But all drivers have their limitations and need to be implemented to their maximum benefit. Good designers (Jeff B, Zaph and Paul C among them) know how to do that and you can trust their designs (and others as well - those 3 have just been mentioned so far).
And I think you are correct - there is tremendous satisfaction in having built them yourself. My voice seems to be the dissenting one but I still say go for it.
Hello,
I am building a similar design (same drivers) but from Troels Gravesen, called Ellam XT.
Ellam-XT
Maybe you could check these. Crossover is simpler. Use cheaper component for the filter, Troels usually use usually very expensive components.
As a first project, I would recommand something cheaper.
For instance in french forums (HCFR) you have a few hitmaker which maybe are not discussed here :
DA990 (Peerless SDS134+Vifa DX25) :
Enceinte 2 voies haute-fidélité | alexaudio
I have made one of these. Cost +/-130€ (110£)
There is also a floor standing version of these (crossover is different):
Gavroche :
Gavroche DX - Just DIY It !
Another project which have much success is Prima (Scanspeak 18w4434+D2608 91300) cost +/- 280€ (230£):
Prima - Just DIY It !
You can adress your questions to the designers of these, they speak English. Troels Gravesen also answer Emails.
For DA990 and Prima, there is a French site which folow the kits and they can also do it for you :
speaker-kits wil audio - WilAudio
I also do my shopping there or at Europe-audio (NL).
I am building a similar design (same drivers) but from Troels Gravesen, called Ellam XT.
Ellam-XT
Maybe you could check these. Crossover is simpler. Use cheaper component for the filter, Troels usually use usually very expensive components.
As a first project, I would recommand something cheaper.
For instance in french forums (HCFR) you have a few hitmaker which maybe are not discussed here :
DA990 (Peerless SDS134+Vifa DX25) :
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Enceinte 2 voies haute-fidélité | alexaudio
I have made one of these. Cost +/-130€ (110£)
There is also a floor standing version of these (crossover is different):
Gavroche :
Gavroche DX - Just DIY It !
Another project which have much success is Prima (Scanspeak 18w4434+D2608 91300) cost +/- 280€ (230£):
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Prima - Just DIY It !
You can adress your questions to the designers of these, they speak English. Troels Gravesen also answer Emails.
For DA990 and Prima, there is a French site which folow the kits and they can also do it for you :
speaker-kits wil audio - WilAudio
I also do my shopping there or at Europe-audio (NL).
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