Ok, I've tried searching for something similar here but can't find anything - if I've missed another post from someone asking the same, please feel free to point me over there...
I'm a bit of a noob to all this idea of DIY audio. I'm planning on building some Hypex amps (the number will depend on what my speaker solution is, of course...)
I currently use B&W speakers (not great ones) and I was thinking of upgrading my fronts (L/R and eventually L/C/R) to B&W 805s albeit the cheaper/older non-diamond ones. At £1k per pair second hand, these aren't particularly cheap and have some issues which all bought speakers have, which I'll come onto later.
I am moving into a new house which will have a semi-dedicated AV room (it will also be a party room, but not a living room). I will be building a projector screen wall and want my L/C/R speakers* to be in this false wall at ear-height to enhance the audio placement effect on movies.
However, I also like listening to music (everything from classical through jazz through electronic via rock and pop!) and a good AV setup will compromise slightly (or worse) for music reproduction, but hey ho.
The issue is that for Wife Acceptance purposes, I'm not going to be able to build a full-height 24" false wall across the entire front of the room. I could, however, build a full height 6" or so false wall with 24+" extension from about 2' from the floor (basically everything below the bottom of the projector screen could come out quite a long way).
This means I can't install conventional single box speakers at ear-height. This has made me wonder about building custom speakers which have tweeter and mid-range up at ear-height and the woofer box separate and down in the larger volume area below the screen.
I will also be using a sub for < 80Hz (it's a SVS SB2000 so ok, but not exceptional). In due course, I have the ability to build an IB sub on the side wall which backs onto an internal garage, so ideal for IB purposes. So I'm not really worried about lower bass for now.
The next idea may sound even crazier, but bear with me - I could remove some of the wall (!) behind where the ear-height speakers would be, as the front wall backs onto a relatively unused hallway, so theoretically I could install the tweeter and mid range "in wall" or even "through wall" - especially if using a horn mid range perhaps?
Of course, the slight issue with this crazy idea is that I'd require 9 Hypex power amps to drive a 3-way 3 speaker front set - because I'm assuming I'd want active crossovers. So even using the cheaper UCD180, that's probably about £1k+ on amps alone. Starting to get silly expensive, which will be a problem in terms of Wife Acceptance Factor!
Any ideas on what I could do, given the constraints I have re: space and the like. I'm trying to avoid having single-box speakers in the room, at a regulation distance from the wall as they will end up being clattered by children (or inebriated aduilts) having a party at some point!
I'm a bit of a noob to all this idea of DIY audio. I'm planning on building some Hypex amps (the number will depend on what my speaker solution is, of course...)
I currently use B&W speakers (not great ones) and I was thinking of upgrading my fronts (L/R and eventually L/C/R) to B&W 805s albeit the cheaper/older non-diamond ones. At £1k per pair second hand, these aren't particularly cheap and have some issues which all bought speakers have, which I'll come onto later.
I am moving into a new house which will have a semi-dedicated AV room (it will also be a party room, but not a living room). I will be building a projector screen wall and want my L/C/R speakers* to be in this false wall at ear-height to enhance the audio placement effect on movies.
However, I also like listening to music (everything from classical through jazz through electronic via rock and pop!) and a good AV setup will compromise slightly (or worse) for music reproduction, but hey ho.
The issue is that for Wife Acceptance purposes, I'm not going to be able to build a full-height 24" false wall across the entire front of the room. I could, however, build a full height 6" or so false wall with 24+" extension from about 2' from the floor (basically everything below the bottom of the projector screen could come out quite a long way).
This means I can't install conventional single box speakers at ear-height. This has made me wonder about building custom speakers which have tweeter and mid-range up at ear-height and the woofer box separate and down in the larger volume area below the screen.
I will also be using a sub for < 80Hz (it's a SVS SB2000 so ok, but not exceptional). In due course, I have the ability to build an IB sub on the side wall which backs onto an internal garage, so ideal for IB purposes. So I'm not really worried about lower bass for now.
The next idea may sound even crazier, but bear with me - I could remove some of the wall (!) behind where the ear-height speakers would be, as the front wall backs onto a relatively unused hallway, so theoretically I could install the tweeter and mid range "in wall" or even "through wall" - especially if using a horn mid range perhaps?
Of course, the slight issue with this crazy idea is that I'd require 9 Hypex power amps to drive a 3-way 3 speaker front set - because I'm assuming I'd want active crossovers. So even using the cheaper UCD180, that's probably about £1k+ on amps alone. Starting to get silly expensive, which will be a problem in terms of Wife Acceptance Factor!
Any ideas on what I could do, given the constraints I have re: space and the like. I'm trying to avoid having single-box speakers in the room, at a regulation distance from the wall as they will end up being clattered by children (or inebriated aduilts) having a party at some point!