Dayton III or Grand Pop!

[fireman]

A friend of mine has asked me to help him built a set of MTM speakers for his living room. He is on a budget and would like to build something for around US$ 150 for the drivers and the X-overs. Both the Dayton III and the Adire Grand Pop! fit the bill. The reviews look equally interesting on paper (or CRT for that matter).

Anyone of you has ever heard them both ? If so, how did they sound ? My friend will use them about equally to listen to music and movies. His taste is quite varied so these speakers will need to be versatile. They will most probably be paired with a sub in the future.

I know that for the price he is willing to pay, he probably won't get over the top hi-fi speakers. Am I wrong in pretending that these two designs and maybe others I haven't seen yet represent a pretty good introduction in DIY audio.

My friend definitely prefers MTM but if you have something that is not too complicated to build that you feel that would do the job, I bet he'd be willing to give it a try. As his first project, he wishes to find a project that provides the necessary information to build the enclosure and the X-over. I'm pretty handy with tools so I don't mind helping him cutting wood or soldering stuff but I am definitely knowledgeable enough to help him design the said crossover.

[Guss]

You'd rather chose a good 2-way project with a simpler crossover and better drivers. Do you friend knows why he prefers MTM? or he thought it just looked fine to him...?

Say he choses to build Vifa/peerless speakers, it still ''fits'' the bill and the sound goes improved.

Just my 2.67 CAD cents

EDIT : I'll try to find a project available here in canada, I guess you had Solen in mind ?

[fireman]

Originally posted by Guss
You'd rather chose a good 2-way project with a simpler crossover and better drivers. Do you friend knows why he prefers MTM? or he thought it just looked fine to him...?

Actually, he just thought they look cool. What project do you have in mind ?

We visited Lou's website and found quite a few interesting projects there such as the Garnet II . Also, John's site is pretty interesting. On his site, we liked the Silver Flute. It would meet the budget criteria and looks good.

As we were surfing the web, I decided I would probably build a pair for me to. While we're at it, it wouldn't take much longer to work on 4 cabinets and then we'd both have our own to enjoy !

Say he choses to build Vifa/peerless speakers, it still ''fits'' the bill and the sound goes improved.

Just my 2.67 CAD cents

EDIT : I'll try to find a project available here in canada, I guess you had Solen in mind ?

Vifa/Peerless sounds good. I can't wait to see what you're going to come up with. As far as buying from Solen , well I'd prefer to go that way. Solen's prices are interesting and I wouldn't have to deal with Canada Customs. But that is a different story.

[paulb]

I Really like my Dayton IIIs. Really.
That's the trouble, you can't hear the things till you build them. I like these so much I'm worried I'll spend a lot more on my next set and they won't sound as good.

/Paul - who can hear Jewel in the next room over.

[Guss]

But I'm affraid 150 USD is not enough as you're buying from canada probably at partsexpress or speakercity so even if dayton drivers are cheap you will need much money.

[fireman]

Originally posted by Guss
But I'm affraid 150 USD is not enough as you're buying from canada probably at partsexpress or speakercity so even if dayton drivers are cheap you will need much money.

There is room in that budget. We had a 150 USD goal but could go higher if need be. But we won't go to 300 USD.