I personally like speakers with "in your face" sound , like Klipsch, I have a pair of rp-250f speakers, I paid 400$ (They are Brand new and retail double ) out of the door from Frys electronics last Christmas .I am very happy with them, I will try "upgrading " the crossovers components soon. For the money I spent on them is hard to think I could build something as good as them.
I love designing and building speakers, but when the KEF Q100s went on sale at Amazon for $230 I couldn't help myself. I have really been impressed by the sound as they sound nearly identical to my Sennheiser HD 520 II headphones except for the lower bass. I like to use the foam plug they come with to block the port and use them with a subwoofer. I know I'll eventually remove the drivers and install them in a DIY build with "proper" bass drivers, but for right now I'm enjoying them "as-is".
Much of the time what you buy commercially will have a hard time competing with what you can make yourself. Two magor issues the manufacture is up against. 1- they have to make a profit. 2- your room and your ears are different than everyone else.
These make it very difficult for a commercially available speaker to compete with what you can make at home.
That said you will have to learn at least the basics to achieve the potential of whatever drivers and cabinet ( if you even use a cabinet
) are capable of AND this is a big one, I have heard many speakers that sounded so so with very expensive drivers and many with reasonably priced drivers that sounded to good to be true for there cheap investment.
The part IMO that a commercial speaker often has all over a diy is aesthetic. This may be my own hangup but I find most diy speakers to be somewhat less than pleasing to look at. Simple shapes and simple screens are more likely to turn out not looking like an experiment.
Calculations and basic knowledge of fundamentals will get you in the ballpark BUT it is time and tweaking that ultimately bring a system into its sweet spot. Start simple, get a cheap measurement system, and play.
These make it very difficult for a commercially available speaker to compete with what you can make at home.
That said you will have to learn at least the basics to achieve the potential of whatever drivers and cabinet ( if you even use a cabinet
) are capable of AND this is a big one, I have heard many speakers that sounded so so with very expensive drivers and many with reasonably priced drivers that sounded to good to be true for there cheap investment.The part IMO that a commercial speaker often has all over a diy is aesthetic. This may be my own hangup but I find most diy speakers to be somewhat less than pleasing to look at. Simple shapes and simple screens are more likely to turn out not looking like an experiment.
Calculations and basic knowledge of fundamentals will get you in the ballpark BUT it is time and tweaking that ultimately bring a system into its sweet spot. Start simple, get a cheap measurement system, and play.
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Much of the time what you buy commercially will have a hard time competing with what you can make yourself. Two magor issues the manufacture is up against. 1- they have to make a profit. 2- your room and your ears are different than everyone else.
These make it very difficult for a commercially available speaker to compete with what you can make at home.
That said you will have to learn at least the basics to achieve the potential of whatever drivers and cabinet ( if you even use a cabinet
Calculations and basic knowledge of fundamentals will get you in the ballpark BUT it is time and tweaking that ultimately bring a system into its sweet spot. Start simple, get a cheap measurement system, and play.
I totally agree.! Even buying expensive drivers, you don't lose them. What you lose are the enclosures, so it is good idea not to expend too much on them until you be done with what you want. Then, you can build or order a professional to build quality enclosures with the finish you like. I have to play with the crossover and boxes to get the sound I prefer.
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What wesayso says is very important - if you think of the room first, and work your way in from there, it will narrow your choices and start to make sense of what will work best for you in your space. There can be a world of difference in hearing something spectacular in a showroom thats 20x30 and trying to fit it into your 12x14 listening space.
Of course if you had a rather big speakers then the bass would dominate a smaller room. A reasonable 3W shouldn't though.
Much of the time what you buy commercially will have a hard time competing with what you can make yourself. Two magor issues the manufacture is up against. 1- they have to make a profit. 2- your room and your ears are different than everyone else.
These make it very difficult for a commercially available speaker to compete with what you can make at home.
That said you will have to learn at least the basics to achieve the potential of whatever drivers and cabinet ( if you even use a cabinet
The part IMO that a commercial speaker often has all over a diy is aesthetic. This may be my own hangup but I find most diy speakers to be somewhat less than pleasing to look at. Simple shapes and simple screens are more likely to turn out not looking like an experiment.
Calculations and basic knowledge of fundamentals will get you in the ballpark BUT it is time and tweaking that ultimately bring a system into its sweet spot. Start simple, get a cheap measurement system, and play.
I've seen some DIY builds that are straight up works of art. Of course they were all the handyman, woodworking types first.
My speaker drivers were definitely on the cheap end. My tweeters were 20 each for 7. My bottoms were 10 each for 7 and my midrange domes were 40 each for 6. They sound great to my ears. IMO it's all about building the proper enclosure and dialing in the crossover. Once you hit a certain threshold everything is basically a tie in the DIY world.
On of my favorite builds by Bernie. Solid black walnut.
Most of his builds could be described as works of art.
dave
On of my favorite builds by Bernie. Solid black walnut.
Most of his builds could be described as works of art.
dave
Beautiful.!
In my experience it's relatively easy to outperform most commercial products in diy, given the "ingredients" are high quality.
Also the best speakers I heard were diy.
Plus in diy you can fit them to your taste, needs, room, etc.
You got all freedoms.
A few tools, mic, software, time, money and you can have one of the best and most rewarding hobbies.
No commercial speaker will give you the satisfaction of a good own design.
On the other hand a good own design might take months to perfect.
Also the best speakers I heard were diy.
Plus in diy you can fit them to your taste, needs, room, etc.
You got all freedoms.
A few tools, mic, software, time, money and you can have one of the best and most rewarding hobbies.
No commercial speaker will give you the satisfaction of a good own design.
On the other hand a good own design might take months to perfect.
By the way, since you are in Canada, what do you think about Paradigm ?? I own the Studio 100 V2.
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