Newbie Summer Psoject

[Rabies Monkey]

Hello Audiophiles,

Summer is Drawing near, and I need a new project to keep busy with, and I am looking a Surround Sound system. It will be in a small, 11.5' by 19' room, and I am asking your advice on what components to build the speakers with.

I plan to use it for Music, Some Movies, and Videogames(w00t!)

I already have an amp to start out with I will be using (Some Yamaha 5.1, don't have the Model # handy) and the TV (32" sony), and I am looking for speakers to go along with it. I plan on building them, as I am on a Budgett.

I have the Amp, TV, and some old speakers I will use for Surrounds (Crap-*** 1-way 4" Kenwood...*shudder*) untill I can Afford to build some better ones. Damn my 16-year old Budgett...

I need you to help me to plan out and buy the components for the Subwoofer, Center, and Front Left and Right Channels.
The Fronts I would like to be inbetween Bookshelf and Floorstanding height (they will be on my desk, so ~ 2.5' tall) I would like them to be a 3-way design just to provide smooth, flowing frequency responce. The center I would like to keep ~9" tall or less, but it may be over 1' deep, and the total width of my TV. But, I would like the center to be the same power as the Right and Left, as normally centers are always smaller than all the other speakers, but they have the main role.

Would Planar/NXT speakers be a god idea for the three front speakers? What about 4-way speakers with a "Special Extended Range" Midrange?

I will need crossovers for the Fronts, Drivers, speaker plans, Building Tips, and what should be done special (Porting(Slot, Vent, Standard, None?) Filling, and Horn Loading.)

The amp is 100 watts a Channel, and I do not want to blow the speakers out, so I will need some sort of protection in the Crossover, or drivers that can handle 100 watts.

The Subwoofer I am planning on building is a Tempest, and it will be placed in the corner, under a desk, and I would like it's max demensions to be 2' tall, and up to 3' wide. I will need tips on building this too (Porting, Filling, Solid Structure, etc...) I have a New and Used DJ shop 1 mile away, so I will be getting ym Tempest Amp there.

Remember, I want all the speakers to match, and all be of good build and acoustic quality.

Volume is the last thing I have in Mind, as I hate loud music, and I do not want to be deaf by the time I am 20.

I would also like to Magnetically shield all the speakers ( and the Sub as much as Possible) so they may be my TV and Monitors without Distortion.

I have a large amount of tools at my Disposal (Dad used to work at Snap on), and I know how to read Schematics so I can Build the Crossovers, but I would Prefer to buy those whole (anyone know where to find good, moderatly priced ones?.

I am planning on using plywood for the seakers, unless I can find MDF locally (Any tips on this?), and at good prices.

Also, what are some good speaker terminals, and where?
I know you are thinking a Tempest is a little much for this room, But I like clean bass (Not loud, but clean and Present) And the Tempest can provide this wothout loads of power. I will NEVER have this up all the way (Never have done that to any sound system in my life, and never plan too) and I plan on Taking the Tempest with me, so I will not have to upgrade later then I move out.

I work alot with Computers and basic electronics, so I am nowhere a newb to working with electronics.

Anything else you need to know, let me know, and thank you for the help in advance. And please Forgive my Newbishness. And remember, not too expensive, but not total crap.

[busterno1]

you can try here this site gets recommended a lot here

http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Egeenius/index.html

here is another
http://www.partsexpress.com/projectshowcase/index.html

[454Casull]

An open-baffle Tang-Band W3-871S would be very simple and inexpensive, and wouldn't sound too bad either.

[Hybrid fourdoor]

Heres an idea I've had lurking in my head.

You take the 12" sonotubes they sell at Home Depot/Lowes for like $8, buy a piece of MDF (2'x4' should be plenty....~$4). Then just make like the picture below. Sort of like theater surrounds, or those Infinity Qaudrosomethings. You can put 4 8ohm speakers in each one so that you have a 8 Ohm load. 4 Tang Bands would be nice

Put some speaker fabric all the way around and finish the tops and bottoms and mount 'em up.


EDIT: Sorry these were intended for surrounds. I misread your post...oh well spread the ideas anyways.

[Timn8ter]

I used three TBs. http://www.alegriaaudio.com/aural_im...3_surround.htm

If you use four it would make getting to an 8 ohm nominal easier but I would suggest putting 2 center drivers in vertical alignment with the outside drivers on the horizontal line.

For good HT performance on a small budget I'd suggest checking out the TB designs from Creative Sound Solutions, RAW Acoutics and GR Research.
thread from another site

For an inexpensive sub that performs surprisingly well you might want to look at these. http://www.alegriaaudio.com/shiva_tube.htm
http://www.t-linespeakers.org/projects/steve/
http://www.t-linespeakers.org/projects/nick/index.html

[Rabies Monkey]

Wow! You Guy's are fast...

My main Question now, is to used a Sealed sub or not, and how to port it. I want Power for Movies, so Sealed is good, but I want it to sound "Real" for music, so I am wondering which would be the best way to go.

And, Hybrid fourdoor, I only plan to use the Kenwoods untillI can get the money for Surrounds, and your plan appears to have a nice design to it.

Anyone know where I can get basic info on Crossovers or which specific drivers match well for theater use?

[Timn8ter]

I can try and offer an opinion on subs. A sealed sub will give you a more gentle roll-off (~6db per octave) where a vented sub will generally go lower but have a much faster roll-off. This gives the sealed sub a more "musical" appeal but can lack the "boom" expected for movies. There are always compromises and it can depend on the driver and amp used. Having experienced the Adire Tumult in a sealed enclosure with "only" 250 watts behind it it works well in both worlds. Since you probably don't want to spend that much money check out the TL sub designs I provided links to. A Shiva TL is hard to beat for the price and can be driven to acceptable levels with a smallish plate amp.