Question for Aussies - Designing cheap center and rears

Todo · 6th September 2004, 02:00 PM

After deciding I want to diy my subwoofer, ive now thought of diy'ing a new centre and bookshelf rears aswell, instead of buying the cheapass sony ones I was going to. I want to keep my mains for now.

Can anyone recommend some drivers? I want to keep it cheap, preferably under $400 for all 3 speakers. They should be 8 ohm.
Are vifa the way to go? Or would something more generic be just as good? 4", 5", 6.5"?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

rabbitz · 6th September 2004, 02:11 PM

Have a look at the Loudspeaker Kit M4 as they could fit the bill and a lot use it as a centre as well on it's side.

http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/ind...eline&kitid=M4

If you want to build your own have a look at the Vifa TC series........ tweeter TC20, woofers TC11 or TC14. Just check if you need shielded versions for your centre.

http://www.d-s-t.com.au/Ventura/index.htm

NorthNarra · 7th September 2004, 12:16 AM

I like the look of the M4's at LSK. I found that site after reading Todo's first post on a DIY SW.

I still think I'm going to do a 12" Shiva in a sealed 54ltr application for my sub. I'm now toying with whether to go for the M4's with their nice 4" woofers which get rave reviews. Or maybe step up to something a bit bigger like the TL6 towers as my front pair with the C6 centre, but then I'm stuck with what to use as my rear satellites as I can't mount dipoles on the walls in my configuration and the M4's might not be tonally balanced with the TL6's.

Any thoughts??? And would a DIY Shiva 12" 54ltr sit nicely with the LSK gear? Maybe a pair of Shivas up front... $$$ not really an issue, just want really great gear and willing to go DIY.

Cheers,

rabbitz · 7th September 2004, 12:49 PM

If you've got the room a pair of LSK F6's would do you for rear duty and would be tonally matched to the TL6 and C6 as they basically use the same drivers. The Shivas would be similar to the LSK S250 so should work well.

NorthNarra · 7th September 2004, 11:03 PM

Thanks Rabbitz!

I like the sound of that...

2xTL6 up front $1199
2xF6 rears $799
1xC6 centre $599
1xDIY Shiva 54Ltr sealed SW $600ish

Will be a little pricey ($3200), but much cheaper than buying kit of this standard off the shelf I'd think! And I'll probably get a discount from LSK if I buy that in one lot, at least 10% I think I read on their forum...

I'm still toying with the idea of going it alone for all the speakers and not just the SW, but will read a helluva lot more posts before braving that route. Is it really that difficult, and how much would I expect to save over the LSK prices?

Cheers

Todo · 8th September 2004, 08:58 AM

yeah, id really like to know if you can build better for less for the other lsk speakers too!

rabbitz · 8th September 2004, 03:32 PM

The LSK speakers are great value for money and you get a speaker that is going to work and sound good with minimal effort. Another option is to use the F6 up front instead of the TL6 as you will have a sub to do the low stuff.

You can design and build better for less if you know what you are doing and it ain't easy. Can take months just to get the crossover right and my last mains took about 6 months of testing and mods to get exactly what I wanted. Just because a piece of software says it's going to sound good doesn't mean it will sound good. I've found 5% design, 95% testing and mods. BTW, be prepared for failures.

I suggest you get a copy of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason to see what's involved. This book is not the bible, but it does give you a good idea on what it's about. When reading, be prepared to do a lot of head scratching and a lot of it doesn't fall into place until after some speakers have been built.

Which ever way you go, have fun and enjoy.

NorthNarra · 8th September 2004, 10:48 PM

Good call,

I was looking at getting that book anyway. I spotted it at Jaycar for only $35, which is half the MSRP.

Here's the link...

http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productVie...=&SUBCATID=417

Must admit though, that I figured once you'd modelled the crossovers that it would be just a case of building it to spec (I'm pretty experienced at carpentry) and Bob's your uncle, perfect sound! A bit niaive and optimistic I guess.

Maybe LSK is the way to go after all, with F6s front and rear with a DIY Shiva SW and the C6 centre.

Thanks for the help!!

6th September 2004, 02:00 PM	#1
Todo diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Melbourne	Question for Aussies - Designing cheap center and rears After deciding I want to diy my subwoofer, ive now thought of diy'ing a new centre and bookshelf rears aswell, instead of buying the cheapass sony ones I was going to. I want to keep my mains for now. Can anyone recommend some drivers? I want to keep it cheap, preferably under $400 for all 3 speakers. They should be 8 ohm. Are vifa the way to go? Or would something more generic be just as good? 4", 5", 6.5"? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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6th September 2004, 02:11 PM	#2
rabbitz diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Newcastle, Australia	Have a look at the Loudspeaker Kit M4 as they could fit the bill and a lot use it as a centre as well on it's side. http://www.theloudspeakerkit.com/ind...eline&kitid=M4 If you want to build your own have a look at the Vifa TC series........ tweeter TC20, woofers TC11 or TC14. Just check if you need shielded versions for your centre. http://www.d-s-t.com.au/Ventura/index.htm

7th September 2004, 12:16 AM	#3
NorthNarra diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sydney	I like the look of the M4's at LSK. I found that site after reading Todo's first post on a DIY SW. I still think I'm going to do a 12" Shiva in a sealed 54ltr application for my sub. I'm now toying with whether to go for the M4's with their nice 4" woofers which get rave reviews. Or maybe step up to something a bit bigger like the TL6 towers as my front pair with the C6 centre, but then I'm stuck with what to use as my rear satellites as I can't mount dipoles on the walls in my configuration and the M4's might not be tonally balanced with the TL6's. Any thoughts??? And would a DIY Shiva 12" 54ltr sit nicely with the LSK gear? Maybe a pair of Shivas up front... $$$ not really an issue, just want really great gear and willing to go DIY. Cheers,

7th September 2004, 12:49 PM	#4
rabbitz diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Newcastle, Australia	If you've got the room a pair of LSK F6's would do you for rear duty and would be tonally matched to the TL6 and C6 as they basically use the same drivers. The Shivas would be similar to the LSK S250 so should work well.

7th September 2004, 11:03 PM	#5
NorthNarra diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sydney	Thanks Rabbitz! I like the sound of that... 2xTL6 up front $1199 2xF6 rears $799 1xC6 centre $599 1xDIY Shiva 54Ltr sealed SW $600ish Will be a little pricey ($3200), but much cheaper than buying kit of this standard off the shelf I'd think! And I'll probably get a discount from LSK if I buy that in one lot, at least 10% I think I read on their forum... I'm still toying with the idea of going it alone for all the speakers and not just the SW, but will read a helluva lot more posts before braving that route. Is it really that difficult, and how much would I expect to save over the LSK prices? Cheers

8th September 2004, 08:58 AM	#6
Todo diyAudio Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Melbourne	yeah, id really like to know if you can build better for less for the other lsk speakers too!

8th September 2004, 03:32 PM	#7
rabbitz diyAudio Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Newcastle, Australia	The LSK speakers are great value for money and you get a speaker that is going to work and sound good with minimal effort. Another option is to use the F6 up front instead of the TL6 as you will have a sub to do the low stuff. You can design and build better for less if you know what you are doing and it ain't easy. Can take months just to get the crossover right and my last mains took about 6 months of testing and mods to get exactly what I wanted. Just because a piece of software says it's going to sound good doesn't mean it will sound good. I've found 5% design, 95% testing and mods. BTW, be prepared for failures. I suggest you get a copy of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook by Vance Dickason to see what's involved. This book is not the bible, but it does give you a good idea on what it's about. When reading, be prepared to do a lot of head scratching and a lot of it doesn't fall into place until after some speakers have been built. Which ever way you go, have fun and enjoy.

8th September 2004, 10:48 PM	#8
NorthNarra diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Sydney	Good call, I was looking at getting that book anyway. I spotted it at Jaycar for only $35, which is half the MSRP. Here's the link... http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productVie...=&SUBCATID=417 Must admit though, that I figured once you'd modelled the crossovers that it would be just a case of building it to spec (I'm pretty experienced at carpentry) and Bob's your uncle, perfect sound! A bit niaive and optimistic I guess. Maybe LSK is the way to go after all, with F6s front and rear with a DIY Shiva SW and the C6 centre. Thanks for the help!!

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