first speaker project...

[eisenhower]

Hey, Im looking for a nice project to start me off in this hobby.
I was eyeing the GR research a/v-1 kit (or 2 or 3).
As for prior expirience with building speaker cabinets, Ive built 2 guitar cabs and 3 subwoofer enclosures (car audio). I plan on majoring in electrical engineering, so any expirience will be welcomed.
Right now Im running a pair of insignia's with an onkyo tx8211 receiver. They sound okay, but I want something really impressive, something like the DIY version of epos els-3, paradigm mini monitor, axiom m3ti, etc... money is tight, which is another reason diy is appealing. What Id really like are a pair of floorstanders, but if thats reaching too far, I understand.

anyways, can anyone give me some tips?

btw, I live in a very small concrete dorm.

[sreten]

Hi,

you can't go wrong with any of the designs here :

http://www.zaphaudio.com/

But note that Zaph boxes are the suggested starting point.
The L18 design could be converted into a floor stander.

But note small boxes sound better and if your thinking of
adding a powered subwoofer small sealed boxes are best.

Anyway, wealth of info to read at Zaph's site.

/sreten.

[eisenhower]

Ive seen zaph's site and the projects do look good.
Im just a little lost on which project to build. How would that L18 project compare to an a/v-1 ? How much does the L18 project cost?

[sreten]

Hi,

My concern with the gr kits is that they
seem to ignore baffle step compensation.

http://murphyblaster.com/content.php?f=main.html

Checkout the all GR drivers version of the MBW01 (in 3-way).

http://www.zaphaudio.com/surface5test/

http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker19.html

Is comparable to the GR kit, I think it would be better.

The L15 design is better and more expensive.

The L18 design is even better and even more expensive.

/sreten.

[eisenhower]

Alright, thanks.
I think the L18 looks like a nice choice. It totals out pretty cheap without the prefab PE cabs.

Is the cabinet building hard to tackle?

With the other enclosures Ive built, I didnt have to pay that much attention to detail because I carpeted them. I usually end up have an edge to long or short, and have to sand it down a bit, or use bondo to fill it up.

So, can anyone point to a resourceful site that covers cabinet building in detail? Im a total newbie when it comes to veneering.
Worse comes to worse, I can just use the PE prefabs like zaph did.

[eisenhower]

oh, this project caught my eye as well: http://htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=13154

Jon Marsh's (?) "Modula MT" design that uses the dayton reference RS 180's and the dayton RS28A-4 tweeters. I think the cost is much less than the L18's, which means I could buy the prefabs If needed.

Will I need a sub for all of these bookshelves? I have no idea how to integrate one, my receiver has no sub out.

[Cal Weldon]

To integrate a sub with no pre-outs, you will have to build it with a plate amp that accepts speaker level input. The speaker wires to the satellites will come from the plate amp. Simple.

[eisenhower]

I know I should probally stick to a well established project...

but could I substitute a dayton rs180 with the seas L18 on the zaph audio project? I remember him saying they measure very similarily, and the seas 27TBFCG is supposed to be better than the dayton rs28, and its also cheaper.

...any thoughts?

[sreten]

Originally posted by eisenhower

but could I substitute a dayton rs180 with the seas L18 on the zaph audio project?

...any thoughts?

Absolutely not. Build one design or the other.

The 18cm designs will not need a subwoofer in a small room.

/sreten.

[eisenhower]

I guess that answers my question...

So... zaph's L18 or the Modula Rs180 project??