5.1 HT Speaker, Sub, and Reveiver advice?

[kellyinvestor]

I'm trying to see if I can build an HT setup that is better than the Onkyo hs-s790 and cheaper.

Surrounds:
I was looking at using the tangband w3-871s, one each for 5 or 7 surrounds. What enclosures would you recommend? I was thinking of using the needle for the front left and right and something smaller for the rest (only so much space), would this be a problem? Would you recommend a sub for this setup?

If so,
Would a pair of W4-992S in some kind of horn make a decent sub? Thinkin a Dayton 70w or Bash 300w amp.

What is the best sub-$200 receiver for this type of thing?

Thanks!

[kellyinvestor]

That's supposed to Onkyo HT-S790 not hs-s790. I can't edit my post...

[joe carrow]

$450 for a receiver, five speakers, and a sub?

You can definitely do better than that, but it's hard to beat the cost. Your time isn't free, and making six speaker cabinets would be tough.

I made some $30 surrounds that look like this:



They sound reasonably good, but they're kind of ugly. I wouldn't use them as main speakers or anything, but for adding some ambiance to movies they do a great job. That's the Aurasound NS3-193 wide range driver. When I redo this, I'm going to use a plywood baffle, a 3/4" dayton tweeter, a crossover with baffle step compensation, and a veneer around the pipe. Until then, I've added metal legs instead of the duct taped cardboard.

For the receiver, I use the Panasonic SA-XR55. I see it on sale at J and R for $219. I strongly recommend this receiver. It only weighs 10 pounds because it uses digital amplification- this also allows great energy efficiency. I use it with some fairly nice speakers (the Modula MT), and it does a really nice job. The digital filters to run the speakers in "small" mode have a nice range of adjustment, and overall the sound is top notch. For your budget, there's no way you'll be able to make speakers that would make this receiver a weak link.

With such a tight budget constraint on the drivers, I do recommend a sub. I have 0.75 cubic foot ported boxes with 7" woofers, and I feel like it's just barely enough for me not to miss a sub. That's mostly because I live in an apartment, and I try not to turn it up too much.

I hope that helps. Do you have tools, a budget, or any other further information?

[kellyinvestor]

Heres what I have so far:

HI-VI B3S 3" SHIELDED ALUMINUM DRIVER S .. $9.36x7 $65.52

DAYTON SD315-88 12" SHIELDED DVC SUBWOO .. $39.25

DAYTON ND20FA-6 3/4" NEODYMIUM DOME TWE . $4.10x7 $28.70

DAYTON SA240-B 240W SUBWOOFER AMPLIFIER .. $99.00

Subtotal: $232.47

I'd like to stay around ~$400. My time... not worth so much, I'm about to go on Christmas break for a month. I have the basic tools (drills, circular saw, miter saw). I wouldnt mind getting a table saw or router, not included in the budget.

The SA-XR55 sometimes goes on sale on amazon for ~150. So, not including mdf thats a total of about $380. I could use the 70w Dayton amp and save $50 but dont know if it would be worth it.

Im thinking the front left and right in the needle enclosure and the rest in something like this Slimline satellites.

The Onkyo HT-S790 is one the highest rated HTIB, would this setup beat it?

[sreten]

Hi,

You should not substitute the B3S for the NS3 in Zaph's design.

For the B3S you should forgo the tweeters and uses Zaphs design,
1.5 to 2 litres sealed. For L and R you could make them 0.5 ways by
having 2 drivers in 3 to 4 litres sealed (if used away from wallls).
Rearranging Z's c/o for this is fairly straightforward.

Or use Zaphs NS3+ND20 design for L+R and B3S design for the others.


/sreten.

[joe carrow]

It will probably not be as loud as the Onkyo system. They use two 5" drivers per front speaker, and a 10" sub. They are more capable of having a crossover at or below 100 hz since the woofers are in a ported box.

I agree with Sreten- don't make a change in drivers with Zaph's design. The NS3 project from Zaph would be OK in the front, and the B3S would be fine in back. In order to get decently loud without a problem, you WILL need a sub. I would expect a need to crossover as high as 150 hz (one of the settings on the receiver I mentioned) to keep the little 3" drivers from having to work too hard.

Does anybody out there know a cheap, low distortion, sub that will play up to 200 hz? I have a few ideas away from Parts Express, such as at Mach 5 Audio and Ascendant Audio, but they don't have the Parts Express free holiday shipping.

[kellyinvestor]

The response curve looks pretty bad above about 6000 Hz on the BS3. It seems like it would be a good idea to add a tweeter to start in around there. I plan on using a sub, I've been doing some setups in winisd to see whats decent.

[sreten]

Originally posted by kellyinvestor

The response curve looks pretty bad above about 6000 Hz on the BS3. It
seems like it would be a good idea to add a tweeter to start in around there.

Hi, yeah right, Zaph doesn't know what he's doing and you do, /sreten.

[sreten]

Originally posted by kellyinvestor
The response curve looks pretty bad above about 6000 Hz on the BS3.
It seems like it would be a good idea to add a tweeter to start in around there.

Hi, yeah right, Zaph doesn't know what he's doing and you do, /sreten.

[arjscott]

You're quite right, kellyinvestor. Try adding a tweeter! Experiment!

I know, I know, of course Zaph knows what he's doing, Sreten. But all too often someone starts a thread with some design ideas and people say something like "Don't bother with your own ideas, just build Zaph's xxx design".

Not trying to annoy anyone here, I just want to encourage people to play around. I'm a total novice myself, but if I only built well documented designs it wouldn't be any fun.

Andrew.