Advice on budet speakers

[jimmystark]

I have a system I'am trying to get going. My amp is a 1987 Sony TA-F500ES. It has 80 watts @ 8ohms 0.003% TDH or 100 watts @ 4ohms 0.006% TDH. I have my wife's ok for some Sony SSMF750H @ $200.00 w/free S/H or Some Audio Dynamic 3000, these are 2 way floorstanding with 2- 10" woofers and a horn. Don't know much about those. Iam leaning toward the Sony's.
I would like some members to give their recomendations and opinions. I listen to my music at fairly high levels. I would perfer a speaker thats not really big and looks like it should blow down the walls. Thanks for any and all help.
jimmystark

[sdclc126]

Since this is a do-it-yourself forum, you are likely to get a lot more response if you inquire about building your own speakers.

[jimmystark]

I am in the process of designing a set with the help of my daughter. She is a Interior Designer and has built furniture. I am coming up with a design and she will CAD it for me. I will post a picture soon. But for now Iam buying some get-me-buy speakers. So far I have seen some outstanding designs on this site.
jimmystark

[Kent Smith]

On commercial speakers:

Best advice is to listen to them with your own music. If anything bothers you, even a little, don't buy them. It will only get worse.

Most speakers make compromises to hold down costs, especially in the quality of crossover components (which affect clarity) and box wall thickness (resonances).

Generally, for the same amount of money, you can build a better speaker than you can buy. www.partsexpress.com has low priced kits, as well as plans in their DIY resource section.

[sdclc126]

"I am in the process of designing a set with the help of my daughter. She is a Interior Designer and has built furniture. I am coming up with a design and she will CAD it for me."

Are you designing the cabinets only, or is the rest of the system worked out too? You need to know what drivers you are going to use first and what kind of overall performance you are seeking - these things will dictate what type of cabinets you should have.

If you are building the cabs for an existing design (or even an original one) with all variables considered, great - but otherwise you're really putting the cart before the horse.

Please take this all as constructive (literally) criticism - we tend to be perfectionists here and only want to help.

[AdamThorne]

I don't have any experience with either of these speakers, so if you have any opinions at all they probably have more merit than what I have come up with. But I thought I'd throw out some ideas, since you were asking.

I looked at some stuff on those Sonys on the web. They look to me basically like big, cheap speakers. They don't really look like high, or even medium fidelity. They do look real loud, and pretty cheap. They're probably an acceptable value for the money.

I looked for Audio Dynamic 3000 on google, but found only microphones. Since I found absolutely no info about speakers with this name I'd be reluctant to spend any money on them if I were you. They Sonys are a known quantity, and while probably not great, they most likely represent a reasonable buy for a store bought speaker.

I would suggest you look around for tower speakers by Athena. There was press about them being loud, good bass, inexpensive, and better quality than the price would indicate a while back. They were sold for a while at Best Buy. The Athena AS-F2 I think is what I read about in the past, but I would tentatively call the whole company good.

[Spasticteapot]

You're better off just using a pre-existing design like that featured at Zaphaudio.

[jimmystark]

Thanks for your input, The Sony's Iam looking at were a Consumer Report's best buy. Your right they looking really cheesy.

But for $200 and free shipping Iam game. Just about anything would do as long as it's floorstanding. I have a little problem building some and that is I am not a woodworker. I can design them, I can even build a crossover if need be, but I couldn't make a picture frame square if my life depended on it. But practice makes perfect right. But if you want something bad enough, there you go.

jimmystark

[jimmystark]

here a picture of the Audio Dynamic 3000.

[sdclc126]

I respect Consumer Reports, but I'm dubious when it comes to audio - if they are just comparing the Sony's to other mainstream mass market speakers in the same price range you're not going to get much useful information.

As for your woodworking skills (or lack thereof), there are many pre-built cabinets out there (Madisound, PartsExpress, etc.) that have been used in many proven designs, such as Zaph's. There are also custom builders, such as Stein Audio, who will build to your specs. Also consider local woodworkers. These can be pricey options compared to building, however.

If the budget is really tight an acceptable (IMHO) compromise is to go ahead and buy the $200 speakers, then replace the drivers and crossovers with upgrades. You can remove the rear panels (may have to saw), and add bracing and stuffing, and adjust (reduce) the volume to what is appropriate for the desired goal. Now, this is NOT the ideal solution, but it is one of the cheapest ones and is better than doing nothing at all (i.e., buying the consumer brand and not upgrading).