I own a pair of LS50's really like them. But if you want $200, or somewhere around, will be very difficult to beat these: JBL 305P MKii and Control 1 Pro Monitors Review | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
i.e. JBL 305P MKii
i.e. JBL 305P MKii
Some initial comparisons of LS50 and 10F based FAST. For a small room, sounds like KEF is better suited.
10F/8424 & RS225-8 FAST / WAW Ref Monitor
10F/8424 & RS225-8 FAST / WAW Ref Monitor
My listening area is a 15' wide x13' long x9' high (1755 cu ft) but it's an open concept room that open entirely to my dining room and open kitchen which makes it 27' long so (3645 cu ft). I am not sure if that makes a difference in what speakers I should pick. I know it made a difference to what sub I bought.
Thanks everyone for their inputs on the subject. I guess I should clarify I am not on a quest to find a pair of DIY FR solution that can beat the LS 50 with a budget which is basically impossible. I love the sound imaging and the instrument separations from them but couldn't justify shelling out $2500 for the gears. With today's technology, I believe I can still get 95% of the performance with a fraction of what I paid.
I am by not means an audiophile, I don't do critical listening. But I did played musical instruments for over 25 years. What I hear from my Polk audio RTi4 and my klipschs KG3.5 just don't cut it whereas listening to the LS 50 I can imagine myself sitting in front of the stage. The type of music I listen to are instrumentals, female vocals, some jazz and some pop.
I am kinda leaning towards the TABAQ with a Tang band FR. The quarter wave (BR?) design seems to be easier to build and use less plywoods than the FH mk3 TL design which will also meet my budget. --I wonder how people cut out those arcs at the back of the FH perfectly?--
In terms of choosing the right size drivers, some recommended 5", but I read that 4" will give you better sound imaging with minor sacrifice on the low end?
Sappy
I am by not means an audiophile, I don't do critical listening. But I did played musical instruments for over 25 years. What I hear from my Polk audio RTi4 and my klipschs KG3.5 just don't cut it whereas listening to the LS 50 I can imagine myself sitting in front of the stage. The type of music I listen to are instrumentals, female vocals, some jazz and some pop.
I am kinda leaning towards the TABAQ with a Tang band FR. The quarter wave (BR?) design seems to be easier to build and use less plywoods than the FH mk3 TL design which will also meet my budget. --I wonder how people cut out those arcs at the back of the FH perfectly?--
In terms of choosing the right size drivers, some recommended 5", but I read that 4" will give you better sound imaging with minor sacrifice on the low end?
Sappy
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Those powered 305p looks amazing on the chart and in price but not sure if I am reading the SPL properly, they are 70dB in sensitivity?
Good for near field use only?
Good for near field use only?
I was using the Yaqin MC-12S class A push pull 40wpc. They seem to be okay.If you want to enjoy a very good 5.25" coaxial as Uni-Q from KEF you need watts. I gave up DIY class A amplifiers (by AKSA + xrk971)because my modded KEF Q100 are non-negotiable.
It is push pull class AB. I want SET class A.
If you listen to modern commercial recordings -> DR < or << 10 dB. You need less watts. I have a lot of tracks with DR15 or more!
Pro-Audio and Lighting Calculators : dBs, time, Hz, DMX ...
If you listen to modern commercial recordings -> DR < or << 10 dB. You need less watts. I have a lot of tracks with DR15 or more!
Pro-Audio and Lighting Calculators : dBs, time, Hz, DMX ...
As pidesd mentioned, yes, those are the W4-1052SD.
They are a tad forward around 2.5-5kHz, it may sound ok to some, but for myself, adding a little notch there, it levels them out and they become quite nice and balanced.
They extend low enough to be really convincing, and still reach high enough to keep them interesting.
They are on a loan to a friend right now... and I'm not sure he's ever going to let them go! If I ever want them back, I'll be in for a fight!
These are self powered speakers with built in class D amp with integrated DSP that handles the crossover and EQ. Sensitivity doesn’t matter as you are not driving it with your own amp. But typically, monitors of this size are low 80dB’s in SPL at 2.83v and 1m.
I have tried these myself and found that they just don’t measure as flat as they claim. Also, the sound lacked fullness. Just too much is expected from the little 5in drivers. There is an elevated distortion hump in the critical vocal midbass around 300Hz that made the sound muddy. Combined with an elevated presence region at the very audible 2500Hz range, they sounded too forward. Probably could use more cabinet bracing or cleaner woofers. The polars are very nice though with that waveguide. But overall I was not impressed and ended up returning them.
Here were my measurements:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/ful...25-8-fast-waw-ref-monitor-45.html#post4347377
By comparison, using a 10F/RS225 with DSP active XO and Class D amp can achieve a much better performance:
As a result, I was unimpressed with the 305’s. But years later now, I have come to realize it is hard for many commercial speakers to top this kind of performance. I now use a passive crossover and find that the sound quality is even better with more realism and better soundstage compared to DSP.
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Brian - the description of your space is rather similar in layout to my own upstairs situation, with the caveat that location of windows and furnishings make permanent use of rear mouth designs such as the Frugals or taller Woden monolith manifolds such as Silbury or Maeshowe impractical.
As you mentioned you have a sub, you could well be satisfied with smaller FR drivers such as the 7cm Mark Audio models (e.g. Pluvia7) Fostex 11 - 12cm (FF105 or 125WK) - all of which have a wide range of enclosure designs from desktop monitors to backloaded horns, etc. Solen carries the Fostex, and some of the Tang Band models.
For a budget 2-way Kit, there are several offerings by Parts Express that could fit within the budget expressed.
Re Dave’s kind invitation https://www.bcferries.com/files/fares/pdf_format/bcf_fares.pdf#page2
There is a small cohort of crazies over here with such systems, and perhaps even more than you know in your own neck of the woods. I’ve often thought about some type of search feature on this forum featuring a list of members with systems offered for demo / audition by invite. It’s not like you can just drive to your local big box or any of the remaining specialty shops to hear this type of gear, and not all of us adhere to the “first rule of DIY Club” is to not want to share with qualified guests. In many cases, all it’ll cost ya is the gas money and maybe some snacks / beverages.
As you mentioned you have a sub, you could well be satisfied with smaller FR drivers such as the 7cm Mark Audio models (e.g. Pluvia7) Fostex 11 - 12cm (FF105 or 125WK) - all of which have a wide range of enclosure designs from desktop monitors to backloaded horns, etc. Solen carries the Fostex, and some of the Tang Band models.
For a budget 2-way Kit, there are several offerings by Parts Express that could fit within the budget expressed.
Re Dave’s kind invitation https://www.bcferries.com/files/fares/pdf_format/bcf_fares.pdf#page2
There is a small cohort of crazies over here with such systems, and perhaps even more than you know in your own neck of the woods. I’ve often thought about some type of search feature on this forum featuring a list of members with systems offered for demo / audition by invite. It’s not like you can just drive to your local big box or any of the remaining specialty shops to hear this type of gear, and not all of us adhere to the “first rule of DIY Club” is to not want to share with qualified guests. In many cases, all it’ll cost ya is the gas money and maybe some snacks / beverages.
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