You don't know that it wouldn't be true for most people. That's just speculation on your part.
Most people who buy commercial speakers never try a DIY speaker. And I understand why they don't, because not everyone has the workshop and ability to build their own speakers.
However, for some of us who do have that capability I believe that DIY speakers easily compare in sound quality, and maybe even exceed it, against speakers costing between 5 and 10 times the amount for a similar size and configuration.
And isn't that really the essence of this entire website. If DIY speaker building wasn't so attractive from both a cost and performance point of view why would this website even exist.
The links you shared were useful and helpful. But few things are missing like Crossover Values etc. Please can you help me look at SB-Acoustic 3-way speaker and crossover Design. That would be really helpful
For amp modules costing 4 x 26k rupees or $1340 you are expecting to buy a decent quality audio power supply/ies capable of delivering around 3 kW, chassis, fixtures and other bits and bobs for 4 x 2k rupees or $103? I rather think this needs checking. Assuming $500 for minidsp and a more reasonable figure for the power supply etc. that is well over $2000. This is significantly more than a pair of hypex 3 way plate amps which is the simplest all-in-one good quality package. DIY is all about building what you want but this particular approach does not seem to be maximising value for money.
Let me know where I can find Hypex 3-way Plate Amplifier in India. And that 26K was for 2 Modules price per speaker. So each Module is 13K. But still would look into that PRO DSP Power Amplifier. That seems to save me a bit more but not by much. Lets see.
But yes. Please can you check on that Hypex 3-way Plate Amplifier. Unable to find from my end.
Troels Gravesen's website does not include values for crossover components. You have to buy the kit from Janzten and they will supply it with the correct components. And that can get rather expensive. He used to offer a few designs with complete information, but I think that has now been discontinued. So, a Troels design might not be the best path for you if low cost is an issue.
You might want to look closely at the SB Acoustics 2-1/2 way ARYA that I discussed earlier. Also, there is another SBA 2-1/2 way kit called the Rinjani that uses the higher-level Satori drivers. I know you prefer a 3-way, but one of these 2-1/2 ways might still give you what you want. SBA also now has a full 3-way kit design with the Sansandu, but it is rather expensive compared to the others.
Here is a link to all of them:
https://sbacoustics.com/product-category/kits/sb-acoustics-kits/
It looks pretty complicated. And expensive. I think these would be quite a bit above your budget.
ARYA and Rinjani are considerably less expensive. Particularly the ARYA.
So, do you really have to have 3-way. Won't 2-1/2 way be perfectly fine. Especially with the main application being HT.
ARYA and Rinjani are considerably less expensive. Particularly the ARYA.
So, do you really have to have 3-way. Won't 2-1/2 way be perfectly fine. Especially with the main application being HT.
I must be the exception to the rule... Built the first decent set of speakers I ever owned (used a wood working shop to do all the cuts, and used jigsaw for holes) then bought a lot of store bought speakers (10's of thousands worth). Went back to DIY for the current OB speakers (bought a router and cut the boards with circular saw I had). Going to use a big CNC I built to do all the rest of the speakers.
Forgot built the second ones too, a pair of subwoofers that failed to impress me.
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I sent Troels an email late yesterday asking where the new Scanspeak Illuminator Centre crossed over and he was a bit reluctant to tell me. I would like to build that centre since I have most of the drivers already but I want to use a RAAL tweeter in place of the Scanspeak Discovery tweeter he used in the kit.
It looks like he has removed the values off the caps in the pictures to stop people stealing the design. I just wanted to know where it crossed over to see if I could substitute the tweeter. The crossover kit without drivers looks to be in the vicinity of 300 Euros (1 speaker).
@VINEET REDDY You can use a different bigger driver for the .5
rabbitz put me on to this when he was discussing his own builds and it works quite well with the right woofer.
rabbitz put me on to this when he was discussing his own builds and it works quite well with the right woofer.
Not really since companies like Harman have researched and published people's preferences.
Most DIYers though are familiar with both commercial and DIY speakers.
The cost of commercial speakers reduces with the numbers sold whereas DIY speakers are one offs. This tends to make well designed and manufactured DIY financially uncompetitive against cheap budget speakers produced in large numbers with small margins but financially competitive against expensive high quality speakers produced in small numbers with large margins.
It is website for hobbyists. Hobbyists spend money in order to have fun with their hobby. Over the decades I have spent more on tools, books, measurement hardware, laptop, wood, drivers, etc... than it would have cost to simply obtain high technical performance for the money studio hardware. My guess is that is true of most on the forum.
I guess it really depends on your starting point.
Some people already have a woodworking capability along with lots of tools and experience before ever getting into DIY audio or building their first speaker. That was my case.
Other people take up the woodworking hobby specifically for the purpose of building DIY speakers. In that case then there is certainly an initial expense for woodworking equipment along with a learning curve that they would not incur if it wasn't for wanting to build speakers themselves.
The third rail is just buying PE boxes and sending out for the baffles to be cut. Don't forget the lazy folks without space for tools!
Don't forget maker spaces. You don't need to buy fancy tools just for yourself if you can join a club of people who together have tools and a place to use them.
DIY and savings:
DIY can have different levels to it. However, from this thread, the OP's understanding of DIY seems to equate to only assembly that is, the bolting down of modules designed by others. DIY can actually save money if DIYer gets down to the deeper levels where he conceives, designs, tests everything on his own. Unfortunately, most (not all) DIYers do not design anything, neither the speakers nor the amplifiers or the processing and therefore it becomes very difficult to equate DIY to saving money.
In short, even with DIY, it takes some strategic thinking and wisdom to save money.
In my opinion, the OP strongly felt like he could save money only because his initial costs were very high, as they were based on the standards of the consumer HiFi market. This was the reason why I decided to help him trim his "list", whereby he could also learn the market situation and prices of the more practical (and reliable) professional segment.
DIY and attitude:
It is fairly easy to see that the OP never had the intention of building anything or the positive attitude required for the same. A nice indicator of this would be the thread title itself, that asks why one should NOT be building something in the first place.
I strongly believe that the OP started this thread expecting somebody else to do all the preliminary hard work (of searching, comparing, matching prices etc.) for him, while he would keep judgmentally typing away, liking / dismissing suggestions (as warm, bright, dark etc.), much like a white-collar manager (who never does any work) at an industry.
However, it is also necessary to understand that all people do not have the same standards, background, education, experience, financial situations or value for money. And since the general attitude of a person is shaped by many of these things, it is also not possible to blame them for it.
On the whole, I am not surprised that many people here think it's best if the OP just "purchased" some speakers and finished it off.
Nevertheless, it is certainly not a bad thing to try and save some money, especially when you feel it is possible.
DIY can have different levels to it. However, from this thread, the OP's understanding of DIY seems to equate to only assembly that is, the bolting down of modules designed by others. DIY can actually save money if DIYer gets down to the deeper levels where he conceives, designs, tests everything on his own. Unfortunately, most (not all) DIYers do not design anything, neither the speakers nor the amplifiers or the processing and therefore it becomes very difficult to equate DIY to saving money.
In short, even with DIY, it takes some strategic thinking and wisdom to save money.
In my opinion, the OP strongly felt like he could save money only because his initial costs were very high, as they were based on the standards of the consumer HiFi market. This was the reason why I decided to help him trim his "list", whereby he could also learn the market situation and prices of the more practical (and reliable) professional segment.
DIY and attitude:
It is fairly easy to see that the OP never had the intention of building anything or the positive attitude required for the same. A nice indicator of this would be the thread title itself, that asks why one should NOT be building something in the first place.
I strongly believe that the OP started this thread expecting somebody else to do all the preliminary hard work (of searching, comparing, matching prices etc.) for him, while he would keep judgmentally typing away, liking / dismissing suggestions (as warm, bright, dark etc.), much like a white-collar manager (who never does any work) at an industry.
However, it is also necessary to understand that all people do not have the same standards, background, education, experience, financial situations or value for money. And since the general attitude of a person is shaped by many of these things, it is also not possible to blame them for it.
On the whole, I am not surprised that many people here think it's best if the OP just "purchased" some speakers and finished it off.
Nevertheless, it is certainly not a bad thing to try and save some money, especially when you feel it is possible.
To some degree I would agree but not everyone processes thought the same way... I often look at the why not before I entertain the thought of why.
The reason I married my wife is because a work colleague once asked me why not? I couldn't think of a single reason not to date her, so in the absence of a reason not to we got together. 12 year later we are still very happy together.
Why not, is not always just being lazy, it can be just looking at all angles starting on the what can go wrong.
The reason I married my wife is because a work colleague once asked me why not? I couldn't think of a single reason not to date her, so in the absence of a reason not to we got together. 12 year later we are still very happy together.
Why not, is not always just being lazy, it can be just looking at all angles starting on the what can go wrong.
Reason for my initial enquiry against it was that I was strongly advised before to steer away from DIY. Even in this thread there are many who advised to do the same.
See I may depend on pre-built DSP and amps but rest of how I use it the speaker design like for the enclosure the placement of the drivers and the wiring etc. All has to be done by me and me putting in the effort to do that. If I had the experience and knowledge of building my own DSP and AMPs unless even those come in packages with instructions how to do I possibly am better off trying to figure out the passive crossover part.
I am always ready to put in the effort. And work towards what I know is possible from my end. I know my limitations. I am definitely not lazy.