Completely New to DIY

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Tz0001

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Joined 2022
#1
Hey everyone,

Just purchased a new townhome and im wanting to upgrade my speaker system but after looking I have made the choice to go DIY.

Moving into a new home & having a baby really hits the wallet... I have always wanted to build my own pair and have the hands on skills to do so. So I thought this is a good time.

My system is currently:

Speakers: B&W DM330 Towers
Subwoofer: Velodyne VX-10B
Amplifiers: Denon DRA- 685 &
Pioneer 717 Mark II
DAC: Cambridge Audio DAC Magic 100.

My room: 12ft wide x 20ft long. Listening from about 10-11ft away (System on the long wall) Hardwood floors but large area rug in the TV / Listening space. Insulated walls drywall etc. (Above ground basement)

Intended use: Music Tv Movies. (70% TV Movies 30% Music.)

I really like the price point and style of the Amiga Kit on parts express. It also passes the "Wife Approval Factor" for size and style. Would these beat out my B&Ws?

I can spend more than the amigas but would like to keep it under 6-700$ CAD. Is there a better kit for my use case and budget?

Thanks for reading my long winded post hopefully I have provided enough information. Any help or suggestions appreciated.
 
#2
I can’t say much of the Amiga, it looks to be a 2-way ML-TL.

300-7124_HR_0.default.jpg


I would stay away from MDF boxes, and from the pic, looks like no bracing, which is not good.

Being a fan of FRs and WAW, i am sure i could come up with something better for the money (Joan or FHXL with MA CHN-110 for instance).

Are you going to do the cabinet yourself?

dave
 
#3
Tz0001 said:
I really like the price point and style of the Amiga Kit on parts express. It also passes the "Wife Approval Factor" for size and style. Would these beat out my B&Ws?

I can spend more than the amigas but would like to keep it under 6-700$ CAD. Is there a better kit for my use case and budget?

Thanks for reading my long winded post hopefully I have provided enough information. Any help or suggestions appreciated.
Click to expand...

The Amiga is a 2 way using a 6" midwoofer and decent standard range drivers. The B&W a 2.5 way using 8" drivers and crossover components that are 30-40 years old (?). If the B&W is still performing reasonably close to spec then it will have better low frequency performance but this may be lost due to room boom. The Amiga may or may not have the edge in the midrange where 2 and 2.5 ways are pushed hard to perform well hence the use of a midrange driver in more expensive higher performance speakers. It might be more a question of which characteristic sound you prefer. Personally I rather like the "old fashioned" sound of a large efficient paper cone crossed fairly high to a tweeter plus clean percussion is also something I tend to weight so my preference would possibly be the B&W but I am not familiar with either speaker so this is speculation.

If the B&W are in decent condition then it is likely to be debatable which speaker is preferred. If you want to safely raise the sound quality I would look to a 3 way or possibly a good large 2 or 2.5 way with a waveguide. This will raise your budget significantly though.
 
#4
It's hard to say if one is better than the other, they are different and with different plus points. If you want to upgrade for sure you need a 3-way.
Some questions:
are you opting for DIY for price reasons only?
do you need a kit or you can build from scratch? what are your finishing capabilities?
If without proper building and finishing equipment then the best option is a second hand speaker. I've bought used speakers in the past, enjoyed them for some time and sold for more or less the same purchase price. In this way you can have your time in decide if you like them or not. In this respect a DIY speaker is a shot in the dark, and you don't like it the resale value is pretty limited.

Ralf
 
#5
Tz0001 said:
...I have always wanted to build my own pair and have the hands on skills to do so. So I thought this is a good time.
Click to expand...
But do you have the workshop and tools needed to build cabinets from scratch? Cut up plywood from large sheets, route out speaker holes, etc.

If not, then you are probably limited to kits from Parts Express. They appear to be the only sources right now to provide complete knockdown cabinets for some of their designs.
 
#11
planet10 said:
I can’t say much of the Amiga, it looks to be a 2-way ML-TL.

300-7124_HR_0.default.jpg


I would stay away from MDF boxes, and from the pic, looks like no bracing, which is not good.

Being a fan of FRs and WAW, i am sure i could come up with something better for the money (Joan or FHXL with MA CHN-110 for instance).

Are you going to do the cabinet yourself?

dave
Click to expand...
I have the capabilites to make the cabinet myself. Table saw, router, clamps etc etc so going with something that is not a full kit with a knockdown cabinet would not be out of the question.
 
#12
andy19191 said:
The Amiga is a 2 way using a 6" midwoofer and decent standard range drivers. The B&W a 2.5 way using 8" drivers and crossover components that are 30-40 years old (?). If the B&W is still performing reasonably close to spec then it will have better low frequency performance but this may be lost due to room boom. The Amiga may or may not have the edge in the midrange where 2 and 2.5 ways are pushed hard to perform well hence the use of a midrange driver in more expensive higher performance speakers. It might be more a question of which characteristic sound you prefer. Personally I rather like the "old fashioned" sound of a large efficient paper cone crossed fairly high to a tweeter plus clean percussion is also something I tend to weight so my preference would possibly be the B&W but I am not familiar with either speaker so this is speculation.

If the B&W are in decent condition then it is likely to be debatable which speaker is preferred. If you want to safely raise the sound quality I would look to a 3 way or possibly a good large 2 or 2.5 way with a waveguide. This will raise your budget significantly though.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the response ill look into some more complex designs, I do enjoy the sound of the B&W's and have no real complaints they are a little veiled for Movies and TV but they sound nice for long music sessions.
 

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#13
giralfino said:
It's hard to say if one is better than the other, they are different and with different plus points. If you want to upgrade for sure you need a 3-way.
Some questions:
are you opting for DIY for price reasons only?
do you need a kit or you can build from scratch? what are your finishing capabilities?
If without proper building and finishing equipment then the best option is a second hand speaker. I've bought used speakers in the past, enjoyed them for some time and sold for more or less the same purchase price. In this way you can have your time in decide if you like them or not. In this respect a DIY speaker is a shot in the dark, and you don't like it the resale value is pretty limited.

Ralf
Click to expand...
1. DIY is partly for price reasons but I also now have my own garage space and really want a project to work on. I have never built speakers but I thought it would be a great project. I may just keep the B&W's till I finish building a new set and make a choice then but I think I would be building them for the fun of the project not just to best my current speakers.
2. I can build from scratch. I have a table saw, router, clamps, soldering gun etc ( the works )and I have done a lot of woodworking and finishing so I don't necessarily need a kit.

I am always keeping an eye out for second hand deals but after giving it more thought I want to build a pair for something to do more so than just to replace what I currently have.

Thanks for your input.
 
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#15
planet10 said:
On closer look one can see dadoes for such.

I wish more people would learn to orient the bracing better than a shelf.


Based on a lot of experience.

AFAIC MDF is a material of last resort (well, it is better than cardboard).

dave
Click to expand...
I have adjusted my goals in building these speakers, I really want a project to work on. Is there a kit, design plans etc that you would recommend I obviously don't have the measuring equipment or knowhow to build a set myself from absolute scratch but would be capable to build the cabinets myself but in terms of crossover & cabinet design.... maybe ill get into that in a few years haha.

Thanks again.
 
#17
Tz0001 said:
I have adjusted my goals in building these speakers, I really want a project to work on. Is there a kit, design plans etc that you would recommend I obviously don't have the measuring equipment or knowhow to build a set myself from absolute scratch but would be capable to build the cabinets myself but in terms of crossover & cabinet design.... maybe ill get into that in a few years haha.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Glad to know that you have all the tools and ability to build a cabinet yourself. (I also have woodworking as a hobby, and it is a great one.)

Suggest that you talk to Mark at Meniscus Audio and Brian at Madisound to get ideas for which kit to build. Which one would be best for your situation. Both people are very friendly and usually glad to help.

Personally, I have been extremely happy with Jeff Bagby's Piccolos. I think the SB Acoustics tweeter used in that design is exceptional. As I have made the point in some other posts, I would put the Piccolos up against commercially produced speakers costing 10 times the cost of the kit from Meniscus. And from my shopping experience, the Piccolos would sound better.

There are many other excellent DIY kits available from these sources as well.
 
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#18
I haven't heard the Amigas or the B&Ws, but I have built more than one design by Paul Carmody (the designer of the Amigas) and have been impressed every time.
A few suggestions I have are
1) Replace the electrolytic caps in your current crossover. If they're 30-40 years old, the caps might have degraded.
2) Build these- Sunflowers
I built a pair and only build others out of curiosity or boredom. They satisfy me to the point that I don't want to replace them. However, with that being said,
3) build these- RS-225 WAW
It's is a long thread, but you can build these without reading every post. You can build bookshelf speakers or floor standing designs. I went with the floor standing approach. I built them and they rival my Sunflowers. Both use the RS-225 woofer, and there is something very special about that driver, at least to me.

Just my 2 cents...
 
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