Regarding sound, my first diy speakers was some Seas project from their web site. My amp was some budget Denon and it sound really bad with Seas, so no value sound. Than I got Diy Aleph 3 with nice passive pre and my wife said : So, they are good speakers after all...and we had sound at least same value I spent on project. Pair of drivers and some wood if you make boxes alone will sound better than money you spent on it
Me too. A miniOnken so i can easily puh it more periodic if needed.
Be able to use even the 3” drivers.
dave
PS: Jeff you still want those SEAS/Dyna A25 woofers?
You will find a lot of bias on this particular subForum ;^)
A good single driver loudspeaker does stuff that a cone+dome is incapablle of.
But i’d guess the miniOnken that pops to the top of my head, the FR driver probably costs at least 4-5x what the drivers & XO in the Monitor Audios… Jeff has a pair living in bamboo boxes. He can comment on them.
But with then — well something similar, A7.3 is really hard to get -- especially adapted to blend into the walls you may not need the complication of a woofer.
dave
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Well, no surprise they are excellent, but maybe a little more elaborate than the OP was anticipating. Drivers are long OOP, so I guess the next closest would be the Pluvia 7HD, or A10.3 in a similar Onken (Mar-Ken) style box.
jeff
Well here's a forum post on modifying BX2; you might consider upgrading your BX1. I have been a fan of the Monitor Audio (Mo) Studio series since the 90s, and consider my Mark Audio Alpair 5/10 to be (significantly) less expensive renditions of a similar sound -- ceramic-coated aluminum/aluminum-magnesium-alloy -- but with less refinement of course. I think later versions of Mo might have became brighter/edgier than the Studio series.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...ronze-bx2-speakers-2010-2015-yr-model.388989/
I like the Alpair 5 a lot, and the 10 near-up-firing omni.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/full-range-speaker-photo-gallery.65061/post-7610793
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...air-10m-for-pensil-builds.409183/post-7599986
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/alpair-10-2-peak-at-8khz.410995/post-7645558
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...rkaudio-alpair-5-2-in-evansound-3-75l.393909/
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...ronze-bx2-speakers-2010-2015-yr-model.388989/
I like the Alpair 5 a lot, and the 10 near-up-firing omni.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/full-range-speaker-photo-gallery.65061/post-7610793
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...air-10m-for-pensil-builds.409183/post-7599986
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/alpair-10-2-peak-at-8khz.410995/post-7645558
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...rkaudio-alpair-5-2-in-evansound-3-75l.393909/
Hi, I listen to lots of genres including jazz, soul, reggae, pop, rock and choral so I'd want them to sound adequate with everything if possible.
If everyone is of the opinion that the Mark Alpairs would not reach the sq level of Monitor Audio Gold (?), then I think for now I will just buy another set of Monitor Audio Bronze bookshelves, and finish the job, then perhaps consider making some in a few years, and figure out crossovers or go digital at the same time...
I just looked up the Pluvia and found Pluvia 7.2HD with some glowing reviews.
Are these better then than the other models discussed here, or is it because they only suit an elaborate cabinet (as opposed to a small sealed box) and that is what makes them shine?
After I have read through the whole thread, it seems that you have decided on another pair of Monitor Audio.
But I thought I'd suggest the CHP-90 which might be the best suggestion from Mark Audio. Haven't heard Pluvia 7HD or Alpair 10.3. Alpair 11MS is my second.
Haven't heard the Monitor Audio BX1.
But they have received good criticism.
I have heard Monitor Gold GS10. Very good speakers.
But I thought I'd suggest the CHP-90 which might be the best suggestion from Mark Audio. Haven't heard Pluvia 7HD or Alpair 10.3. Alpair 11MS is my second.
Haven't heard the Monitor Audio BX1.
But they have received good criticism.
I have heard Monitor Gold GS10. Very good speakers.
They are actually admitting it in public. If it wasn’t for the monoSuspension drivers taking over the Alpair range, these could probably be called Alpair 7.5. The new basket is certainly omproved and easier to use.
The P7.2HD has the same data as teh P7HD so here is an example box. https://frugal-phile.com/boxlib/P10free/CGR-dPlu-Ken7HD-0v81-240123.pdf
Estimatged F6 low 40s, F10 high 30s, anechoic. Put it on the wall and you get gain.
How big is the kitchen ?
dave
Does the kitchen get steamy/grimy? Paper cone and dome tweeter would be hard to maintain (never touch a Mo gold-anodized dome). Alpair AlMg cone is fairly tough. For listening mostly while moving around, up-firing omni might work better than 4-speaker surround (?). Try it with BX1.
Alpair 10.3 or 11ms which is around same price will be better than BX1, trust me. I had at home everything that Monitor Audio made, from bronze to platinum, still have GX 100, and also have quite a lot of Markaudios, from CHP to Alpair.
Monitor Audio Gold are other universe from Bronze, and not kitchen speakers
Admitting that the Pluvias are better than the other drivers?
Kitchen diner is about 9.5x3.5m x2.5m ceiling.
Funny. Now you've made me want MA Gold speakers in my kitchen!!! ...hmm... eBay...
Realistically I can't/don't want to afford to buy great speakers though. I can be very happy with MA bronze level. I have silver in my home theatre and don't notice a massive difference, in fact there is more room treatment in parts of my kitchen diner and it seems that they sometimes sound better in there than my cinema featuring the silver range.
Good point. We do a lot of cooking, but use an extraction hood. The walls where the speakers are don't get very grimy. It tends to be localised around the extraction hood.
By Omni do you mean multiple drivers or just reflecting off the ceiling in all directions? You're right about the up firing aspect. I have the BX1s on angled stands on top of the kitchen cabinets and it was a massive improvement, getting rid of terrible reflections by embracing a helpful early reflection into the ceiling and directing sound away from behind the echoey cabinets towards the more absorbent dining room area.
Now you mention it, it would potentially make much more sense for me to just buy angled Atmos speakers and not require custom stands. Excuse my ignorance, but is that what you mean by upfiring speakers? Could I just buy some upfiring speakers intended for Atmos? Do you reckon they would sound better, or just look better?
Bronze standmounts are really nice and cheap speakers, Bronze 2 with old AKAI 2200 amp and tuner sounded great at my holiday house. Never liked Silver ( maybe just Silver 1). Gold are something else and they want you to spend money on electronics
Maybe overkill, but with Gold it has to be. I tried it with Primare and some "cheaper" Accuphase, didnt like it
Yes
Yes I auditioned the Silver 1s at a local dealer. They were too bass heavy for my liking. But I think if they were high passed they would likely sound fine.
I have the Silver 6 which are the smallest floor standers in the 5g silver range, they are 2.5 way. In the shop they got muddy in the mid range with a complicated track like the Gladiator battle scene, but when high passed and supported with a sub, they sound to my ears every bit as good as their larger 3 way siblings. I have been really happy with them. I run them with a Yamaha avr, a3060 but powered by a powerful Rotel class D amp the Rb1572.
I think I would have to stick with bronze for the kitchen though, as I would prefer to keep the tonality as close as possible. I'm inclined to believe the biggest difference between the two ranges (bronze and silver) is aesthetics anyway. I've never heard MA Gold or anything better than the MA silver range, which is probably a good thing for my budget and marriage.