Hello,
I am new to the forum but very long time lurker. I am looking for a 2 way design to build in Belgium. To be used mainly for tv 70% and the rest for music (jazz and french pop). I am prioritising for excellent vocal clarity and an enclosure depth of 25 cm max, preferably closer to 20cm. Not more than 20 liters. Those dimensions are mainly for a good integration in my living room.
It is to replace a pair of markaudio alpair 10.3 I built few years ago following @planet10 planset. They served me very well considering the very reasonable investment but the box is a little too large for my current tv furniture. One speaker got hit one day and i feel I could do now a better looking enclosure.
I do not want to built a soundbar. If necessary I could add a subwoofer but currently ok without one.
I have the coins for 500 euros per speaker for drivers + crossover.
There are so many bookshelf speakers, it is hard to choose one.
I am currently tempted by this sealed design from Donhighend. Or by this ported design from Troels gravesen.
Any advice? What is making a design good for tv/home cinema?
I am new to the forum but very long time lurker. I am looking for a 2 way design to build in Belgium. To be used mainly for tv 70% and the rest for music (jazz and french pop). I am prioritising for excellent vocal clarity and an enclosure depth of 25 cm max, preferably closer to 20cm. Not more than 20 liters. Those dimensions are mainly for a good integration in my living room.
It is to replace a pair of markaudio alpair 10.3 I built few years ago following @planet10 planset. They served me very well considering the very reasonable investment but the box is a little too large for my current tv furniture. One speaker got hit one day and i feel I could do now a better looking enclosure.
I do not want to built a soundbar. If necessary I could add a subwoofer but currently ok without one.
I have the coins for 500 euros per speaker for drivers + crossover.
There are so many bookshelf speakers, it is hard to choose one.
I am currently tempted by this sealed design from Donhighend. Or by this ported design from Troels gravesen.
Any advice? What is making a design good for tv/home cinema?
Your choices look like sensible ones that meet your requirements.
It might be worth checking that they can be built either of them today for 500 euros. Also verify that the components are available or not on back order before you press the buy button.
Are you familiar with the way that a sealed box will deliver bass when compared to a reflex, they can offer a quite different in presentation.
If your alpairs are in a tuned cabinet and have a full bass sound, you may perceive some difference if you choose to go with the sealed design.
You may take a while to adjust to the different presentation. Speaker positioning and room gain, corner effects will come into play as you position them close to the room boundaries.
I didn't read the Donhighend article in full, maybe they are in fact designed to be positioned against a wall . The Gravesen design is pictured away from the wall in his workshop, I am not sure if that is indicative of where they should be positioned. Maybe an email question to the gentleman.
I haven't heard any of the designs, so please judge my observations accordingly.
It might be worth checking that they can be built either of them today for 500 euros. Also verify that the components are available or not on back order before you press the buy button.
Are you familiar with the way that a sealed box will deliver bass when compared to a reflex, they can offer a quite different in presentation.
If your alpairs are in a tuned cabinet and have a full bass sound, you may perceive some difference if you choose to go with the sealed design.
You may take a while to adjust to the different presentation. Speaker positioning and room gain, corner effects will come into play as you position them close to the room boundaries.
I didn't read the Donhighend article in full, maybe they are in fact designed to be positioned against a wall . The Gravesen design is pictured away from the wall in his workshop, I am not sure if that is indicative of where they should be positioned. Maybe an email question to the gentleman.
I haven't heard any of the designs, so please judge my observations accordingly.
Both are good choices using good drivers; my choice would be Troel's SEAS design, because it's ported, the larger driver would have better low end, and the xover isn't too complex. It seems to me that Donhighend designs crossovers that are unnecessarily complicated, I'm in the 'simpler is (usually) better' camp.
That would be a fair thing to contemplate
Either a small wideband for acceptable high frequency and off axis, with added woofer for bass.
Or a typical 2 way with woofer and tweeter.
For acceaptable bass performance you lean towards a 6.5" or 8" for small size and good bass.
The trick is the crossover point
6.5" woofer is just about the threshold to not have to crossover a tweeter too low for acceptable distortion
or start using much larger tweeters or waveguides to push a low crossover point.
For bass and less worries about using a Sub probably whatever Troels has with a 8" if he did something like that.
The links shown are good enough, both of course magically leave out vertical behavior.
Since they both have relatively large tweeter mounting frames. And the center to center distance is not optimized.
Eventually you have 2 thresholds, the physical size of the drivers, and just plain mounting them to far apart.
One can be fixed, mount closer. The other cant ,physical restrictions.
To void physical restrictions a modern tweeter with neo magnet and much much smaller mounting area
can bring them physically closer together. Or as many others, just make up something to explain away poor vertical response.
Sitting down watching a movie, make the tweeters ear height and call it a day.
The actual sound of the drivers is more than good.
Either a small wideband for acceptable high frequency and off axis, with added woofer for bass.
Or a typical 2 way with woofer and tweeter.
For acceaptable bass performance you lean towards a 6.5" or 8" for small size and good bass.
The trick is the crossover point
6.5" woofer is just about the threshold to not have to crossover a tweeter too low for acceptable distortion
or start using much larger tweeters or waveguides to push a low crossover point.
For bass and less worries about using a Sub probably whatever Troels has with a 8" if he did something like that.
The links shown are good enough, both of course magically leave out vertical behavior.
Since they both have relatively large tweeter mounting frames. And the center to center distance is not optimized.
Eventually you have 2 thresholds, the physical size of the drivers, and just plain mounting them to far apart.
One can be fixed, mount closer. The other cant ,physical restrictions.
To void physical restrictions a modern tweeter with neo magnet and much much smaller mounting area
can bring them physically closer together. Or as many others, just make up something to explain away poor vertical response.
Sitting down watching a movie, make the tweeters ear height and call it a day.
The actual sound of the drivers is more than good.
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