Hi, first off im really sorry for a simple stupid question but everything i google just brings me to 'speaker placement and matching a prebuilt system to an amp etc'.
I want to finally upgrade to a surround sound system and would really like to build it myself but i would relly appreciate a few basic questions answered before i know if it is worth persuing or not.
I would roughly be looking at a budget of arround 5-600gbp, every 'project' i have seen has been for a very large budget, proper home cinema system with a large budget and all the bells ans whistles.. what i want to know is for my price range would i be better off buying a pre-built/designed system or building my own 5.1 system. i.e i know in a perfect system all 5 surround speakers rear/front/centre should be the same speakers, but with the given budget that would mean the important speakers Front/centre would have to suffer quality. with the sub does it have to be a prebrought plate amp or can I sort the powered amp side of it myself? plate amps would be a sizeable chunk of my budget to start with.
Im quite happy with electronics and have read alot about amps/speakers etc but am by no means an expert. What really confuses me is the difference between an audioholic and someone who wants to get the most for his money (me).
Do i really need to buy a 100gbp mic to test the exact crossover figures etc? or is theory and CAD design from manufacture figures enough for the every day joe?.
If this is possible within my budget range, size etc is not an issue and the size room i would be building for would more than likely be in the 4,000cb^3 range or below.
I apolagise if im in completely the wrong forum but google searches are just sending me in circles so i could really use a point in the right direction.
Thanks
I want to finally upgrade to a surround sound system and would really like to build it myself but i would relly appreciate a few basic questions answered before i know if it is worth persuing or not.
I would roughly be looking at a budget of arround 5-600gbp, every 'project' i have seen has been for a very large budget, proper home cinema system with a large budget and all the bells ans whistles.. what i want to know is for my price range would i be better off buying a pre-built/designed system or building my own 5.1 system. i.e i know in a perfect system all 5 surround speakers rear/front/centre should be the same speakers, but with the given budget that would mean the important speakers Front/centre would have to suffer quality. with the sub does it have to be a prebrought plate amp or can I sort the powered amp side of it myself? plate amps would be a sizeable chunk of my budget to start with.
Im quite happy with electronics and have read alot about amps/speakers etc but am by no means an expert. What really confuses me is the difference between an audioholic and someone who wants to get the most for his money (me).
Do i really need to buy a 100gbp mic to test the exact crossover figures etc? or is theory and CAD design from manufacture figures enough for the every day joe?.
If this is possible within my budget range, size etc is not an issue and the size room i would be building for would more than likely be in the 4,000cb^3 range or below.
I apolagise if im in completely the wrong forum but google searches are just sending me in circles so i could really use a point in the right direction.
Thanks
Hi Menoidea!
You have much to learn, not only about speakers but about your own skills and tastes. 🙂 I'd suggest you start from existing designs and grow from there.
I have a couple of speaker kits for you to investigate for your surround system. They will cover the 5 but not the 0.1 part. Cost to build is around $300US for the center, $175US for each of the surrounds and fronts.
Since the kits are fully documented online you can get a very good idea of just what is involved. If you decide you want to learn how to make your own designs, that will take quite a bit more effort. Good measuring tools like OmniMic and DATS along with a crossover simulation tool like XSim are essential if you want to get things right the first time.
Take a look at the starting page for the Leach Memorial speakers here. There's a build thread here for the LM-1, feel free to ask any questions there.
You should start with the LM-1 kit and then see how much more you want to do. If you like what you hear, build another pair, and then build the LM-1C.
Some make 3 of the LM-1C for their fronts, for better dynamic range and narrower dispersion. Of course you could make all 5 from that design too. 🙂 However, I think 4 of the LM-1 and 1 of the LM-1C is plenty, and cheaper. 🙂
Of course, there are also many designs at Parts Express for you to explore.
Save thinking about the sub for a while longer.
Best,
Erik
You have much to learn, not only about speakers but about your own skills and tastes. 🙂 I'd suggest you start from existing designs and grow from there.
I have a couple of speaker kits for you to investigate for your surround system. They will cover the 5 but not the 0.1 part. Cost to build is around $300US for the center, $175US for each of the surrounds and fronts.
Since the kits are fully documented online you can get a very good idea of just what is involved. If you decide you want to learn how to make your own designs, that will take quite a bit more effort. Good measuring tools like OmniMic and DATS along with a crossover simulation tool like XSim are essential if you want to get things right the first time.
Take a look at the starting page for the Leach Memorial speakers here. There's a build thread here for the LM-1, feel free to ask any questions there.
You should start with the LM-1 kit and then see how much more you want to do. If you like what you hear, build another pair, and then build the LM-1C.
Some make 3 of the LM-1C for their fronts, for better dynamic range and narrower dispersion. Of course you could make all 5 from that design too. 🙂 However, I think 4 of the LM-1 and 1 of the LM-1C is plenty, and cheaper. 🙂
Of course, there are also many designs at Parts Express for you to explore.
Save thinking about the sub for a while longer.
Best,
Erik
Last edited:
Also, for later when you integrate the sub, no, you can get by with a $28 imm-6 from Dayton and Room EQ Wizard.
Since I really DO design and build, OmniMic + DATS is a bargain for time and effort saved for me.
Best,
Erik
Since I really DO design and build, OmniMic + DATS is a bargain for time and effort saved for me.
Best,
Erik
Last edited:
Here's my 2 cents, although I didn't build them myself,
I spent the most money on the front 3.1, blumensteinaudio.com Orcas. The front 3 need to match. A HT subwoofer has different requirements han a music one - lots of booms, explosions, things like that you can probably use a less expensive sub.
I spent very little on the rear speakers, in fact they are tiny and made of plastic. But I find them more than adequate.
On a related note, don't skimp on the receiver. A strict requirement for me was Audyssey room calibration, preferably the more advanced ones like xt32. Note that some people really don't ike Audyssey, however.
I spent the most money on the front 3.1, blumensteinaudio.com Orcas. The front 3 need to match. A HT subwoofer has different requirements han a music one - lots of booms, explosions, things like that you can probably use a less expensive sub.
I spent very little on the rear speakers, in fact they are tiny and made of plastic. But I find them more than adequate.
On a related note, don't skimp on the receiver. A strict requirement for me was Audyssey room calibration, preferably the more advanced ones like xt32. Note that some people really don't ike Audyssey, however.
Also, one thing, too many people spend waaaaay too much time completely overthinking a home 5.1 system. Months after they start talking about it they still haven't built anything. 🙂
It's really best to get started and adapt as you go along. Start with the simplest/smallest components and go from there. The LM-1 can be your fronts and surrounds, or just your surrounds, so start there and decide if you want 3 LM-1C's or 1 or if you just run out of steam / money at that. 🙂
Best,
Erik
It's really best to get started and adapt as you go along. Start with the simplest/smallest components and go from there. The LM-1 can be your fronts and surrounds, or just your surrounds, so start there and decide if you want 3 LM-1C's or 1 or if you just run out of steam / money at that. 🙂
Best,
Erik
Hi guys, and thanks for your replies.
Sorry I didnt word my question very well, few too many beer perhaps. Erik your completely right I would love to design my own speakers sometime but I'm being a bit optimistic at the minute, perhaps for the next project 🙂 I have a physics degree and love electronics so I would love to learn, but having never made a speaker lets just stick to the basics.
Thank you very much for the link to that project, that looks pretty much bang on my budget and requirements, those woofers are also available here in the UK as well so I think you've really hit the nail on the head there.
Rif, that crossed my mind going with something cheaper for the rears, however as much as I want it to be used for home theatre I would really like to focus on music as well (I also listen mostly to bass heavy music such as rock and edm) therefore I certainly cant cheap out on the sub, and I would assume going for smaller speakers for rear would be a big no no, since for music I presume they would all need to be the same for balance and output?. Also Erik would these LM-1's be suitable for music as well?
So I guess my best bet would be 3 LM-1C's and 2 LM-1's, whilst I can still get a bit creative with the sub. My other question Erik, even following someones else's design, would I not still need a small test mic such as the imm-6, as I presume the tolerences in the crossover components (inductors and caps) will cause discrepencies? or will this be neglible providing you mea.sure the value of the components and add more to correct it?
Many thanks for your help.
Sorry I didnt word my question very well, few too many beer perhaps. Erik your completely right I would love to design my own speakers sometime but I'm being a bit optimistic at the minute, perhaps for the next project 🙂 I have a physics degree and love electronics so I would love to learn, but having never made a speaker lets just stick to the basics.
Thank you very much for the link to that project, that looks pretty much bang on my budget and requirements, those woofers are also available here in the UK as well so I think you've really hit the nail on the head there.
Rif, that crossed my mind going with something cheaper for the rears, however as much as I want it to be used for home theatre I would really like to focus on music as well (I also listen mostly to bass heavy music such as rock and edm) therefore I certainly cant cheap out on the sub, and I would assume going for smaller speakers for rear would be a big no no, since for music I presume they would all need to be the same for balance and output?. Also Erik would these LM-1's be suitable for music as well?
So I guess my best bet would be 3 LM-1C's and 2 LM-1's, whilst I can still get a bit creative with the sub. My other question Erik, even following someones else's design, would I not still need a small test mic such as the imm-6, as I presume the tolerences in the crossover components (inductors and caps) will cause discrepencies? or will this be neglible providing you mea.sure the value of the components and add more to correct it?
Many thanks for your help.
Menoidea,
I'm glad you find the kits are in your target range. 🙂
As far as measurements, I don't think it's absolutely necessary, but you never know when you are going to run into a "dud" in either the crossover or the drivers. Also, since this is a learning exercise for you, I would say you would find it informative to learn how to measure as you go.
I was going to suggest that you order a copy of Joseph D'Appolito's "Testing Loudspeakers." Chapter 4, in particular, should help you learn how you go from raw drivers to simulation. I just looked on Amazon and the prices are pretty outrageous ($70 to $150) but Parts Express has it for a more reasonable $35.
The LM-1's are designed to be objectively neutral and do a very good job on music and movies. With a sub or two you'll have plenty of dynamic range. However, by their neutrality, they aren't going to give you a club house sound. Whatever is in your recordings is what you'll get. I find that this brings out the most from any type of music.
When you start thinking about a sub you'll have to start thinking about room acoustics and active equalization, which is why I'm suggesting you leave it alone for a bit. 🙂 When you are done with the LM-1's you'll be in a different place.
Best,
Erik
I'm glad you find the kits are in your target range. 🙂
As far as measurements, I don't think it's absolutely necessary, but you never know when you are going to run into a "dud" in either the crossover or the drivers. Also, since this is a learning exercise for you, I would say you would find it informative to learn how to measure as you go.
I was going to suggest that you order a copy of Joseph D'Appolito's "Testing Loudspeakers." Chapter 4, in particular, should help you learn how you go from raw drivers to simulation. I just looked on Amazon and the prices are pretty outrageous ($70 to $150) but Parts Express has it for a more reasonable $35.
The LM-1's are designed to be objectively neutral and do a very good job on music and movies. With a sub or two you'll have plenty of dynamic range. However, by their neutrality, they aren't going to give you a club house sound. Whatever is in your recordings is what you'll get. I find that this brings out the most from any type of music.
When you start thinking about a sub you'll have to start thinking about room acoustics and active equalization, which is why I'm suggesting you leave it alone for a bit. 🙂 When you are done with the LM-1's you'll be in a different place.
Best,
Erik
Last edited:
- Status
- Not open for further replies.