Kit in Australia

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mattcalf

Member
2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #1
    As a young audio enthusiast I ofcourse want the best sound for the least amount of money (so I can spend the leftover on other audio equipment:D ).

    Being a headphone man at heart I have recently crossed over to the darkside and become interested in building a small, but good sounding setup for monitoring.

    The eventual pair would be used for doing a little bit of beginner audio mixing/production and general listening with various sources.

    I've been eyeing of LSK M4s for a while but after contacting them they have suggested I go for the model up: M5 (great upselling) due to better sound and efficiency. And after scratching the surface of these forums I have found out the depth of the DIY community and that there are alot of other options out there.

    I would like a kit because I'm still at school and don't really have much time/experience working with electronics and schematics and I don't have access to any means of fabrication.

    With headphones a fair bit of consideration needed is for the music, I listen to music in the heavier end of the spectrum and appreciate good attack, speed and accuracy within the reproduction of the sound.

    My budget is of course the bottleneck: I'm only looking to spend AU$400 on a kit (2 monitors). I'd love if I could go under that price and still come out with a decent pair of speakers.

    After the decision is made I will then search for a nice diy amp board that I can build/mod to suit the speakers and my needs.

    All replies/suggestions are much appreciated!

    Thanks,
    Matt
    :)
     
    Moondog55

    Moondog55

    diyAudio Member
    2007-06-10 8:41 am
    Norlane; Geelong: Victoria: Australia
  • #3
    G'day Matt
    try this set of articles and designs by Rabbitz and the forum community, I think there are still a few P13/D27s left at Speakerbits
    although the cost is a little higher than you budget once you factor in good quality components.

    http://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/index.php?page=Vifa+P13/D27

    http://www.speakerbits.com/products...idranges-quadral-bass-midranges/list-150.aspx

    http://www.speakerbits.com/products...uadral-tweeter-hiquphon-tweeter/list-148.aspx

    There are a number of cost effective peerless bass-mid-woofers available

    Regards Ted
     
    rabbitz

    rabbitz

    Member
    2003-07-14 3:45 pm
    Newcastle, Australia
  • #4
    Hi Matt

    The LSK have advised you well as you are better off with the M5 over the M4. I haven't heard either but do have a friend who has the M4 and I used to have a design similar to the M5 so I know the difference would be huge.

    It's going to be hard if you don't have the facilities to build a box but maybe a friend could build some (school project even) or someone on this forum who is local may have some left over boxes.

    There is a kit that represents great value at Madisound in the USA and don't be turned off by that. Even with shipping it still could be less than A$200. You still need to build a box and supply wiring and terminals but the drivers and crossover would be very sound.
    http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=8525

    As far as the little speaker goes in the Wiki.... it's a nice little speaker that does work well nearfield as well as in small to medium rooms. Since that was written, mine has had a few changes and would suggest the larger box option. My crossover values with the D27TG tweeter 3.3uF + 0.45mH + 5R6. There has been several tweeter changes with a Scan Speak S2905, a Vifa XT25TG (was not a good match... bleh), and next will be installing a SEAS 27TFF. One problem is the value of the A$ has forced the prices of drivers up by a considerable margin so the value factor has fallen.
    http://www.diyaudio.com/wiki/index.php?page=rabbitz+has+added

    Another option is a fullrange speaker and I would suggest a CSS FR125SR from Darcher Audio in Tasmania. No crossover is required and these do sound very good when used within their limitations as they do not have high power handling but enough to give you a head ache.
    http://darcheraudio.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=30&products_id=80

    Ebay from time to time does have some great DIY speakers listed that usually nobody or only a few bid on as they are not a brand name. Some great bargains can be had for very nice speakers indeed. Just remember driver names like Vifa, Peerless, SEAS, Scan Speak.

    Another option for an enclosure if you can't build a box is to use PVC pipe and fittings that can be picked up at hardware stores and plumbing supplies. The one in the pic is a little one I did for a TV/DVD thingy in a small room.... easy and cheap but the sound would not be suitable for your needs.... does give you an idea though.
     

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    rabbitz

    rabbitz

    Member
    2003-07-14 3:45 pm
    Newcastle, Australia
  • #5
    Another way to think outside the box and mostly PVC pipe fittings which makes it cheap and easy.

    As far as DIY amps go, a great place to start is a ChipAmp and would suggest a LM3875. Have a look at this thread and Peter Daniel's kits are first class. They can of course be built point to point or on a vero board and Altronics in Oz do have some amp kits.
    http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=123003
     

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    mattcalf

    Member
    2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #6
    Thanks for all replies!

    Rabbitz, that RB kit looks perfect for me and with the dimensions for the box drawn up I'm sure I could sweet-talk one of my wood-tech teachers to knock a few boxes up for a price or a few beers!

    Are they shielded? (Safe to use with laptop/tv)

    The amp looks good and I've found great instructions for it too.

    Cheers!
     
    M

    mattcalf

    Member
    2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #9
    ..internal volume..
    Click to expand...
    Hi Kimbo, could you explain that a bit better.
    Unfortunantly I don't know that already haha. First build so i'm not 100% up to speed but I love to learn all about it.


    I just got a reply back from Madisound, it's looking like a US$66 shipping fee! :bawling:

    Hrmmm.

    The pre-built tweeter is so appealing, the idea of only having to hook stuff up and building the enclosure is what I want.

    I'll email them back and see what they can do. As well as adjusting my order.
     
    rabbitz

    rabbitz

    Member
    2003-07-14 3:45 pm
    Newcastle, Australia
  • #10
    Even with shipping it still only comes to about A$170 which is great value.... BTW, the 2 tweeters alone cost about $120 in Oz.

    The mid woofer in that kit is very similar to that in the LSK M5 but the D25AG tweeter is miles better than the D19 in the M5.

    What is meant by the internal volume is when the box is made you work to the internal dimensions and not the external dimensions as the design has been done to a set working volume (the air inside the box). If 18mm MDF is used then it's close enough to the imperial 3/4" material.
     
    M

    mattcalf

    Member
    2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #11
    When you put it that way it becomes a bit more reasonable.

    I can pretty much get everything I need for the speakers from Madisound so hopefully shipping doesn't go up too much.

    All I need is a good pot and something along the lines of copper 18ga wire for various hook-ups.

    Open to recommendations.
    :)
     
    M

    mattcalf

    Member
    2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #13
    I've found some copper enameled hookup wire to use. :)

    And I've got some Alps pots, Cardas solder, matching knobs, some heat-spreading-compound and RCA plugs on their way.

    Not sure whether to order amp kit or speaker kit first. As I won't purchase the other until the first is significantly progressed.


    Can't wait!:D
     
    Moondog55

    Moondog55

    diyAudio Member
    2007-06-10 8:41 am
    Norlane; Geelong: Victoria: Australia
  • #15
    The wife is after me to get rid of some stuff and make room, I have a few spare drivers from un-started projects; including some discontinued Jaycar 5inch poly-cones, perhaps we could work out something, I have a pair of surface mount tweeters from "Dick Smith" that are reasonable that are probably worth $30 but they do need second or third order XO no lower than 3500Hz.

    price may be right but I have no tried and tested designs for them so it will be a learning process, but you should get help from forum members, I got the woofers fairly cheap as a close-out deal, I think I paid $18 each for them
     
    M

    mattcalf

    Member
    2009-05-01 1:13 pm
  • #19
    I'm really looking for a kit which supplies me with a prebuilt crossover, all I need to do is hookup the crossover to the woofer + tweeter and build the enclosure.

    If that's what your linking then could you spoonfeed me a bit more?

    I'm going to put a WTB ad up just incase somebody was kind enough to stock up on these.

    Cheers,
    Matt.
     
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