My wife and I are looking for a project to work on together and speakers came to mind.
I had looked into DIY speakers a long time ago and did a few Dayton kits but soon after life changed, got too busy and just starting buying stuff.
We moved into our new home and bought of set of Kef LS50's for our great room with a Emotiva TA-100 which was really too small of an amp for the speakers but we enjoy it.
Our main setup downstairs are Salk HT2-TL's with a Emotiva 600W amp driving them.
I upgraded the LS50's to LS50 Meta's and a Cambridge CX-81 Integrated which was more in line with the speakers along with a SVS 16" sub.
We really like the Meta's and the sound, so much that we didn't use our main system downstairs for much more than watching TV.
I was reading on another forum about speakers, a link to this site and others came up and it re-interested me in sitting down and just listening to music in our basement.
We both love the Kef's, but after sitting down and really listening to the others for comparison the SQ is great from both but just miss the big speaker sound, even with the sub.
We want that big speaker sound and want to do a project together.
WAF is not a consideration, in fact we want something that stands out and is a center piece to the room. Cost is also not too much of a concern. Our original plan was to get a set of Revel F228BE's for our main room and move the Salk's upstairs but we want to try something ourselves. I do not want to spend 228 money on something we are doing ourselves but we're not too constrained by cost but we do want something with the similar audio quality.
The room is 22x18, with 18' ceilings. It opens up into a kitchen and foyer. The one issue I thought we would have with floor standers is there is a wall that comes out just under 2' from the wall where they will go which might create some reflections.
Our only constraint is the table in the pic has to stay where it is. We had considered large line arrays but completely open to suggestions.
I know audio is a personal preference but I can tell you about the Salk's(Seas mids and Raal ribbons) we love the volume of sound, their accuracy but they can lack emotion outside of music which is heavily focused on vocals.
The LS50's we enjoy everything about them just would like more of it.
We have good woodworking skills, large table saw, couple of routers with tables and moderate mechanical skills but we also have a master carpenter who we can rely on and access to a 2D CNC and waterjet.
Here is the room and open to suggestions:
I had looked into DIY speakers a long time ago and did a few Dayton kits but soon after life changed, got too busy and just starting buying stuff.
We moved into our new home and bought of set of Kef LS50's for our great room with a Emotiva TA-100 which was really too small of an amp for the speakers but we enjoy it.
Our main setup downstairs are Salk HT2-TL's with a Emotiva 600W amp driving them.
I upgraded the LS50's to LS50 Meta's and a Cambridge CX-81 Integrated which was more in line with the speakers along with a SVS 16" sub.
We really like the Meta's and the sound, so much that we didn't use our main system downstairs for much more than watching TV.
I was reading on another forum about speakers, a link to this site and others came up and it re-interested me in sitting down and just listening to music in our basement.
We both love the Kef's, but after sitting down and really listening to the others for comparison the SQ is great from both but just miss the big speaker sound, even with the sub.
We want that big speaker sound and want to do a project together.
WAF is not a consideration, in fact we want something that stands out and is a center piece to the room. Cost is also not too much of a concern. Our original plan was to get a set of Revel F228BE's for our main room and move the Salk's upstairs but we want to try something ourselves. I do not want to spend 228 money on something we are doing ourselves but we're not too constrained by cost but we do want something with the similar audio quality.
The room is 22x18, with 18' ceilings. It opens up into a kitchen and foyer. The one issue I thought we would have with floor standers is there is a wall that comes out just under 2' from the wall where they will go which might create some reflections.
Our only constraint is the table in the pic has to stay where it is. We had considered large line arrays but completely open to suggestions.
I know audio is a personal preference but I can tell you about the Salk's(Seas mids and Raal ribbons) we love the volume of sound, their accuracy but they can lack emotion outside of music which is heavily focused on vocals.
The LS50's we enjoy everything about them just would like more of it.
We have good woodworking skills, large table saw, couple of routers with tables and moderate mechanical skills but we also have a master carpenter who we can rely on and access to a 2D CNC and waterjet.
Here is the room and open to suggestions:
That is what I was looking for and decided to build a pair of Basszillas.
Building the BassZilla Platinum Edition - Fall 2012
the old University Classic is pretty large at ~40" x 30" x 24". It should have two back panel - back chamber braces running down from the throat to the floor.
Other horns may be more appropriate than the Cobraflex midhorn.
Other basshorn of the same bulk could have a longer 1/4 wave path.
I almost bet driver cost could be kept to $220 per side and have reasonably good sound.
btw, IIRC, horn expert "RCA Fan" (Bill Woods) says that cavity around the throat will introduce
a ~500Hz notch so that area might be covered to benefit.
Its back chamber volume could i some instances be reduced with foam to provide a tighter response.
Gallery of plans:
University Classic Plans LTV 1971 - The Klipsch Audio Community
braces
Other horns may be more appropriate than the Cobraflex midhorn.
Other basshorn of the same bulk could have a longer 1/4 wave path.
I almost bet driver cost could be kept to $220 per side and have reasonably good sound.
btw, IIRC, horn expert "RCA Fan" (Bill Woods) says that cavity around the throat will introduce
a ~500Hz notch so that area might be covered to benefit.
Its back chamber volume could i some instances be reduced with foam to provide a tighter response.
Gallery of plans:
University Classic Plans LTV 1971 - The Klipsch Audio Community
braces
Last edited:
This one isn't to difficult given the desires and constraints..
"big speaker sound" + room issues = Horn
"big" and "warmth": more baffle-step compensation.
(slightly larger than the) *Exemplar Bass-midrange "horn", and
SEOS 30 Waveguide (wide dispersion) w/ 2" exit coupled to a Celestion Axi2050 (capable of lower distortion in the lower midrange w/out full horn loading).
*https://greatplainsaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spexemplar.pdf
-the Exemplar Bass-midrange design is 26" wide.. so scaled up to about 30-32" wide (with equal adjustments elsewhere).
SEOS-30 – Horns by Auto-Tech
Target crossover freq. around 550 Hz with a lower order design (..which will help with that "big" sound).
Be sure to have about 3" of clearance between horn and mid-bass cabinet (unlike as shown with the Exemplar) with adjustment for vertical "tilt".
-subwoofers (at least 3 distributed): Rythmik Audio.
"big speaker sound" + room issues = Horn
"big" and "warmth": more baffle-step compensation.
(slightly larger than the) *Exemplar Bass-midrange "horn", and
SEOS 30 Waveguide (wide dispersion) w/ 2" exit coupled to a Celestion Axi2050 (capable of lower distortion in the lower midrange w/out full horn loading).
*https://greatplainsaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/spexemplar.pdf
-the Exemplar Bass-midrange design is 26" wide.. so scaled up to about 30-32" wide (with equal adjustments elsewhere).
SEOS-30 – Horns by Auto-Tech
Target crossover freq. around 550 Hz with a lower order design (..which will help with that "big" sound).
Be sure to have about 3" of clearance between horn and mid-bass cabinet (unlike as shown with the Exemplar) with adjustment for vertical "tilt".
-subwoofers (at least 3 distributed): Rythmik Audio.
Last edited:
Or you could go with a big Open Baffle speaker since it seems you have the room and enjoy big speaker sound. They can sound amazing in a large space.
What Scott has suggested above is classic. I was thinking of an Altec 19 or similar, but there are plenty of designs with horn+ 12" or 15" woofer that fit the bill.
What Scott has suggested above is classic. I was thinking of an Altec 19 or similar, but there are plenty of designs with horn+ 12" or 15" woofer that fit the bill.
ericspt - you are getting a lot of advice pointing toward horn / waveguide systems. Your current system of LS50's + sub is a very wide dispersion system. You should find a way to listen to a horn system and see if the more narrow directivity appeals to you. Many folks like it, but many prefer the wide dispersion of a direct radiator system.
Horn enthusiasts tend to be... what is the right word... "Enthusiastic".
As pointed out, open baffle designs can be excellent in the right room with the right positioning. I have always thought that the "magic" sound of Martin-logans, quad ESLs, and Magnepans is not so much due to the film diaphragm, but more due to the dipole radiation pattern.
Conventional direct radiator box speakers are very popular for a reason: They work, and if well designed and well positioned, they work exceedingly well.
So you have a lot of choices...
Horn enthusiasts tend to be... what is the right word... "Enthusiastic".
As pointed out, open baffle designs can be excellent in the right room with the right positioning. I have always thought that the "magic" sound of Martin-logans, quad ESLs, and Magnepans is not so much due to the film diaphragm, but more due to the dipole radiation pattern.
Conventional direct radiator box speakers are very popular for a reason: They work, and if well designed and well positioned, they work exceedingly well.
So you have a lot of choices...
Last edited:
Thank you and yes that is important because most of our listening will not be dedicated.
We entertain and cook quite a lot. So while that room is large, our kitchen is next to that and dining room around the corner.
I know the question would be why spend money on something that is not for dedicated listening but we have 3 goals. One is to do something ourselves, two is to have something in the room that stands out as a center piece, and to get that big speaker sound in an ambient setting.
Thanks for all the suggestions going to read through these and check them all out.
University Classic scaled down with one or more potent subwoofers to cover 100Hz down might be fun. It could probably be a two way with a 1.4 inch format compression driver and decent sized horn.
The one I have is this size and has a low qts 10 - an inch deeper and could run a 12 inch woofer such as 12pe31 or perhaps Kappa12a.
The one I have is this size and has a low qts 10 - an inch deeper and could run a 12 inch woofer such as 12pe31 or perhaps Kappa12a.
Just be aware that when you ask for "large speakers" here, you are likely to get what most people call "gigantic."
The speakers you already own are in the modern tall and slim style. Is that what you are hoping for, or is form not a factor?
We are function over form.
Our only space constraint is it needs to fit between the fireplace, that wall, and the table without compromising the sound.
Our great room is the last one we really tackled from a remodel standpoint. That wall where they will go we just did the wine racks and part of the reason we were interested in Line Arrays was they would extend up the wall and decorate some of the space.
What she envisions is making the entire wall about music and having something to make part of that like the speakers as a focal point.
I personally think the table can/will go eventually. We hate wires and even the fact that the electrical outlets are outboard is something we are going to fix and move them where they cannot be seen. In our basement we built out all the trim 2" from the wall with a cap so the wires hide inside the trim itself.
If we got rid of the table and did something custom on that wall we could make it look much cleaner.
Those are fantastic looking. Bit up there in price, I assume there is a kit?
Ah, interesting. Are you hoping for something built in, maybe? That points the choices in a particular direction. Or do you plan to have the speakers out in the room?
Alright the Trio OB is the winner.
It fits the aesthetic we are looking for, meaning we can do any material we want. We like the look and the fact you can offset the middle section for some contrast.
The effort to look factor is also extremely high. Doing some reading people put quick and dirty versions together in an afternoon.
The low wattage requirements are also of interest because we can do a low watt tube amp.
It did seem confusing though some reviews sounded like PAP sold parts but their site only shows completed speakers.
I'd say we have a budget of $3,000-3,500 for drivers/Xover/Wiring.
Does the wood choice matter or is it more thickness and offset?
It fits the aesthetic we are looking for, meaning we can do any material we want. We like the look and the fact you can offset the middle section for some contrast.
The effort to look factor is also extremely high. Doing some reading people put quick and dirty versions together in an afternoon.
The low wattage requirements are also of interest because we can do a low watt tube amp.
It did seem confusing though some reviews sounded like PAP sold parts but their site only shows completed speakers.
I'd say we have a budget of $3,000-3,500 for drivers/Xover/Wiring.
Does the wood choice matter or is it more thickness and offset?
If you are in the USA, Lowes is currently selling some lovely 1" thick 24x24" teak boards. They would make nice baffles. I just made an end table out of one.
You can easily do something like the pretty open baffles posted earlier for that budget, even half that budget. BTW, you living room photo isn't showing up. Google pics rarely work here.
You can easily do something like the pretty open baffles posted earlier for that budget, even half that budget. BTW, you living room photo isn't showing up. Google pics rarely work here.