I have been in the audio business for a while and have really wanted to come over to the dark side and play with some DIY stuff for quite some time. Being a old car audio guy I know the importance in a proper enclosure and volumes. I know this is very difficult and a will be more head aches then rewards and I am fine with that. I have had a passion for high end audio for quite some time and now I want to venture into building some fun stuff.
My weak point right now is crossover design and building. I understand all the cutoff points. I have just not researched what it takes to build a proper crossover.
I just sold my Focal BE system to fund my first project.
I honestly do not sit down and listen to audio for hours at a time. Everything I do now is home theater based. My main points of interest are in your face dialogue. Aggressive yet not OVERLY fatiguing. I like a nice solid midbass output to go along with my sub. I build things in excess and like loud.
The drivers I have choose for my first project may not be even close to what I enjoy but I have to start somewhere. I know some DIY brands as scanspeak, morel, seas from my car audio days and examining what is in some of the brands that I currently sell.
If you have any suggestions please feel free to make them. I enjoy and appreciate quality. I have set my first budget for 3 speakers at or around 2k.
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Drivers
Horn.
B&C DE250-8
B&C DE250-8 1" Polyimide Horn Driver 8 Ohm 2/3-Bolt 294-605
B&C Port Flare - ME 45
B&C ME45 1" Exponential Horn 90x40 2-Bolt 294-622
I know nothing about horns other than the fact that I like the way they sound. I have read good things about this unit and want to try it out. I may hate it but I would like to give it a shot.
Midrange
Scan Speak - 15M/4531K Revelator
Madisound Speaker Store
Appears to be a great midrange for the price point I am going after. Looking to start it at 500k and go up to 2k before the horn turns on. This is all hopes and dreams at this point. As I research more I am sure this will change. If you have any other opinions on a driver that may be slighty more or less please let me know. I am open when it comes to this driver.
Mid Bass
Scan Speak 10" Classic 25W/8565-00
Madisound Speaker Store
This is the driver I am least certain about at this point. Its covering a brief freqency range. I would like to have some impact out of the fronts but is this two much? Most home theater speakers use a 6.5 and I always find myself wanting a little more. I know its not a flat response but its what I like when watching. I like to feel the track. If I could shed a few dollars here and spend on the mid I would be open to ideas. I know the midrange is the most important and I want to make sure I have quality there if a cheaper driver will do the same job as the one I am looking at without losing to much of the sound I am trying to achieve.
I am ready to go with this project. If anyone wants to help with the crossover network either being guidance or doing it for a fee I am open. I just want to build some cool stuff.
Please do not try to steer me away from DIY. I have a passion for this stuff. I know its costly but I already buy expensive stuff. I want to have a fun adventure.
My weak point right now is crossover design and building. I understand all the cutoff points. I have just not researched what it takes to build a proper crossover.
I just sold my Focal BE system to fund my first project.
I honestly do not sit down and listen to audio for hours at a time. Everything I do now is home theater based. My main points of interest are in your face dialogue. Aggressive yet not OVERLY fatiguing. I like a nice solid midbass output to go along with my sub. I build things in excess and like loud.
The drivers I have choose for my first project may not be even close to what I enjoy but I have to start somewhere. I know some DIY brands as scanspeak, morel, seas from my car audio days and examining what is in some of the brands that I currently sell.
If you have any suggestions please feel free to make them. I enjoy and appreciate quality. I have set my first budget for 3 speakers at or around 2k.
--
Drivers
Horn.
B&C DE250-8
B&C DE250-8 1" Polyimide Horn Driver 8 Ohm 2/3-Bolt 294-605
B&C Port Flare - ME 45
B&C ME45 1" Exponential Horn 90x40 2-Bolt 294-622
I know nothing about horns other than the fact that I like the way they sound. I have read good things about this unit and want to try it out. I may hate it but I would like to give it a shot.
Midrange
Scan Speak - 15M/4531K Revelator
Madisound Speaker Store
Appears to be a great midrange for the price point I am going after. Looking to start it at 500k and go up to 2k before the horn turns on. This is all hopes and dreams at this point. As I research more I am sure this will change. If you have any other opinions on a driver that may be slighty more or less please let me know. I am open when it comes to this driver.
Mid Bass
Scan Speak 10" Classic 25W/8565-00
Madisound Speaker Store
This is the driver I am least certain about at this point. Its covering a brief freqency range. I would like to have some impact out of the fronts but is this two much? Most home theater speakers use a 6.5 and I always find myself wanting a little more. I know its not a flat response but its what I like when watching. I like to feel the track. If I could shed a few dollars here and spend on the mid I would be open to ideas. I know the midrange is the most important and I want to make sure I have quality there if a cheaper driver will do the same job as the one I am looking at without losing to much of the sound I am trying to achieve.
I am ready to go with this project. If anyone wants to help with the crossover network either being guidance or doing it for a fee I am open. I just want to build some cool stuff.
Please do not try to steer me away from DIY. I have a passion for this stuff. I know its costly but I already buy expensive stuff. I want to have a fun adventure.
Welcome to the forum! You might search around here for the "Econowave" project. It has a lot of followers here and on other forums. Easy to get right and pretty close to what you are looking for, I think.
I second the eWave project. I've built 5 pairs of them so far. For HT, they would rock.
Here is the link. The first post has all the links to all the data needed to build them and the folks on that thread are very active.....lots of support.
Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
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Here is the link. The first post has all the links to all the data needed to build them and the folks on that thread are very active.....lots of support.
Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker - AudioKarma.org Home Audio Stereo Discussion Forums
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Hi,
Twin 6.5" are the same area as a 10", but usually don't go as low as a 10",
but that is really not an issue if your using a good sub. Around your price
point I like the look of : Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5
Not least because it has a dedicated proper centre channel
design, that should give you the vocal clarity you desire.
YMMV but I don't think treble horns are good for AV/HT, for most listeners.
The acoustics are complicated, but wide even dispersion at all frequencies
allows speakers to "disappear" better than controlled treble only directivity.
rgds, sreten.
My opinion of the Econowave is you can't directly compare stereo and AV/HT use.
Twin 6.5" are the same area as a 10", but usually don't go as low as a 10",
but that is really not an issue if your using a good sub. Around your price
point I like the look of : Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5
Not least because it has a dedicated proper centre channel
design, that should give you the vocal clarity you desire.
YMMV but I don't think treble horns are good for AV/HT, for most listeners.
The acoustics are complicated, but wide even dispersion at all frequencies
allows speakers to "disappear" better than controlled treble only directivity.
rgds, sreten.
My opinion of the Econowave is you can't directly compare stereo and AV/HT use.
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It is hard to make good speakers from scratch. My suggestion, and i think most other's suggestion, will be to build a pre existing design.
As Sreten mentioned Zaph makes great designs and is a real audio scientist.
Paul Carmody makes some budget designs that sound really good from HiVi drivers. His Swope 3w tower and center channel would be appropriate i think.
DIY Speaker Components | Replacement Speakers | and Speaker kits from Meniscus Audio Group
Troels gravesen makes great designs from really high end drivers.
DIY Loudspeaker Projects Troels Gravesen
take a look at these projects, if you still see nothing you like then go ahead and take the plunge into Speaker design. just be prepared for quite a few mistakes before you hit the nail on the head
As Sreten mentioned Zaph makes great designs and is a real audio scientist.
Paul Carmody makes some budget designs that sound really good from HiVi drivers. His Swope 3w tower and center channel would be appropriate i think.
DIY Speaker Components | Replacement Speakers | and Speaker kits from Meniscus Audio Group
Troels gravesen makes great designs from really high end drivers.
DIY Loudspeaker Projects Troels Gravesen
take a look at these projects, if you still see nothing you like then go ahead and take the plunge into Speaker design. just be prepared for quite a few mistakes before you hit the nail on the head
Hi, You've lost me, unless its a US thing, and simply an accepted fashion, rgds, sreten.
Look behind the screen at any cinema or cinema mixing suite. 2-way with horn. That's the cinema standard, not a fashion. Been that way since before we were born. It's changing, but slowly.
Nothing wrong with the Zaph audio speakers you liked to, I'm sure it would be very nice. I just thought the Econowave might fit what jdohman had in mind, that's all. Let's see what he say when he gets back.
Nothing wrong with the Zaph audio speakers you liked to, I'm sure it would be very nice. I just thought the Econowave might fit what jdohman had in mind, that's all. Let's see what he say when he gets back.
Concerning the econowave project, there is an interresting thread on PartExpress with a project matrix and summery :
Flex Your PCD Mettle: - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video, and Electronics Customer Discussion Forum From Parts-Express.com
Flex Your PCD Mettle: - Techtalk Speaker Building, Audio, Video, and Electronics Customer Discussion Forum From Parts-Express.com
Before i ventured down the OB path i was going to build a 5.1 using seas coaxials in line array. If you can work around the lobbying it might be worth considering as it takes the hassle out of designing and building crossovers, and really how wrong can you go using coaxials drivers...I was going to use the same amount of drivers as the L/R for the centre channel but stacked upon one another because my room wasn't very wide.
I've heard multiple coax setup and i've been impressed each time.
I've heard multiple coax setup and i've been impressed each time.
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