Hi all, I just joined and I'm building my first "real" hifi/ht system but feeling a bit lost (lots of variety!).
For the past months I ended up spending probably too much time researching, reading and watching YouTube videos about various speakers. I also went to a couple hardware stores to figure out what I value in a speaker the most.
Anyways, since I'm doing a HT and wanted to have the same speaker all around, I thought of going DIY, but since it's my first DIY build I wanted to go the kit route. The problem is, all the time I spent researching was mostly about kits and speakers based in the US. And when it comes to EU, the websites are all barebones (as in a nightmare to navigate and find straightforward info) and even here it's a bit hard to find information or similar posts to what I wanted. I decided to just write this and see if some of you could help or give me a general direction to follow.
The room I'm putting these in is quite small 5x5 meters. It's a living room/home theater hybrid so that's both music and home theater, they are going to do double duty, I already did some room treatment for the projector, so I can do the same for the acoustics, that's not an issue. That being said there's a couple shelves on the sides. We will probably move in the next couple of years for a bigger space tho, so I really wanted something that I wouldn't have to ditch in a slightly bigger room.
After spending hours with multiple speakers in store, I tried most of the recommended brands. There was a single speaker I fell in love with, and that was the q acoustics concept 50. Which I was going to purchase but then I started making the math and with concept 30 surrounds it would add up. Plus since my center will stay behind the screen I would really prefer to have the LCR to be all the same and that would mean I'd have to buy an extra pair since they aren't selling singles. If I had to describe what I liked, it was the detail and soundstage compared to the others, so I guess I fall more on the analytical side of things. I also tried some Arendals, and I loved those.
Worth noting, these will be connected to probably a Marantz Cinema 50 for starters. I will add some dedicated amps as I go.
I also don't care much about the deep low end, as I'd prefer to have a dedicated sub or two for that job.
So I guess my question is, is there a DIY speaker or parts that would give me a similar sound signature? I apologize for not being more throughout as I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to speakers. I spent my entire life just using headphones (Audeze LCDS).
Thank you in advance!
EDIT: Can't believe I forgot, besides movie duty. The music we most listen to is Indie, some Metal, a bit of Pop with a high emphasis on vocals and the occasional EDM.
For the past months I ended up spending probably too much time researching, reading and watching YouTube videos about various speakers. I also went to a couple hardware stores to figure out what I value in a speaker the most.
Anyways, since I'm doing a HT and wanted to have the same speaker all around, I thought of going DIY, but since it's my first DIY build I wanted to go the kit route. The problem is, all the time I spent researching was mostly about kits and speakers based in the US. And when it comes to EU, the websites are all barebones (as in a nightmare to navigate and find straightforward info) and even here it's a bit hard to find information or similar posts to what I wanted. I decided to just write this and see if some of you could help or give me a general direction to follow.
The room I'm putting these in is quite small 5x5 meters. It's a living room/home theater hybrid so that's both music and home theater, they are going to do double duty, I already did some room treatment for the projector, so I can do the same for the acoustics, that's not an issue. That being said there's a couple shelves on the sides. We will probably move in the next couple of years for a bigger space tho, so I really wanted something that I wouldn't have to ditch in a slightly bigger room.
After spending hours with multiple speakers in store, I tried most of the recommended brands. There was a single speaker I fell in love with, and that was the q acoustics concept 50. Which I was going to purchase but then I started making the math and with concept 30 surrounds it would add up. Plus since my center will stay behind the screen I would really prefer to have the LCR to be all the same and that would mean I'd have to buy an extra pair since they aren't selling singles. If I had to describe what I liked, it was the detail and soundstage compared to the others, so I guess I fall more on the analytical side of things. I also tried some Arendals, and I loved those.
Worth noting, these will be connected to probably a Marantz Cinema 50 for starters. I will add some dedicated amps as I go.
I also don't care much about the deep low end, as I'd prefer to have a dedicated sub or two for that job.
So I guess my question is, is there a DIY speaker or parts that would give me a similar sound signature? I apologize for not being more throughout as I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to speakers. I spent my entire life just using headphones (Audeze LCDS).
Thank you in advance!
EDIT: Can't believe I forgot, besides movie duty. The music we most listen to is Indie, some Metal, a bit of Pop with a high emphasis on vocals and the occasional EDM.
Can you please be more specific:
Even without the above, i would recommend you to have a look at the ASR Directiva Open Source Speaker:
ASR Review: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-directiva-open-source-speaker-review.27094/
Project documentation: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-open-source-platform-speaker-project.20407/
- Do you have a budget in mind for each speaker?
- Will you be doing the boxes, or will they be built by a woodworker or similar?
- Do you want a passive or active speaker?
- Do you have any constraints regarding speaker size?
Even without the above, i would recommend you to have a look at the ASR Directiva Open Source Speaker:
- Its extremely well documented,
- Is available as Active or passive
- Uses a state of the art woofer and a great value tweeter
- It was mesure by Amir on ASR, so you have a full data on how the speaker behaves.
- It has top of the hill performance, you would need something way more expensive to get the same result.
ASR Review: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-directiva-open-source-speaker-review.27094/
Project documentation: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...r-open-source-platform-speaker-project.20407/
I like these designs and the ones found here too. But you also could look here or here. But these are just a few options, think of Strassacker, various designs of Hobby Hifi and Klang&Ton. You even could visit Troels Gravesen's site. But start with the Heissmann designs.
- The budget I guess would be around 1000-1500 per pair max, with the cabinets. I don't think I can go above that. Obviously going below that would be fine.
- There's the possibility of building them but as stated in the original since it's a first time thing, I'd prefer not to if possible. I didn't consider using third party for the case to be fair, that might be worth looking into since luckily we do have very cheap solutions here when it comes to that.
- Passive Speaker
- Speaker size, I'd say looking at the room, 30-40cm wide would be the max I could go. Same for depth on the front. Altho, for the surround channels, that would probably have to be in the 20-30's otherwise I'd have to flush them to the wall which would not be ideal.
I'm going to take a look into your suggestion, thank you!
@markbakk Unironically those where what I stumbled upon doing research and I did land on the heissmann but again, it's hard for me to choose since I have no idea how those would sound. I still can't look at measurements to have an idea (yet), I stated that for me soundstage, imaging and detail is what I value the most, how would I quantify that in terms of measurements?
With your requirements and constraints, i would definitively look into the ASR Directiva project 🙂
PS: With a Marantz Cinema 50 you don't need external amps, please don't fall in the audiophile myths on the need for magical external amplification.
And if you haven't bought the Marantz, please consider the Denon X3800H, which is the same of the Cinema 50, but with a slight better objective performance and way cheaper!
Review here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/denon-avr-x3800h-review.38574/
PS: With a Marantz Cinema 50 you don't need external amps, please don't fall in the audiophile myths on the need for magical external amplification.
And if you haven't bought the Marantz, please consider the Denon X3800H, which is the same of the Cinema 50, but with a slight better objective performance and way cheaper!
Review here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/denon-avr-x3800h-review.38574/
Imaging and detail often are perceived better with speakers that show good directivity control and do so in a way that sound is 'projected' forward. Compare It with light: you can have a bulb that shines in all directions and a spot that directs light. By directivity control a loudspeaker reduces early reflections in the listening room. Early reflections lead to a perception of a broader soundstage, but also to a diffuse one in which imaging and staging are not optimal. You recognise the attention to directivity if designers publish off-axis plots, such as in the links I provided.
