I just finished building a pair of MMMTMMM's for a friend of mine, and am interested in making a pair of speakers for myself. I listen to a wide range of music from rock (mostly classic) to jazz and classical recordings. I am a little skeptical of building or for that matter purchasing parts for the project since all my purchases to date have been after extensive listening tests, but reading this board has started to convince me that there are some out there who build for excellence in addition to value. I have extensive woodworking experience (tapered lamination, cabinetmaking, furniture projects), am not a bass freak, and place a high importance on voice reproduction and instrument sustain in the mid range and up through the high freq's.
My current stereo:
Creek 5350SE integrated amp, a Rega Planet (1999 model), and a Linn LP-12 turntable, Norman Labs Model 11 speakers (notice big weak spot).
As mentioned in the headline for my first personal project I would like to keep the driver and xo parts cost under $500. So far I have been largely debating between a TM and TMW designs. I was considering TL but am not shying away because I live in a smallish irregularly walled (concave) apartment and I listen to rock quite a bit. The TMW system that I was considering was a Vifa XT25TG30-04 ring tweeter, Peerless HDS 134 (850488) 5" mid-bass, and Peerless HDS 205 (805490) 8" bass. xo'ing between 2-3kHz for the top set, and 300Hz on the lower set. This gives space for an octave above/below, and relative smooth xo dropoff. The TM config that I was considering would be something like Vifa XT25 tweeter and then Focal 5w4211 mid-bass monitor-ish looking setup crossed over between 2.5-3kHz. I have heard some grumblings about the Vifa tweeter, but don't know of any other low price yet good sounding tweeters out there. I'd love to be able to get a R1 or 9700, but for my first project and without hearing beforehand, I'd like to make something to bolster my confidence first.
My current stereo:
Creek 5350SE integrated amp, a Rega Planet (1999 model), and a Linn LP-12 turntable, Norman Labs Model 11 speakers (notice big weak spot).
As mentioned in the headline for my first personal project I would like to keep the driver and xo parts cost under $500. So far I have been largely debating between a TM and TMW designs. I was considering TL but am not shying away because I live in a smallish irregularly walled (concave) apartment and I listen to rock quite a bit. The TMW system that I was considering was a Vifa XT25TG30-04 ring tweeter, Peerless HDS 134 (850488) 5" mid-bass, and Peerless HDS 205 (805490) 8" bass. xo'ing between 2-3kHz for the top set, and 300Hz on the lower set. This gives space for an octave above/below, and relative smooth xo dropoff. The TM config that I was considering would be something like Vifa XT25 tweeter and then Focal 5w4211 mid-bass monitor-ish looking setup crossed over between 2.5-3kHz. I have heard some grumblings about the Vifa tweeter, but don't know of any other low price yet good sounding tweeters out there. I'd love to be able to get a R1 or 9700, but for my first project and without hearing beforehand, I'd like to make something to bolster my confidence first.