My first speaker project

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Hi,
My name is Nick, I'm almost 18 years old, and I'm from Romania!
I like listening to music, and things related to the reproduction
of music.
I'm a DIY beginner/amateur and I want to build myself a pair
of speakers.
I want a floorstander for better bass reproduction.
I want to build a 2 way, 3 speakers, D'Appolito, bass-reflex floorstander.
Of course this can change with arguments.
My goals are:to build a real bargain, that worths more then every penny!
So I'm looking for real deep soundstage, I want to be surrounded by music, of course along with the stereo image.
I also want dynamics,as best as possible, really like having shivers on my backbone. This requiers a simple Xover, no attenuation, so SPL aligned drivers,no?
I also need a goode transient response(attack/decay).
Solid bass, deep, but controlled and clear.(40Hz -3db, or lower would be better).
I need detail, clarity and linearity.
Sounds like an "utopia", doesn't it?
What drivers would you sugest me?
I want to mention that I don't want to spend a fortune for the speakers, something around 330EU, or a little bit more if the drivers really worth it!
I should mention again that I would like to buy the best drivers for the money.

Can you tell me a good pair of tweeters/mid-woofers that can be appointed as the " "reference" best buy " for my goals?
If you have a better proposition for the speakers's configuration, please mention it!

I can't wait to read your answers!

Thanks a lot!


OFF-TOPIC This post is a part of the email I wanted to send to Zaph,
but now I find out that doesn't want to talk to people unknown to him!
What can I say, I do visit his site reguraly, and I like his
DIY projects and his philosopy.
 
Alexnick said:
Sounds like an "utopia", doesn't it?

Yes

Alexnick said:
I need your suggestions!

How big is your room?
How big can the boxes be?
What amplifier(s) are you using?
How loud do you listen?
Are you building your own XO?
Have you considered starting with a kit for your first pair?

There are many things to let us know before we can help you.
The only D'Appolito set ups I've seen were 3 ways. Are you planning an MTM with a sub?

Cal
 
Alexnick said:
Please help!
I need your suggestions!

Hello,

My email is not posted because I can't provide endless support to hundreds of people. Even just supporting one new DIY'er through the building process usually amounts to a long string of questions, one after the other.

You could start by telling us what brands of drivers are available or within reasonable shipping distance to Romania. It would also help to narrow down your requirements to something more objective.

For example, what you define as "good" dynamics, detail, clarity and linearity vary quite a bit from person to person. More concrete information such as how much power your amp has, how loud you want to listen, how big your room is, and even what kind of music you like might help people make recommendations for you. Once you do that, I'll let others chime in with suggestions.
 
A very good start would be a 2 way with 1 tweeter and 2 woofers in a D,Appolito arrangement.
Tweeter in the middle.
Crossover remains relatively simple.
SPL is high.
What exactly depends on how much money you have to spend and what kind of amlifier you want to use it with.
 
Hi!
Cal Weldon:
My room is around 3m x 6m!
Fairly large if needed, floorstand ~1,2m high!
No kits!
Yup, my own XO!
Now I have a 2x30W DIY amp, but with your suggestions this can also change!
Want to build a better amp!
No subwoofer, at least for the moment, I don't have enough money.

Zaph:
There are some distribuitors in Romania for Seas, DST, Morel, and others,
but the problem is that they have beenm somehow in "stand-by", since
their "fondation"!
But there are some people that can bring almost everything for you!
Of course, this comes with a price!
For example, price for one, not for pair:
Vifa XT25TG30-04 60euro
Morel MW168 100euro
Peerless HDS 850439 65euro
Seas P17REX 55euro
Seas 27TBFCG 35euro
Seas MCA11RC 50euro
Seas P14RCY 50euro
Seas P17REX 55euro
Seas CA21REX 65euro

I listen to all kinds of music. Ain't it funny? I want to tell you
that I really like listening to music.
 
Alexnick said:
3,5 way. Sounds expensive!

Actually, I guess it is expensive to do that.

promitheus said:
For the same money you can make a 2 way sound a lot better than a 3 way.

All my life I've been a two way kind of guy. Recently I've been fooling around with three ways. I have found that if I take a nice big midrange, I can cross it over as low as 100Hz and only ask the .5 way woofer to do the woofing. Mind you the midranges I have used recently are an MCM 7" woofer with an Fs of 45 Hz so I guess it's not really a mid but does carry it up to 1kHz nicely where I cross it over to the Coral 4"

If I rethink it, perhaps a dual 20 cm with a tweeter popped in between will do it for you. Makes for an easier crossover. As far as drivers go, I hesitate to suggest as I don't know what you like. 😉

Cal
 
The Seas L18 from Zaph's page: http://www.zaphaudio.com/audio-speaker17.html
looks a little bit different from this one:
http://www.seas.no/images/Høytaler bilder/h1142-18rnx,picture.htm
Isn't it so? The surround is somehow narrower and the chassis is
somehow a little bit outside!
Is this a good woofer for a 2,5 way 50L@33hz enclosure?

Should I go with Peerless woofers (haven't checked them yet) or this Seas?

How much SPL can Seas 27TBFCG, crossed at 2khz, make?

I think 2,5 way is better than MTM, in my case, due to lobbing problems, no?

Any other suggestions?

I really need your help!
 
Just build it. nothing influences your sound more than good drivers. with good drivers you will have good sound. crappy drivers=crappy sound. period. Forget everything else. only other important thing is the volume of the bass cabinet. Dont fall for any gimmicks, in crossover parts (i.e. foil inductors) Gets some nice hovland musicaps for the tweeters (really brings out the dimension in the music) What you need for the things you listed is, essentially some nice focal (preferably w-cone woofers), scan speak or focal (w) midranges and some hiquphon tweetrs. Here you go: (per side)


Focal 8 K 5412 8" Polykevlar woofer $126.00 (not W cone but great value)
Hiquphon OWI $90.00
6 W 4254 6" W-coned midbass $90.00 (just got a pair of these. one of the best midranges ive ever heard and a GREAT value)
 
As far as I know Focal doesn't sell drivers anymore!
And I live in Romania, it will be hard to find some!
Even so I agree with ZAPH:
"I rarely buy drivers in the $100+ price range. There was a time that I did, but slowly I learned that there was a point of diminishing returns in the range of big dollar speakers. Dynaudio and Focal - poor performers and not worth even half of what they cost. We're not going to miss them as they withdraw from the DIY market."
 
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