Newbie. Please rec a floor standing build for me..

[Yakapo]

First build for me.

-Room is 20’ x 20’ and open to rest of home. 10’ ceiling.
-Looking to build a 3 way speaker. If possible with a 10-12” woofer.
-I want lots of detail. As much detail as I had in my jbl and KRK studio monitors if possible.
-Ideally should have a very wide sweet spot. Ok to put 12” woofers in separate boxes and have 4 smaller speakers if necessary for wider coverage.
-It’s ok if the speaker is power hungry, but would like the bass to kick me in the chest. I’d rather not add a sub. I’ll get a dedicated Crown class d amp if necessary.

Budget - $650? I don’t want to pay double for 5% improvement, but will spend more if necessary. I want bang for my buck.

 

[BlueWizard]

This isn't exactly a design, more of a design idea, but feel free to steal it -

This is actually two separate design concepts. On the left a 3.5-way, on the right, a straight forward 3-way.

This is from this thread -

The HALF-WAY House ...er...Speaker

Though again, more of a concept than a design.

The speakers, depending on budget, could be Dayton Classic, or Dayton Reference.

Note the 10" woofer in the separate cabinet is not a Subwoofer, just a woofer. Though if you design it right you could use a Subwoofer driver. The Crossover for the 10" Bass driver in the case of the 3.5-way would be very low. In the case of the 3-way (on the right) a Sub-Driver might not work as the crossover is likely in the 500hz range.

If you search for DIY 3-way design on the Internet in general, you should find some suggestions, and though none come to me at the moment, there are many proven design out there that are a bit more conventional than the concepts I presented here.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[BlueWizard]

Though probably not worth much as it is also not a complete design, here is roughly the same design in a single cabinet.

For what little it might be worth.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Yakapo]

Though probably not worth much as it is also not a complete design, here is roughly the same design in a single cabinet.

For what little it might be worth.

Steve/bluewizard

So would you recommend using sub drivers or regular bass drivers?

 

[Bill poster]

Off the top of my head, a high end 3 way

Scanspeak 833000 tweeter
Vifa NE149 4 ohm
Satori WO24P-4 (9.5", 25hz f3 possible)

Shd be around that budget figure

 

[waxx]

This site has a lot of kits that are designed very well:

DIY Loudspeaker Projects Troels Gravesen

All are good in their concept. Wich one fits you is up to you.

 

[Bill poster]

That vifa is hard to get, so maybe satori 5". All in around $760 from madisound, so u cd ask them about crossover design.


Above budget but serious bang for buck, plus option to upgrade tweeter later if you wish

 

[TMM]

Off the top of my head, a high end 3 way

Scanspeak 833000 tweeter
Vifa NE149 4 ohm
Satori WO24P-4 (9.5", 25hz f3 possible)

Shd be around that budget figure

Yeah but then he has no budget left for crossovers, cabinets and hardware, which will be at least a couple hundred dollars and it doesn't sound like the OP is ready to design their own crossover from scratch.

I would recommend the Zaph ZDT3.5, which might actually be able to be finished within the OP's budget
Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5
The drivers are less exotic but the design is brilliant and gets every last bit of performance out of them. Yes it uses a pair of 7" woofers and not a 10", but they have similar radiating area and therefore capability. With smaller woofers and a small 2" dome covering the midrange and 3/4" tweeter the polar response will be very wide - they won't beam like a speaker with much larger drivers.

 

[Bill poster]

Ok, didnt read it was an all in zero flexibility budget inc cabs

Just to explain more, I chose easy to work with drivers from one US supplier source , so can use their x/o design service if needed. SB Satoris are true affordable high end, wd honestly say this simple 3 way combination cd rival 20k commercial speakers. The tweeter is known for wide dispersion and with a 450hz fs can be crossed v low, so no issue with beaming. The 5" satori is of the best 5" mids on the market, and that 9.5" bass driver that can reproduce organ notes in the low 20s

Cheers

 

[Yakapo]

Thanks all for the responses. Someone mentioned a “fab marketplace” where you can buy used diy speakers. I wasn’t able to find it. Any idea what they are talking about?

 

[Bill poster]

Hifishark or audiogon

 

[Yakapo]

Hifishark or audiogon

Thanks!

 

[Yakapo]

Yeah but then he has no budget left for crossovers, cabinets and hardware, which will be at least a couple hundred dollars and it doesn't sound like the OP is ready to design their own crossover from scratch.

I would recommend the Zaph ZDT3.5, which might actually be able to be finished within the OP's budget
Zaph|Audio - ZDT3.5
The drivers are less exotic but the design is brilliant and gets every last bit of performance out of them. Yes it uses a pair of 7" woofers and not a 10", but they have similar radiating area and therefore capability. With smaller woofers and a small 2" dome covering the midrange and 3/4" tweeter the polar response will be very wide - they won't beam like a speaker with much larger drivers.

I think this is the ideal solution for me. Much obliged! I sort of wish I could buy it as a kit with all the cuts made. Also, would it be terrible to buy premade crossovers?

 

[knifeinthesink]

The crossover is inseparable from the design.

That speaker and its designer are tried and true, and the drivers are high value.

Another you should look at is Jeff Bagsby's Continuum or Kairos designs with the woofer module he designed later to go with these speakers. The benefit of these two designs, in your case, is that you can get a preassembled crossover. The Kairos design is probably among the highest quality diy designs available although I've not heard them.

Kairos:
Kairos Full Kit (Pair) - Meniscus Audio

flat baffle version:
Adelphos Full Speaker Kit (Pair) - Meniscus Audio

Kairos woofer module:
Kairos Woofer Module Full Kit (Pair) - Meniscus Audio

You might be able to buy a flat pack cabinet for whatever your making if its a two way. Youll have to look around.

 

[knifeinthesink]

there is also this if you want to rock out:

Tarkus - undefinition

The drivers aren't as nice as the Kairos but the speaker is high value and the designer has a good reputation.

 

[ScottG]

The Tarkus could work with his budget, the others would not..

 

[knifeinthesink]

He said he could spend more if necessary but the tarkus is probably the most "kick you in the chest" oriented design. It sure look like a fun speaker.