DIY allows some smart and bespoke builds to match your exact room and needs. If you aren't doing something unique you might be better off just buying a commercial speaker?
In DIY design you could get really creative:
1. Build front speakers with your Mark Audio Alpair 7s (or a sealed mid and tweeter) to do >100Hz that hang flush on the wall
2. make them from bendy ply or paper mache/ cement with contoured edges for a graceful look and low diffraction integration with the wall
3. do a open baffle eg ripole bass for <100Hz behind or beside the listening chair. Close proximity, OB and ripole near field frontal gain will give you dB bass that is unlikely to annoy your neighbours
I am taking the DIY approach to be able to get a speaker of a quality that would cost double or more when bought commercially. That, and for the fun of my own construction (I like woodworking) !
You better do your DIY costing well. There are some great reasons for DIY but cost saving are not certain.
I am heading for one of Troels G designs (one of his 3-way). From my research, the consensus (overwhelming) is that there is a significant cost saving, even from the baseline of costs that TG designs typically are, which I am lead to believe are expensive relative to some other DIY designs.
Thats a really smart way to go building a well planned deisgn. It really raises the chance of success. Can you put them on castors so you can get them off the wall when you listen?
Whats your budget?
Budget, aside from wood and associated raw material, is up to 2k Euro - I could delay build slightly if I need to stretch above this amount. My gut feeling, and its only a gut feeling, is that anything beyond in Euros is really at the point of diminishing returns.
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I cannot live with any 'box' speakers since listening to some ESL63s. I have tried to like Q Acoustics and TDL floor standers but can't.
Since that day many years ago, I have built a version of Linkwitz's Phoenix (https://www.linkwitzlab.com/builtown.htm) and then acquired a pair of used Martin Logan Aeon hybrid electrostatics.
The esl panels needed replacing after about 15years so as I couldn't afford the £1000+ for a new pair, I decided to replace them with a planar mid/tweeter (GRS PT6825) and was pleasantly surprised with the results. (12db/oct xo at 400hz, with -7db attenuation)
The open dipole sound is maintained and the loss of hf the original panels suffered from restored.
(The drivers are flush mounted on a 3mm copper panel which is not attached to the front panel, but sealed with 3mm closed cell foam. The cosmetics are a work in progress!!)
My suggestion - go dipole (open baffle) at least for the mid/treble.
PS you can often find used Martin Logans on ebay if you are not keen on the woodwork.
Attachments
The unmodified version was less offensive to the eye and the footprint is quite small - about 35cm deep x 30cm wide.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255288321611
The open baffle and open less baffle can be costly cause you need a lot of EQ and active multi amps solution sometimes because of that. Pano here has made a cheap OB with two drivers in passive filter that works, has bass and is not costly if you pass the WAF'exam. Dipoles however like better to be away from the front wall...more away from the walls than the listener is even better.
MiniDSP flex unit for illustration with cheap class D diy modules can be a solution... Basicly what you do not spend in wood is swapped by electronics stuffs. Certainly just the electronic will cost you a grand if cheap so half ypur planned budget.
For an hybrid solution I would go a little below 100 hz with sattelites from PA world with a 5"+1" units in near fields with their good controlled directivity. It is ligth weigth, tinny, and can be pushed in a corner when not listened if the stands are rods.
80 hz is often said to be the limit where you can not localise the bass in stereo. Then a little saloon short table that is between sofa and chair can be made as a summed mono open bass sub with a DSP plate amp with an hypex Fa 501. Eq and electronic delay will be the guaranty of a proper integration with commercial PA sattelitte : k&k for the cheap good enough, Neumann for better controlled directivity or little Genelec if you can affoard. Or even your Alpairs in FR.
99 % of the music lives upon 40 hz. However your certainly needs a long stroke 15 to 18 unit for that and a little designing help here for measurement and sims to setup the DSP. Advantage here is a standalone plate amp dsp unit for the bass as well as a single bass unit. The sattelites are already active if PA, or passive they can use your traditional amp.
In that sattelitte 80 hz context, diy tgis time, the ScanSpeak Revelator 5" will be a success guaranty for good upper bass upon 80 hz still with a 2 ways design with a good tweeters. There are plenty like the one from Troels with the scan speak 98000 tweeters and the said Revelqtor midwoof or for instance the Diy Carreras from Murphy or the Audioexcites, two lqst in free acess, make a little yummy coffe barrel for their work.
MiniDSP flex unit for illustration with cheap class D diy modules can be a solution... Basicly what you do not spend in wood is swapped by electronics stuffs. Certainly just the electronic will cost you a grand if cheap so half ypur planned budget.
For an hybrid solution I would go a little below 100 hz with sattelites from PA world with a 5"+1" units in near fields with their good controlled directivity. It is ligth weigth, tinny, and can be pushed in a corner when not listened if the stands are rods.
80 hz is often said to be the limit where you can not localise the bass in stereo. Then a little saloon short table that is between sofa and chair can be made as a summed mono open bass sub with a DSP plate amp with an hypex Fa 501. Eq and electronic delay will be the guaranty of a proper integration with commercial PA sattelitte : k&k for the cheap good enough, Neumann for better controlled directivity or little Genelec if you can affoard. Or even your Alpairs in FR.
99 % of the music lives upon 40 hz. However your certainly needs a long stroke 15 to 18 unit for that and a little designing help here for measurement and sims to setup the DSP. Advantage here is a standalone plate amp dsp unit for the bass as well as a single bass unit. The sattelites are already active if PA, or passive they can use your traditional amp.
In that sattelitte 80 hz context, diy tgis time, the ScanSpeak Revelator 5" will be a success guaranty for good upper bass upon 80 hz still with a 2 ways design with a good tweeters. There are plenty like the one from Troels with the scan speak 98000 tweeters and the said Revelqtor midwoof or for instance the Diy Carreras from Murphy or the Audioexcites, two lqst in free acess, make a little yummy coffe barrel for their work.
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The SB 9.5" and Scan 8" will hit 33 and 38hz respectively in the same vented cab. The SB will give you about another 4db of output at x-max. It also costs more than twice as much as the Scan. I imagine Troels vented design with the Scan is capable of 90db or a bit more at 35hz. The lowest frequency on a bass guitar is around 41hz. Piano goes lower, but will never come close to 90db down there. Drum fundamentals are rarely ever below 50hz. Only electronica goes lower, but you're talking hella loud in that size room before you would stress that driver.
You have a 1200 square foot room that opens into the kitchen on one side, and you're sitting 8 feet from the speakers, which are close to the rear wall and likely pretty close to the side walls as well. I would not take a chance on changing Troels design with the SB by moving the rear port.
IMO the Scan design is a great value that seems to meet all your needs, and will only require a single amplifier. I wouldn't worry about your neighbors 20ft away in another house. They will go plenty loud and low in your space, make your ears and your wallet happy and most importantly; happy wife happy life.
You have a 1200 square foot room that opens into the kitchen on one side, and you're sitting 8 feet from the speakers, which are close to the rear wall and likely pretty close to the side walls as well. I would not take a chance on changing Troels design with the SB by moving the rear port.
IMO the Scan design is a great value that seems to meet all your needs, and will only require a single amplifier. I wouldn't worry about your neighbors 20ft away in another house. They will go plenty loud and low in your space, make your ears and your wallet happy and most importantly; happy wife happy life.
I was talking about your described sound target, to be able to hear music anywere in the room. The tonal balance across the room is something that only the omnis can give you.
And beauty is subjective. Ok if you put that over the sound results you want.
Cheers Doug, I understand. I would really love to hear these in person. Not much chance in Ireland I would say
Just to be more specific about what I posted this morning, the vented scans are capable of more than 90db at 35hz per EACH speaker. Pretty much everything below 70hz is mono and that is a 16 foot wavelength, so the speakers together adds another 6db plus some room gain likely makes them capable of right around 100db at their vented 3db down point as a pair in your space.
I am now settled on a 3-way ported box, not a narrow tower but classic 3 way short and wide box. Before I pull the trigger on the Scanspeak Discovery 3WC MKII kit from TG, is there any other designs of such 3-way ported boxes I should look at (even if this means upping the budget to 3,000 euro)? Reason I ask is, I would prefer do this right now, rather than end up building another system!
I suggest that you lose the attitude if you want to learn anything from the vast pool of experience which exists here (40+ years in my case; Google Westminster Abbey, Prague Congress Centre and The Hult Center Oregon as examples of where I have worked on systems) - you are showing your arrogance and ignorance only too clearly. Would you like to try again?
Not very familiar with what's available to you in the European market myself.