Hi all,
Just joined, looking for my first DIY speaker to build, and this project is ticking most boxes - no pun intended.
I have one question though, where do you source your drivers?
According to the paper the drivers' cost should be approx. as follows:
Woofer (FaitalPRO 12PR320) 120 EUR
Midrange (Volt VM752) 500 EUR
Tweeter (Scan Speak R2904/7000) 250 EUR
Having searched a bit online, I couldn't find drivers at those prices in Europe.
For those who have completed the project, could you kindly share the final cost?
Thank you in advance and happy new year!
David
Just joined, looking for my first DIY speaker to build, and this project is ticking most boxes - no pun intended.
I have one question though, where do you source your drivers?
According to the paper the drivers' cost should be approx. as follows:
Woofer (FaitalPRO 12PR320) 120 EUR
Midrange (Volt VM752) 500 EUR
Tweeter (Scan Speak R2904/7000) 250 EUR
Having searched a bit online, I couldn't find drivers at those prices in Europe.
For those who have completed the project, could you kindly share the final cost?
Thank you in advance and happy new year!
David
The prices in the pdf are now outdated, you will have to cost the materials yourself based on current prices to get to an estimate. Much will depend on the cost of the enclosures as timber prices and availability got much worse due to covid and the Ukraine situation. Do you have all the woodworking tools or will you have them built? Will you use expensive or cheap wiring etc? It is impossible to provide a budget that is valid for everyone for a diy speaker project.
The prices in the PDF are excl. VAT and refer to the time when I built my speakers (which was before COVID, Brexit and the war between Russia and Ukraine.
I bought the tweeters and midrange at Falcon Acoustics, woofers at Blue Aran. Volt may have changed their distributors, so I'd recommend you ask them directly. Google is your friend!
I agree that much of the total cost is determined by the box. A simple diy MDF box will be a lot cheaper than a box made by a carpenter using hardwood/ply layers.
I bought the tweeters and midrange at Falcon Acoustics, woofers at Blue Aran. Volt may have changed their distributors, so I'd recommend you ask them directly. Google is your friend!
I agree that much of the total cost is determined by the box. A simple diy MDF box will be a lot cheaper than a box made by a carpenter using hardwood/ply layers.
Actually I'm more of a woodworker than an audiophile, I have all the machines and skills. Where I live now, west Africa, I have access to cheap good hardwood but I have excluded solid wood for resonance issues, not that I have any experience with that, but from what I read hardwood is no go for cabinets. If you have different view, pls let me know as that will make my life much easier.
Not my case, as above mentioned, whether MDF or hardwood the box would cost me 1/20 of the cost of the pair of midrange drivers (thanks maximax77 for the reference).
Based on current costs of drivers and average quality extra components and materials (damping, wires, binding posts...), it seems to me a realistic budget would be around 2500 EUR, excluding the cabinet (wood + construction).
Great work guys, I wish I could afford that. Who's up for a OSMB II with half that budget?
Cheers,
D
Take a look at Troels.Great work guys, I wish I could afford that. Who's up for a OSMB II with half that budget?
He has a point. The Volt is now made to order only I think, and getting too expensive for what it is. It is not without flaws, nor alternatives anymore, eg Bliesma M74. It will sadly render this speaker design obsolete unless it evolves to use a different mid. I secured mine at a much lower price.Great work guys, I wish I could afford that. Who's up for a OSMB II with half that budget?
Actually, they are a little cheaper right now than when I bought my pair a few years ago. Prices in Canadian dollar. Go figure. They are out of stock at Solen… but I’m sure one could get a pair…. cost benefit analysis over the years of listening… cheap, IMHO.
Happy new year!
The Bliesma drivers are nice, but are a bit different to what is needed in the OSMC concept. They are 6 Ohm nominal (which is against the design criteria that were defined at the beginning of the OSMC development), they don't have a waveguide (so dispersion might not work out as nicely as with the Volt), and they have somewhat higher mechanical losses than the Volt.
Using the Bliesma midrange domes would require to re-design the speaker from scratch, and I am not sure it would work out as well as it did with the Volt. While getting a Bliesma driver from a webshop may be convenient, calling or sending an email to Volt or their distributors to order a pair is not that difficult either.
I started the woodwork for the OSMC last year, getting the outer pieces for the boxes done with rabbet joints. Then I attended Munich and could not get over the clarity in sound and instrument separation heard from Magico speakers, so I did a little research. Building carbon fibre enclosures with constrained-layer damped baffles (and/or braces) was beyond my capabilities, but I decided to at least take one point on board: never screw drivers into wood. Also, I felt that there is maybe too little bracing in the original OSMC design. So I taught myself Fusion 360 and came up with aluminium mounting plates and braces, and I am looking for feedback before I actually implement this.
The drawings below are aimed to nail down the aluminium mounting plates and braces, so the speaker drivers and reflex tube are dumbed down. I did not model the screws and threads but you can see where the holes are.
The tee profiles would be around 3mm thick, 2 inch wide and 1 inch high, getting them into shape would be a manual job.
All other aluminium would probably be 5mm thick, made by laser cutter. Threads and countersinking (not shown in drawings) would again be manual. These thicknesses are significantly less than what Magico uses for its alu braces, and I don't see why such thicknesses would be required for the OSMC. However, no modelling (finite element analysis) has been attempted to estimate required brace thicknesses.
The mounting plates and tee-profiles would be bonded to the plywood with epoxy, e.g. West System. There would be no screws threading into the wood. All screws, e.g. for the drivers, thread into aluminium. Apparently epoxy can bind alu and wood well enough, but this would be a rigid bond as opposed to the flexible bond chosen by @mbrennwa for his build. The vertical distances between braces vary a little and are all between 4 and 6 inches. Would this cause problems because enclosure resonances are pushed into a relatively narrow frequency range?
The drawings below are aimed to nail down the aluminium mounting plates and braces, so the speaker drivers and reflex tube are dumbed down. I did not model the screws and threads but you can see where the holes are.
The tee profiles would be around 3mm thick, 2 inch wide and 1 inch high, getting them into shape would be a manual job.
All other aluminium would probably be 5mm thick, made by laser cutter. Threads and countersinking (not shown in drawings) would again be manual. These thicknesses are significantly less than what Magico uses for its alu braces, and I don't see why such thicknesses would be required for the OSMC. However, no modelling (finite element analysis) has been attempted to estimate required brace thicknesses.
The mounting plates and tee-profiles would be bonded to the plywood with epoxy, e.g. West System. There would be no screws threading into the wood. All screws, e.g. for the drivers, thread into aluminium. Apparently epoxy can bind alu and wood well enough, but this would be a rigid bond as opposed to the flexible bond chosen by @mbrennwa for his build. The vertical distances between braces vary a little and are all between 4 and 6 inches. Would this cause problems because enclosure resonances are pushed into a relatively narrow frequency range?
Thanks for the encouragement.
Ignore the protruding vertical braces:
Ignore the protruding vertical braces:
There is enough space to mount the Volt from the inside. Will have to remove the highlighted bit though.
Yeah, I was super excited to read the initial target was maybe 1,000 EUR plus VAT and shipping and maybe feet, paint or laminate. Lets call it 1400 EUR which is already a lot of a first time builder. While it looks good, I think using so expensive drivers, especially the midrange, and possibly the tweeter seems like it contradicts the original goal of making it beginner DIY friendly. It is not a bit above budget, it is a lot above!
It seems the very popular Troels Gravesen took some inspiration, using the same bass driver, but he ended up at a considerably lower price, using more affordable drivers... and still reaching 93 db efficiency.... which is best... who knows...
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Faital-3WC.htm
One sec, from the design Overview and Drivers sections of the OSMC pdf:
"Keeping part costs low is not of paramount priority. If the right parts cost a lot of money and there are no cheaper equivalents, it’s okay to use those parts in the design."
"High-quality drivers and parts should be chosen based on the technical specifications required for the OSMC design."
Also, build complexity was stated as suitable for a beginner. They're not exclusive.
Finally, well maybe the parts cost could be updated every couple of years or so, but who could have predicted the inflation rates since the original time?
I've not heard the Volt but have heard the SM75 and could barely ask for more from a dynamic midrange driver. The Faital doesn't appeal much at all, and the HDS tweeter is on my shitlist.
"Keeping part costs low is not of paramount priority. If the right parts cost a lot of money and there are no cheaper equivalents, it’s okay to use those parts in the design."
"High-quality drivers and parts should be chosen based on the technical specifications required for the OSMC design."
Also, build complexity was stated as suitable for a beginner. They're not exclusive.
Finally, well maybe the parts cost could be updated every couple of years or so, but who could have predicted the inflation rates since the original time?
I've not heard the Volt but have heard the SM75 and could barely ask for more from a dynamic midrange driver. The Faital doesn't appeal much at all, and the HDS tweeter is on my shitlist.
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That ^^^^^^^^ but the word "beginner" isn't in the paper—"novice" is...and I personally agree with that, having built them (building an F5 is considerably more complicated). The majority and hardest part of the project is woodworking—that's not easy—but this is DIY audio, not woodworking—and Matthias didn't build his own boxes either—Now I know of at least one member here who had a company CNC his plywood, wasn't too expensive—and he picked up some strap clamps I'd imagine for assembly.
Not to start throwing toys—but the price list on the above Troels speakers in kit form is a huge range from ~650Euro to ~3,200Euro. I'm not qualified to compare the drivers they offer at the various price points to the OSMC choices—BUT—Those prices do NOT include the cabinets or VAT or presumably shipping!
I know the drivers in this project are top notch—so I think we are looking at the higher end of the spectrum—also the fact that the Troels kits have their profit built in—they either have bulk wholesale deals or the components are less expensive/quality than "your choice" building the OSMC. Matthias proved that fancy caps weren't "better", so no need to go nuts with stuff dipped in oil and rubbed on by some bees. I went with Mundorf MCaps across the board. Building the crossovers was exactly DIYAudio BLISS.
My build all in was around $2,600US. I looked recently and prices haven't gone that crazy in USD anyway, like I might have thought. The Volt mid is available—but one might have to wait. This is purely subjective—but as an object—from a design perspective—that driver is gorgeous. (as is the wave-guided tweeter)
The retail cost on a set of OSMC would be WAY WAY beyond my budget—likely many thousands of dollars. Worth it though—and certainly competing with some other really $$$$ speakers from big brands.
Plus—you MADE them—priceless.
Just my 2 cents.
Not to start throwing toys—but the price list on the above Troels speakers in kit form is a huge range from ~650Euro to ~3,200Euro. I'm not qualified to compare the drivers they offer at the various price points to the OSMC choices—BUT—Those prices do NOT include the cabinets or VAT or presumably shipping!
I know the drivers in this project are top notch—so I think we are looking at the higher end of the spectrum—also the fact that the Troels kits have their profit built in—they either have bulk wholesale deals or the components are less expensive/quality than "your choice" building the OSMC. Matthias proved that fancy caps weren't "better", so no need to go nuts with stuff dipped in oil and rubbed on by some bees. I went with Mundorf MCaps across the board. Building the crossovers was exactly DIYAudio BLISS.
My build all in was around $2,600US. I looked recently and prices haven't gone that crazy in USD anyway, like I might have thought. The Volt mid is available—but one might have to wait. This is purely subjective—but as an object—from a design perspective—that driver is gorgeous. (as is the wave-guided tweeter)
The retail cost on a set of OSMC would be WAY WAY beyond my budget—likely many thousands of dollars. Worth it though—and certainly competing with some other really $$$$ speakers from big brands.
Plus—you MADE them—priceless.
Just my 2 cents.