Hi, I want to build some large horn type speakers for my room.
My room looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/HBklLQr.jpg
My budget is somewhere in the region of £500 but that's a flexible and saving money is always good too.
I have no restrictions in terms of appeasing anyone else so these things can be as big as necessary to get the best sound.
I've always been into Hifi (although would stop short of calling myself an "audiophile" - I am too cheap for that!) so I know loosely short sort of sound I am after.
My current setup is a pair B&W 560 which are getting long in the tooth powered by a Quad 303 and a Croft Super Micro the source I care most about is my turntable (Manticore Mantra) - other inputs are just for convenience listening.
I listen to practically every genre, but I really like Jazz and 70s, but I do listen to electronic and classical as well.
I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to make the cabs, but what I don't feel so comfortable with is the "tuning" of them. So something that trade complexity for size is appealing.
This has lead me to believe that the the BIB design paired with something like a Fostex fe206 would be a pretty good choice, what do you think?
My concerns are as follows:
Finally are there any other designs I should be considering?
And what sort of expectation should I have for the resulting sound quality? Are these going to blow away my midrange late 80s speakers? If I just rocked up at my local hifi shop, how much money would I have to spend to get a comparable sound. (I know this isn't the point of DIY audio, but I feel like it good to set expectations now).
Thanks!
My room looks like this:
https://i.imgur.com/HBklLQr.jpg
My budget is somewhere in the region of £500 but that's a flexible and saving money is always good too.
I have no restrictions in terms of appeasing anyone else so these things can be as big as necessary to get the best sound.
I've always been into Hifi (although would stop short of calling myself an "audiophile" - I am too cheap for that!) so I know loosely short sort of sound I am after.
My current setup is a pair B&W 560 which are getting long in the tooth powered by a Quad 303 and a Croft Super Micro the source I care most about is my turntable (Manticore Mantra) - other inputs are just for convenience listening.
I listen to practically every genre, but I really like Jazz and 70s, but I do listen to electronic and classical as well.
I feel pretty comfortable with my ability to make the cabs, but what I don't feel so comfortable with is the "tuning" of them. So something that trade complexity for size is appealing.
This has lead me to believe that the the BIB design paired with something like a Fostex fe206 would be a pretty good choice, what do you think?
My concerns are as follows:
- The BIB with a 206 seems to work out at being 6ft tall, do I need to consider the height of the room and my listening position with a speaker this tall?
- How difficult is the "tuning" using wadding, are their DIY ways I can make objective measurements of the speakers frequency response rather than relying entirely on my ear?
- Is the room too small for such a speaker? Or should it be fine (I have no neighbours and do enjoy playing music loud!).
Finally are there any other designs I should be considering?
And what sort of expectation should I have for the resulting sound quality? Are these going to blow away my midrange late 80s speakers? If I just rocked up at my local hifi shop, how much money would I have to spend to get a comparable sound. (I know this isn't the point of DIY audio, but I feel like it good to set expectations now).
Thanks!
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To add, I think I could also stretch to some used Lowether EX3, but I am seeing conflicting advice as to whether these suit the BIB or not.
dobson156,
I have heard the Fostex FE206EN driver and it has "forward presentation" which some might find "shouty". But again each to his/her own, and there are many of us who prefer the forward presentation. I have also found that the Fostex FE166EN and FE206EN that I listened to sounded better when paired with a single ended tube amplifier.
You can also consider Mark Audio drivers in BiB or other large cabinets - there are plans available for large back-loaded horns if you feel like exploring those too. An example: Woden Design | Silbury
I have heard the Fostex FE206EN driver and it has "forward presentation" which some might find "shouty". But again each to his/her own, and there are many of us who prefer the forward presentation. I have also found that the Fostex FE166EN and FE206EN that I listened to sounded better when paired with a single ended tube amplifier.
You can also consider Mark Audio drivers in BiB or other large cabinets - there are plans available for large back-loaded horns if you feel like exploring those too. An example: Woden Design | Silbury
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