New to site looking for flat pack options

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Hello all,

Love this site and I have done so much reading over the last several weeks my head is spinning right now

Looking to do a full range project with my son.

I do have wood working skills but, would prefer to try and source a flat pack for convenience of building with an 11 year old:)

He has acquired quite a nice little set up of his own now and is getting into vinyl.:D

I use to be into audio but have since gotten rid of almost all of my stuff many years ago.

Well I think it is time to get back into it.

More than likely I will be using Mark Audio drivers for the build

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks
 
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A few questions / observations.
Where are you located? While I wholeheartedly agree on choice of floorstanders whenever space permits, flatpacks for them can be large enough that long distance shipping of packed kits can add significantly to cost.

Over the past 15yrs, I've heard / built speakers for just about every driver Mark Audio has produced, as well as many of the Fostex FR drivers up to 6". If you're looking at the CHR70, I'd strongly suggest spending the extra few dollars ($ 9US ea) on the Pluvia7.

What type / amount of power are you anticipating using? Unless you're planning on blasting Techno/dance party levels in a huge room, anything more than 30watts should be more than sufficient. Even some under 10 watt units - Nelson Pass' ACA comes immediately to mind - can deliver very satisfactory performance.

Avoid if possible using MDF for speaker enclosures - even in kits where you don't have the issues with dust during the fabrication process. I was quite easily convinced of the sonic superiority of BB plywood over MDF on a pair of test builds well over a decade ago.
 
I am located in Richmond, VA
I could go with the Pulvia 7 not an issue
As far as power not sure yet could be tube, could be low watt solid state etc. just not sure yet but have some ideas, could also be tube integrated.
Definitely not party blasting sound levels that is for sure.
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
They even have a back loaded horn version, but it's more expensive.

It is hard to call the little one a horn.

We have been offering some flat-paks but have had to suspend taking orders as Chris will be retiring soon meaning no access to the shop, and his shop is very busy at the moment making it hard to turn out anything. Chris is committed to covering orders currently in the queue, and ideally he can turn out more than that, but he warned me not to hold my breath.

We do not have stock of anything suitable for the P7 (i too recommend spending a bit extra for the newer driver), but do have a comprehensive planset. If you have room, the Frugel-Horn Mk3 is likely a best bet performance wise.

dave
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
Paid Member
Now how to decide which one Mercia, Wessex, Micro Tower or Pensil?

I can’t recall whether we have released the appropriate vent for the P7 in the microTowers, likely the sam e or very close to the EL70.

The P7 so far has plopped into EL70 enclosures with none or very little modification so Wessex should work.

There is a Pensil for the p7, i need to post the link on Frugal-phile.com

http://frugal-phile.com/boxlib/pensils/PensilsS70.pdf

Note: the name comes from the CHS-70 which is a P7 without the dustcap dimple.

Mercia would need to be revised for the P7.

dave
 
I can’t recall whether we have released the appropriate vent for the P7 in the microTowers, likely the sam e or very close to the EL70.

The P7 so far has plopped into EL70 enclosures with none or very little modification so Wessex should work.

There is a Pensil for the p7, i need to post the link on Frugal-phile.com

http://frugal-phile.com/boxlib/pensils/PensilsS70.pdf

Note: the name comes from the CHS-70 which is a P7 without the dustcap dimple.

Mercia would need to be revised for the P7.

dave

Thank you for the info

I have read through a bunch of your threads, a lot of great info, it is just a lot of reading as well and filtering through some of the nonsense in between.

I would buy the appropriate driver for whatever the design is based on.

I am not set on any particular driver, just looking for good performance at a decent DIY price and a fairly easy build so my son can participate some what.

But, they are really for me;)
 
I got to spend a year in a fully equipped cabinet+furniture shop, with the Wadkin 14" panel saw and a big vacuum bag...and the associated bits like the wide belt sander etc...now I'm back to my portable carpentry kit stuffed into an E150 van. Waiting for summer, which looks like will come early this year.
 
And hey! ChrisB can do speakers full time...what else is there to do in the unlimited time remaining?

What makes you think the first two or three years aren’t already fully planned out - my wife has been retired for 3yrs now, and after one year of that being consumed by dealing with a minor cancer, has compiled a very long bucket list - on which finding me a fully equipped workshop is conspicuously absent. And after 15yrs of doing this in my “spare” time, I can use the break. Life as a symbiot ain’t anywhere near as fun as it might first sound.

As goes the old blues song “The Thrill is Gone” - BTW, Aretha’s version is killer, before that colloquialism was even common parlance

Have to find him a shop before he can do that… access to the very completely equiped shop has been very useful.

I do expect he wil go a bit stir crazy not being able to woodwork.

dave

See above -

I might even find some time to do some listening.
 
Not a flat pack, but close enough.

The TABAQs are probably the easiest design around (well, except open baffle), and I was able to find pine boards at the local hardware shop that matched the sizing, + or - 1cm.

I just had to buy one extra board to cut the top and bottom cover and the small vent.

One of the most satisfying builds I've done. Pretty astonishing how low a small 3 or 4" driver can go with this design.
 
If I where to do everything all over again, start from scratch with nothing and limited tool shop, had somewhat limited space etc..

I would probably go for the Seas FU10RB, either OB or small sealed chamber. Mate it with 2 really good 6.5" per channel ,or quite possibly the A26RE4 in a sealed box, a bit like a slightly unorthodox oversized monitor perhaps. Probably with 700hz 1st order passive xo, maybe just a cap for the FU10RB and the A26RE4 run open.

Together with a hmmmmm... A cheap but good quality Cmoy kit with proper parts for pre amp stage, with a socket to play about with different op-amps, and quite possibly some LM2876 for power amplification. If you want to cheap out there is the TPA3250 ready in-a-box with pre stage: the FX502SPRO on Ebay is really a whole lot of value for the money.

Quite a few have made speakers out of IKEA shelf/cabinet kits, bowls etc. with extra bracing you can make almost anything work.
 
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