A long time audiophile, I spend the winters in Arizona and usually build some type of audio kit. I have built headphones, DACs, headphone amplifiers, and amplifiers. This winter I have decided to build a bookshelp speaker kit.
I would like to keep the cost around $1000 or less but could do a bit more. Based on my research it seems as though the Paul Carmody Carreras would be a good choice but I thought I would see if forum members have any other recommendations.
I generally listen to Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Janice Joplin, or Bob Seger, with an occasional Patsy Cline thrown in, at a somewhat high volume (not deafening) in a small 15 x 15 spare bedroom. I will use uncompressed CD3 rips into a Twisted Pear Buffalo SEIII DAC, and a variety of amps. The amps will include a low powered (9 Watts) (and of course low volume) Elekit TU-8200 tube amp, a Krell KSA-100, an old Marantz receiver, and I will probably build a Dynakit 70 or 120 specifically for the AZ house.....my second winter project.
I have access to a well equipped wood shop and will build my own cabinets out of 3/4” MDF or Baltic Birch. I will not spend a lot of time finishing the cabinets. I primarily want them to sound good and look OK.
Any recommendations will be appreciated.
I would like to keep the cost around $1000 or less but could do a bit more. Based on my research it seems as though the Paul Carmody Carreras would be a good choice but I thought I would see if forum members have any other recommendations.
I generally listen to Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Janice Joplin, or Bob Seger, with an occasional Patsy Cline thrown in, at a somewhat high volume (not deafening) in a small 15 x 15 spare bedroom. I will use uncompressed CD3 rips into a Twisted Pear Buffalo SEIII DAC, and a variety of amps. The amps will include a low powered (9 Watts) (and of course low volume) Elekit TU-8200 tube amp, a Krell KSA-100, an old Marantz receiver, and I will probably build a Dynakit 70 or 120 specifically for the AZ house.....my second winter project.
I have access to a well equipped wood shop and will build my own cabinets out of 3/4” MDF or Baltic Birch. I will not spend a lot of time finishing the cabinets. I primarily want them to sound good and look OK.
Any recommendations will be appreciated.
Lots of choices.
If you can wait a bit, Home - Meniscus Audio will have some new kits designed by some top people.
If you want to build a proven design soon, Creative Sound Solutions has some very nice kits at various price ranges. the P215 is top rated, and very reasonably priced: Creative Sound Solutions | High End Speakers and Speaker Kits | SHOP
If you can wait a bit, Home - Meniscus Audio will have some new kits designed by some top people.
If you want to build a proven design soon, Creative Sound Solutions has some very nice kits at various price ranges. the P215 is top rated, and very reasonably priced: Creative Sound Solutions | High End Speakers and Speaker Kits | SHOP
Consider building the diyAudio Kalasan with the $70 lower cost SB29RDC-4 dome tweeter plus passive L-R-C components which can meet ~ $275/speaker budget. Two cabinets discussed: slanted baffle; pyramid
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World Famous Designer Jochim Gerhard developed the Kalasan SB Satori monitor in a well documented diyAudio thread. Pyramid cabinet for diffraction control. MW16P-8 midbass + TW29R-4 tweeter.... you can swap the lower cost SB29RDC tweeter with little sonic difference. There is also a slanted baffle cabinet similar to Kairos.
Joachim Gerhard final Satori Kalasan crossover 5.0 circuits from the Kalasan diyAudio thread. # 700
SB Acoustics Satori Monitor
SB Acoustics Satori Monitor
measurements post# 699
crossover circuits post# 700
photos post# 801 762 746
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World Famous Designer Jochim Gerhard developed the Kalasan SB Satori monitor in a well documented diyAudio thread. Pyramid cabinet for diffraction control. MW16P-8 midbass + TW29R-4 tweeter.... you can swap the lower cost SB29RDC tweeter with little sonic difference. There is also a slanted baffle cabinet similar to Kairos.
Joachim Gerhard final Satori Kalasan crossover 5.0 circuits from the Kalasan diyAudio thread. # 700
SB Acoustics Satori Monitor
SB Acoustics Satori Monitor
measurements post# 699
crossover circuits post# 700
photos post# 801 762 746
Very solid advice for a smart budget build. I should have my Kalasans up and running in the next few days and will try out the Sb29RDC tweeter as well.
If you favor a flat baffle, you can mount the Satori MW16P-8 midbass and SB SB29RDC tweeter into a low edge diffraction cabinet designed by Troels Galvensen.
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Adapting Troels Illuminator Monitor cabinet.
Illuminator-Monitor
~21-liters empty.
~17-liters after adding bracing and speakers and crossover.
Absorption material on all walls: fiberglass or polyfill or wool batts
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Adapting Troels Illuminator Monitor cabinet.
Illuminator-Monitor
~21-liters empty.
~17-liters after adding bracing and speakers and crossover.
Absorption material on all walls: fiberglass or polyfill or wool batts
Attachments
I appreciate the recommendations. I will check them all out.
I would note that I am looking for the best sound I can get. It it takes $1000 I can handle that if it gives me excellent sound.
At 6 feet apart, the speakers will be at least 4-5 feet away from each side wall. I can put them two feet out from the rear wall. My listening position will be about 9 feet from the speakers.
I would note that I am looking for the best sound I can get. It it takes $1000 I can handle that if it gives me excellent sound.
At 6 feet apart, the speakers will be at least 4-5 feet away from each side wall. I can put them two feet out from the rear wall. My listening position will be about 9 feet from the speakers.
Troels Gravensen provides open design crossover and cabinet information for his Illuminator Monitor. Parts ~ $650 each
For your tube amplifiers, read Troels "The Loudspeaker" build... his comments should bring a smile. You could build BIG: 18" woofer + 12" midwoofer + 1" compression driver with horn for $500 - $600 in parts.
After checking out all the recommendations I have narrowed it down to one of the CSS kits (P215 or Criton 1TD) or the Meniscus Paul Carmody Carreras.
I still need to get more information on price to value relationship of the crossover upgrade to the CSS kits. The upgrades with the Jantzen caps get great reviews but they are relatively expensive. I will try and determine if other upgrades to the stock Dayton caps are more cost effective, however, I'm not sure how I'll determine that.
Any recommendations will be appreciated.
I still need to get more information on price to value relationship of the crossover upgrade to the CSS kits. The upgrades with the Jantzen caps get great reviews but they are relatively expensive. I will try and determine if other upgrades to the stock Dayton caps are more cost effective, however, I'm not sure how I'll determine that.
Any recommendations will be appreciated.
Why not start with the basic crossover and see what you think, if you're satisfied you don't have to waste the extra money on expensive crossover components. If you want to try out more exotic parts later it's pretty easy to swap out and you'll have a baseline for comparison.
I am a boutique crossover component sceptic, so keep that in mind.
I am a boutique crossover component sceptic, so keep that in mind.
I'm sure they sound great, but I'm a little concerned they may not be able to play loud enough for your room. The Satori is a really small woofer.
Not sure how much I want to crank it up but I might like to listen to it loud at some point.
I have considered all the Criton models but haven't read anything about how the sound quality compares to the P215. Have you heard them both??
I'm one of the owners of CSS so I will weigh in with my opinions. We voice all of our speakers very similarly so there won't be a big difference in sound quality.
My personal opinion is that the P215 is a little more intimate sounding but lacks the bass of the Criton models. The 2TD has the most output, dynamics, and distortion, so they are great for playing loud. Our 1TD kit has the same bass extension as the 2TD but obviously not as much output and the distortion is slightly higher than the 2TD given that it only has one woofer. It basically falls in the middle of the two.
I like bass and I have a very big room, so to me, the 2TD would be my prefered. My partner has a much smaller room and the P215 gets more room reinforcement. He likes it the best.
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