I’m looking for help in choosing speakers for my home office/listening area. I will primarily be listening to old vinyl (Empire Troubadour) or streaming music. The speakers will be powered with a McIntosh MC-240. I plan to run the speakers at 4ohms. I have other equipment, but like vintage stuff and definitely want to utilize this amp as much as possible. I want to fill the room with clean music, not loud. I listen to a lot of classic rock, jazz, current music. Typically, no one else is home when I am listening.
The overall space is 16x16 loft that is open to another 16x16 area. It’s an odd space as there is a set of stairs there so my listening chair is off to one side. I’m looking for speaker ideas. My original thought was a pair of magnepans 1.6 as they would fill sound off the back as well as the front. This may still be a good idea given the space. If I don’t go with the Maggies, I will likely build a pair of speakers. I’ve been considering a MTMW setup, similar to this build: DIY 3-Way Hi-Vi Tower Loudspeaker Project - 1.618 or diVine Audio | Canaiolo
I have never built speakers, and would need to do a lot more planning if that I the way to go. I have picked up David Weems book and have also been reading lots of other articles. For drivers, I am looking primarily at Dayton Audio’s reference series (RS225, RST28F, RS150P). I’m not married to these drivers, but they are at a price point I like. I have not planned crossover’s yet (more to come). I’m comfortable with woodworking and have access to a pretty nice shop.
I’m looking for opinions on the following:
-What speakers would work well in this odd area (open to ideas besides Maggies or current build idea)
-If I build something similar to the MTMW’s I have many questions.
-Thoughts on the drivers listed
-Given my newness to speaker building, would active crossovers make life easier and give me more options (less likely to screw up)
-Keeping the crossovers external (allow me to change as I learn, bi/tri-amp in the future)
-Thoughts on enclosures (ported or vented)
-I’ve looked at several speaker building programs, need help narrowing it down for a newbie
I will continue reading, learning, and as I have more questions asking. If this should be in a different forum, please feel free to move it. Thanks in advance and looking forward to peoples thought.
The overall space is 16x16 loft that is open to another 16x16 area. It’s an odd space as there is a set of stairs there so my listening chair is off to one side. I’m looking for speaker ideas. My original thought was a pair of magnepans 1.6 as they would fill sound off the back as well as the front. This may still be a good idea given the space. If I don’t go with the Maggies, I will likely build a pair of speakers. I’ve been considering a MTMW setup, similar to this build: DIY 3-Way Hi-Vi Tower Loudspeaker Project - 1.618 or diVine Audio | Canaiolo
I have never built speakers, and would need to do a lot more planning if that I the way to go. I have picked up David Weems book and have also been reading lots of other articles. For drivers, I am looking primarily at Dayton Audio’s reference series (RS225, RST28F, RS150P). I’m not married to these drivers, but they are at a price point I like. I have not planned crossover’s yet (more to come). I’m comfortable with woodworking and have access to a pretty nice shop.
I’m looking for opinions on the following:
-What speakers would work well in this odd area (open to ideas besides Maggies or current build idea)
-If I build something similar to the MTMW’s I have many questions.
-Thoughts on the drivers listed
-Given my newness to speaker building, would active crossovers make life easier and give me more options (less likely to screw up)
-Keeping the crossovers external (allow me to change as I learn, bi/tri-amp in the future)
-Thoughts on enclosures (ported or vented)
-I’ve looked at several speaker building programs, need help narrowing it down for a newbie
I will continue reading, learning, and as I have more questions asking. If this should be in a different forum, please feel free to move it. Thanks in advance and looking forward to peoples thought.
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Chiming in here with a few comments.
Overall I think you'll get better feedback in the Multi-Way subforum. More people view it and they still have a lot of acoustics/waveform knowledge there. I'dd start a thread with your build ideas there (or ask a mod to move this there).
Will your ears be sitting above the banister/rails of the stairs? You'll want a mostly unimpeded line from your ears to the tweeter. Ideally unimpeded from ears to all drivers, but you make do with what you have.
Due to the unfortunate position of the stairs, I'd consider raising the speakers higher than usual and using a waveguide or horn. Heck, I'd personally raise and angle the speakers no matter what you build, or at least consider playing around with it.
David Weems book is....well it's a start. There are much better and more comprehensive texts. You can find all the same info on the forums but I prefer the condensed, one spot approach of a textbook. The ones I'd recommend:
Vance Dickason Loudspeaker Design Cookbook
Martin Colloms High Performance Loudspeakers
I own the first one and want the second.
As for your selected drivers. Overall I love the Dayton Audio stuff, every time I hear another one of their drivers I think its a solid cost/performance driver. If I were you though, I would consider the 5" mid instead of the 6". I personally find directivity to work better that way. Different people will argue different things of course. You should look at the Project Nexus Speakers by Matt Grant. They use the designer series but should give you some ideas.
The general advice is to build a proven design first, then design your own afterwards. You don't have to, but designing your own is a journey and takes way more time than just building. Some give up out of frustration and others find they just don't have the time to tweak and plan and retry.
I fully support active crossovers and there are some decent options for software on the PC. Jriver to a 7 channel sound card being one good option I've seen used to great effect. Jriver to a 7+ channel receiver through HDMI is what I'm going to play around with once spring hits and I can build an enclosure. If you decide to stay passive, mounting the crossover outside the enclosure is still a 100% acceptable solution, and with the variety of connectors out there it can be easily swappable. Putting the crossover inside is *mostly* for aesthetic reasons.
Enclosure is really going to be up to you. Some swear by sealed, some swear by ported. Some find the drivers dictate the enclosure (which I follow personally). I think a bass reflex for the RS225, rear ported, somewhere near the measurements partsexpress suggests, would be a great place to start in your models.
This reminds me, general suggestion for enclosures. Your mid and tweeter should be in a separate enclosure from the woofer. You don't need two boxes, but a dividing panel works. This is more "rule of thumb" but generally good so the sound wave from the back of the woofer doesn't reflect out through the mid.
Finally programs. There are many that all serve a different purpose, but for a beginner just learning to model I recommend only three:
Xsim
VituixCAD
WinISD
First one is great for just simming crossovers. I use it for passive stuff. Second one is way better for simming active crossovers and enclosure bits. If you want only one program to start then VituixCAD would be my suggestion. Last is WinISD which is great for subwoofer/port design bits. Great for keeping chuffing and excursion in limits.
I've been out sick so didn't reply before, now that I'm (almost) all better I'll respond faster in the future if you have further questions. I think I've touched on just about all of your points.
Edit to add: One thing to point out, with the sheer volume of connected space, you won't get much chest slam or low end pressurization without a significant number of large drivers. I think with the drivers you picked you'll be fine but some might find the low end lacking. For 2-channel music you wouldn't need to go crazy, but I'd consider one or two subs to help fill in the low end. This is a separate but related topic. Again, some people argue adding subwoofers ruins things, I personally disagree.
Overall I think you'll get better feedback in the Multi-Way subforum. More people view it and they still have a lot of acoustics/waveform knowledge there. I'dd start a thread with your build ideas there (or ask a mod to move this there).
Will your ears be sitting above the banister/rails of the stairs? You'll want a mostly unimpeded line from your ears to the tweeter. Ideally unimpeded from ears to all drivers, but you make do with what you have.
Due to the unfortunate position of the stairs, I'd consider raising the speakers higher than usual and using a waveguide or horn. Heck, I'd personally raise and angle the speakers no matter what you build, or at least consider playing around with it.
David Weems book is....well it's a start. There are much better and more comprehensive texts. You can find all the same info on the forums but I prefer the condensed, one spot approach of a textbook. The ones I'd recommend:
Vance Dickason Loudspeaker Design Cookbook
Martin Colloms High Performance Loudspeakers
I own the first one and want the second.
As for your selected drivers. Overall I love the Dayton Audio stuff, every time I hear another one of their drivers I think its a solid cost/performance driver. If I were you though, I would consider the 5" mid instead of the 6". I personally find directivity to work better that way. Different people will argue different things of course. You should look at the Project Nexus Speakers by Matt Grant. They use the designer series but should give you some ideas.
The general advice is to build a proven design first, then design your own afterwards. You don't have to, but designing your own is a journey and takes way more time than just building. Some give up out of frustration and others find they just don't have the time to tweak and plan and retry.
I fully support active crossovers and there are some decent options for software on the PC. Jriver to a 7 channel sound card being one good option I've seen used to great effect. Jriver to a 7+ channel receiver through HDMI is what I'm going to play around with once spring hits and I can build an enclosure. If you decide to stay passive, mounting the crossover outside the enclosure is still a 100% acceptable solution, and with the variety of connectors out there it can be easily swappable. Putting the crossover inside is *mostly* for aesthetic reasons.
Enclosure is really going to be up to you. Some swear by sealed, some swear by ported. Some find the drivers dictate the enclosure (which I follow personally). I think a bass reflex for the RS225, rear ported, somewhere near the measurements partsexpress suggests, would be a great place to start in your models.
This reminds me, general suggestion for enclosures. Your mid and tweeter should be in a separate enclosure from the woofer. You don't need two boxes, but a dividing panel works. This is more "rule of thumb" but generally good so the sound wave from the back of the woofer doesn't reflect out through the mid.
Finally programs. There are many that all serve a different purpose, but for a beginner just learning to model I recommend only three:
Xsim
VituixCAD
WinISD
First one is great for just simming crossovers. I use it for passive stuff. Second one is way better for simming active crossovers and enclosure bits. If you want only one program to start then VituixCAD would be my suggestion. Last is WinISD which is great for subwoofer/port design bits. Great for keeping chuffing and excursion in limits.
I've been out sick so didn't reply before, now that I'm (almost) all better I'll respond faster in the future if you have further questions. I think I've touched on just about all of your points.
Edit to add: One thing to point out, with the sheer volume of connected space, you won't get much chest slam or low end pressurization without a significant number of large drivers. I think with the drivers you picked you'll be fine but some might find the low end lacking. For 2-channel music you wouldn't need to go crazy, but I'd consider one or two subs to help fill in the low end. This is a separate but related topic. Again, some people argue adding subwoofers ruins things, I personally disagree.
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Regardless of speakers, I would bring the chair forward to where
the right wall breaks outward (or even a little more, and over to the right).
Near field listening is good. Add some treatment on that wall as well.
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You should buy two pair of vintage Bose 901 speakers. "Stereo everywhere", no matter what shaped room you have. If you are in the Tampa FL area I will deliver. Make an offer! 
Just kidding about the recommendal, but I do have them collecting dust. And they will be a 4 ohm load if in parallel.
Just kidding about the recommendal, but I do have them collecting dust. And they will be a 4 ohm load if in parallel.
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