worth building with no amp?

[bonehead848]

So i am wanting to build some speakers for my ht to upgrade from my polk r20's. My question is if it would be worth it to build a 5 speaker setup when I can afford it(something like nat p's) with no amps or wait even longer and get the amps to hook up with the speakers and build then. Im no audiophile so I do not need anything crazy just better than what im using now. I dont even know if the nat p would be the best design for me its just the one im most familiar with. Any suggestions welcome!

[lcaillo]

Go for it. Keep an ey out for good used amps. If you are in no hurry you can likely find something that is a good value by the time you need them.

[Darren]

I'd go for it too. Instead of worrying about getting separate amps right away use an AV receiver with 5.1 or 7.1... Assuming it is a decent receiver it should have ample power for what you are building. I used my Onkyo TXDS-777 to power my system for a couple years as I accumulated separates. Worked great.

[bonehead848]

I have a harman kardon 230. That should push them decent right? Also, any suggestions on decently cheap speakers build designs other than natp?

[Darren]

bonehead848 wrote:

I have a harman kardon 230. That should push them decent right? Also, any suggestions on decently cheap speakers build designs other than natp?

I'm not familiar with the 230 but assuming it has somewhere around 100 watts per channel you should be fine. 75 would be ok as well with a quality unit such as Harmon Kardon.

[JCD]

bonehead848 wrote:

I have a harman kardon 230. That should push them decent right? Also, any suggestions on decently cheap speakers build designs other than natp?

First -- definitely don't wait! (prepare for a rant coming up) The two biggest things that are going to affect your system are the speakers then the room. To me, everything else is a distant third (or worse). The receiver you've got there should be more than plenty good for your needs.

Now, for inexpensive designs, I don't have any first hand knowledge, but I'd take a look at the designs over at Zalytron and Madisound. They usually have pretty good proven designs. Another site I'd take a look at is zaphaudio. He's an enthusiast that's pretty active at coming up with inexpensive designs and has some measurements you can take a look at to see if they fit in with your needs.

JCD

[bonehead848]

I love that zaphaudio site, i wish they had like a running total cost for each project. Cost is very limiting for this, any suggestions on what the minimum budget should be for a good pair of speakers?

[JCD]

bonehead848 wrote:

I love that zaphaudio site, i wish they had like a running total cost for each project. Cost is very limiting for this, any suggestions on what the minimum budget should be for a good pair of speakers?

Hmm.. not really. What's good to me may not be good to someone else and all that. That being said, I think if you went with one of the kits from Zalytron's "budget" line, I think you'd be pretty satisfied. In particular, the Budget 103 has my interest peeked -- I've heard really good things about the Morel Tweeter they use in that system. Of course, the best drivers in a poorly designed speaker will still sound awful, but it's something. The JML's are all desgined by Joe D'Appolito -- certainly a good pedigree. Also, I'd take a look at the HiqAccess in the Hiquphon list. They're supposed to be some of the best dome tweeters out there, and this particular kit is "only" $316 -- and is again, designed by Joe D'Appolito.


Madisound would be another place to look -- but I concentrated on Zalytron as I feel their prices are generally lower on the same item (both being lower than PartsExpress).

So, to back to your question -- I can't give you a $$ amount, but it looks like you could get something pretty darned good for ~$300/pair.

JCD

[bonehead848]

im really starting to like the bamtm from zaphaudio. If i was to build 3 and turn one on its side for the center, would that be ok or would i get some cancellation or anything?

[JCD]

I'd suggest you leave the center channel vertical -- I don't think this speaker was designed to be set on it's side. You can always build it and try it. but, like I said, I'm sure you'll like the sound of the vertical placement best.

JCD

[Fred33]

Zaphaudio is has a quality site, I have used thier stuff before and had some good success with it. As for turning one its side I would say no, but never know until you try.

[bonehead848]

so right now im actually in the middle of building a pair of the bamtm. I am thinking and going ahead and getting an amp if I can find one for under 100. Any thoughts on the nady xa-300?