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Affordable HT Speaker

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7K views 17 replies 5 participants last post by  Odougbo 
#1 · (Edited)
My HiFi buddy came over to the house about a year ago, said I need bigger HT speakers, well he was right. After several attempts, these are what we came up with, speakers that sound expensive but actually are very affordable HT speaker(s).

What is shown is 3 mtm's with 2 - 6.5" SilverFlute (8ohm) and ScanSpeak tweeter.
This is the best of of several builds that were very similar - these are the easiest to understand and build.

We are really happy with these: great bass, highs and crystal clear dialogue. The mid bass does vibrate chairs and room :hsd: I really believe I'd be spending a kings ransom on store-boughts' that sounded as good as these.

Box sizes are 9.5" wide x 23" tall x 12" deep. Ports are 8" wide x 1/2" tall x 7" deep. Typical DIY speaker ploys with center brace and lined inside with felt. 5oz of teased speaker wool per each mid driver/section. Another plus, can cut a lot of 12 inch x 23 inch pieces out of a 4' x 8' sheet of mdf.

Finishing: spray oil, three (3) coats; Lowes still sells oil, Valspar, $9 bucks a quart.

SilverFutes woofer - $30 each
ScanSpeak tweeter - $50

Madisound has everything you need and shown here.
 

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#2 ·
Affordable HT Speaker II

A couple of thoughts here; really enjoying "mtms" and think they are in the best bang for the buck category, but there is a catch, the tweeters need to ear level, or close as possible. I don't know if tilting them will work, but that would be better then perpendicular and close to the floor. I'm going to raise the center up a few more inches, with a slight slant.

The second photo is the old mains in new boxes, which will be new rear speakers soon. The old boxes were mdf and slanted up, which would point them to the ceiling. The new boxes simply square and think they will work better at the 6' height they are mounted.

Never planed on 6.5inch "ONLY" HT, but using 16 of them; 8 of them are in the 2 subs; single fold, quarter wavelength.

*old mains, W18-09-08 6.5 inch & MDT30's
 

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#7 · (Edited)
Odougbo's Modus Operandi, and a lot of bang for the buck.

Started a set with 5" woofers; the drivers are vintage, but have a dozen of them, all in great shape.

To calculate box size and fine tune ports, opened WinIsd and Rockfordfogate's box wizard. The vent lengths change the box size, so one changes the other, easy/fast to plot with some computerizing.

Opened this in two tabs:http://www.rockfordfosgate.com/Support/rftech.aspx#boxwizard

The vents here ended up to be 1/2 way, so the two of the numbers were the same and used two different heights; summed them together from both tabs. e.g. .39cf + .41cf = .8cf
 

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#9 ·
They are bare-bones but have all they need; good solid boxes, bracing and rounded fronts.

This is the 4 day build, started with an idea, only 4 days ago.

2 -days to build
1-day paint
1-day xo work and testing. Tweeter level - tried resistors from 3.3ohm to 4.7ohm, ended up in the middle.

They sound wonderful, really can't believe this worked as well as I hoped. I have more of the drivers and several sheets of wood, need to order xo parts.

I really like the Vifa X25 tweeter, but only use it above 3,000hz!
 

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#10 · (Edited)
Okay, sorry for the ADD post #9 - back on topic - Silver Flute 6.5" 8 ohm!! and ScanSpeak tweeter.

Still using these and very happy, a buddy came up with nice touch with removing the dust cap and making up phase plugs.

I used 1-3/8" mdf x 1" and 3" SS screw right though the vent hole, with cork washer so no noise vibration

This did make a noticeable change in the mid-range, eliminated the minor break-up and clearer now. I also change the tweeter resistor to 2.2, which raised the tweeter level just a bit.

At this point, couldn't be happier; have had several set of HT speaker up front and these are the best-by far.


My buddy did a better job with the phase plugs, more nose-cone shape, however the advantage with 1" tall is that the dust caps can be glued back on.
 

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#12 · (Edited)
Not big on measuring, although have made 100+ of sets of speakers.
People that stop by and hear them are impressed but that's easy enough.
If I can listen to them for more than three days without hating them is step one, step two is two months.
These are passing everything that I came up with before & have re-done the HT several times with other speakers; these take the cake!!
Really like the simple box, I'm a big fan of rounded edges and super flush drivers now.

As mentioned, wife and are enjoying these, fantastic presence, very relaxing with a surprise around every corner (third month now).

My buddy got me to this point but also doped them, he's quite versed in measuring and his improvements did help the woofer break-up, which is noticeably better.

I did check tuning, very nice, nice even peaks/50hz valley; as WinISD plotted.

The disk were easy enough, cut 1-1/2" disks, clamped with the screw, sanding in drill, etc.

It's a great deal, $29 woofers (x2) $47 tweeter $10 woofer coil, nice straightforward box to build.

I do apologize for not measuring, have every thing I need, just never got around to it I guess.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Ok I'm back after a couple of years of R&D.

Really gave this D-apolito design a-go: made several boxes, orders more woofers, changed up the xo, new mic...well enough said.
They have a very relaxing sound, wife and I are not missing any dialogue and two woofers provide plenty of dynamic headroom.

Starting with the measurements:
 

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#16 · (Edited)

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#17 ·
Updates start at post #14

Pic of xo.
A lot of time can be wasted pulling xo boards in and out of boxes, just zip one together and attach to the back.
Now at the 1.0mh woofer coil I did try $9 iron core inductors, honestly - I'm glad they are gone :rolleyesno:
Splurged on the center channel a bit, used 12awg foil coil.

btw non-metallic screws by the coils.
 

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#18 · (Edited)
Updates start at post #14

Plugs? Trying several. BB are nice looking, could also stop by hobby shop, there are other balsa wood parts that would work nicely.

The 6.5 SF 8 ohm is the pick of the liter in the SF lineup so I'm told. Although depth of the coil is deep, so removing the dust cap and inserting a phase-plug is an upgrade.

They can be bolted right through the back of the magnet easily with #12 2" SS or brass screws by using existing vent hole.

Miscellaneous:
Fill - 3.1 oz of teased wool per speaker
Boxes are felt lined
Tuned - 51hz
XO 2,000hz
Baffle size 9.5" x 23"
Ports 1/2" by 7"

Pic Set, every speaker builder should have one: http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-pick-and-hook-set-66836.html
 

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