proven design.

[shame302]

So well i am a noob. I have been poking around the internet with interest in building my own HT setup. It started forever ago when a bud of mine purchased some Klipsch RF7 towers. I have been waiting for the right time to purchase my own. perhaps some RF83s. Unfortunately the time never came. It dawned on me recently that there must be people out there building their own stuff. I love tinkering and building things. Im the kind of person that would get a huge kick out of building something at home that could compete or beat a commercial setup for a fraction of the cost. Anyway, here is my goal. Hopefully im in the right place with the right people who can help. What i like about the RF& is the clarity, power and volume. You turn them up and they just get louder. Very impressive to me. my goal is too at least match their performance in a home made cabinet. from there id like to build sensible, matching center and rears followed by a sub. My first instinct is to build a smaller 5.1 system to practice with, see if im cut out to be messing with this stuff. if im successful enough then ill go for broke and build my Klipsch killers.

I guess my first question is what are the better proven designs out there? best brands for drivers and crossovers/filters etc. I took a look at the Nat. P. design briefly. While i wouldn't call them small they would probably suit my first "small" build. You have endless options with the look of the box. My problem here and with any design is experience. I have nothing to compare them too. I have no idea what these things really sound like or how loud they can play. Whats the real deal with this stuff? I can easily say I'm very excited about jumping into this stuff. I see allot of stuff that i just have no understanding of though. Thats about it. Any help, direction and suggestions would be so greatly appreciated. Ill be poking around much more on my own before i start anything. Thank you for your time....

[thxgoon]

Hey welcome to the Shack! You'll find plenty of informative people around here to help! Unfortunately in DIY speakers I'm not one of them...

That said, I'll chime in on building a subwoofer which is one of the easiest things you can do in DIY. A sub takes the demanding low frequencies from your main speakers and allow thems to have much greater dynamics than when running full range. That would get you closer to your goal IMO. Maybe start with a sub and mains???

[Anthony]

welcome aboard. I recommend reading the Zaph Audio site for some proven designs.

www.zaphaudio.com

Also, Parts Express has a speaker gallery that has some designs people built.

Both sites have detailed parts lists and drawings. If nothing else, you'll get a good sense as to what goes into the design and construction.

Also, keep reading around here. There's a good thread that started with a DIY klipsch horn idea. Plus a few other people have tinkered here quite a bit.

So hopefully that will get you started. Good luck.

[shame302]

Thanks. There is a ton of info here. Its alot to take in. I plan on building the front mains followed by the sub. The center and rears will follow those. Cost is an issue andill have to purchase a receiver as well. Im not realy sure i want too use my 15 year old sony. Its daunting the info thats out there. As ignorant as it sounds, i dont realy want to fill my head with info that i dont realy need per se. I think im mostly concerned with sinking money into this and ending up dissapointed as a result.

[bonehead848]

haha, take your time and do your research and i promise you in no way will be dissapointed! There is tons and tons of info in these threads so take your time and read up. I was in the same spot as you about a year ago and now have built a couple incredible mains, a sub, and have plans for plenty more.

I absolutely recommend zaphaudio.com as a place to find proven designs. I built the BAMTM floorstanders and they are amazing. Another site with very popular designs such as the tritrix and statements is this one.
http://www.geocities.com/cc00541/index.html

BTW, Welcome!!!

[buggers]

http://htguide.com/forum/forumdisplay.php4?f=39

I have built the NatP tower and all I can say is WOW. Excellant design, they sound great but I am a bass head so these will become my rear channels and the RS 3Ways from the above site will be my mains. Do it.

[nova]

Let me Welcome you to the Shack. Yes, you have come to the right place. There are lots of DIYers here with lots of knowledge and experience. We also have a few pro's that are happy to chime in as well.

[JCD]

In addition to Zaph Audio, I'd check out the designs at Madisound and Zalytron.

Madisound is probably a better choice of the two for a beginner. They have several designs that are from some of the best designers in the biz.

Zalytron isn't a bad choice either. Their prices are a bit lower and they seem to have more designs -- however, the website is atrocious and the owner can be a little "gruff". Also, the "directions" that you get might be a little vague for a beginner.

Also, someone mentioned building a sub is a good start for DIY -- I totally agree. It's comparitively simple and pretty fool proof assuming you go with a proven design. Here is a sub design I've heard good things about and designed by someone I know - 12" Titanic Plans. Partsexpress has a design for a sub using this driver (or the 10" one) -- I've heard they made the box too small, so I'd recommend against that particular design.

Good luck and keep us informed!

JCD

[mrstampe]

I am going through the same process. I must have looked at every DIY speaker plan on the net, and we got a chance to hash out the several proven MTM plans in another forum here. I decided on the Nat P for flexibility of towers or bookshelfs. The driver and crossover costs are reasonable, and it receives high reviews from the many people who've built it. One point to consider about the Nat P is its 4ohm nominal load. If you're buying a receiver or amp at the same time, you may consider buying one rated for 4ohms. I picked up a Parasound 5ch amp from another Shackster in preparation for the new speakers -- man, it made a huge difference with my Paradigm Reference 40s in the mean time.

[shame302]

well, i had trouble with my computer but im back online. Thank you so much for the replys! So i think im leaning toward the statements rather hard. id like to build the statement fronts/mains first, than a sub thatwill match them. im tossing between the mini statements and natalie ps on stands for rears. ill likely build the statement center as well. hopefully the mains can compete with those RF7 my bud has! reguardless, this projectis going to take lots of time. ill have to go as funds become available. im also looking at the NuForce AVP 16 if i can find one as my pre- and the Emotiva XPA-5 for the amp. its probably going to be this time next year before im up and running so hopefully it will be worth it!. thanks again...john

[thxgoon]

Excellent! Please keep us up to speed on your progress, I am also considering building those statements so I'd love to hear what you think of them.

[bigguy]

buggers wrote:

http://htguide.com/forum/forumdisplay.php4?f=39

I have built the NatP tower and all I can say is WOW. Excellant design, they sound great but I am a bass head so these will become my rear channels and the RS 3Ways from the above site will be my mains. Do it.

Michael,
I am still trying to recover from that experience... Those are terrific speakers. I can hardly wait till you get those RS's done...

Cheers
Dan