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You need to define affordable, there are lots of designs out there. The Statements come to mind weighing in at under $1000 for a pair, or the Natalie Ps for about $550 a pair.
Posts by evilskillit
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Well DIY really shines in the 500-$1000 range with there still being some incredible values in the 1000-2500 range as well.
I'll throw a few out.
The Statements ~ $850
The SR71 ~ $500 There is a Kit
The Cryolites ~ $300
The Revelator Tower ~ $ 1500 There is a Kit
And many many more, what you build, if anything, will be based on personal taste, budget and a bit of randomness. Here is my first project, the Microbes and I've loved it for under $200 for the pair. Now I'm working on a pair of Zaph Waveguide TMMs, they're supposed to be phenominal and you can build a pair for under $600.
So what do you want your speaker to sound like, do you want lots of bass, nice clear mids, do you want it big, do you want a bookshelf and whats the most you think you could reasonably spend?
I'll throw a few out.
The Statements ~ $850
The SR71 ~ $500 There is a Kit
The Cryolites ~ $300
The Revelator Tower ~ $ 1500 There is a Kit
And many many more, what you build, if anything, will be based on personal taste, budget and a bit of randomness. Here is my first project, the Microbes and I've loved it for under $200 for the pair. Now I'm working on a pair of Zaph Waveguide TMMs, they're supposed to be phenominal and you can build a pair for under $600.
So what do you want your speaker to sound like, do you want lots of bass, nice clear mids, do you want it big, do you want a bookshelf and whats the most you think you could reasonably spend?
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Considering I have not built a pair that costs $800 or pair that costs $1500 yet I could not exactly say, both of them should sound great to tell the truth. To get an idea of what the difference would sound like my sugguestion would be to go to a hi-fi shop and listen to a pair of speakers costing around 1200 then listen to a pair that costs 2500.
For something that can be used with out a sub you will probably want a floor standing design with 2 woofers that are at least 7". Both the Statements and the Zaph Revelators meet that criteria, there are probably other designs out there that do as well.
Here is a link to a DIY competition where you can view all the designs that were entered, their approximate cost and how they rated in several categories by the judges. It will give you an idea of what the sound is like and how people like them.
http://home.mchsi.com/~iowadiy2009/Results.htm
Typically when the statements are at a DIY competition they will win the Midrange budget category.
For something that can be used with out a sub you will probably want a floor standing design with 2 woofers that are at least 7". Both the Statements and the Zaph Revelators meet that criteria, there are probably other designs out there that do as well.
Here is a link to a DIY competition where you can view all the designs that were entered, their approximate cost and how they rated in several categories by the judges. It will give you an idea of what the sound is like and how people like them.
http://home.mchsi.com/~iowadiy2009/Results.htm
Typically when the statements are at a DIY competition they will win the Midrange budget category.
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369 Posts
Well being able to tweak the XO is one of the best parts of DIY. If you want a bit stronger or weaker mids or highs you can just adjust it a bit.
Having said that I haven't heard the (Aviano8/Mezzo6). I've heard some Dali speakers and they were pretty fantastic they were however over $2000 per pair. I don't remember what Monitor Audio speakers sounded like as its been too long, and every pair of Wharfdale speakers I've heard just didn't sound all that good to me.
To put it into prespective, I have a friend who has a pair of these.
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/408tri/
They were MSRP $1000 a pair, he got them for $800 I believe. Then I built a pair of these for $200.
http://rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html
Everyone agrees, they sound 99% as good as the Triangles. The Triangles have a bit more bass but you can always just use a sub.
So you can see the value of DIY. If you pick a good design that costs almost $1000 per pair to build none of the speakers you're looking at should even be able to touch it.
As for your diy selection I don't know much about the GR-Research kits, nobody really talks about them anywhere for a few reasons.
The ZDT3.5 should be fantastic. They do need a decent sized room to really play well, you're supposed to sit at least 2.5 meters away from them or more for the sound to really blend.
The ZRT 2.5way Revelators should be incredible. I've got a friend who is probably going to build a set very soon but so far I can't speak about them from experience. I haven't read any reviews online from anyone who built a ZRT or ZDT3.5 and wasn't completely satisfied with them.
There is also the Zaph Waveguide TMM to consider, the Statements and quite a few other designs.
Just look at this big list of DIY speaker web sites.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gradds55/diy_webs.htm
Having said that I haven't heard the (Aviano8/Mezzo6). I've heard some Dali speakers and they were pretty fantastic they were however over $2000 per pair. I don't remember what Monitor Audio speakers sounded like as its been too long, and every pair of Wharfdale speakers I've heard just didn't sound all that good to me.
To put it into prespective, I have a friend who has a pair of these.
http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/408tri/
They were MSRP $1000 a pair, he got them for $800 I believe. Then I built a pair of these for $200.
http://rjbaudio.com/Microbe/microbe.html
Everyone agrees, they sound 99% as good as the Triangles. The Triangles have a bit more bass but you can always just use a sub.
So you can see the value of DIY. If you pick a good design that costs almost $1000 per pair to build none of the speakers you're looking at should even be able to touch it.
As for your diy selection I don't know much about the GR-Research kits, nobody really talks about them anywhere for a few reasons.
The ZDT3.5 should be fantastic. They do need a decent sized room to really play well, you're supposed to sit at least 2.5 meters away from them or more for the sound to really blend.
The ZRT 2.5way Revelators should be incredible. I've got a friend who is probably going to build a set very soon but so far I can't speak about them from experience. I haven't read any reviews online from anyone who built a ZRT or ZDT3.5 and wasn't completely satisfied with them.
There is also the Zaph Waveguide TMM to consider, the Statements and quite a few other designs.
Just look at this big list of DIY speaker web sites.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~gradds55/diy_webs.htm
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