[xyrium]

Matt, if you're interested, I have the waveguides (Pyles frlom MCM) for that design. I bought them when I was interested in building that setup. However, I opted for a 2 way ZRT in a sealed cab instead. If you haven't bought the guides yet, let me know. You can have them (still in their boxes) for the cost of UPS shipping.

Well DIY really shines in the 500-$1000 range with there still being some incredible values in the 1000-2500 range as well.

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?

 

[cmsajith]

DIY should be something you do for the fun of it not just to save money. If this isn't something you want to build. Buy commercial speakers.

There is a reason we pay to eat out. It's cheaper to cook, but if you don't feel like it and have the cash. Why not give someone else a job that needs the cash?

For commercial options

I suggest Ascend Acoustics or Behringer 2030p's

Or B&W 700/800 series if you can afford it.

Read more: Affordable Audiophile grade DIY Speaker KIT for L/R (50% Music & 50% Movies) - Home Theater Systems - Electronics and Forum - HomeTheaterShack http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...music-50-movies.html#post213925#ixzz0ZHi3fYPP

My first reason for a DIY speaker is to get a affordable high end speaker which costs a bomb at least in my country. So SQ is the first preference. As a newbie to electronics my R&D skills in that area will be limited. So I preferred kits which are proven. Since I havent heard any DIY speakers (well designed) but have heard the commercial one in the same range, i am trying to compare them w/ the DIYs. If the DIYs are better than the commercial ones in SQ with the same price tag, I will defenitely prefer the DIY route. But I am trying to make sure that the kit selected will perform well than the similar commercial ones, coz' evenafter putting a lot of effort, if the DIY kit performs same as the commercial ones (in the same price range), the effort will be wasted, right? Thats the reason why I am trying to find a better kit with the help of the forum members who are having experience in that. Am I wrong?

 

[ironglen]

Sounds to me like you're on the right track. Determine how much you can spend, then HTS'ers can help with the short list of (proven) diy speakers that you can build competently. Then you can decide on the final choice by weighing slight performance or visual differences.:nerd:

 

[Solid-State]

I'd also like to add that Jed Kunz of http://www.clearwaveloudspeaker.com/ has some very nice kits.

For 50/50 duty the Dynamic series would be a great choice. It uses the Vifa ring radiator tweet, with amazing Tangband titanium mids and those Dayton aluminum woofers. It's a fantastic choice of drivers for the money and Jed is a real perfectionist when it comes to xover design so you can imagine he's spend hours upon hours working on it. Also he uses quality parts where it counts and doesn't steer you towards unnecessary expensive components unless it makes a real sonic impact. He's the gentleman that designed the Madisound recession buster kit with the Revelators. He also won a Dayton award for an open baffle design and D'appolito and Linkwitz gave it top points at the competition. Yup IMHO if I had the space and was looking for a 50/50 front I'd go with the Dynamic 4T and 4C for a "wall of sound". Really there is no way a NatP etc can "move air" like that Dynamic design of Jeds!

Solid-State

PS I'm about to do just that myself and I hope to share the building process with everyone.

 

[cmsajith]

Sounds to me like you're on the right track. Determine how much you can spend, then HTS'ers can help with the short list of (proven) diy speakers that you can build competently. Then you can decide on the final choice by weighing slight performance or visual differences.:nerd:

I am thinking about 850-900$ the max for the kit including the XO.

 

[ripcard]

I have to agree 100% with Solid-State. Although, because of space limitations, I decided to go with a smaller footprint version of Jed's Dynamic 2Ts. I can atest to the quality of sound from the drivers chosen. The clarity and detail is amazing. I will always have a sub in the system so, in my case, there was no need to eek out every last bit of bass extension in the front three. I would like to add also that Jed is one of the nicest guys to deal with and will work with you on custom designs and support you all the way through your build. I think you'll find the full kit 2T right in your price range too. Anyway, take your time and have a good look around. There are many great designs out there. Don't be afraid to contact the speaker designers either, this was key to helping me make my decision. Good luck.

 

[Solid-State]

WOW FANTASTIC Build quality! Compared to others I've seen attempt it, you're borderline pro. The guy from Affordable Audio had a crooked brace in his. I'm sure it had no acoustic or structural affect though. Please PM me I have some questions regarding your build process and some of the materials used. In terms of the cabinet, that's gotta be one of the best builds I've seen. Do you work in carpentry?

As for cmsajith... I sure hope you've followed this thread because IMHO and it looks to be another Shackster's, your best bet would be Jed's Dynamic Series. I've done so much research and have been a fly on the wall for some years following all of the DIY and commercial audio sites and my faith in design is Clearwave. Jed should be recruited by a major speaker maker as he seems to be able to design and engineer speakers of MUCH higher fidelity than 90% of the commercial stuff out there. What ever you do avoid any of the ID speaker makers including that highly reviewed outfit... The only two I'd ever suggest after listening, testing and owning practically all of them would be Dave at Ascend Acoustics, Salk Sound and some of the AV123 pieces from a few years ago. I wouldn't deal with AV123 at this point though (financial problems) and it seem in India you have access to cabinet building. Yeah if I was you I'd get 4T mains with a 2C center. You wouldn't find a better speaker IMHO cmsajith the world over for your purposes than Clearwave Loudspeaker Design.

I really feel the industry is rather PATHETIC when a high school art teacher, mind ya he's a brilliant engineer/speaker designer, can design a loudspeaker to significant higher fidelity than that Canadian outfit with a multi million dollar factory, anechoic chamber and access to NRC testing.

Yup the truth is DIY is the only way to fly. It's just like building a PC. Not a single prefab PC can compare to a system built with good motherboard RAM and PS. Same goes for speakers it seems.

Solid-State

PS If your also looking for a sub I can't suggest Rythmik Audio's kits enough! They are top notch for the money just like Clearwave. Thank god these guys exist! This audio nut loves your guys! owhh of course you can't forget Emotiva! Thank god these companies/people exist in this rather venal industry!

 

[xyrium]

Rick, nice job! I second Jed's designs. He's a great guys, very flexible and creative. He's provided tremendous input for the DIY community on various boards as well. I almost went with his C5 design, but I really wanted the Air Circ tweeter, and a sealed cab.

I have to agree 100% with Solid-State. Although, because of space limitations, I decided to go with a smaller footprint version of Jed's Dynamic 2Ts. I can atest to the quality of sound from the drivers chosen. The clarity and detail is amazing. I will always have a sub in the system so, in my case, there was no need to eek out every last bit of bass extension in the front three. I would like to add also that Jed is one of the nicest guys to deal with and will work with you on custom designs and support you all the way through your build. I think you'll find the full kit 2T right in your price range too. Anyway, take your time and have a good look around. There are many great designs out there. Don't be afraid to contact the speaker designers either, this was key to helping me make my decision. Good luck.

 

[ripcard]

WOW FANTASTIC Build quality! Compared to others I've seen attempt it, you're borderline pro. The guy from Affordable Audio had a crooked brace in his. I'm sure it had no acoustic or structural affect though. Please PM me I have some questions regarding your build process and some of the materials used. In terms of the cabinet, that's gotta be one of the best builds I've seen. Do you work in carpentry?

Thank you very much. I'm a former mechanic now working in home renovations. I've always dabbled in wood working, but mostly related to home building. I think the experience I lack in cabinetry is made up for with info from good woodworking and speaker building forums. Also, I tend to be patient and take my time when doing things for the first time. If you follow the time line of my builds, I'm not exactly the fastest speaker builder out there.

I really feel the industry is rather PATHETIC when a high school art teacher, mind ya he's a brilliant engineer/speaker designer, can design a loudspeaker to significant higher fidelity than that Canadian outfit with a multi million dollar factory, anechoic chamber and access to NRC testing.?

Interesting statement. Who and what are you referring to?

Rick, nice job! I second Jed's designs. He's a great guys, very flexible and creative. He's provided tremendous input for the DIY community on various boards as well. I almost went with his C5 design, but I really wanted the Air Circ tweeter, and a sealed cab.

Thank you. What design did you settle on?

 

[ironglen]

He might be referring to...Paradigm? Anyways, very nice job. I was thinking of building on a budget, but at the present figured I'd just get a full set of decent bookshelves on the cheap and put building statement mains, etc on hold for sometime in the distant future. Exceptional build thread that I'm sure many will appreciate.:T

 

[CasePro]

To the OP:

I have read what seems to be some good advice in this thread. Based on specifications, some of the recommended drivers are certainly high on most folks lists. I have used drivers from both Scanspeak and Dayton and have been extremely pleased. I personally am finishing up a high end car install and in the planning stages of upgrading my home theater.

I spent almost a decade in sales at a high end AV retailer. One thing that I can say is this, one man's gold is another's lead. I sold speakers to "golden eared professionals" that I would never use for myself. And there are some that i recommended which people dismissed as being too inefficient or not "crisp" enough. Taste comes into play.

So my point is this: I have not seen you make a statement in this thread regarding any speakers that you have actually listened to. I think there are a lot of guys on here that have a great deal of experience in having listened extensively to commercially available speakers and DIY systems. If you could post up your impressions of what you have listened to, that might give some guys the ability to point you in the right direction. My ¢.02

 

[jliedeka]

I think you are on the right track, whatever you choose. At your stated price point, ~$800, you can get a respectable pair of speakers. What you can build, however, will have fewer compromises.

The two areas that get compromised the most are crossovers and cabinets. If you build your own cabinets, you can pay more attention to bracing. You can expect commercial speakers at the $800/pair price point to have some bracing but you can brace your cabinets better. DIY speakers at this price point will have better crossovers, too.

As far as specific recommendations, I'm currently building Natalie Ps. The nice thing about this design is that there are 5 or 6 crossover designs for these drivers so there is room to experiment. The Natalie P is actually the same as the Modula MTM with a less expensive and less complicated crossover. There are other crossover choices available. Roman Bednarek designed 2, there is the Dr. K MTM crossover and one other that I don't remember. IIRC, the current price of a pair of Natalie Ps is still below $500.

If I had to choose a first build, I would seriously consider the Tritrix system. It's much less expensive than your stated price range but has a good reputation and is fairly easy to build.

I'd have no problem recommending designs from Zaph, CurtC, Roman Bednarek, or Jon Marsh and others on HTGuide.com.

Jim