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DIY vs Not for music

961 views 12 replies 7 participants last post by  Martycool007 
#1 ·
SO i am in the market for new speakers for a two channel setup. I mostly use it to play vinyl but also have a squeezebox hooked up. I just ordered a Yaquin MC-10L tube amp and I am looking for some new speakers to really make the setup sing. I have a pair of Def Tech SM 450s right now. I am not terribly impressed. THey are a bit harsh and the mids are a bit muddy. The also distort easily and I do not push them very hard at all.

I am looking for something with a nice open sound stage that really work will for a 2-channel music only system. Would prefer monitors due to my room and setup but would make towers work.

At the moment I am considering Chane Arc-3 speakers. But then I took a look around here and started to wonder would kind of bang for buck can be had in the DIY area? I am pretty handy but never built speakers before, not sure I could build a crossover from scratch with any confidence. I see a lot of kits talked about here. Is the effort to build really pay off? Can you build really good sounding speakers for $500ish? Can you buy prebuilt crossovers? Sorry for the questions. I have started to look for some of the answers using search but just looking to get a feel. Thanks
 
#2 · (Edited)
Yes
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/assembled-crossovers.html

The Fusion 12's are ~$652, self assembled.
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion12-kit.html

They are decent for the money, but not Top-Gun results.




I'd think the Fusion 15 would be better for a music-freak, $780
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits/fusion-15/fusion15-kit.html

I basically took that design and beefed the bass up, mine are $1800 as a result. (Not for sale though.)

They can also get loud too, doesn't sound harsh even at stupid levels.

Much better sounding than the Fusion 12's IMO.

Most people lean towards the 1099 these days. Haven't heard that beast yet so I can tell you anything about that.

Even though I have 7 speakers and over 15 subs and over 30,000watts and all that, I'm actually 95% 2-ch music. LOL



Everyone has different needs and goals and objectives. To each their own...

My goal was to have 3-way mains and center that goes to 10hz.
Trying to emulate B&W Signatures without the $30,000+ price tag and empty bank account.


 

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#4 ·
I think the Tempest will give you much more dynamic range for the money. If you only listen to music at low volume levels the Chane A3Rx will be OK, but the Tempest will play 4 times louder and the bass will extend considerably lower as well

  • Chane A3Rx Specifications
  • Frequency Response: 55Hz-25kHz +/- 3dB
  • Low Frequency cutoff: 45Hz -6dB
  • Sensitivity (1w/1m): 88dB
  • System type:Convertible bass reflex
  • Nominal Impedance: true 8 Ohms*
  • Recommended Power: 20-250W
Tempest:
Sensitivity 98db - 2.83V/1m Nominal Impedance 8 Ohm Frequency Response 37hz - 20khz +/-3db Crossover Point 1300hz Recommended Power 10 - 500 watts
Of course there are a lot of other advantages to the Tempest, like better directivity control.
 
#5 · (Edited)
http://meniscusaudio.com/kits-c-133.html

I do like the tempest a lot, for rock, Edm, and loud music, they are great, but for low volume, critical listening not so much. That maybe because I'm comparing then to thousands of dollars speakers. So for 5 bills they are as good as you are going to get.
We had a gtg in the SoCal area at member mjaudio's house with edoog, sdurani, and a few others, we agreed the triad gold was better, but they cost much more.
 
#9 ·
For a small 2 channel system that is not going to be driven at reference levels are these overkill? I am looking for SQ over flat out power. I mean I crank them from time to time but i sit really close to the area where the speakers are so they dont need to go crazy loud and they will not be used for HT at all.
 
#13 ·
For low level music listening I think something like the Statements, or mini-Statements, or Statement Monitors would be the best choice. These would best the Tempest, 1099 and most commercial offerings costing upwards of $2k for far less, plus you can buy them in kit form, with pre-assembled crossovers! Another kit that I would recommend is the Finalist, it's from the same designer and is smaller.

If you are not in the mood to DIY; then something like the Sierra-1 from Ascend Acoustics is a high value speaker at $800 per pair, and can be found on the used market for around $500 from time to time . If you had those, you could upgrade to their NRT tweeter and crossover at a later time as funds permit. I will say though, having heard the Statement Monitors and owning the original Sierra-1's, the Statement Monitors are the better of the two, or were, that is, until I had Dave modify my Sierra-1's to include the RAAL 70-20xr. Now my new, modified Sierra-1's are the best bookshelf speakers that I have ever heard!
 
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