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Good beginner speaker kit?

post #1 of 10
4/24/12 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
Hi Folks,

My old Mission 732's have died after many years of service. I was going to replace the drivers, but after speaking with Mission technical support this doesn't look likely. They have neither a replacement or recommended replacement woofer, nor do they have the T/S params of the original driver. Ah well.

Got me thinking that I should give building my own speaker a go. Obviously the TriTrix came up in my research, but it might be a bit too hardcore for me. I've never done any soldering before, nor have I assembled a cabinet. On the plus side, I would be able to do my own finish work. This means I'll be able to have a high gloss white finish to match my entertainment unit.

I was looking also at some of the other Dayton kits available with pre-assembled cabinets and completed crossovers. Like the UA721.

So my question is, what would you folks recommend? These speakers will be my main L/R speakers. Floor standing is preferred, but I do have an ugly pair of 16 inch stands that could be used. I have little experience with cabinet building and zero experience with the electronics (nor the tools). I'm looking for something easy to put together with a full range sound. I'm not wild on having a separate subwoofer.


Thanks in advance!!




spin
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post #2 of 10
4/24/12 at 12:33pm
Here's another source for you to check. They sell some of these in complete kits. All you would need to do is put them together.

http://www.madisound.com/kits/
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post #3 of 10
4/24/12 at 12:40pm
I put together one of the RS722 kits last month and it sounds amazing to my ears. The only reason I got the finished cabinet was they were basically giving it away when it was on sale so i got the finished kit. The crossovers were already put together in it, and assembly took about 30 minutes but only because I'm anal when I build stuff and I wanted to savor the moment so i took my time. It's the best sounding speaker in my whole house. I can only imagine what the usher version you're looking at sounds like.
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post #4 of 10
4/24/12 at 2:33pm
You could build a solid stand for those monitors, which will make them look like towers. This will also give you chance to work on building and finishing skills while you're still listening to your speakers on your old stands. Something like this:





You could use something like these grill guides to secure the speaker to the stand. Or just set it on them with felt in between. Best part about DIY is you can do whatever you like as long as you're satisfied in the end.
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post #5 of 10
4/25/12 at 10:38am
Thread Starter 
Ahh, it's the finish work that scares me the most!

Do you folks think that the Dayton kits are worth the money? At around $500 shipped to Canada, I'm looking at entry level PSB, Paradigm, and others.
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post #6 of 10
4/25/12 at 10:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spincycle79 View Post

Ahh, it's the finish work that scares me the most!

Do you folks think that the Dayton kits are worth the money? At around $500 shipped to Canada, I'm looking at entry level PSB, Paradigm, and others.

I think that UA721 will be comparable to much more expensive speakers. The drivers are very nice mid/high end quality, and D'Appolito designed the crossover, so it should be pretty smooth and accurate.
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post #7 of 10
4/25/12 at 2:40pm
I actually built the SR71 kit from madisound/Zaph. They are only bookshelf units, but they sound amazing. They easily trump store bought speakers costing A LOT more. You can order most kits with prefinished cabs. It's just a matter putting stuff together, and anyone can do that. I built my own cabs, but I already have all the tools and expeirience needed to do so.

I personally think you would be happy with any kit you find within your budget. They put a lot of development into those kits. You should expect great results whatever direction you choose. The most important thing is to choose a kit the meets you needs. What do you want from your speakers?
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post #8 of 10
4/26/12 at 8:02am
Thread Starter 
Good question!

I'm looking for new mains. I live in a small-ish, condo, so I don't really have space for a separate sub. I'd prefer floor standing speakers that reach into the lower octaves for this reason.

I'm decently handy, so the cabinet building doesn't worry me too much. The finishing work is a different story, as I've never done that before. But the ability to finish in any colour I want is appealing.

Also, I don't have any experience with the electronics. Last time I soldered something, it was for plumbing! So the electronics diagrams and soldering work I see in some of the kits frighten me.

Any other information that I can provide that would help with a recommendation?




Cheers,
spin
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post #9 of 10
4/26/12 at 8:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by spincycle79 View Post

Good question!

I'm looking for new mains. I live in a small-ish, condo, so I don't really have space for a separate sub. I'd prefer floor standing speakers that reach into the lower octaves for this reason.

I'm decently handy, so the cabinet building doesn't worry me too much. The finishing work is a different story, as I've never done that before. But the ability to finish in any colour I want is appealing.

Also, I don't have any experience with the electronics. Last time I soldered something, it was for plumbing! So the electronics diagrams and soldering work I see in some of the kits frighten me.

Any other information that I can provide that would help with a recommendation?

Cheers,
spin

You could take that stand idea from earlier, and build powered subs into each stand. Just paint them black and you will only see imperfections up close.
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post #10 of 10
4/26/12 at 10:24am
"I'm not wild on having a separate subwoofer."

nobody is.

the problem is that rooms have what are called modes (points where the size of the soundwave add or subtract from each other). when this happens, big peaks and dips in the frequency response occur. by having the subs separated from the mains, they can be moved around the room and will help reduce the variation of these peaks and dips.
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