contemplating building some studio monitor style speakers. your opinions/ideas

well, i began by posting up a thread in the speakers section seeking opinions on some jbl rm10 studio bookshelfs. here they are, http://www.jbl.com/home/products/pro...A&cat=&ser=MON . i guess they aren't very well known or whatever as i got no responses thus far, no worries.

i like this style of speaker. it's something large that i can ceiling mount and doesnt take up floor space like a floorstander w/ 10" would. after trying to browse ebay for some appropriate surrounds that i thought might mate well with these i didn't really see much. i thought about getting 5 of the rm10's, but that just seems like a bit of overkill for the surrounds and i would really rather have a smaller cabinet in the rear, maybe containing a 8" or so.

anyhow, i began to wonder if i could merely build something like these for the same/less money that i could outright buy them for which is $126/each. plus, this way i could timbre match all the speakers rather than mixing matching the LCR and surrounds and even possibly use better drivers.

this would be my first build of any type of main speakers. i've built a couple subs and am in the process of doing so now. but from what i gather building subs and mains/surrounds are two different ballgames. i would probably just stick with the 2-way design and maybe the same basic box shape as the jbls, just depends on what kind of info/ideas i get from you guys.

this is just a thought as i am trying to weigh out my options to do as we all do, obtain the best sound for our budget.

thanks guys

thanks guys. i know that speakers set at ear level and all would be optimal. but, despite my not minding large speakers and even liking floorstanders, i'm pretty set on having wall/ceiling mounted ones in order to keep my floorspace and also, i sometimes let my husky indoors and don't want her knocking any thing over or chewing on/damaging them.

(edit) - the modula's look pretty nice, but how would they stack up against the jbls? think the jbl's are worth what they are asking and your opinion on whether or not they would sound good? i've owned klipsch klf-10's and some older infinity studio monitors (15" version), would i be looking at sound similar to either of those, cause i liked them both well.

thanks again

nice speakers, but for the price of one i could have 3 of the jbls.

ok, considering the tower speaker idea. i suppose i'll just drop kick my dog if she even looks at them wrong.

anyhow, i thought about a slim tower design (or even front firing so that the LCR would look the same) utilizing a 10" eclipse sw6103.4 driver, which can be had off ebay for $55 shipped/ea. the eclipse would match my sub i'm building perfectly and i think it would be sufficient. i'm thinking a 3 way design using dayton 5.25" aluminum drivers for mid's (not sure yet as to how many in each tower) and a eminece apt-150 horn tweeter (i like klipsch speakers). now, i've never built full range speakers and this selection of drivers may quickly reveal that. i'm just guessing.

i want something pleasing to the eye and would consider your recommendations. it doesn't have to even utilize a 10" driver, i just saw the eclipse's on ebay. i like the looks of the towers that have drivers from head to toe, so intemidating looking.

i'm looking to give a go at a LCR setup right now, i have some temp surrounds i can use until i build some better ones.

so, if you don't mind, shoot me your ideas. budget wise, i'd say $500 for the components, don't bother considering the mdf, paint, screws, those sort of things. this would be something that i progressively built as time allowed.

thanks fellas

nah, was hoping to go for LCR out of the $500, of coarse that's give or take some. heck my sub started out as a ~$300 idea and i'll end up ~$600 into it. as to the matching, i didnt mean tonally or anything like that, simply athstectically (how in the hates do you spell that word?)

soho, i saw the 3" tweeters and wondered bout that. recently read an article bout the crappiness of bose. in the article they told what size drivers are idea for highs/mids/lows. i didn't recall 3" being in that range for highs and if it was it was to the utter extreme. but, i figured jbl knew more than i, so i was willing to consider them.

i had no intention of just building a box and slapping some speakers in there. thats why i was looking to find out if you guys had any box designs/driver recommendations in mind. i've seen the natalie p's and they dont tickle my fancy much. any other ideas? i know there is a certain amount of science and forthought that goes into a design, but at the same time it can also be overcomplicated (in my opinion). i mean, i'm not rocketing a man to the moon, just building some speakers.

for instance, i just like the looks of the polk (can't think of model number) speakers that have four 6.5" drivers on the front and a tweeter squeezed in there somewhere. something similar to that would be great and i cant see how it would cost a fortune when looking at PE i see what appear to be decent quality drivers for pretty cheap. i.e. - http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-305 <------ 10 or 12 of those (~$200) three x-overs ($120), three tweeters(~60-$100, maybe more, just depends), cabinet, paint, wire, binding post and it seems like i should be pretty close to a functional speaker. perhaps i'm missing something. i can't imagine polk using drivers that are much, if any better than those daytons. just seems like i should be able to build three towers that would yield polk or klipsch, or whatever quality for somewhere in the neighborhood of $500. i realize that a box design can make or break the drivers, which is where you guys would come into play. i wouldn't be looking for anything fancy, just your typical square enclosure.

anyhow, thanks for the responses.