[Maxjr]

Dont laugh

. Now I'm in a quandary

. In my quest for more bass, I've overdone it with 2 of Lilmike's cinema F20s

. These things are beasts! (A big thanks to Lilmike and Erich for all their help.) Now, my mains can't keep up. I can't win! It seems I dig myself deeper and deeper. I currently have 3 Energy RC10 bookshelves as my LCR and 2 Energy RC-R for surrounds. They are good, but I'm looking for the next level with DIY. I'm looking to you guys for recommendations on great DIY LCRs to upgrade my mains that will work with the F20s.


These will go into a living room and not a dedicated theater room. Space is around 19'x26'x10' that opens into other rooms. I look forward to hear what setups you guys are currently enjoying. Although I haven't budgeted a certain amount for the build, I hope to not spend over a $1000 as i am broke and am looking for the greatest return per dollar investment.

 

[beastaudio]

i literally just got all my stuff in to fix the exact same problem. I decided on the JTR's for a while but those bust your price range a good bit. I am still planning on building some 4pi's kits from pispeakers.com. these are supposed to be killer and for the standard speakers, you could get a full set of components for LCR under $1000. many will suggest upgrading the woofer and CD to gain some additional SQ but even with the base package, it should be a huge step over your bookshelves.

 

[Maxjr]

Beastaudio, thank you for the recommendation. I'll start reading about the 4pis

 

[beastaudio]

there are plenty of other options out there too. are you familiar with horns or compression drivers? they arent for everyone, but as many around here will tell you, the dispersion they give you really creates a great movie experience. I hadnt heard any until last weekend and it made me a believer. once again, they can be too harsh sometimes. fortunately there are ways to tame this

im sure others will chime in with suggestions along the lines of the econowaves, statements even, and some other custom builds you can look into. wayne at pispeakers is great though and has a killer product without a HUGE footprint like some of these horn builds...

 

[smokarz]

4pi is also in my plan for LCR. Just fyi, the kit is $400 each

 

[Maxjr]

Initially, I was really interested in the full size statements as they stand 60" tall, exactly the same as the F20s. However, it's a complicated build and the parts alone not including wood is about $1500 for LCR.


How do the 4 Pis sound with music? I'm also interested in econowaves. Are these similar to the 4 Pis, just unbranded?

 

[smokarz]

From what i hear the 4pis are great with music. The ewaves had lost quite a bit of values due the price increases of the parts. I don't think you can beat the 4pis for the money.

 

[Maxjr]

I've been doing a lot of reading today, especially on Pispeakers.com, and I'm leaning towards building two 4 Pi speakers and run a phantom center channel for now. I'll probably use the stock 15s and upgrade to the JBLs down the road.


But......

...... I'm still open to other thoughts

 

[NEO Dan]

Get the better compression drivers.

 

[Scott Simonian]

Agreed. +1


Btw, Maxjr, Wayne Parham the owner of Pi recommends the JBL woofer as the #1 priority for an upgrade and then the B&C compression driver. After that: inductors, resistors and caps. In that order, iirc.

 

[blackoper]

I'm waiting to see how MKTheater's speaker shootout goes. The Dr200 speakers are intrigueing but no one has tried them in a home theater. I was going to do Econowave SRs for lcr...

 

[stgdz]

You are where I was when i built my THT and my dayton classiv drivers couldn't keep up.

I ended up with a 2150 LCR setup and I built one as a center channel.




FYI you are going to end up with sealed subs and a multi kw amps before you are done.

 

[MKtheater]

M&K S-5000's keep up with F-20's so far. Can't get them anymore unless used. Any JBL cinema speaker can and the 3677 is the cheapest. I would think it is better than the base 4 Pi but not the upgraded one.

 

[Maxjr]

Thank you, everyone for your inputs. It is greatly appreciated. As Of now, I'm considering building 2 of the 4 Pi sPeakers withe the upgraded CD and JBL. Are these fine to run off Of my Denon AVR? I'm hoping to not have to buy an external amp for them (probably should have said that in the first post =p)

 

[LTD02]

"Are these fine to run off Of my Denon AVR?"


yes.

http://www.pispeakers.com/Measurements/fourPi.html


minimum impedance is about 6.5 ohms. very easy on receivers.


the 2226h is 97db 1w1m sensitive, so they will get loud with little power. no big amp needed for lots of fun with the 4pi's.

 

[Maxjr]

Awesome! Thanks, LTD02

 

[Scott Simonian]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxjr /forum/post/20790426


Thank you, everyone for your inputs. It is greatly appreciated. As Of now, I'm considering building 2 of the 4 Pi sPeakers withe the upgraded CD and JBL. Are these fine to run off Of my Denon AVR? I'm hoping to not have to buy an external amp for them (probably should have said that in the first post =p)

Absolutely!


Ah, John got ya.

 

[tony123]

I'm going to throw used Klipsch LaScala or Khorns into the pot! I have $1400 in my LCR and don't know what I would look for in an upgrade? If you're after volume and dynamics, they can outpace a pair of DTS10's in my room.


Downside is space and appearance, but if you already went with F20's I figure that isn't an issue.

Oh, and as with anything in the used market, there's no depreciation left. In fact, I'm counting on appreciation! I could use these for a decade or two and get my investment right back out of them.

It's not THE answer, but certainly should be considered.

 

[beastaudio]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Maxjr /forum/post/20790080


I've been doing a lot of reading today, especially on Pispeakers.com, and I'm leaning towards building two 4 Pi speakers and run a phantom center channel for now. I'll probably use the stock 15s and upgrade to the JBLs down the road.


But......

...... I'm still open to other thoughts

i will vouche for this approach. soon as I hooked up the jtr t12's, I realized it was pointless to run a center unless it was the same speaker, mine couldnt come close to keeping up, disconnected, re-audysseyd, and now im in business

 

[Maxjr]



Quote:
Originally Posted by tony123 /forum/post/20790886


I'm going to throw used Klipsch LaScala or Khorns into the pot! I have $1400 in my LCR and don't know what I would look for in an upgrade? If you're after volume and dynamics, they can outpace a pair of DTS10's in my room.


Downside is space and appearance, but if you already went with F20's I figure that isn't an issue.

Oh, and as with anything in the used market, there's no depreciation left. In fact, I'm counting on appreciation! I could use these for a decade or two and get my investment right back out of them.

It's not THE answer, but certainly should be considered.

Yep, size is not a problem. I'll take function over appearance everyday of the week (even if that means I stay single

). Thanks for the reco on the klipschs. I'll look into them