[cream puff]

 http://cgi.ebay.com/3-way-Kit-EM-i12...item53e3ebe6de


seems like a really good price for 6 woofers, 4 mids, 2 tweeters and 2 crossovers? better for the money elsewhere? too good to be true? real/china knockoff?

 

[Thomas-W]

What would be right about a speaker with Polk drivers using a crossover specifically designed for Cerwin Vega drivers?


Nothing......

 

[CZ Eddie]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas-W /forum/post/0


What would be right about a speaker with Polk drivers using a crossover specifically designed for Cerwin Vega drivers?


Nothing......

I would be hesitant without graphs. No doubt.

 

[penngray]

Well their motto is....


"SOUND WITHOUT QUALITY IS JUST NOISE"


So obviously its going to sound great

FWIW, I like the driver looks

, Ignore the passive XO and use your own MiniDSP.

 

[tuxedocivic]

I would say not worth it. If you can design a XO from scratch, maybe there is value in the drivers alone. But it's still a gamble, because you don't know how those drivers perform. You'd have to throw away the XO, and take measurements. Probably have to start with infinite baffle measurements, then design the enclosure. Then measure again in the box. Because nobody knows how they measure.


Best off spending $250 on parts express buyout drivers and save some money. Or buy known drivers with spec sheets and history. Maybe for $100 it would be worth rolling the dice.

 

[penngray]

Do you have a $250 price tag for 6 woofers, 2 mids and 2 tweeters over on PE that have >= 90dB sensitivity ? I mean that is already about $25 per driver.....damn cheap if you ask me.



BTW, the TS parameter links for the drivers are posted and they are polk drivers. There isnt really a reason to assume they are not since the seller has a valid history.

 

[Looneybomber]

I guess it could be worth it to buy it for the drivers and find a schematic for the Polk RTi12 speakers which you could duplicate?

 

[cream puff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penngray Do you have a $250 price tag for 6 woofers, 2 mids and 2 tweeters over on PE that have >= 90dB sensitivity ? I mean that is already about $25 per driver.....damn cheap if you ask me. BTW, the TS parameter links for the drivers are posted and they are polk drivers. There isnt really a reason to assume they are not since the seller has a valid history.

see thats what i was thinking.. even without the crossovers, 250 bucks for the drivers seems like a screaming deal to me considering those polk towers retail for over 1k for the pair, and like 800 for a refurb set.. no way id have anywhere close to that into them building cabinets that mimick the polk cab's..


unless im missing something.

 

[cream puff]

also here are specs from the ebay add..


woofer

midrange

no specs on the tweeter

 

[tuxedocivic]

Penn, here are some examples for less money. I think you could make a much better speaker with these, for less money. Some combination of the below could be used to make something real nice, provided the person can measure and design. That's the catch. It's a part of why buyouts are cheap. The other reasons being they aren't replaceable, and have little history.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-911

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-068

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-063

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-913

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-278

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=299-065

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...umber=264-1028

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...umber=264-1040

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=275-035

 

[tuxedocivic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Looneybomber I guess it could be worth it to buy it for the drivers and find a schematic for the Polk RTi12 speakers which you could duplicate?

This is a good idea.


Otherwise, back to square one. Measure and design.

 

[penngray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuxedocivic Penn, here are some examples for less money. I think you could make a much better speaker with these, for less money.

I looked at the first 3 links alone and it looks like you just went to the buyout link on PE and started copying. I could have done that, I actually do that almost daily because Im always looking for a steal. (Ie. $50 for .75cuft boxes I think last week, that was a steal).


Anyways. I think you are using the "if its sold on ebay, it can not be great" mentality here because you are thinking Jamo = Polk audio drivers. Which is not true.


Now, Im not saying these drivers are high quality because 10 drivers for $250 obviously isnt all that great but atleast they are from an actually speaker design that does sound pretty good ( I was a polk fan for years). If someone likes the looks of those woofers (that matters to some people) and likes to own a Polk clone then its not the worst decision out there.


btw, you honestly didnt have to go far though to point out other
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-704


no need to measure anything, just follow all directions. Its a design that has a proven track record. Obviously not a big SPL design but still a great starter.

 

[penngray]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cream puff see thats what i was thinking.. even without the crossovers, 250 bucks for the drivers seems like a screaming deal to me considering those polk towers retail for over 1k for the pair, and like 800 for a refurb set.. no way id have anywhere close to that into them building cabinets that mimick the polk cab's.. unless im missing something.

Here is the kicker about $$$, etc. A $1K speaker sold comercially is only going to have probably

FWIW, a common ratio in DIY is that if the DIY build costs $200 then it should match a retail design's SQ of about $800 to $1K.


btw, I didnt consider them a screaming deal either. I do like their looks but then I was a polk fan for a while.

 

[tuxedocivic]

Yes, that's exactly what I did. That's what I said I'd do...???


That's not my mentality at all. Of course Jamo and Polk are different. If it was me, I'd focus on the Peerless drivers, as I've enjoyed every Peerless I've heard.


No, you're right, if he wants a Polk clone, that's fine. But like I said, unless he can measure and design, or as Loony suggested and I agreed with, find a schematic, he won't have a clone. He'll have drivers that aren't a great deal. At least I don't think they're a great deal. All those links are better, imo at least.


And of course he could buy a kit and not need to measure/design, but that's not what this was about. It's about buying those drivers that essentially have no XO. If he can't measure/design, then my recommendation is to defintely use a kit and NOT buy this. Unless he can find the schematic. Have some sense. I know kits exist. Come on.


EDIT - BTW, as for the ebay comment. I use ebay all the time. I buy tons of gear off ebay. So that's not my mentality. I just think the buyouts on PE are better value right now.

 

[penngray]

We will disagree on Jamo drivers being good but that is a different thread

 

[tuxedocivic]



Quote:
Originally Posted by penngray /forum/post/20779640


We will disagree on Jamo drivers being good but that is a different thread

Actually, we'll agree. I don't think they are good. All I've ever heard is their commercial offerings, in stores (not the right environment to evaluate).


Like I said, I'd focus on the Peerless/Vifa offerings. I do think your love of Polk is playing some bias in your opinion here though. You don't know what you're getting with any of these drivers. My suggestions too. I really did just flip through the buy out section on PE and look for sensitive and/or good drivers that were cheap. You could buy 25 drivers from my list for $250 and could get very creative. Maybe build several pairs of different speakers.


Bottom line, it's not that great of deal. There is better out there. Unless some specific things happen like, love of Polk, wanting to clone, like the looks, and can measure/design or find a schematic.

 

[tuxedocivic]

Cream Puff,


I just noticed another issue with that Polk kit. The sensitivity on the woofer is 88db and the impedance looks like it has minimums around 2 and 2.5ohms. Polk likely wires these in series. The mids too. Possibly two in series and one in parallel. Considering baffle step, you'd be looking at about a 82 to 85 db sensitive speaker in the end. I'd suggest that the peerless 12ohm woofer in my links would be 91db, plus parallel gains, minus baffle step, you'd be actually around 90+db sensitive.

Makes me want to grab a few of those, alas, I don't have the space

EDIT - having said that, the Polk would have good power handling and an easy load on your amp in series.

 

[cream puff]

main reasoning for considering these was i have heard the polk rti12s and know they are a good sounding speaker..


i have a set of polk monitor 70s right now that id like to upgrade/replace and am just starting to look at options for replacing them that wont break the bank (sub 500 bones if possible, for 2 fronts and a center)


if there are easier/better ways to do it, im all ears.. was just a convenient place to start because I have heard these drivers before personally.. instead of taking a leap of faith on something that ive never seen or heard locally.



edit: my amp is 275x2 at 8 ohm, or 350x2 at 4 ohm.. so im not in a huge crunch when it comes to needing lower power drivers.

 

[tuxedocivic]

You haven't mentioned yet, so I'll assume you can't measure/design. Bottom line, that Cerwin XO won't sound like the rti12s you heard. You'll want to find the schematic as Looney suggested. If you can, then knock yourself out, not a bad way to go if you like them. Sometimes finding schematics is easier said than done, depending on the manufacturer. I doubt they have full BSC, so sensitivity might be a bit higher.

 

[Zardnok]

I can not attest to the quality level of the kit in the OP, but a buddy of mine purchased five of their "kits" last year for a low-budget 5.1 system. He paid $28 per kit which consisted of 2 Polk 5 1/4" mids, a Samsung tweeter, and a speaker terminal cup with a very basic 12 db/octave two-way cross-over @3k. We dropped each kit into a .75 ft3 cabinet and they sounded remarkably good. We used an AR12 woofer in a 2 ft3 vented cabinet with a 100 watt plate amp for the low-end and the system blew away his old Onkyo HTIB system that his wife had been oh so proud of.


So, while I can not attest to the kit in the OP, I can attest that Mavin sends you exactly what they say. In my buddies case, we could not have bought 2-5" mids, a tweeter, and built a Cross-over for his $28 purchase price, so it was well worth it for him.


For a $250 purchase price, you can come up with some pretty nice alternatives, my favorites being the Infinity Classia C336 towers being closed out online for $200-$250ish.