Saggas Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 hi, Im looking at building some speakers to accompany my mp3 jukebox. Im fairly good with electronics but have never bothered to build speaker cabinets before. They will be in a fairly large room (my lounge room) Ill be mostly using them for playing my mp3 collection, and watching the occasional movie (maybe once a week) Id just like some guidance as to what I should be looking for when buying components, what sort of speakers would best suit my needs etc. any help would be much appreciated.. oh PS. im in australia if anyone knows of any good online stores down under that would also help. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmboydoug Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Saggas, Too complicated a question for a single post. Here are some links to more relevant sites where you can do some research. The DIY projects here on Klipsch.com are not for beginners and would be complete overkill for an MP3 collection. DIY geeks like myself hang out at the Parts Express and Madisound and a few other forums. http://www.pesupport.com/cgi-bin/config.pl http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/discuss.cgi http://www.htguide.com/forum/forumdisplay.php4?f=6 http://www.speakerbuilder.net/web_files/default.htm Good luck, doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 hey man, thanx for the advice. Ill have a read of those forums, would it be better for me to just ditch the 'building' idea and spend up big on a ht system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filmboydoug Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 If you are handy in the shop go for it. There are good and bad points to both DIY and completed speakers. I run into a lot of prejudice with my DIY speakers. I am so sick of it I make people listem to them before I mention they are home made. Then when they ask what brand they are for fun I tell them they are Yaxahatchi GT 750 Super Sports. But, dollar for dollar, pre built cannot begin to compair to DIY Speakers. Heck, half the threads on this forum are about tweaking and modifying already excellent speakers to sound even better. I am building a DIY set for a friend, and when all is said and done, will have less than $600 into them. I have heard a similar set and they sound better than anything in the local hi fi stores short of Martin Logans and the big Mcintosh line arrays. Let me put it another way. I don't have $3500. If I did, would I spring for new Cornwalls? Never. I'd DIY myself up some Jubilees with ES crossovers and to die for veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 wow, sounds impressive, the price tag you spoke of is around what I was looking to spend. $600 and find a decent amp to power them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
efzauner Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 As an alternative, take a look at ebay for some used speakers. There are lots out there that can be had for $300-$400 and the rest you can put into a decent new or used receiver. Check out the recent speaker test on Audioholics.com to find what you could get new for under $300. Just a thought. Also check out craiglist.com. I saw a set of Forte for $450. That was an utter steal. Feel free to post back here for comments on what you find before buying... Stay away from Theatre Research, or anything of the back of a truck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan1045 Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Another alternative is a sub/sat system. You can find good mini speakers by nht, jbl, and ads on ebay for decent prices. www.partsexpress.com has a powered subwoofer for usually around 120-150 bucks. Set up right these can sound great and be much smaller footprint in the room. If you want small speakers to build they have a good line if diy speakers for a decent price. I recently built a partsexpress sub with a 12 inch driver and use it with a set of small speakers I built several years ago. The system sounds incredible, but I probably have more in it than you want to spend. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 6, 2006 Author Share Posted January 6, 2006 hey thanx for the replies. im from australia, so there isn't much gear on ebay.com.au accept for stuff like this. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-PAIR-BEHRINGER-TRUTH-B2031A-MONITORS_W0QQitemZ7378289985QQcategoryZ23794QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem and other gear from this store. also. my mate is a rep for this company, can do me a decent deal on this gear, but im really unsure about spending up big without hearing it first. http://www.zensonic.com.au/ and i live in a south island of australia where that brand isn't known at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted January 18, 2006 Share Posted January 18, 2006 Ixnay on the Zensuxic crap any company that claims "20-60000 hz response opens up the soundfield" and "100 db signal to noise eliminates distortion" doesn't deserve to be taken seriously Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted January 19, 2006 Share Posted January 19, 2006 im in australia if anyone knows of any good online stores down under that would also help. Acoustic Concepts is the only Australian DIY supplier i've heard of... but i've seen several builders mention that they are quite pricey. Some US suppliers do ship down under, but i would try to stick with smaller independants than PartExpress if you go that route. As for the used market.... don't dispare, although there may be less auctions in your area... there are some proportionate to the aussie population. ROb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 Ixnay on the Zensuxic crap any company that claims "20-60000 hz response opens up the soundfield" and "100 db signal to noise eliminates distortion" doesn't deserve to be taken seriously ahh o.k. they also claim their new speaker line 875's, 'highs reproduced actually exceed the ears upper frequency limit by a full octave' which made me wonder a bit..also. what about these. http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Speakers-Klipsch-15-500watt-highest-quality-USA_W0QQitemZ7383178727QQcategoryZ23794QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Spinner Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 yes ...!! it'l be far better than that other crap .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 o.k then, well my next question would be, how would I go about matching an AMP to those puppies, is there any brands I should look out for? or stay well clear of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 For sheer value, and since making the cabinets look good is the trickiest part (requiring certain wood-working tools), I look for big, heavy speaker cabinets at Goodwill and yard sales, if the cones are shot, that is even better, I get them for $5 to $25, then go to a speaker repair shop and buy replacement drivers (with new, larger magnets) that match the original frequency response ($25-50), the result blows any $600 speaker pair I have ever heard away! [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saggas Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 o.k sounds interesting colin, but wouldn't I have to match the size of the bin with the speaker's recommended air volume? the same with car subwoofers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemihorn Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Re: hi, newbie here. just a few questions.Here is a link in AustraliaIntroduction by William Cowan I've been a keen audiophile for nearly 20 years. I always admired the products made by the high end manufactures, but found their asking prices were out of reach for most. This led me to design and build all of my own signal processing equipment, amplifiers and speakers. We live in Canberra, Australia. (About 200Km South of Sydney)http://diy.cowanaudio.com/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 sounds interesting colin, but wouldn't I have to match the size of the bin with the speaker's recommended air volume? Yes you would... as well as quite a few other parameters to get to match an existing crossover. It's not the right way to go... I'm not sure what Colin has been smoking, but i don't want any. [] ROb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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