3 ms·

If you're in the US, this is a great first kit ($160 shipped for a pair): https://www.parts-express.com/Overnight-Sensations-MT-Speaker-Pair-Kit-300-706 https:/

If you're in the US, this is a great first kit ($160 shipped for a pair): https://www.parts-express.com/Overnight-Sensations-MT-Speaker-Pair-Kit-300-706 https://www.parts-express.com/Overnight-Sensations-MT-Speake... These are a good step up for a living room, although $240/ea: https://www.parts-express.com/Amiga-MT-Tower-Speaker-Kit-With-Knock-Down-Cabinet-300-7124 https://www.parts-express.com/Amiga-MT-Tower-Speaker-Kit-Wit... There are a few other sites that sell kits, either just the electronics or including pre-cut cabinets, i.e. https://meniscusaudio.com/product-category/speaker-kits/ https://meniscusaudio.com/product-category/speaker-kits/ I have a pair of these in my garage to build as a summer project (although getting a bit late for "summer"): https://www.parts-express.com/Solstice-MLTL-Reference-Tower-Speaker-Kit-300-708 https://www.parts-express.com/Solstice-MLTL-Reference-Tower-... Paul Carmody has quite a few designs: https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy Jeff Bagby is another big name in the DIY speaker world, although he died of COVID in March 2020 and I'm not sure there's a centralized site of his designs :(

Yhippa 4y ago
Thanks for these links. Do they make kits for soundbars? I'd like to get something short to put in front of the TV and it feels like I should be able to make something. I guess the problem would be integrating ARC into it. Edit: nevermind there is one with ARC: https://www.parts-express.com/AudioBar-powered-1.5-way-2-channel-sound-bar-speaker-kit-300-7146 https://www.parts-express.com/AudioBar-powered-1.5-way-2-cha...
MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
Some suggestions from the german DIY scene: A step up from the overnight sensations, the Twiggy BR: http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=267&thread=1218 http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=2... Built them myself, hard to improve on price-performance ratio. They have no right to sound this great given their size & budget. The Bantams are supposed to be very good as well, suitable for eg desktop use, haven't heard or built them myself yet: https://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/speaker-project-gallery/1304991-the-bantams-micro-speaker-system https://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/speaker-project-gal... There is also a more fancy version called Bantam Onyx, for when looks matter: http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-205-1154.html http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-205-1154.html Reference class monitors DXT-MON 182, 36-20000Hz, completely flat frequency response: https://heissmann-acoustics.de/dxt-mon-182/ https://heissmann-acoustics.de/dxt-mon-182/
- criddell 4y ago
  I'd like thank you and the GP for posting these links. My daughter has a synthesizer that she would like some monitor speakers for and making them might be a fun project. These links are great.
  - MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
    Especially for monitors there are several very good plans, and sound quality can be reference class. If you don't have a workshop to work on wood, you can buy pre-made speaker cases for some of the speaker plans, I only know german shops though: - https://lautsprecherbau.info/de/ https://lautsprecherbau.info/de/ - https://www.speakercase.de/produkt-kategorie/gehausebausatze/ https://www.speakercase.de/produkt-kategorie/gehausebausatze... Very important: price and sound quality are at best very loosely related in the consumer market! I mean off-the-shelf products here. Never assume expensive stuff sounds great. This is counter-intuitive but true.
criddell 4y ago
I have a semi-crappy Onkyo CR-N575 bookshelf receiver[1] on my desk because I wanted a small system that could play CDs, radio, Bluetooth, Spotify, etc... (there's not much out there for this anymore). I've always wondered if buying (or now I'm thinking about making) better speakers would make a noticeable difference in the mediocre sound? I only ever play at pretty low volumes and the receiver itself is no gem. The manual says RMS output power is 20W + 20W, 1kHz, 10% THD 6 ohms, but then a couple of lines later says THD is 0.05% line in, digital in 1kHz 1W. That's pretty bad, right? If so, then speakers may not be worth upgrading. If they are, how could I tell if these[2] are compatible? [1]: https://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/cs-n575d_manual_en.pdf https://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/cs-n575d_ma... [2]: https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-B4N-4-Aluminum-Midbass-Round-Frame-297-429 https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-B4N-4-Aluminum-Midbass-Ro...

Yhippa 4y ago

Thanks for these links. Do they make kits for soundbars? I'd like to get something short to put in front of the TV and it feels like I should be able to make something. I guess the problem would be integrating ARC into it. Edit: nevermind there is one with ARC: https://www.parts-express.com/AudioBar-powered-1.5-way-2-channel-sound-bar-speaker-kit-300-7146 https://www.parts-express.com/AudioBar-powered-1.5-way-2-cha...

MrBuddyCasino 4y ago

Some suggestions from the german DIY scene: A step up from the overnight sensations, the Twiggy BR: http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=267&thread=1218 http://www.hifi-forum.de/index.php?action=browseT&forum_id=2... Built them myself, hard to improve on price-performance ratio. They have no right to sound this great given their size & budget. The Bantams are supposed to be very good as well, suitable for eg desktop use, haven't heard or built them myself yet: https://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/speaker-project-gallery/1304991-the-bantams-micro-speaker-system https://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/speaker-project-gal... There is also a more fancy version called Bantam Onyx, for when looks matter: http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-205-1154.html http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-205-1154.html Reference class monitors DXT-MON 182, 36-20000Hz, completely flat frequency response: https://heissmann-acoustics.de/dxt-mon-182/ https://heissmann-acoustics.de/dxt-mon-182/

criddell 4y ago
I'd like thank you and the GP for posting these links. My daughter has a synthesizer that she would like some monitor speakers for and making them might be a fun project. These links are great.
- MrBuddyCasino 4y ago
  Especially for monitors there are several very good plans, and sound quality can be reference class. If you don't have a workshop to work on wood, you can buy pre-made speaker cases for some of the speaker plans, I only know german shops though: - https://lautsprecherbau.info/de/ https://lautsprecherbau.info/de/ - https://www.speakercase.de/produkt-kategorie/gehausebausatze/ https://www.speakercase.de/produkt-kategorie/gehausebausatze... Very important: price and sound quality are at best very loosely related in the consumer market! I mean off-the-shelf products here. Never assume expensive stuff sounds great. This is counter-intuitive but true.

criddell 4y ago

I have a semi-crappy Onkyo CR-N575 bookshelf receiver[1] on my desk because I wanted a small system that could play CDs, radio, Bluetooth, Spotify, etc... (there's not much out there for this anymore). I've always wondered if buying (or now I'm thinking about making) better speakers would make a noticeable difference in the mediocre sound? I only ever play at pretty low volumes and the receiver itself is no gem. The manual says RMS output power is 20W + 20W, 1kHz, 10% THD 6 ohms, but then a couple of lines later says THD is 0.05% line in, digital in 1kHz 1W. That's pretty bad, right? If so, then speakers may not be worth upgrading. If they are, how could I tell if these[2] are compatible? [1]: https://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/cs-n575d_manual_en.pdf https://www.intl.onkyo.com/downloads/manuals/pdf/cs-n575d_ma... [2]: https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-B4N-4-Aluminum-Midbass-Round-Frame-297-429 https://www.parts-express.com/HiVi-B4N-4-Aluminum-Midbass-Ro...