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Ah, DIY speakers! The general rule here is that DIY speakers will sound as good as commercial speakers that cost 4-5x as much. You can buy kits with pre-cut p
by matthew-wegner 12y ago
Ah, DIY speakers! The general rule here is that DIY speakers will sound as good as commercial speakers that cost 4-5x as much. You can buy kits with pre-cut parts, so all you need to do is glue/clamp and build the crossovers.
Easy-to-build bookshelf speakers, the Overnight Sensations--$136 with free shipping: http://www.parts-express.com/overnight-sensations-mt-speaker-kit-pair--300-706 http://www.parts-express.com/overnight-sensations-mt-speaker...
And the Amiga towers are great for a living room, more towards $300 for the pair: http://www.diysoundgroup.com/speaker-kits/amiga-kit.html http://www.diysoundgroup.com/speaker-kits/amiga-kit.html
More Amiga info: https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy/amiga https://sites.google.com/site/undefinition/diy/amiga
I have built both, they're both really great at what they do. If I ever have the free time and money, I'd love to build some Statements: http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statements.html http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statements.html
- kingnight 12y agoIs that general rule pretty accurate? I've been contemplating buying an home speaker upgrade and pretty price adverse because I don't _need_ to upgrade. I am currently using Harman Kardon Soundsticks II w/ sub for my home audio and have no complaints -- kept this for 8 years really, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. Are those 300 really ~ to $1200. If so, that sounds like a solid project!
- matthew-wegner 12y agoI'd say so! Most of my information comes from a super-long 3000-post speaker thread on a private music site. I have auditioned a few high-end speakers in stores and would say that DIY holds its own very well. Personally, I replaced an ~$800 pair of speakers with the Amigas, and they're vastly better in terms of clarity/resolution. I have a decent tube amplifier already. Past that point I'm pretty sure room setup/room treatment starts to matter much more than hardware...
- andy_ppp 12y agoWhich tube amp do you have (or should I buy?). I'm in the market for one :-)
- matthew-wegner 12y agoI have a Yaqin MC 10L: http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAQIN-MC-10L-Push-Pull-Integrated-Stereo-Tube-Amplifier-/141323298889 http://www.ebay.com/itm/YAQIN-MC-10L-Push-Pull-Integrated-St... With aftermarket tubes: http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/purchase/shuguang-treasure-series-vacuum-tubes/ http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/purchase/shuguang-treasure-s... The amp is super heavy (40+ lbs), so shipping is expensive. I like it a lot--definitely changes the sound to something warmer. It's also a beautiful object, especially in the dark. The aftermarket tubes helped resolve bass, but are probably overkill (I used them as a reward to myself for crunch on a contract gig). Note that tube amps have a lot of downsides--you can't leave them on 24/7, they make a lot of heat (so can't stack with other electronics), you need to tune voltage during the first few months of operation, only stereo output with minimal AV switching, etc...
- kingnight 12y agoThanks for the info!
- ddrmaxgt37 12y agoI made some Overnight Sensations 6 months ago and they are great. The build process was really fun and the finished product is much better that what I could have bought (though if you factor in time, they are actually pretty expensive).
- matthew-wegner 12y agoAgreed on time! I think I spent ~5 hours on the Overnight Sensations and maybe 10 hours on the Amigas. Personally, I really enjoyed having a not-at-the-computer hobby I could put time into every night. But yeah, if you're just looking for a cheap set of speakers, and don't care about the actual DIY angle, making your own might be feel like a frustrating time sink...
- icantthinkofone 12y agoYears ago, a boss of mine used to build speakers from scratch. He played for me a recording of a symphony where there was a sound of rolling thunder along with the tinkle of glass. It was flawless and amazing to hear.