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DIY - Two kits using similar tweeter to Tekton

Hi Everyone,

There is a lot more to a speaker quality and sound than the brand of tweeter, but I wanted to get you excited about the idea of making your own. I try to post nice DIY projects or kits I find around the web every now and then. Every audiophile should build at least 1 pair of speakers in their lifetime!

Madisound in the US is now carrying a pair of kits, a 2-way and a 2.5 way from SB Acoustics. A very find Danish designer/Indonesian manufacturer trying to give ScanSpeak a run for their money for less.

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/speaker-kits/satori-ara-2-way-speaker-kit-pair/

The normal markup on drivers in the store is 10:1. If you buy the complete kit you pay 4:1, so a big savings. These are very well liked parts, and the tweeter is uber smooth. This is not the kit to buy if you are enamored of Golden Ear or B&W or Dynaudio.

One big advantage of buying a kit like this is part rolling. You can buy it as is, and then try your hands with any exotic capacitor you like.

Also introduced recently is the 2.5 way design, with cabinets:

https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2.5-way-speaker-kits/satori-rinjani-2.5-way-speaker-kit-pair/

Best,


E
erik_squires

Showing 7 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
@gawdbless

There’s too much with your question I object to.

I don’t believe that money = performance in speakers or electronics. However, from a practical perspective, you usually need to spend 10 times the driver cost to make money at the retail level so as I wrote in the first post, it would be around $5k for the small kit.

As I tried to show before, whether you get into DIY or not should be for your own education, or you will never be happy.



Best,


Erik
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
@gawdbless

I do read the posts though, but can no way entertain any form of DIY.


That’s a real shame, because I think every audiophile needs to at least once in their hobby build their own speaker pair. You’d learn a huge amount viscerally instead of whatever BS you think you can learn from reviews alone.

It will completely alter your perception of value and what things you should be tweaking to get what you want.

That is why a thread or two on DIY in the Speaker forum is important. Of course there are dedicated DIY forums like DIYaudio.com and Parts Express, but if they stopped appearing in Audiogon it would be an intellectual impoverishment of the hobby.

Above all, DIY should not be about saving money but about learning and taking control over what you are listening to away from the manufacturer and review cabal and into your very own hands. 

Building a pair of DIY speakers doesn't mean you won't buy commercial again, it just means you are a much better informed audiophile (by orders of magnitude) than everyone else. 

Best,


E
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
Not the kits, but the individual drivers are pretty well regarded. :) 

I'd suggest you ask in DIY forums, you'll find people with direct experience. 

Best,

E
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
I mean this sincerely:

I simply do not know how  you can sell a speaker at retail for less than 10x the wholesale driver cost. 

Wholesale can be up to half of retail pricing, and it's even cheaper if you make your own drivers. 

Focal produced some excellent slides talking about what goes into value. The money a buyer would pay for speakers. 

Audible performance was one of 5 or more different attributes. Brand recognition, modernity, aesthetics, etc. all play a role in increasing retail value. 

So, you are right. If you are looking for an investment, you are much better buying a Rolex. 

On the other hand, if you are going to be happy with these speakers for a decade and pay a third of what this quality would buy you in the store, this is the way to go. :) 

Most importantly, you have to be a bit of an iconoclast. You have to trust your ears and heart when you listen. 

Best,

E
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
@keithtexas 

Build them first, I think you'll find them pretty warm sounding, and capable of handling just about anything music-wise. 

Best,

E
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
@keithtexas 

I think the Ara is an excellent choice. I haven't heard the entire kit, but the two drivers used are really pretty excellent with lots of fans in the DIY community. You can't go wrong. I might swap out the tweeter resistors (R1, R3) with Mills equivalent and put an 0.1 uF Audyn TruCopper cap to bypass C1. 

You can always do that after. :) 

Best,

E
erik_squires OP
15,802 posts
 
I think those three brands of speakers use a peculiar type of tuning that happens in the "high end" which is quite different than this particular kit.

Dynaudio is also different in that they often use a W shaped house curve. 

Each of these approaches has pluses and minuses. Feel free to disagree, but let’s do that in another thread please.

My main point was, if you are enamored of the house sound of any of these three brands, the SB kit is not going to make you happy. 

Best,

E
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