Just to confirm, the Solstice kit is for ONE speaker at $539. So you would have to buy two if you want a stereo pair, lol.
Speaker kits recomendations Maybe Horn TL hybrid lets talk speaker kits
After reading many threads on speaker building ( you guys sparked my interest thanks) I'm interested in putting together my own speakers for a second system. this is for pure fun and saving money is nice as well.
I do not have full wood working facility's so it will have to be a flat pack type of build. Pre cut cabinets may be the ticket, as I am not a wood worker by trade ( Aircraft Tech, Electro Mechanical, minor in Electronics and Engineering are my background ) but I do have access to a wood working shop co-op on the military base for finishing.
I've been reading the various speaker kit makers, Fugalhorn, Moral audio, Madison sound, part connexion, fostex, ect. so I'm familiar with some of the main sites. Are there kits I'm missing? What do people recommend for kit manufacturers? Obviously I need to decide on a design I'm trending to a Horn-TL hybrid but I'm very open to suggestions. I own MTM's as my main speaker so I'm aware of what that design can do as well as most 2 way designs I think I'm looking for something different though. preferably higher up on the efficiency scale as I'd like the option to use lower powered amps but not necessarily a must. I'd even consider powered speakers.
Do you know of a good horn loaded kit? Horn TL hybrid kit? or do you have something totally different that may spark my interest. Subwofer is something i'll do next I think we will see.
This is a fun project for me but still wanting good sound from the finished product. Cost is not really a consideration I'd tend to spend a little more for better quality parts but I'm open as this is my first build. lets keep it under $2k but in no way do I need to spend that, couple hundred is fine for a good end result too. I know first time I should buy cheep but then I'll have a speaker I wont use so may as well take my time and do something worth having in the end.
I'm open to suggestion if I'm thinking down the wrong path.
Glen
I do not have full wood working facility's so it will have to be a flat pack type of build. Pre cut cabinets may be the ticket, as I am not a wood worker by trade ( Aircraft Tech, Electro Mechanical, minor in Electronics and Engineering are my background ) but I do have access to a wood working shop co-op on the military base for finishing.
I've been reading the various speaker kit makers, Fugalhorn, Moral audio, Madison sound, part connexion, fostex, ect. so I'm familiar with some of the main sites. Are there kits I'm missing? What do people recommend for kit manufacturers? Obviously I need to decide on a design I'm trending to a Horn-TL hybrid but I'm very open to suggestions. I own MTM's as my main speaker so I'm aware of what that design can do as well as most 2 way designs I think I'm looking for something different though. preferably higher up on the efficiency scale as I'd like the option to use lower powered amps but not necessarily a must. I'd even consider powered speakers.
Do you know of a good horn loaded kit? Horn TL hybrid kit? or do you have something totally different that may spark my interest. Subwofer is something i'll do next I think we will see.
This is a fun project for me but still wanting good sound from the finished product. Cost is not really a consideration I'd tend to spend a little more for better quality parts but I'm open as this is my first build. lets keep it under $2k but in no way do I need to spend that, couple hundred is fine for a good end result too. I know first time I should buy cheep but then I'll have a speaker I wont use so may as well take my time and do something worth having in the end.
I'm open to suggestion if I'm thinking down the wrong path.
Glen
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- 15 posts total
auxinput: yes i realise that thanks though, I'm still not sold on them yet as the efficiency is not as great as I'd like, I do not have an amplifier in my house that could power them at the moment. Also the TriTrix MTM TL is another one I'm considering from parts Xpress. I also own MTM Living Voice speakers I'm leaning to another design type. I'm leaning to higher efficiency, reason I'm thinking a horn system or TL hybrid maybe. Still looking and reading all the information I've been given - gathered. I may do something more exotic and have a local cabinet builder assist me in the cabinet work. we will see what I end up with. |
Most 2-way speaker kits are in the 87-88db efficiency range, including your TriTrix (as well as the Solstice). In fact, most manufactured audiophile speakers are in this range as well. There are some super efficient speakers like Klipsch and Tekton, but they are the exception. If you want efficiency, take a look at the MarkAudio 12P full range 8" driver. It’s not going to have the high frequency extension and attack that tweeters do, but it’s very natural sounding and has good low end response and it’s very efficient at 91.7db. It’s also easy to drive by an amplifier because it’s rated as 8 ohms. If you look at the impedance graph, it doesn’t actually drop below 9 ohms so you don’t need a big powerful high current amplifier. However, you’d have to build your own cabinet. The slightly smaller 10P driver is also great, but not quite as efficient. For what it is, it does an exceptional job and you don’t have to worry about crossover design. I built a 12P center channel and it does an amazing job for a full range driver. There are other very high efficiency full range drivers, but they all have problems of one sort or another (such as extremely breakup at a certain frequency or a tilt towards the upper mids/high with thin bass). The MarkAudio is one of them that does the entire frequency range right. The MarkAudio metal cone full range speakers do have a bit more high frequency, but they also sound a bit metallic and bright/harsh in comparison because of the breakup problem on metal drivers. |
auxinput; thanks for the suggestion of the MarkAudio 12P sound interesting for sure. I'll be looking at that driver with interest among others. I do have room for OB as well so between horns and OB full rangers are defiantly of interest as a prior Omega SAM owner. I've actually been looking at OB in the Pure Audio Project, Spacial Audio, etc. for some time. I'm quit familiar with high efficiency speakers as i run a SET 300B based amp and have high'ish efficiency speakers now in the Living Voice Avatar 2's @94db 6ohm min, in my main system. they are fine for my listening levels in my condo. I don't think I have owned speakers below 90db in a decade or two. This system I'm putting together will reside in my office-bedroom area and may do second duties in my living room system on occasion I'm just more interested in doing something for myself been too long pushing paper at work I miss tech'ing-turning wrenches etc. |
I know you're looking for a flat pack solution but if you could get a carpenter to make up the cabinets for you there are some great designs on the Seas website. I made the A26 as an experiment and was blown away by the cost/performance ratio. I've also been meaning to make some LXminis but not got around to it yet, there are several well regarded designs on Siegfried Linkwitz's site. |
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