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What building my own speakers has taught me...

Hi Everyone,

After 8 years or so I have finally finished my "reference" speaker system.  I say eight years because what started as a small, high end 2-way has morphed into a 3-way active system.  Really happy with the results for myself... but I wanted to step back a little and reflect on the audio industry right now. 

First, I’m not here to convince you to DIY your next pair unless you NEED to build something.  And I’m not here to rail against the high price of gear, which does have some merit.   Mostly what I think about is how difficult it really is to make a business selling audio gear, and that I’m actually SHOCKED at how many companies attempt to do so, and even more when they thrive. 

Pricing out all the components in my speakers I come to a total parts cost.  Lets say it’s $1,000.  It could be $10, the actual amount doesn’t matter, but pretend it’s $1k. If I try to imagine "How would I take this product to market?"  I simply can’t get to a selling price under 15 to 20 times manufacturing cost. 

At the same time, the cost of the average "reference" speaker over the last 20 years has really skyrocketed, while the audio enthusiast market has dwindled.   Then along came HDMI whose ridiculous licensing and technical requirements seems to at least have been partially responsible for Meridian and Theta Digital dwindling from the market. 

I can’t imagine how hard it is for anyone besides say Sony or Harman or Samsung to be in the market for audio gear.  Increased costs, high competition, dwindling consumers.....  are we in a bubble or does every generation think "this is it, this is the end of high end audio?" 

erik_squires
erik_squires OP
17,543 posts
 

Thanks for your kind words, @phusis 

Yes, as far as I know the only drivers Mundorf makes are AMT’s, including some that are pretty long which could be used in line sources.  I like _these_ AMTs but I’ve heard terrible AMTs too.  I’m sure there are AMTs as good for a lot less than the Mundorfs now but not an expert.   Beyma is a brand that I see recommended often, especially their horn loaded model. 

The Dayton RSS265HF’s were recommended to me, and they were an excellent choice.  About half the price of comparable ScanSpeak 10" aluminum woofers with very similar performance.  I have no complaints about their distortion either.   I used 2 x 10" because I wanted to keep the overall cabinet size down to just larger than the bookshelves.  Also, really wanted to put them as close to the floor as possible.  The distance between the top woofer and mid-woofer is negligible at 250 Hz. 

erik_squires OP
17,543 posts
 

By the way, @phusis - If you are thinking of the RAAL ribbons, I highly recommend them.  Never heard them but interacted with the designer via DIYaudio.  Super knowledgeable, very friendly and helped me learn a great deal.  I was lucky to get to learn from him.

I was particularly impressed by his command of his manufacturing.  He makes custom transformers for buyers at scale which allowing a variety of impedance and low frequency options. 

erik_squires OP
17,543 posts
 

@samssa  - Having fun and learning is the exact right reason to get into the hobby! :)  No matter how big or small.   The wrong reason to  get into the hobby is to save money, I think.  

joeycastillo
267 posts
 

Nice work OP

Congratulations, great work !

My 02 cents of advice is to use REW to do analyze and do graphical analysis of your good work!  

erik_squires OP
17,543 posts
 

@joeycastillo  - Thank you for the kind words, I wouldn’t be at this point without continuous analysis of the drivers and speakers as a whole.  Those crossover points and EQ settings aren’t going to make themselves! 

I use the not so popular OmniMic.  It's not free but so simple to use  along with VituixCAD to simulate the DSP settings. 

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