3 posts for the price of 1

[ebes67]

Wow, the look of this site has changed since the last time I logged in. Now, to the point(s):

1) I built a pair of Ed Frias' speakers a couple years ago (with some help from Ed and ar.com) and have been extremely happy with them. Along that line, if anyone is considering building some speakers, but not too sure about it, just do it; you'll be impressed. Anyway, I'm kind of getting the upgrade bug again, so I'm wondering what would be a good next step. One of the options that caught my eye is the Eros at www.speakerbuilder.net, but I would love to hear any suggestions or feedback from all of you.

2) I was looking at Madisound yesterday for the first time in over a year and noticed that their kits are _much_ more complete (and more expensive) than they used to be. For example, their ar.com kit now has cabinets and a pre-assembled crossover, but is around $350. This part is just kind of an opinion poll, but does anyone else here feel that buying a 'kit' that contains both a pre-made cabinet and a pre-made crossover is more a complete speaker than a kit? Again, just my opinion, but to me building the crossover was the most challenging/rewarding part of the process since it actually made me think about what's going on in there.

3) Finally, related to point 2 above, why would one buy premade name-brand speakers if building your own has been reduced to a few minutes of straight assembly work? To use Ed's speakers as an example, why pay over twice as much for a set of Paradigms or whatever if you can now just throw the kit together and be up-and-running in a few minutes?

[dave_bullet]

3) Finally, related to point 2 above, why would one buy premade name-brand speakers if building your own has been reduced to a few minutes of straight assembly work? To use Ed's speakers as an example, why pay over twice as much for a set of Paradigms or whatever if you can now just throw the kit together and be up-and-running in a few minutes?

I suppose people buy premade because:
- they think manufacturer components must be far superior to DIY available components - after all the marketing is flash
- they get a fancy badge on the front You don't get that with DIY
- they believe speakers are extremely complex, so how could a DIY premade kit be possibly as good as a commercial one - let alone the complexity in putting it together
- they just want to buy speakers and listen and can't be bothered with the couple of hours at most assembly

I'm glad many people buy commercial speakers. If everyone did DIY - then either commercial products would have to drop in price to compete.... or worse... DIY component prices would go up due to demand. Like you, I hope the supply/demand chain stays like it is so that DIY continues to be great value for money.

Cheers,
David.

[Lord_Magnepan]

If i could build a full range Magneplanar Speaker with a true ribbon for half the cost then i would do diy too :p

[ebes67]

Joking aside, does a DIY planar speaker kit exist? It seems improbable given the way they're constructed, but I'm a little curious.

Referring back to my initial post, does anyone have any thoughts on 'the next step'?

I put a little time into it over the weekend. First, I'm thinking I should get better speaker stands for my current setup and work on their positioning a bit more. Next, I need to do something about the room they're in: I used to live in a little condo where the stereo somehow just sounded 'right'. Now I'm in a house with a large family room and something is missing. I need to help the accoustics of the room somehow (it just sounds kind of empty, if I can use that adjective) without doing anything that will upset my wife. Any ideas there?

[kexodusc]

ebes67: Sorry I missed this thread way back when, but I would suggest you take a look at some of Danny Ritchie's designs at:
www.gr-research.com

Since you've already done the ar.com, try the A/V 2, A/V 3, or one of the Lucidity series line of speakers.
I've conversed with a few other folks who've built the ar.com DIY's that ended up moving on to some of GR-Research's speakers and have been equally impressed with these designs. FYI, I was told the A/V 1 is both better and worse than Ed's DIY design, so it's probably very close, and therefore not a viable option for you.
Good luck, and send us some pics of your projects..

[ebes67]

Thanks for the info; good timing, with Christmas rolling around! I'll check those designs out and let you know which way I go.
ebes

[ebes67]

I just took a look at the GR web site and noticed they have an updated crossover for Ed's speakers. Does anyone have any experience with the GR crossover? My speakers have Ed's original crossover (from a few years ago), so I'm a little behind on the updates as it is. Anyway, I was thinking that maybe I'd be better off to try to tweak my existing setup rather than start over right away. Any recommendations on using Ed's newer crossover design vs. GR's vs. just keeping what I've got? I really don't know what I'd be spending to change it over, and also would like to know what sonic differences I could expect.

Thanks
ebes

[kexodusc]

ebes67:
Ed's already addressed this.
This is what I believe you are looking for (though it takes awhile to load)...an interesting read:
http://archive.audioreview.com/12/0EF9AE62.php

From all sources I've communicated with, Ed's new updated crossover design is far superior to the original and even GR's crossover.
You can buy those already assembled from Madisound if you want.

The crossover will make a difference in sound, no doubt, but for the money you will invest, I can't say if it will improve the sound enough to justify the cost. Maybe?