Latest speaker project finished (pics)

[kexodusc]

Finally finished the home theater system I've been working on since mid-December. These are going to a co-worker/friend of mine who's replacing his Energy Connoisseur C-7's and v.2 Paradigm PDR-12 sub and taking his first plunge into Home Theater.

http://custom.smugmug.com/gallery/115064/7/53882427
(the last 5 are the speakers in this particular project...note the young guy in the photo is about 6 ft tall).

The 5 speakers all use the same tweeter and woofer...the ever-popular Dayton 5-1/4" Classic woofer and the legendary Dayton 1-1/8" Silk Dome tweeter (which fans of Morel will recognize as a clone of sorts of Morel's MDT-29 high end tweeter). This tweeter is a steal, and wouldn't be out of place with a woofer costing double what I spent here. Better than the Peerless tweeter in the Ar.com DIY design IMO.

This design was (loosely) based on the Dayton Budget Project by "The Reverend" Wayne Jaeschke...gotta give credit where credit is due. Obviously the drivers are the same, and the crossover topology was mostly preserved. The surrounds (there's 4) are all sealed enclosures of smaller volume, but with slightly less baffle step compensation since these are going to be wall mounted. The Center channel is a bit different shape and volume as well, ported, with again, different BSC to acount for its horizontal placement and the fact its baffle is effectively extended by the 57" TV it rests on.

The towers of course have different internal volume, but I maintained Wayne's original xo design for 2 reasons: the baffle width was the same, and I ran out of any other capacitor and resistor values anyway.

These have dual 8" subs mounted in them, separated from the speaker chamber by a double thick MDF wall. Acoustic foam damping material used throughout, I dunno why, but I couldn't get polyfill to sound right without stuffing the heck out of these...first time that's ever been an issue. The subs are heckuva lot better than I'd expect, with an F3 measure at 29 Hz and "LFE extension" down to about 23-24Hz.

They sound quite good for home theater. Better than the PDR-12 in this setup. And equally good for most rock/blues/techno kinds of music. Anything above 35Hz or so I'd say is this woofers strength.
This is the 3rd subwoofer I've made with this $20 woofer and $50 amp. Their perfect for small to medium sized rooms, I'd say 200 sq feet or less. Two of these have no problem hitting about 94 dB comfortably, a bit higher if you count peaks, which makes it great for people like my parents, or my friend and his condo. Once they get above that though they'll run out of excursion very fast, and you can hear sound quality deteriorate. Also got to watch power requirements. The PDR-12 could keep going...that's the price you pay for using an 8" woofer and not a ton of power. But we knew this going into it. We've already got a drop-in uprade in mind if he ever moves. His loudest listening volumes were about 88-90 dB when we measured on his old system, and 95% of the time below 80 dB, so we've got lots of room here. 70 dB is comfortably loud in his condo. One 8" sub would of course be further restricted, I wouldn't push average volume much past 90 dB (like mom and dad).

Overall, sound quality wise, the towers are small step up in performance. Better throughout the midrange and highs, much better imaging and soundstaging. The C-7's do at times seem to have a bit punchier bass/mid-bass though, which is mitigated with when using the subs, but good to point out. Vocals and strings were noticeably improved though.

This design is similar to Parts Express' BR-1 kit that I often recommend for $140. The differences are the superior midrange the smaller 5-1/4" woofer has over it's 6-1/2" cousin, and slightly better imaging and soundstage. The BR-1 is definitely more full range, and without a sub, I think would be a bit more "fun" to listen too. Of course the BR-1 comes with pre-fab cabinets for $140 though, so that makes it tough to beat for a lot of people.

I put this speaker's overall presentation as slightly better than Axiom M3Ti's, or my old Paradigm Mini Monitors in terms of comparable performance. The silk tweeter is IMO much better than the titanium domes in the Paradigms and Axioms in my opinion, and is heard in the smooth, highs, and airiness this speaker presents. The midrange is a tad cleaner and more revealing. It doesn't keep up with my Studio 40's, though the highs are probably a bit better. Can't knock a $15 woofer for that, though.

Total cost for this "7.2" speaker system was just under $700. The black ash vinyl laminate is comparable to what you see in stores, and is much quicker and easier than sanding, veneering, staining, sanding, varnishing, sanding, sanding, etc....Not to mention cheaper. I probably saved 5 hours of work with that choice.

[kexodusc]

Hmmm, seem to be having some issue with uploading the pictures...doh....

[MCH]

They look quite nice!
? Are the subwoofers integrated with the speaker crossover or are they totally independent and driven by their own sub amp.
Personally I avoid having subwoofer drivers powered by the amp that drives the speakers. Subwoofers need a lot of power and most receivers cannot accomodate that power.

[kexodusc]

The subs are of course powered by individual plate amps located on the back of the speakers in the lower "sub chamber" of the towers. I would have probably had to design a whole other crossover to tame impedance and common frequencies if I didn't...Not to mention the power issues you mentioned. You can sort of see the amps in this picture

[kexodusc]

Here's a good shot of the cabinet interior, 2 hole-braces and a shelf divider that serves as a 3rd brace...you can see the dado joints, I love dados....way stronger and easier than butt joints.

[Geoffcin]

Here's a good shot of the cabinet interior, 2 hole-braces and a shelf divider that serves as a 3rd brace...you can see the dado joints, I love dados....way stronger and easier than butt joints.

But a belated "Great Job" is in order. I can't belive how well made these are at the absurdly low price for made them for. And with built in subs no less?! DefTech better watch out!