Small and cheap 5.1 speaker kits? (1 Viewer)

Hi,

Are there any cheap and small DIY speaker kits that include a center channel? I'm thinking of building a pair of speakers for use with the computer, and maybe add a 5.1 system in the living room for movies and my Xbox. I don't plan on touching my current 2-channel setup, but I could hook up the sub so it does double duty, which leaves 4 small cheap speakers and 1 small cheap center channel. Any suggestions? When I say small and cheap, I'm thinking about something in the range of the SCH kits, not much higher than that.

Or should I just buy 5 of those and use one for the center channel? Or use the TV's internal speakers as a center channel? I know all about timbre matching, and I'm not interested

Thanks,
Saurav

Saurav,

Just buy 5 of the shielded monitors (K05B50 I believe) and use them. Or if you want really small, get some little Tang Band 3" drivers and build something with them!

Anybody build these little guys?
PE speakers

several people on the PE forum have and with good success.

Just keep in mind they're not shielded.

Here's a shielded version of the woofer used in that kit. I don't know if it's available as a substitute.

You could try the elp kit at www.creativesound.ca

The ELF looks interesting. Is there any analysis on them? They are a one-way, what can be realistically expected without a tweet? It is a good advantage to have no crossover but is it asking too much? Sorry for all the general questions but I just don't know much about one-ways...

The W3-871S is flat to 20KHz, so there's no real need to use a tweeter. I've built several versions of the ELF kits. I've built the original ELF 1.5 speakers that Jim Griffin brought to the DIY Atlanta event and I've also built my own version of the single driver design. I think it's excellent for what it is.

EDIT: Here's the response curve of the driver: http://www.nuera-acoustic.ca/product...ts/w3-871s.jpg

I listened to the 1.5 prototypes off n'on for several hours and they're quite nice. When I first entered JG's hotel room, the sound was so smooth/clear I thought he had his Jordans playing.

They would do fine in a moderate volume HT if the sub XO goes high enough. I'm guessing ~350Hz/2nd, ~175Hz/4th, if you want any dynamic range. The 1.0 would need some efficiency sapping baffle step compensation if not on a very wide baffle so IMO it's volume would be limited to PC HT apps..

GM

That curve looks very good. I noticed that xmax is .5mm, does that seem a Little small? Perhaps a small line array (4 drivers to keep the 8 ohm) is in order for my computer so I can get rid of these damnd ProMedias...

Does anyone know if this is the driver that Logitech uses in their Z560's http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/Z560/index.html ? It also happens to be 3" and looks very similar except for the silver paint.

Anyone wanting files on the 871S can send me a email address and I will supply Luad graphs on the 871S.
Tests were done on 8 w3-871S drivers,flush mounted non flush mounted,On axis off to 30.
And at 30grs off axis the 871S is 3db down at 22k.yes 22k
Can you say tweeter.
Now put it in a cup and run from 300k out to 24k with plus minus 2db .So says MLSSA

On the Logitech drivers.
TB makes them as for other companys but every driver for them is different that the models the DIY can buy.
100% on that.
Insider info you can say.
Like the above photo looks like the 879S from PE but with a uncoated phase plug.
But does it have the Neo motor.
I know for a fact if you take that cabinet apart it will be.
I had a few of these on had at one time.
And the also have to have a strick +- 5% specs or they reject them.
And ordering 15,000 a month does not hurt.

Al

Tim-

I have built a pair of the BR-1's. They sound great for the price I paid for them ($99), but even at $140 I would say they are a good deal. They are a snap to build too, mine took less than 2hrs to put together.

Wow, thanks for all the ideas. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure how I would use a sub with these speakers as well as with my 96dB Adire HE12.1s. Is there a device that would allow different XO levels and cutoff frequencies for different inputs? My sub is a DIY with a standard PE plate amp.

The SCH kits - if I get the extras, it looks like I'll have to assemble the cabinets, but won't need to cut any MDF. Is that correct? I think I could handle that, I have a couple of clamps and can borrow some more from a friend. The PE kit seems to come with pre-built cabinets, and if I can get the shielded driver, that becomes an option too. Maybe I should start out with a stereo pair for the computer, and see how that goes and take it from there.

Thanks once again for the ideas.

Saurav

Saurav,

You can actually get the SCH kits completely assembled with the "sock" grill. Not very fancy, but will get the job done. Also, keep in mind that if you use the Dayton kits you may need a shielded tweeter as well.

Saurav,

Since you've built electronics like the phono stage, you can just put in a little summation circuit using opamps and have a potentiometer adjust the relative gain of the two inputs. I haven't actually built such a circuit but it shouldn't be too complicated. Maybe someone with more experience could build on that idea; trust me, you don't want to build a circuit I came up with . Also, you can set the plate amp's lowpass to the higher of the two necessary frequencies and put together a 2nd order highpass on the input from the music system (again using an opamp). Just some vague thoughts I don't feel qualified to elaborate on.

Thanks Michael, those are both good ideas. Anything that involves more soldering is usually a good idea Seriously, I bought a subwoofer crossover kit (which I built and eventually ended up not using), I could re-use that for this kind of an application. It had a schematic for a summing function too, IIRC.

Brian,

But then someone else builds the speakers, and what fun is that? Plus I have leftover vinyl laminate from my HE12.1s, so this will be my excuse to use that stuff again. If I go with SCH, I think I'll buy all cabinet parts, build the cabinets myself and use the PE laminate stuff on them. That way they'll even match my bigger speakers

Saurav, the SCH kits are great buys. I bought the k05b50 kits with a precut front baffle, but I built the rest of the enclosures. They're now hooked up to my computer and they do sound great. I've been meaning to compare them to my JBL S26s but I've been really lazy. I think I'll do that tomorrow or Friday. I'll let you know how they compare to the S26s just for some sort of reference.