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I posted an article about my active crossover project. http://jdprice1.home.comcast.net/activexo/ I decided to restrain my enthusiasm a bit in the article but I won't here. I think these speakers are awesome now, building on the Kit281's strengths in dynamics and balance and improving on...

I just installed a new clock circuit in my CD player, the very popular Kwak-Clock-7 designed by and freely available from Elso Kwak. I'm using it in my Denon DCD-1520 with no other significant modification. This circuit cost maybe $20 to build. I noticed that my system sounds different now...

I just returned from the DIY2003 DC regional, hosted by Peter Smith at his home in Centerville. It was a new experience for a kid like me and it was really wonderful to meet local DIY audio people. I think about 30 people attended, and there were maybe 15 pairs of speakers. We listened to some...

There's some sort of consensus that speakers sound better after they are run in for at least a few hours. But I was wondering if it's possible for the drivers to become "stiffer" again over time. I've started noticing this effect, where my Kit281s will sound fine at low 'usual' volumes (all the...

This is really something... It's 3pm on Sunday, the snow started last night and might not end until noon Monday, and there is already 16 inches of it on our deck. How long is it going to be before I can get out of this place? These maps are quite amazing...

This is my latest project, and it has taken a much longer time than it should have. It is the Symmetrical MOSFET amplifier designed by Anthony Holton of www.aussieamplifiers.com. A three-stage, Class AB amplifier, it can deliver somewhere above 200W into 8 ohms and 400W into 4 ohms. The...

Now that I have my 15 watt Zen amp up and running, I tried a little experiment by also connecting my old Audiosource amplifier to the system. Why would anyone want to do that? To try passive bi-amping of course. The Zen's bass is frankly quite weak, and it does not drive my speakers very loud...

I haven't seen much in the way of DIY amps here so I decided to post my own experiences. Today I finished the first of two amplifiers I am building, the Pass DIY Penultimate Zen. It is a single-ended, single-stage Class A Mosfet amplifier with (in the configuration I am using) about 30 watts...

The title says it all. We hear things about audio systems which create the illusion of a singer standing right in front of you, or of the spacious ambiance of a concert hall. Which should we achieve and how? Do we want to turn our room into a rock concert or jazz lounge? Or should our room serve...

There seem to be two types of speaker manufacturers: those who think time alignment is important, and those who don't bother with it. I don't know which side I should be on. Can anyone describe what one hears when a speaker has serious phase distortions? Or what the improvement would be if I...

It's strange. It's not cold in my room, but playing music even at medium volume occasionally gives me goosebumps. (I'm sure movies would too.) I've heard the occasional mention of this being caused by the sound. Does anyone know? Thanks.

Alright, I know many of us will confess to loving loud music. I sure do. To me, rock music and dynamic classical music are just so much more fun and exciting when the volume knob is past halfway and the house is rocking with me. Of course, I'm not talking about anything dangerous like concert...

Without a subwoofer, it's quite a pain to get an adequate bass response, as I've learned; however the results of placement tweaking are quite rewarding. Here is my experience trying to find the right placement for my Kit281s. The measuring and experimentive I've done has really convinced me...

Recently there was a thread where we discussed Sound&Vision magazine's methods for reviewing speakers. This raised a few questions in my mind... How much do measurements actually tell us about how a speaker sounds? What kind of measurements do we need to get a good idea about a speaker's...

Is it worthwhile to spend money on a subwoofer that isn't any better than your mains in terms of bass performance? I went with tower speakers in order to avoid the cost of a subwoofer for music. I don't regret my decision because they cost me no more than a similar small speaker. However...

I have heard from many places that a properly set up 2 channel system can deliver sounds that you hear from a full 180 degree range (out to your sides). In short, I can't get this to happen. I'm trying to think what is going on that enables us to hear sound from 'outside' the speakers, or...

I borrowed a SPL meter from a friend and measured the bass response from 25-200 Hz 1/3-octave, at my seating position in 3 configurations: 1) with only the left speaker, in its normal position; 2) with only the left speaker, sitting in and pointing towards my front left corner; and 3) with both...

At AVS Forum I noticed the mentioning of a 'free resonant' speaker system. This was in a thread called 'harmonic structures' in the AV improvements section, which I didn't really understand at all. At that forum I've read things about stuff like 'tunable rooms' and the like... but I'm really...

I was just wondering... if lower Q subwoofers (like .5-.577) have better quality bass with less group delay, then what's wrong with having something like a Q of .4? I've read of low-Q drivers like the Maelstrom and BPD-03 drivers being turned away from IB use because they have 'too low' a Qts...

As a newcomer to the Home Theater Forum and to home audio in general I am finishing my first 'real' sound system, as a student in high school. It is centered around the Adire Kit281. I want to just say now, this is really something considering the entire system cost is under $850, which even I...

I am a high-school student looking to put together a reasonably good stereo system. Why did I post in the DIY forum? Because I am considering using the Adire Kit281 as the basis of the system. My total system budget is probably between $600-800 total, and I would like to get the best possible...

A friend of mine is looking to extend the frequency response of his old Advent Loudspeakers well into the subsonic region. He has a very small room, about 7x14x8 feet, and is looking to do this without adding a crossover to the Advents, which extend to around 40Hz before rolling off. Extremely...