5.1 DIY HT speakers (1 Viewer)

[Chris Tsutsui]

I am going to be building a 5.1 DIY HT setup for my first client.

The WAF factor means the subwoofer will have to be built to look exactly like a Maple drawer/dresser. The top 2 drwayers will be functional and hold DVDs along with a built in light. The surrounds are going to be in ceiling and white, while the L/R/C speakers will be Maple and size matched to fit into the existing entertainment center.

I was going to use GR-AV1+ for the front 3 speakers and then the AV-1s for the surrounds. However I don't know how I would adjust the crossovers to account for the bass increase involved with flush mounted speakers.

The Subwoofer is going to use a tempest and 250W PE amplifier. It will be 194L tuned to 18.8hz vented.

The drawyer will use KV slides and maple hardwood around which had an initial cost estimate of $900 for JUST materials to make the cabinet. The drawers cost about $75 each and will be special ordered with tongue/groove. The other 5 speakers added another $1300 for wood, sand/sealer, and finish. We are using factory laminated 3/4" maple MDF which costs $80 per sheet, and using a lock miter machine for assembly.

The estimate includes bit sharpening fee, cleaners, hardware and all. The only thing not yet included is labor. I will be building the cabinets with a friend and will likely charge about $2,000 in labor. He told me the cabinet we are building alone could be normally sold for $6,000.

What I am wondering is what we will have to watch out for because this is our first "real" A/V contracting job. I know people have done things like this before for clients so I was wondering what I should do to make the sale professional.

(What kind of receipt do you give, what kind of cost estimate format, are we charging too much, etc..)

Thanks.

I've never done anything like this, but I'll post pictures of the cabinet designs (It will be done on autocad first) and I'll show the build process and finished HT. Just wondering if there's any insight before we start ordering the materials.

 

[Yousaf]

Well I don't know how this would be handled because you are reselling the speakers, but maybe you could still give Danny a call/email. He would probably be able to give you the best response.

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I did yesterday, and no response yet.

The only problem I see that may occur is that the vibrations from the subwoofer will cause rattles.

Another problem is I don't know if the bookshelf speakers will rattle when sitting inside an entertainment center. The left and right shelf are very narrow and the boxes would have to fit with only a fraction of an inch clearance. Another problem is the right column is wider by 1" than the left column.

The center channel is also going to have to be mounted on the underside of the top shelf of the entertainment center, but that should be fairly easy.

Flush mounting a DIY speaker into a ceiling with a white speaker grill may be a challenge. Has anyone done this before?