Check out my KIT281s (1 Viewer)

[Dan Pawlowski]

Just thought i'd show yous my speakers.
Tempest in the background.
picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
Dan

 

[Patrick Sun]

Nice job incorporating some felt on the front baffle.
Oh, one more thing: those pics are huge!

 

[Rob Lloyd]

Those look good. What do you think of them? I've yet to finish mine but they sound great.

Those pictures are huge. I feel sorry for anyone trying to view them via dial-up.

Rob

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I'm dial up and I've just about given up on viewing them all.
So far I see some hardwood edges and veneer? Looks classy.
I went the painted route for my DIY floorstanders, I used Behr paint flat "Scarlet fever". They look very rich and modern like they're a high end speaker. I can't wait till my theater is finished and I can start taking measurements and pics but right now I'm helping a friend build some speakers and working on my car audio.
link at bottom there's a pic of my speakers.

 

[Kyle Richardson]

Nice job Dan. Did you decide to drop the Tumult into your Tempest enclosure or are you going to build a new home for it? If everybody remembers correctly, Dan was the winner of the naming contest so his Tumult is free

 

[Dan Pawlowski]

Sorry for the "actual size" pictures. I will modify them after work. I haven't done anything with the tempest box in the back ground hence my wife's table cloth. I like MDF in the living room
As for the Tumult, a simple drop in will yeild a Q of around .6 which is what I was contemplating changing the box size for the Tempest to anyways. Kind of anxious to get it.
I kind of wish i placed the vents on the rear of the KIT281. Has anyone done this??
Would it affect the audio response at all??
Dan

 

[Chris_Campbell]

Nice work. Very professional looking. How do you like the sound of them? What would you compare them to?

 

[Kyle Richardson]

Yes, we made some for a customer with the ports in the rear. Sound will be the same if they are pulled out from the wall enough, otherwise the bass response will be a bit bloated.

 

[Dan Pawlowski]

Ok I fixed the pictures.
Front Page for Window pisses me off
Dan

 

[Allen Ross]

get a mac

 

[Shawn Solar]

Can I ask the price of the project for us Canadians? I have paradigm studio 40's and such right now. If I went with the kit281 would it be a lateral move or and upgrade?

 

[Dan Pawlowski]

Shawn
I figure i've spent around $800 Canadian for the pair of KIT281s and around $500 for the Tempest and plate amp. (Labour was free of course )As for sound. I think they sound great. I compare the KIT281s to my friends Mission’s 705A speakers ($1500 Canadian) and the we both agreed the KIT281s sounded more "active". We removed one of the drivers in the 705As to compare its quality to Adire's AV8 and found that the spider (I think that is what it is called) was made of plastic. Needless to say he and i were less than impressed with Mission.
So all I can say, and i think most people on this forum would agree me, is that you get a much larger "bang" for the buck if you choose the DIY route.
Dan

 

[Michael R Price]

Yes Dan, the AV8s are serious woofers. Even more serious when you cross them over to a Tempest.
What do you think of the 281's midrange and treble quality compared to the Missions?

 

[Brian Bunge]

Dan,
Those are very nice looking! I'm tempted to build a pair myself, but I think I'll wait on the 3-way version to match my KIT LCC!
Brian

 

[Shawn Solar]

Thanks Dan,
I like my studio 40's but want to build my own for fun. I don't really want to give up any performance but if possible improve it. $800CAD seems reasonable. I paid $1100CAD for my studio 40's for the veneer finish. The other kit I was looking at was the av1+'s. I have a DIY sub.
Brian, you really need to build those kit281's so you can give us a comparison

 

[Brian Bunge]

Shawn,
I really don't have much desire to build the 281's knowing Dan & Co. are working on the 3-way tower! I'd love to hear them though! I just love the midrange that a smaller driver produces, hence my desire to stick with the A/V-1+'s until the 3-ways become a reality. Also, now that I'm in business for myself it'll be hard to spend too much more on kits any time soon. My last purchase for a while will probably be a Tumult. I've got the amp, the LT circuit, the enclosure designed, and now just need the friggin' driver!
Brian

 

[Shawn Solar]

I know what you mean I go to college next year. I have maybe enough money for one more project IF I sell something else like my 2-channel amp. Nice thing is I work for an Alarm company that also does camera's and sound so I get all my wire for free. Helps the cause

 

[Dan Pawlowski]

What do you think of the 281's midrange and treble quality compared to the Missions?

I think the Kit281s are excellent stand alone speakers. They blow Mission speakers away in all aspects.

The treble quality improved slightly when I added the felt to the baffle on the kit281. A very simple and cheap "tweeak" worth trying IMO. I used a spray adhesive normally used for mounting photographs to attach the felt. Makes it semi-permanent and easy to remove in case i didnt like the sound.

One would think(at least i thought) that the mid-range for the kit281 would suck if you look at the freq. response graph of the AV8. But I think Adire did a great job with their crossovers EQ-ing the peak at 2.2kc out.


I would like to see some ts parameters on the AV5 driver Adire uses though if anyone has them.


later

Dan