DIY center channel recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Chris_Campbell]

First a little background: I currently have B&W 602s2 for my mains, an old infinity CC1 for my center channel, infinity RS3 rears, a DIY sonotube tempest sub, and an Integra (Onkyo) DTR-7 receiver powering it all.

I've never been happy with the infinity center, and have decided it's time for an upgrade. Of course I love the sound of the B&W LCR6, but approx 500 beans is a little steep right now. Eventually the front B&Ws will be moved to the rear and replaced with 603 or 604s. Of course I'd like the center to match the rest of the system tonally, so as such would like to build the new center with kevlar drivers (focal prob), and an aluminum tweet. Of course the other criteria is that the speaker has to be on the order of 30-40% cheaper (at least) than the LCR6 or it's not worth it, and still integrate well into the setup. I'd appreciate any suggestions for drivers, enclosures, or just whether or not you feel this is a feasible undertaking. I really value the advice of this board.

 

[jeff lam]

If you're planning on upgrading the fronts anyway, I suggest a total front stage overhaul. Build 3 identical monitors for the fronts. This way you don't have to worry about voice matching problems or money. I'm sure you can build the 3 for less than a pair of the 603's or 604's.

You get the best of both worlds. Most high quality DIY kits are avalible and will beat out those B&W's at a fraction of the cost.

Start lookin:

ACI- subwoofers.com

Speakerpage.com

AdireAudio.com

GR-Research.com (I chose these)

Many many more...

 

[Chris_Campbell]

Really? Beat out the B&Ws? I really like the sound of em, but i'll look into what you're saying. Thanks

 

[Brian Bunge]

Chris,

I've built several pair of the ACI Emeralds and am about to build a pair of the Speakerpage K05B41 kits. I hope to have them up and running in a few weeks. I absolutely love the Emeralds but am interested in how the K05B41's compare at 1/3 the price.

BTW, what do the B&W speakers cost for a pair?

Brian

 

[Chris_Campbell]

Well, the 603s are 1100 for a pair retail, I believe. Now most decent B&M shops will cut that by at least 10%, so I'd say somewhere just shy of 1k for the pair. The 604s are about 300 more. I understand that the DIY jobs can be had for much less, but also think there are other "untangibles" associated with a professional product, such as aesthetics. I've been pricing some kevlar drivers and aluminum tweeters and after adding the price of the crossover, it really doesn't look like building the center is worth it.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Chris,

The drivers you're looking at probably cost a lot more than what the B&W drivers cost. Of course, you can't outsource them since they make their own. But I bet they have less than $200 in the drivers themselves. That's $200 per pair! They probably have about $250-$300 total in a pair of speakers. That's just a guess on my part.

The whole point is, for about 1/4-1/2 the cost you could build a pair of kit speakers that would retail for $1K or so. For just a little more money you could build 3 and have a matching set across the front. Of course, I couldn't promise you they'd sound like B&W speakers.

Brian

 

[ThomasW]

Might give some consideration to the driver layout since horizontal MTM configurations are for center chanels are problematic. Look at the Snell design. It provides the wide horizontal dispersion of a true vertical MTM, then augments the bass with side woofers. One doesn't need to make one this large, but following the driver layout will result in the best performance IMO...

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Thomas is correct: never take a straight MTM and lay it on its side for use as a center channel. Here is one implementation of a correct layout (from my favorite low-cost kit source, Sound Clearing House): http://speakerpage.com/k05c22.htm
A couple of pictures of my implementation are here:
http://www.geocities.com/hankbond1/My_page.html

 

[Patrick Sun]

Click the "CC" link in my signatiore below for my DIY implementation of a center channel. It's not as drastic as the one Thomas posted, but it gets the job done.

 

[DannyM]

Check out these sites for designs and kits.
http://www.zalytron.com/
http://www.orcadesign.com/
They may have what your looking for, or at least give you some ideas.

 

[Chris_Campbell]

Thanks to all for the great replies