If you had approx. $2000 to spend on 5 DIY speakers for HT, what would you pick? (1 Viewer)

[Robert Derouen]

I'll keep this as short as possible. If you had $2000 plus or minus to spend on five speakers for an entire DIY HT system (minus sub), what kit or design would you pick? Deduct sub cost for a sub, I will either be building a sonosub with Tempest or possibly buying an SVS ultra because of size and the wife factor. Either way, I can go any size as far as mains. I want he best sound quality I can get for that price range, at least as good or better than comparably priced Paradigms or possibly Diva Swans.

Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!

Rob

 

[Saurav]

www.gr-research.com - check out some of their speakers. There's been a lot of discussion over at www.audioasylum.com and some discussion here at HTF too. For that price, you could get 5 AV-1's, or maybe even 5 Paradox 1s. I have the Paradox, and I think they're excellent. The AV1 might be better suited for HT, depending on the rest of your system - it's a little softer in the top, and a little more forgiving of room/electronics issues.
P.S. Those are prices with pre-built cabinets. If you build the cabinets yourself, you might be able to get some of the bigger MTM speakers in that price.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Robert,

Jack Gilvey asked me to chime in with my experiences. I've built several of the Subwoofers.com kit speakers. I've built the Opals, Emeralds, and Jaguars, and all are excellent speakers. For your system I'd suggest 5 Emeralds. You can buy the kits for $339/pair and $174 for a single. If you want the crossovers prebuilt, add $20/pair or $10 each. Five kits would cost you $852 (add $50 for prebuilt crossovers). Add another $100-$300 depending on finish.

Also, you could try out the GR Research kits that Saurav recommended. The AV1's would be $100 cheaper per pair for the kits, but you have to build the crossovers. I'm building a pair right now and hope to have the crossovers finished this week. All that's left is soldering the components together. I've been told that they should best the Emeralds but will decide for myself. As much as I love the Emeralds, if the AV1's can best them, I'll be the first to say so.

Also, other than the closeout cabinets that Danny has, there are really no cabinets available for the AV1's. But, Danny and I have worked out a deal where I will be offering finished enclosures for sale on his website and will ship direct from me to the customer. We should have production up and running a few weeks after Danny gets the precut baffles and grills to me.

Brian

 

[Michael R Price]

I have to suggest the perennial Kit281s . There may be a 3-way 281 coming out soon.
But at $2000 you can probably do better. Maybe design your own. Or try the 'VSS Eros' from Speakerbuilder...or the Dave Ellis 1801... or something like that. There are lots of great HT speaker designs out there.
And don't forget about a subwoofer.

 

[Greg_R]

A word of caution: When pricing out kits/designs, be sure to factor in the cost of crossover parts (these can easily cost as much as the drivers)...

 

[Rudy H]

Zalytron's Focal HT setup
The mains ($1100), CC ($500) and rears ($600) should be a sweet setup. Take a good look at the rears design too.

 

[Robert Derouen]

Thanks for the info everyone. I think I will hold off from making any purchases until Brian finishes those AV1's and compares them to the Emeralds. Hint, get to work Brian!
A few weeks ago I was about to order everyting for Dennis Murphy's MB1's but when I pieced everything together, my final price per pair would have been more than to just order the AV1 kits. Actually I wasn't doing to bad until I priced the tweeters (Hiquphon OW1's). If I remember right, they were like 75-80 bucks a piece. I never would have thought the tweeter would the most expensive part! Oh well, I'm still learning. So far the AV1's are looking like my best bet. Since my receiver went out a few weeks ago I'm waiting for the Outlaw 950 so that gives me a few months to properly research DIY speakers.
Oh and Brian, if you start selling the enclosures for the AV1's, what type of sound treatment were you thinking of using on the inside? Also, if I go with the AV1's would I be better with 5 as you suggested or 4 AV1's and an AV1+ for center (I think they call the shielded AV1+ the AV-C). I ask this since so many HT people talk about the importance of center channel quality. Do you guys think that the I would benefit anything from spending a little more on the center or would that be overkill?
Last and most important question. I'll try it on this thread first before posting a new one. Is there anyone out there that has listened to both Paradigm Studio 40's and AV1's that could give me their take on the comparison? If not, is there anyone out there that has auditioned the AV1's that could give me a comparison with anything comparable or better than the Paradigm Studio 40's. I know I'm grasping here with a subjective question like this, but the Paradigm Studio 40's are the best I have to compare to since my brother-in-law has them and I have auditioned them extensively.
Thanks again everyone. Any other DIY kit suggestions are certainly welcome.
Robert Derouen

 

[Brian Bunge]

Oh and Brian, if you start selling the enclosures for the AV1's, what type of sound treatment were you thinking of using on the inside? Also, if I go with the AV1's would I be better with 5 as you suggested or 4 AV1's and an AV1+ for center (I think they call the shielded AV1+ the AV-C).

It's not if, but rather when! For this pair I'm going to line the side walls and top with 2" acoustic foam. I may also add some dacron batting since I have a few sheets. I'm not quite ready to spring $50 for the Black Hole 5 stuff. As far as enclosures for customers, that will be their own choice as most of the time they will be doing final construction of the kits.
I'd use 5 shielded AV1's personally. I do not like the sound of an MTM lying on it's side. Never have. Danny tells me the AV1+ will change my mind, but until I actually hear it and decide for myself I'd be uncomfortable recommending it to someone.
Brian

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

www.dillonacoustics.com
look at the EGO. XO and drivers will run about 260-270/speaker