Thread: Bookshelf speaker kit?

What do you consider reasonably priced? Parts Express, Madisound & Meniscus Audio all ship to Aus. I've purchased from PE a couple of times. Could be an option for you.

Originally Posted by wlg

What do you consider reasonably priced? Parts Express, Madisound & Meniscus Audio all ship to Aus. I've purchased from PE a couple of times. Could be an option for you.

What's 'reasonable'? Good question! I suppose it depends on the speaker (size and no. of components) and the quality of the hardware. I'm certainly no expert when it comes to sound. But as a guide I made a pair of these for about $500. That was $250 for the components and $250 for a 2400 x 1200 sheet of Sydney Blue Gum veneered chipboard (and I used exactly that amount for the two boxes):

Speaker.jpg

But thanks for the links. I hadn't considered importing but the cost of the kits, particularly from Parts Express looks very appealing.

These guys are based in NSW and supply everything you need. My first speaker build was a set of M5's. Though they dont offer this kit any more.
Kits

This guy is based in Adelaide and I have dealt with Edward on a few occasions. His speakers are regarded quite highly and represent good value for money. You do have to provide your own cabinets.
Speakers kits and custom speakers

The Parts Express C Note kits are highly regarded and get good reviews online. Keep in mind that all pricing is in $US and shipping cabinets can get expensive and make the speaker non viable.

The Overnight Sensations also get good reviews and there are plenty of examples online. They're quite cheap too.

$500 is a nice budget to work with. Those floor stander's look great. Looks like a similar kit to my first pair as they have the same 8" drivers

My next speakers will most likely be one of Troels Gravesen's designs, highly regarded in diy audio land. You can buy kits from jantzen-audio.com but they're not cheap!

Originally Posted by wlg

$500 is a nice budget to work with. Those floor stander's look great. Looks like a similar kit to my first pair as they have the same 8" drivers

My next speakers will most likely be one of Troels Gravesen's designs, highly regarded in diy audio land. You can buy kits from jantzen-audio.com but they're not cheap!

They look very impressive! I especially like the non-conventional shapes of the enclosures. I don't mind paying for quality but with sound equipment I have no real idea of what I'm buying. It's a bit like expensive red wine, if you don't know the maker's name, but they're asking $90 a bottle, then you're taking a leap of faith.

So in fact that's exactly why I posed the question here, I was looking for those people who'd made that leap of faith and ended with a good outcome.

Originally Posted by Tccp123

.......So in fact that's exactly why I posed the question here, I was looking for those people who'd made that leap of faith and ended with a good outcome.

So true.

But you can synthesise the quality of driver/ enclosure combinations. Try googling "Thiel-Small parameters" and doing some heavy reading.

On getting parts, I have had exceptional service and advice from Tom Manning, Speakerbits, Port Melbourne, over 20+ years. He even fixes broken speakers and sells components (eg replacement speaker cones). His website seems to be offline today!

Cheers

Graeme

Originally Posted by GraemeCook

So true.

But you can synthesise the quality of driver/ enclosure combinations. Try googling "Thiel-Small parameters" and doing some heavy reading.

On getting parts, I have had exceptional service and advice from Tom Manning, Speakerbits, Port Melbourne, over 20+ years. He even fixes broken speakers and sells components (eg replacement speaker cones). His website seems to be offline today!

Cheers

Graeme

Thanks Graeme. I've looked into speaker design before and as a real DIYer the idea really appeals to me. But the reality was there seemed too much to learn for a relatively small return. I was just after decent sound while taking advantage of my woodworking skills.

I will certainly look at Tom Manning's website. Thanks for the lead...

It really is a leap of faith and I dont think any amount of other peoples reviews will change that.

Sound, red wine, whisky.. it's all subjective. Im a whisky guy and after seeing literally hundreds of user reviews of 4.5 or 5 stars for a whisky I was thinking of buying I took the leap of faith based on those reviews and ended up wasting close to $400. For me that whisky was terrible.

Same deal with DIY speakers. Start cheap and learn what you do and dont like in a sound signature. You can make really good sounding speakers using cheap components and terrible speakers using expensive drivers.

Originally Posted by samo

It really is a leap of faith and I dont think any amount of other peoples reviews will change that.
.......
Same deal with DIY speakers. Start cheap and learn what you do and dont like in a sound signature. You can make really good sounding speakers using cheap components and terrible speakers using expensive drivers.

Yeh, samo, but only partly true with audio speakers.

With audio speakers there is a major component of hard science involved - quantified by Thiel-Small and some other algorithms. Stuff up the basic physics and $10,000 and $50 systems will sound equally crap.

Once you get the physics right, then your personal preferences come into play. And that is where it becomes quite subjective. To my ear some music sounds better on one sound system than on another, and vice versa.

• I have a speaker system based on fifty year old 15" Tannoy dual concentric speakers plus super-tweeters, and I like Irish sean-nos singing. My naked Tannoys cost £99 in 1967 and the tweeter drivers cost NZ$1,000 in 2010.
• A friend who likes massed Russian choir music has an Orion speaker system that cost over $8,000 about ten years ago.
• Intriguingly, we both agree that the sean-nos sounds a little better with my speakers and the Russian choirs sound much better on his Orion system.

It seems that the type of music, the room and your ears all pay a part in which speakers you may prefer.

Cheers

Graeme

I spotted these on Gumtree on Thursday:

Monitor Speakers.jpg

and bought them for $175. They are a classic example of how looks can be deceiving. They are called MONITOR AUDIO BRONZE B1 and although small and seemingly simple they sound absolutely fantastic (to my ears). The fact that they are equipped to be bi-amped says something for their design philosophy I think. Dimensions are approx 215x160 (H x W). They are for use with a computer via a Rotel amp (another good s/h buy).

They are replacing these:

1.jpg

which are on eBay with a current bid of $6.50 (which is about all they're worth). These were bought with a 'system' (and I use that term very loosely) that I acquired in the '80s. It consisted of tuner, graphic equalizer and tape deck. I thought these were separate components but on getting 'them' home I discovered it was just one big box with a circuit board on the bottom (like the mobo of a PC) and all the rest was air. It sounded as good as my description .

Originally Posted by wlg

My next speakers will most likely be one of Troels Gravesen's designs, highly regarded in diy audio land. You can buy kits from jantzen-audio.com but they're not cheap!

This guy gives an amazing amount or practical advice about speaker building in particular and woodworking in general (with lots of clear photos). Even if you have no interest in speaker construction it's worth a browse:

Tips and ideas Copyright 2012-14