Home Audio

Whether you're into two channel audio or multichannel HT...let's see what you've got

I get asked a lot about recommendations for home audio speakers, and it's hard to argue with the value of DIY speakers. But just Googling for random plans can be a little intimidating sometimes if someone doesn't quite know what they're looking for. Figured we could start a little list of pre-tested homebuilt projects for people to look through, to get ideas for their own stuff. Feel free to add any that you come across. http://www.zaphaudio.com/ - John Krutke's excellent site, concentration on smallish 'bookshelf' monitors and component comparisons http://www.frugel-horn.com - full range, single driver, crossoverless designs http://www.speakerbuilder.net/ - a good mix of…

Ok, here is what I have gathered on the design of BIB enclosures, I have compiled this from www.diyaudio.com. BIB Design Criteria o It is a

From what I can tell, this guy has the DartZeel Pre and power amps ($20,000 each), Pass Labs X1 or x0.5 preamp (about $15,000), 4 of the compression drivers on the sub-horn (I've seen similsr drivers at $8-10,000 each), Some crazy ass tube amps for the upper midrange (If I had to guess..... $40,000 each), a Zanden CD transport and DAC (that's another $40,000), and more crazy ass tube amps for the lower midrange (let's say $20,000), a PS Audio conditioner ($5,000 or so), it looks like an SME 30/10 turntable ($40,000 with a no doubt expensive cartridge), and maybe another $10,000+ in wires. That's close to $300,000 in stuff. Then have the horns custom molded for his yard, a…

I am looking to get a better subwoofer for my room. I have a Insignia 600 watt Receiver, and front and surround speakers. The fronts and others are pretty cheap, but they are actually really clear and have taken quite the abuse. I also have a Yamaha 10" YST-SW216 100 watt sub and I'm not pleased with the performance of it. It is alright, but tends to bottom-out quite a bit when listening to demanding songs. My room is 13x13. What I am looking to do is: get a amplifier like this Pyle one for the Sub or Subs ONLY by using the RCA outputs on the back of it: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=270329650426 I was also thinking about 2 Kicker COMP C10's, or one Dia…

So, I am looking for something that can give me ~1000-1200W @ 4ohm for my home system & for testing subwoofers. Form factor really doesn't matter, rack mount or plate. Cost is a factor, so nothing outrageously expensive. If you have something for sale yourself, let me know, and we can talk. Let me know what you think is good, and why. I'm going to try to pick up something by the end of the week, so I can get one of our manufacturers my thoughts on one of his prototypes already. Thanks guys.

I am starting a IB build for my H/T in our new house. We finally bought a house that we (wife and I) really like and are trying to keep it very nice inside. I am going to design a complete 5.1 system for the living room with everything being stealth. In walls, no visible components, flat screen flushed into wall, etc... I want to have decent bass and really thought long and hard about this for the last 2 months. IB was the logical choice, but we are going to finish our 1200 ft2 basement next year, so having a big-ass manifold hanging from the floor joists down there would also be a no-no. After carefully laying out a baffle arangment that will tuck my pair of XXX18s i…

Here it is boys and girls. My first post with pics. So I got these floorstanders back in 96. I was just out of high school, and had no clue. I wanted a home theater with bass. No better way of getting that then with big woofers, so with my pay check I did just that. I bought the biggest ones Montgomery Wards had, that I could afford. Long story short I was satisfied with my purchase. Fast forward a decade and a half. I'm out of my parents house in my own with a wife and kids. I look in my parents shed and look what I find, my old Jensens. I think to myself, these were the sh!t back then, let's hook them back up. I've got a new setup, all the latest and greatest. I hook th…

I am building a new house and decided to give IB a try. . . Just ordered (8) Fi IB3 18" subs for it. Plan is to run 4 subs from ceiling to floor on each side of the projector screen. Pictures will come. The front wall of the theater room is 2x6 studs. Will start building it up with MDF next week Brian

Finances are here. Time to start ordering. PICS and VIDS to come! What is for sure: 2 Fi Audio IB3 18's, each in their own 128 cubic foot box (before displacement) with a 12" sonotube port 48" long ( to begin with, will cut down raising tuning over time) resulting in a 6.5Hz tune! Dual EP2500's or EP4000's. I am building from the floor up... scratch. I need a solid 7.1 receiver capable of more than 110 watts per channel. I plan on building MT's or MMT's designed by Kevin with Exodus Anarchy's. IDK about using a HP filter yet.. but I may go as high as 15Hz with the tune...I'll start low and have myself some fun and learn all the way up to 15Hz. I'd like some input on the…

I figured I might as well post some pictures while I'm building the Mileva's... It will be updated as it progresses. Plans. http://homepage.mac.com/tlinespeakers/FAL/...-1v0-021207.pdf Stacks of lumber The braces. Internal baffles with the 5* angle from the tablesaw. (There is another set too, just didn't photograph them) The sides drying on a back baffle. I'll post more pictures as it progresses.

Need some advice\input, Looking to build an outdoor\patio subwoofer enclosure and find a suitable subwoofer to put in it. I am completely new to outdoor audio, my initial thoughts were a marine subwoofer and a birch box doused in resin and truck bedliner? Again, TOTALLY new to all of this so i may be way off. Whatever the sub and enclosure material, they will both need to stand up to the very muggy, hot central indiana summer weather. Sealed or possibly PR enclosure, Will be powered by a dayton 150 watt amp. Any and all input is greatly appreciated, thanks.

I am using Dayton Audio BR-1 kit Dayton Audio BR-1 kit and Dayton Audio DTA-100a amplifier. I will be using these as "computer" speakers. This is not what they are designed for but I am sure that I will be very happy with them. I feel that Dayton Audio is a value leader with all of it's products and is often overlooked. The kit comes with : Two Dayton Audio DC160-8 6-1/2" woofers Two Dayton Audio DC28F-8 1-1/8" silk dome tweeters Two crossover boards Two 47 µF non-polarized capacitors Two Dayton Audio 0.1 µF by-pass capacitors Two 8 ohm 10W resistors Two 1.8 mH 18 AWG air core inductors Four Dayton Audio 6.2 µF polypropylene capacitors …

Aaron approached me about building a budget 2.1 setup for watching movies on his laptop. We came to the agreement to build two small towers which will have four 3" full range speakers per side arranged in a line array. Each tower will be roughly.5 cubic feet sealed after displacements. A SoundSplinter Orphan 8 will be used for subwoofer duty. The woofer enclosure is .65 cubic feet after displacements, which is rather large for the orphan but very low power is being used. Amplifier to be used: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-775 Aurasound speakers: http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/approx-3-fullrange/aurasound-ns3-193-8a1-3-black…

What's up homies? It's been a while since I've posted anything meaningful. Here is my latest audio venture. It's the Zephyr kit by the latest audio start-up, DIY Soundgroup. A little history/search words about this kit. It's fashioned around the Econowave style, although there is nothing econo about this kit. It was designed by Jeff Bagby. And that's about all I know. My goals: 1. To have a reference sound system so I know what to listen for when tuning my auto sound system. 2. Be able to achieve nutty ass rock concert levels. 3. Finally be effing cool. Here is my start, wood! Box sides coming together. The kit came with a pre-cut baffle. The design cal…

I just wanted to have some general conversation concerning a project I have wanted to do. This will not happen till the wife graduates this summer, so it is just for conversation sake now. She is supportive as long as it can be funded. I have this fetish for music. Music of all kinds. It can change my mood in an instant. I have always wanted to do something over the top. Something that is way more than I need. With that though I give you a solution. I found this searching though PE's DIY projects. I have always wanted to do a nice line array. I have also thought about adding subs to them to fill the bottom end. This is a possible sollution. The Collosi; http://www.parts…

I want to give my brother a unique gift for his birthday. I decided that I am going to make him a MP3 radio. It will not produce ear shattering audiophile output but it should sound good for what it is. The design of this radio will make it useful for near field listening such as a computer desk or small room book shelf. There will be four different audio input methods: MP3 decoder with memory card and USB drive reader Bluetooth input capability 3.5mm audio input jack input The unit will have three identical enclosures. The center enclosure for the electronics and two enclosures for the left and right speaker. I am using a Dayton audio 15x2 amplifier and Tang Band 3" f…

Hello, my name is Chris and shortly I will be starting up a new business. Basically I will design and build custom loudspeakers enclosures, passives crossovers, and subwoofer cabinets. I can also aid in the design of subwoofer enclosures, if need be. I can offer a myriad of options when it comes to design, inside and out. I talked to Aaron (Denim) about introducing my services to the folks on forums. The insiration behind this business is basically the ability to pick and choose exactly what you want in a loudspeaker set. Everything will be hand built by me with care, and attention to detail. My website should be up within the next couple of days, and can be seen at www…

Hey guys, I have e12 d2 I got a while back from Jacobs yard sale, I was thinking it would make a decent home theater sub, Just want some ideas on tuning/aero port/ down firing?/ If anyone can help out Id appreciate

Ok, Amanda has been asking me about a nice little stereo in our bedroom. I have an old pioneer system, but that will be used for other needs. So I want to build a nice little book shelf type system. I am starting with the Mach5 MLI-65's for mids and a MAW-12 for bass, now I want to use a crossover and tweeters that will blend with them well. This is on a slim budget!!! Going to be either from Madisound or PE. I would naturally lean towards a soft dome tweet in this case. Might go with a ported set up for the MLI's. So I want to lean on you guys to give me some good ideas that would blend well with the Mach5s, check the Zaph test for the good results from them. So …

[Note] This is a re-post of my "newbie" 3/31/08 post, based on recommendation of member "denim" Mike R newbie original post Hi; I got here via my build thread on "The IB cult site", Mike R DIY IB subwoofer project. Mike R IB sub project on "Cult of IB" forum As newbie here this is my 1st post. (well, this is my 2nd post now...) To make a long story sorta short, I'm finishing my basement and doing a Home Theatre room, and I'm going with Infinite Baffle subwoofer 4 x 15" (or 18") line array. Here is a pict of that image (details in link above): I cut the concrete window this past weekend and now I need to fill that hole with a IB line array subwoofer! 16" x 66" IB sub "wi…

I recently added more speakers to my home theater setup. To power the speakers I ordered a crown XLS1000 amplifier. I was dissapointed after hooking everything up that I was not getting the output I was expecting. At this point I noticed the signal indicators on the amp were barely lighting up even though they were getting all the signal that my reciever could put out. So some research revealed that most home audio recievers don't put out a high enough voltage for pro audio amplifiers. To resolve the problem I ordered an ART-II Pre Amplifier which in my mind would boost the signal to a higher voltage, therefore allowing me to set the gains properly on my amp and get the p…

I've been rocking some $40 Sony ear buds that have been through the wash for a while and I'm just flat out TRIED of them. I'm looking for some head phones that will lend detail to my personal music experience. I listen to everything, except for mainstream country and bluegrass. Seriously... everything. I'm looking for something comparable to B&W 683's in high and mid range detail. I'd like to listen to "I don't know why" and get the same melt in my chair experience as when I'm in the stereo shop pretending I'm going to drop $10k on a stereo. I wanna listen to Jazz, and be able to hear every part of the brush on the head of the snare. And of course I don't wanna spe…

Just curious to see what you guys think of using a bandpass box for a subwoofer outside of car audio. After messing around with WinISD, i figured out a design for a 6th order bandpass that is almost flat from 30 to 75 Hz, which would be prefect for music use, and is significantly more efficient than a ported box with similar frequency response (at least for my woofer). Are there any downsides to using a 6th order bandpass enclosure, like reduced sound quality or anything like that? I don't know of anyone who has tried this, so any opinions would be appreciated and just let me know if knowing the box or woofer specs would help

well i started to build my setup for the 2 12" Dcons i ordered a week ago... on the sides are going to be for the Dcons.. 1.20 cu.ft. sealed ... it will look larger from the front , but will have a smaller box inside.. then in the center will be for my amp.. dvd blue ray player.. direct tv tivo .. it will sit under my 50" samsung that is mounted to the wall.. well here is a few pics of it.. just getting started... so dam cold out.. i cut the mdf and routed it out side in the work shead, but putting it together in the basement.. on the wifes folding table..