Hi all,

I'm after a 5.1 surround setup, and I've been looking at sets like the
Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 and Epos ELS3 5.1. Both are around the
1000GBP mark and both are highly rated by the Hi-Fi magazines (for films
and music).

I know I have the DIY skills to construct and finish MDF speaker
cabinets, but know basically nothing about speaker theory.

Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?

Many thanks,

Sploo.

sploo wrote:


Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?

As I understand, the answer is yes. A good part
of many speaker designs build cost is indeed woodwork.

The design/theory stuff is solvable by getting plans
from people that *do* understand.
http://www.diysubwoofers.org/audiolinks.htm

So; you can get a better speaker for a given cost
by DIY woodwork.

If you want to get a better speaker by "innovative"
design of your own, it get a lot more speculative.

BugBear

Wilmslow Audio http://www.wilmslow-audio.co.uk/ do a pretty
comprehensive catalogue and a simple Google search should bring you
plenty of designs.

My own view (listening as I write to a pair of KEFs I built thirty years
ago, gawd help me) is that you may as well buy second hand off ebay and
the like, or from Richer Sounds or similar. Older speakers hold up well
unless they've been terribly over driven and/or the tweeters blown.
Building is great only if you are really in to it.

Cheers,




sploo wrote:
Hi all,

I'm after a 5.1 surround setup, and I've been looking at sets like the
Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 and Epos ELS3 5.1. Both are around the
1000GBP mark and both are highly rated by the Hi-Fi magazines (for films
and music).

I know I have the DIY skills to construct and finish MDF speaker
cabinets, but know basically nothing about speaker theory.

Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?

Many thanks,

Sploo.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 12:29:33 GMT, sploo
wrote:

Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?

Try http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/

I built one of their subs. It is excellent.




--

Joe Chip



rot that

"sploo" wrote in message

Hi all,

I'm after a 5.1 surround setup, and I've been looking at sets like the
Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 and Epos ELS3 5.1. Both are around the
1000GBP mark and both are highly rated by the Hi-Fi magazines (for
films and music).

I know I have the DIY skills to construct and finish MDF speaker
cabinets, but know basically nothing about speaker theory.

Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?


Conventional wisdom is that it's really pretty hard to design and build
competitive mini-speakers, but far easier to design and build good-sounding
subwoofers. Therefore, you might consider buying the minispeakers ready
built, and add a subwoofer you built yourself.

Joe Chip said try http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/

I have had the the TL4's for 3yrs now and they sound great, well worth
looking
through their kits for what you want. FWIW I run them biamped
off 4 x 75wrms mosfets and feed the front LR from our DVD to them.
The sub freq's are far better than any of the home theatre 5.1
subs I've heard, the 'packaged system' types all seem to have a
sub box tuned to one note which sounds impressive watching action
films but gets very obvious when listening to music.

--
Pete Cross

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"sploo" wrote in message

Hi all,

I'm after a 5.1 surround setup, and I've been looking at sets like the
Acoustic Energy Aegis Evo 3 and Epos ELS3 5.1. Both are around the
1000GBP mark and both are highly rated by the Hi-Fi magazines (for
films and music).

I know I have the DIY skills to construct and finish MDF speaker
cabinets, but know basically nothing about speaker theory.

Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?


Conventional wisdom is that it's really pretty hard to design and build
competitive mini-speakers, but far easier to design and build
good-sounding
subwoofers. Therefore, you might consider buying the minispeakers ready
built, and add a subwoofer you built yourself.

Many thanks to all that have replied with info. There are some very
useful links - especially the IPL and Wilmslow sites (as I'm in the UK).

Cheers,

sploo.

On Wed, 12 Jan 2005 12:29:33 +0000, sploo wrote:


Is it really possible to create a set of speakers that have a better
price/performance ratio than an 'off the shelf' product, and where
should I look in order to source drivers and tweeters?

Last weekend I listened for hours to music through a pair of speakers
a friend have built from a kit. Having pondered their performance
for a week now I would say he would have had to pay two to three times
more for off the shelf speakers of the same sound quality.

--
================================================== ==================
Martin Schöön * * * * * * * * * *"Problems worthy of attack
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * prove their worth by hitting back"
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Piet Hein
================================================== ==================

I too built a pair of KEFs [concertos] about thirty years ago and I
still use them. The kits contained the front panel with drive units
and crossover ready mounted and wired and you built the box to a
specification. There was a range of sizes you could build with the
larger one giving a slightly better bass reponse. In those days you
could avoid purchase tax by building the cabinet yourself. They cost
£30 I remember :-)

Robert

Robert wrote:
I too built a pair of KEFs [concertos] about thirty years ago and I
still use them. The kits contained the front panel with drive units
and crossover ready mounted and wired and you built the box to a
specification. There was a range of sizes you could build with the
larger one giving a slightly better bass reponse. In those days you
could avoid purchase tax by building the cabinet yourself. They cost
£30 I remember :-)

£30 in 1975? That would have been cheap even for one kit,
never mind a pair.

--
Eiron.