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Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
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Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ. |
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In Reply to: DIY Speaker Kit Opinions? posted by GregS on March 17, 2000 at 13:00:17:
Another design to consider is the Focal Daline (an ORCA design, found in Zalytron's Catalog). These are basically the same as JMLabs' Daline 6.1 (transmission line tower, MTM design). This design uses Focal's 90tdX tweeter and two 6V415 mid-woofers (discontinued, 6V4411 a direct substitute?).I built a pair 3 years ago and have been very pleased. Zalytron seemed to prefer this design over the Arias. This speaker has a very natural, relaxed sound, that also reveals alot of subtle details. These speakers were a definite improvement over a fine pair of NEAR M40e's they replaced. They require about 100 hours of break-in before they sound their best. Since I made these speakers I find that I listen to music twice as much as before.
A buddy of mine built a set on the Dynaudio Gemini's and we compared the two side by side, and the results were not what we expected:
* The Dynaudio's bass was more prominent than the Focal's, but also it had its energy focused at the listener, versus the Focal's bass being more enveloping (transmission line?). A few weeks after this audition, I listened extensively to an acoustic quartet (2 violins, piano, acoustic bass) in a small room without any amplification; and I noticed that the bass actually sounded like that of my Focal Dalines.
* The Focal's high end was smoother and less fatiguing.
* Both sounded excellent.I made the following modifications to the design: double box construction, with rabbeted joints, dado jointed the transmission line, front baffle w/ 0.75" radius edge, outboard crossover, and tweeters offset 1" towards the inside edge (mirror imaged). (These weigh 110 pounds, each.)
The MDF that I used was 0.75" with laminates on both sides. The place that I purchased the MDF (cabinet shop) precut all of my pieces for only $35 extra. I highly recommend this! This saves an expensive carbide blade, saves time, and their equipment is made to handle the large MDF sheet and is more accurate. There was a full 4'x8' sheet of MDF in EACH speaker (double boxed).
Suggestions:
* Do NOT try to cut the woofer holes with sabre saw, even if it is a high end Porter Cable. Make a circular jig out of plywood and cut with a router on the inside. (You must calculate the radius taking into account the router bit and the distance from the router center to its edge.)
* Do NOT get cheap on components. You will spend alot of time building the speakers, you will not want to have regrets from saving small $$$.
* Cabinet construction is KEY. I believe it is the key to the fine nuances (the cabinet is quiet and doesn't obscure the details).
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Follow Ups
- Re: DIY Speaker Kit Opinions? - Mark Lamb 09:38:27 03/21/00 (0)
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