General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Depends really, how high the woofer is asked to play. If it’s a sub, then it doesn’t really matter. At higher frequencies where it’s more about radiation than pressurization a front placement is necessary.

 

Great answer as always!
They don't seem to care too much about beaming or radiation patterns (150hz and 6.5khz crossover points). I guess 150hz is "low enough" for rear placement (uninformed guess)

 

Yeah, 200 - 300Hz is pretty safe as we're talking about wavelengths over a meter. I think KEF Blades have side firing woofers which cross over at 350Hz and probably play pretty audibly up from that to 500 - 700 Hz.

 

5'' will start showing signs of weakness in around 200..300 Hz region, and the 200 Hz region is still relatively directional/reflective.
I bet it doesn't sound as good as front firing woofer; then again it's matter of tuning and placement, as always.
Most speaker builders prefer front vent to back vent, and that is usually only doing sub frequencies.

 

I've heard the Blade Two a year ago and they were great in terms of coherency (ie, couldn't tell where the drivers started or stopped playing), I didn't like the tonality (metallic, like a big LS50), but in that regard they were amazing.

Yeah, that's why I said that Verity doesn't care too much about beaming, they're playing that little midrange from 150hz to 6.5khz 0_0
Personally, I would like pay someone to "clone" them, but with a 6.5 inch AT midrange and a 12 inch AT woofer, that with the Satori Ring Dome would be 2300€ for the drivers alone, I need a money tree

 

If you're using a needle point as a moving radiator, then even 20k can be played omni-directionally. It's not that much about wavelengths as wavelength and cone diameter/baffle size ratio which determines radiation patterns. With that said, apart from cosmetics, I wouldn't put a driver that goes up to 200Hz at the back. On-axis at 200Hz the throw is usually a few dB stronger than way off, so this might be asking for trouble if the back wall is bare.

 

In a perfect illusory alternative universe, haha.
I'm quite sure that there are no sonic benefits to be had mounting any single driver to the back, unless it's a supplementary to aid power response (like Wilson likes to add a tweeter).

I bet you'd find something close enough from Troels site, although anyone who has had their hands on cabinet work will encourage you to buy some commercial ones, unless you are after something really unique.
Not a ton of cost cutting can be had from diy, unless you do all the work and have the tools + workshop.

 

Here in Eastern EU cabinet work can be outsourced rather cheaply and materials are also very affordable. I'd say it's worth it DIY'ing proven projects to about 3kEUR as that gets you in over 10kEUR speaker territory. Overall I'd say that truly advanced cabinetry requires computer sims in which case I'd rather trust someone like Genelec or JBL to do it for me.

 

Yes I know his site, also there're some companies that custom make speakers (Selah Audio in the US and Humble Homemade Hifi in EU), their kits and speakers are priced low but lord knows how much a custom project can run depending on complexity.
Something inspired in other design could be "reasonably priced" (ie, a Transmission Line version of the Verity with a 12 inch woofer and a 6 inch midrange), then add a Marchand tube xover and 3 First Watt F4 and there we're
In any case, some big savings need to be made before even dreaming about it ROFL

 

Hello,

I'm going to chime in with my own question.

A little context: Currently I have Yamaha HS7's that I am in the process of selling and an RME Adi-2 DAC as my pre amp / DAC / Headamp. The Yamaha's I found lacking in dynamics and my overall experience has been fine but lack luster. Not calling either bad but the combination is just not enjoyable enough for me. I plan on keeping the RME.

After talking to a friend or two I've decided to move to passive loudspeakers rather than powered monitors. My listening space is my home office, with minimal room treatment (but not nothing).

I have little to no experience with speakers outside of LSR305s and the HS7's.

What I need advice on: I have a budget of about $1200-1600. My budget includes speaker wire and whatever else I might need besides speakers and an amp. I have speaker stands so they won't be sitting directly on my desk. I'm thinking of picking up a Schiit Vidar as my amplifier. I've been recommended http://philharmonicaudio.com/aa.html but I'd like to hear some other thoughts if anyone has them.

Oh yeah, my musical preferences at home are classical / blues, a few varieties of rock. I like contemporary stuff cruising in my car or out of my phone.

If I've left out any important info, let me know! I have read the Vidar and Affordable Accuracy Monitors threads

***Edit***
I am in no rush. I have also considered squirreling away more cash to increase my budget over some time.

 

Your cheapest component should not be the speakers. At least move up to the Philharmonitor or BMR.

Did you like the LSR305? You can try the 705i if you want to move up in that series.

How much space are you willing to give to the speakers? You can't cheat physics and bigger high efficiency stuff will always give you more oomph for your watt.

 

I liked the LSR305 for the price but between them and the HS7 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. I didn't demo both of them in my home, so who knows. I'll google the 705i.

I don't have room anywhere in my home right now for floor standing speakers, I'm sequestered to my small home office about 130-140 sqft?

 

If you're running an ADI-2 Pro in your system, then I'd steer away from digitally filtered speakers. Maybe sniff around for a Genelec 8040A or B.

 

Not running the Pro. Would my options increase if I had a dedicated pre? I'm in no big rush, budget can grow over time.

I guess I should also clarify, these are for fun, I'm not mastering anything and am inclined to steer away from powered studio monitors. We'll see though.

 

I miswrote, the ADI-2 DAC is perfectly fine. It's just that building an analog system would potentially let more if that DAC's capabilities through.

Sadly, I don't know what's the hottest deal is for passive speaker on your side of the pond. Generally you need to decide between resolution, SPL and low end capability. @Armaegis is absolutely right that most of the budget needs to got to the speaker, decent amps can be had pretty cheap these days.

 

Cool, I'll consider adding a pre-amp and adjusting budget accordingly. More research to do I like Schiit products, so maybe one of there's.

Sure makes sense, I think spl and low end capability was lacking for me with the HS7/305s, they were resolving enough at their price but I didn't consider them *very* resolving.

Thanks!

 

Forget about the preamp, ADI-2 has one of the best volume controls out there!

 

I would cheap out on the wiring with the intention to replace later.

You can also get some nice used speakers for that price.

 

1500 budget for speakers and amp?

do you want a big speaker?

I use a ssimilar price point setup at my GF's place

a https://www.allo.com/sparky/volt-plus-d-amp.html tpa3116 amp with all the good mods on them and a pair of used ATC SCM7 v3.
sounds lovely for a small space. if you want bigger, id recommend reference 3a decapo i

 

Again, this is physics at play. For a small speaker to produce low end and high SPL, it has to work very hard and typically won't sound good at its limits. Depending how much thump you want, maybe you'll want to add a small sub for a 2.1 setup.

Personally, I like sealed speakers and have a set of ATC's like @murphythecat suggested, but again you trade away bass thump for cleanliness.