A little Direction (noob)

[Preacher]

I'm a piddler and into diy car audio. I've messed with pro stuff, but HT is sort of new to me. I've got a diy HT sub powered by a Crate pro amp. I also have a set of polk M30's for mains and polk cs1 for a center. These are powered with an older technics sa-ax540. My Sony DVD player handles decoding and sends out the 5.1 signal on RCA's.

I've been looking on here off and on and other diy sites thinking of building for about a year. I have decided a Dayton RS system makes the most sense. I really like the idea of MTM's and a wmtw center. A TMM fascinates me though. Something with the RS180's is where I am, but I have two main concerns

1) Will this investment be like a new world compared to the polks?

2) Am I thinking overkill in size for my room? Could I get away with something from the 150's or 125's and an mtm center. The room is 17.5 long and 11.5 wide and the seating is about 10 ft from center speaker.

Thanks in advance for any direction you can give me. Ask Q's if I have left anything out. btw I already own 6 Hi-Vi m4n's.

[TacoD]

I did a 2.5-way TMM with 2x RS180 and Scanspeak 9600SE. Filter is optimized for small - medium size rooms (25 - 40 m^2)

Polk is very good for the money so I cannot help you with that question.

[ThomasW]

Underworking the RS180 is far better than overworking the smaller drivers...

[Scottg]

http://www.zaphaudio.com/BAMTM.html

[Jed]

I

Thanks in advance for any direction you can give me. Ask Q's if I have left anything out. btw I already own 6 Hi-Vi m4n's.

Do you plan on using them somehow or do you want to start from scratch? That is probably a good idea if you don't know how to take measurements and design a crossover.

[Preacher]

I would someday like to do a from scratch project myself. For now I'd like to follow someone else's design. I've looked at several zaph designs, but I'm looking for an HT setup and want a matching(ish) center.

I looked at Augrepro's design. How do you think doing three of his wmtw center's would work?

[augerpro]

Unless the small size is a necessity, I would not recommend my WMTW. Don't get me wrong, for the size I was very impressed with it. Hopefully PoorBoyMike will finish his set and give me some actual unbiased feedback. But it is still a small driver speaker and certainly won't be mistaken for JonM's new design in side by side test.

If small size is required though, then yes, you may like the little WMTW.


EDIT: BTW polar response of the little WMTW is quite good, because of the small mid, close MT spacing, and good phase integration, so three across the front could be successful I think.

[Preacher]

I like the idea of zaph's bamtm, but any thoughts on it as a center channel besides what he's written?

[augerpro]

What size speakers can you live with? What's is your budget?

[---k---]

what is the budget???

In order of price, my recommendations:
5 Modula MT
2 NatP + 3 Modula MT
3 Jon's upcoming WTMW + 2 Modula MT
5 Jon's upcoming WTMW

And if that doesn't spend enough of your money, then I recommend 2 of CJD's and mine upcoming Khanspire speakers with some combination of the above for center and rears.

And yes, these will should be a HUGE step up from your $200 polk bookshelfs.

Also budget for a good amp. As discussed to length elsewhere, the Emotive LP1A at $500 is probably a real solid bet for those on a budget.

[Preacher]

what is the budget???

In order of price, my recommendations:
5 Modula MT
2 NatP + 3 Modula MT
3 Jon's upcoming WTMW + 2 Modula MT
5 Jon's upcoming WTMW

Also budget for a good amp. As discussed to length elsewhere, the Emotive LP1A at $500 is probably a real solid bet for those on a budget.

Thank you for the recommendation. You didn't mention using 3 nat p's as the fronts; is that because of dispersion problems with the mtm? If so how important is that in a room as narrow as mine? Is a single modula mt lower cost than a single Nat P?

I will build a good economic speaker if I can settle on one that meets my needs. I'm thinking I can do this with about $600 on the front three and willing to spend more if I need.

[ThomasW]

You didn't mention using 3 nat p's as the fronts; is that because of dispersion problems with the mtm?

If you have the room to place the center vertically then using the NatP is fine. But it's not designed for horizontal orientation.

[Preacher]

I have a few questions about the wmtw is the center channel version of this going to be different from the mains? Is the Speaker Camp thread where all this is happening.

Do we have some time estimate and perhaps a rough cost of building a left/right center set?

If I built one of these as a center would the modula be a fit as mains?

[ThomasW]

1)No
2)Sort of
3)I think so
4)A pretty significant difference in output potential (loudness) between the Modula MT and the new WMTW. Either the Modula MTM or NatP will be a good match.