Take a look at my 281 pages. I've included pics of the components and some cabinet details. Lex should be able to come over for a listen and review within a week or two if he has time....
Kit 281 ... Almost done...
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Oh yeah, Lex will be there for the audition! Well, provided he is invited, which I think he has been.
You know it's just damn nice to have a member that actually lives around me here. Someday soon, Kerry is due a trip over to my place as well for an audition. That is if I ever get my house straighted out, lol. Geesh,am I the only one inundated with little pieces of paper, junk mail, manuals, documentation, and tons of dust!?! Oh yeah, let's not forget, tons of junk, just stuff!
Lex- Bottom
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Looking good so far Kerry
You better keep a close eye on Lex if he comes over for a listen
theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio
IB subwoofer FAQ page
"Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson- Bottom
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Yeah, I am going over tomorrow, and driving my truck, hehe. That can't be good! lol.
Actually, if the sun shines, the beamer is going for a spin. I drive her so infrequently now, if I leave the radar detector on, about half the time the battery is dead the next time I drive her.
This should be fun.
Lex- Bottom
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Well, Doug has been and gone and my 281s are still here. On one hand I think that's good on the other maybe he didn't want them after all. He did drive the beemer so it would have been a tough fit if he wanted them. We listened played a little pool and generally had a great afternoon. To be fair, I just got them up and running Saterday morning, so they're not really broken in yet. So far, I think they are a huge improvement over what I had. As we listened today the bass is starting to fill in a little more. In my case, I didn't find them the least bit forward as I had read somewhere. I may play around with the stuffing as time goes on. I'll post some pics and a more detailed review later on.... Thanks Lex... We'll have to do it again soon. As for the 281s,,,I would absolutly build these again. I love them..- Bottom
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If the Radio Shack LX-5s are a good value at normally 300, or 150 if on sale. Then the 281s would have to be a great buy at the price that Kerry told me.
Now of course, I am rather spoiled audio wise with the equipment that I have. I mean, Sonus faber, Proceed, Lexicon, S7000, AQ wires. Hard not for that to sound pretty good.
So, I think you have to sort of realize that going in. Of course, since I am a 2 theater home, I do have multiple basis' for comparison. That said, I feel like:
1. 281s are a great value.
2. Imaging and soundstage seemed a little weak. I sort of called it being a little closed in sounding at first to Kerry. But I think that could be attributed to both the newness of the speakers, and some electronics inadequecies. The Sony receiver is a marginal contender, IMO. Were it ES quality, that would be one thing. But standard Sony is definitely not going to exibit the best hi-fi characteristics.
But I think they did open up a bit as we continued to listen. Perhaps breaking in a bit. But of course, I could have been sensitized to the sound a bit as we continued to listen as well.
3. Seem very comparible audio quality wise with say my Mirage M590SI that I run in the bedroom. I think this a fairly good comparison because these were 800 speakers to begin with. 400 on sale. I know, I stole em'.
I would like to listen to the 281s with my own electronics to really formulate my bottom line concensious. But right now, I think for anyone considering DIY speakers. These are must contenders for the list. Kerry may bring these over to audition with my system later on. That's up to Kerry.
Concluding, I suggested to Kerry, he might want to play around with the amount of fill. If the fill is to heavy, it could dampen some good cabinet resonance, that aids in developing the sound perhaps. Also, I would love to see him step into a seperates. Be that Outlaw, ES, whatever. Of course, he does have a nice family to put food on the table for too. That is of course, the first priority. Not at my house, but that's another story, lol.
Great time visiting with Kerry, and truly, they did a magnificient job on not only these speakers, but his audio/video cabinet as well. I swear, I thought his cabinet was a purchased product when I first saw it. Great job Kerry!
Lex
P.S. Next time, I bring my own "Q", and we shall see who rules in pool. :B
<A HREF="http://www.catcables.com" <IMG SRC="http://www.htguide.com/lexman/other/sm_logo.gif"- Bottom
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Thanks Lex..
I agree that the 281s still need some time to break in. Another friend of mine is going to bring over his LMS system to do some serious measurements. Among other things, I want to run an impedence sweep to make sure I have not got any cabinet leaks. Also, my room is quite a bit larger than the average home theater at about 1000 square feet. The cieling is acoustic tile with lots of carpet and stuffed furniture, I think this may contribute to the personality that Lex observed. I find this to be a very dead environment sonic wise. I would very much like to audition them in his room with his electronics... YES MY RECIEVER SUCKS... I know. As for me,, I am very pleased at this point.. I would definately build them again. My total cost is $560 for the pair.
Oh yeah, Lex bring your que and some spare change..I may get new electonics sooner than I planned- Bottom
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Let us know what you find out Kerry. Maybe we can do a demo at my house next weekend, if plans permit.
Really, I didn't even see your receiver. So, I won't say it sucks, just that to reach sonic nirvana, we do need to work on that aspect of your system. But you have made great steps in the right direction!
With my own stick? Unstoppable comes to mind. :B
Lex- Bottom
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Kerry
If you don't mind looking at some absorption material or are going to eventually make a grill cloth, there is an inexpensive way to improve the imaging of the speakers.
Checkout the local yellow pages for "Gasket materials or Custom gasket mfgrs". They make gaskets out of a high wool content felt. Most places will sell small amounts in bulk. Buy enough to cover the area between the woofers and make a notch to fit around one side of the tweeter. This will decrease the diffraction cancellation from the reflections bouncing off the exposed wood. The material is usually gray, I stain mine black with leather dye.
Do not use the black/green/blue etc felt sold at home center or fabric stores. This material contains no wool. It's primarily plastic and can have a negative impact on the sonics.
The leather fronts on Lex's Sonus do this to some degree, but leather isn't as effective on the higher frequencies. It does look a lot better though
The pads can be made removable and just stuck on with a little "Blu-Tac" or similar product.
theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio
IB subwoofer FAQ page
"Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson- Bottom
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Thomas,
Thanks, I had thought about making a felt defraction ring. I remember reading about it in speaker builder. Some people think that method is much better than rounding over the cabinet edges. Not to mention much easier to do. I haven't had a chance to open my cabinets up and tweak the fill and make sure of the sealing. Hopefully in the next week or two.... My new Marantz will arrive today also which should also help. As soon as that's all done, I want to have Lex back for a second opionion. I think they can be better than what he heard.- Bottom
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