Which build(s) are best for me?

[grcassidy]

Hello,

First I want to say a big thanks to the speaker diy community ;x( - I've learned a lot lurking around the forums and am appreciative to be able to build a well designed speaker system.

So I'm after some suggestions on the most suitable speaker build(s) for my situation as follows:
- I'm initially wanting to Build L/C/R for 20% music , 80% HT. I currently have a low end sub and surrounds that I will upgrade sometime in the future.
- Room size is 11.5' x 16.5', with placement along the 11.5' wall. Seating position is 12' back from the wall (approx 10' from speaker baffles). L/R speakers will be ~6.5' apart (approx 2' from side walls) and can be spaced out from the back wall up to 2'.
- The CC will be placed in a slot in the TV cabinet which is below the TV, this constrains the CC speaker to 29" wide by 11" high or less and (I think??) no rear ports or T/L.
- My favourite seating position is about 20Deg horizontal off centre from the CC speaker.
- My preferred listening SPL level would be low to moderate (I think as listening level is probably subjective), probably similar to the levels of a public cinema.
- I would like a detailed and accurate system, I have a pair of Grado GS1000 headphones and love the detail that these provide. I guess I want to hear the ruffle of some background paper in a movie, or the squeak of a chair from the recording studio in music.
- I would prefer if I could purchase the drivers and crossover components from one store so that I only need one shipment (to Australia).
- Budget of < $650 for all Drivers/crossovers, etc. is preferred (approx $800 including shipping), but obviously lower cost, better 'bang for my buck' would be great and go along way to pleasing the better half!
- I would also be interested on opinions of whether the centre speaker is really required for a room of my size with seating location etc. Would I get a better experience from the resulting system by using my budget on only L/R's?

Any assistance will be much appreciated.

[Not2Evil]

Please expand on the budget. Is that per speaker? or a combo LCR price. If it's per speaker, some sweat equity will get you a killer system. Also understand that most are 4 ohm designs.

I hope your better half understands that the boys need bigger toys. I spent most of my night looking at sportscars and boats. My wife's response was, "I'd rather have a motorcycle". Hey, life is good.

[grcassidy]

< $800 is for all the Drivers/crossover components. That is still pushing it for "something that is totally unnecessary and we don't need" (her words not mine).

I Just checked PE delivery rates for mock order and it came to $150. So my revised budget is $650 :cry:

[cjd]

There is a supplier in Australia that carries the Dayton stuff - finding parts local may well help. A lot.

Your preferred seating position AND center speaker placement are tough - I'd have said my MTM, but you'd be on the edge of its usable range horizontally. It may still be worth looking into - an on-wall variation would be best suited for the center.

In-khan/out-khan may work.

Modula TM should work - if you can squeeze it into the center spot vertically it will help your off-axis issue.

Umm... I know there have to be other options out there, hopefully some folks can pipe up.

[Undefinition]

The Swope HT maybe?

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=33961

There was a place in New Zealand called Hass Audio that carried Dayton stuff. Unfortunately, I'm not able to find their page right now.

[Ray_D]

Check out Zaph's ZDT3.5

http://www.zaphaudio.com/ZDT3.5.html

This is an outstanding value.

Ray

[grcassidy]

Thanks, I've been looking at the ZDT3.5's, would they be too big for my room? Is there even such a thing as speakers being too big for a room (sound quality wise)?

Also been looking at the Khan series, the centre will fit my space - how's the horizontal range on that? Are Khanspire's too big for my room? I'll look a bit further into the out-khan's. How is the accuracy and detail of the out-khans compared to Khanspire's? I also didn't think of a TM centre, thanks.

I hadn't come across the Swope HT, thanks. How's the detail and accuracy of these? Also, how does the centre perform at 20Deg off centre?

I havn't found an Aus supplier with Daytons - I'd better do some more searching. I have looked a bit at hasaudio in NZ, yes it does have some Daytons. I've noticed that the component prices are higher when buying local, so when I decide on my build I'll do a comparison of local $$ vs US+shipping $$.

Thanks
Gary

[Silver1omo]

The Aviatrix CC would meet your size constraints. And you can build sealed CC and the L/R as ported floorstanding for around 370.
Also the Sietecerocero would fit your size and budget and give you the flexibility for ported floorstanding.
Aviatrix thread
Sietecerocero

For the technical stuff you can ask the designers :P

[LoveDoctor]

My HT room and positioning are very similar to yours, and I just finished a set of L/C/R AviaTrixes and I would second Silver1omo's recommendation. The low crossover point gives a relatively wide field to the horizontal MTM, and the midbass performance of these lil' drivers is phenomenal, especially considering the small enclosure size (I built 3 sealed, not the ML-TL variant) which improved the SAF. Imaging is great with HT content, and I would rate the detail of playback a highly scientific "pretty darn good". I have them crossed to my sub at 60Hz, and they seem quite fine up to higher volume levels than my ears can tolerate.

The Sietecerocero's use the same woofers but a different tweeter, and the crossover complexity looks similar to the AviaTrix. Either design would probably fit into all of your above criteria.

A word of caution though. If your goal is to have sound as detailed as a pair of high quality headphones, that may be tough to achieve. Rooms have ways of complicating things...

[skippyboy]

http://www.hasaudio.co.nz/

[Ray_D]

Not too big

Thanks, I've been looking at the ZDT3.5's, would they be too big for my room? Is there even such a thing as speakers being too big for a room (sound quality wise)?

It isn't that speakers can be too big as much as the seating position can be too close for proper integration of all drivers. At 10 feet yours is fine. Since you state that you listen at moderate levels and have a subwoofer you could get away with smaller speakers.

Zaph's center channel is one of the few that is a WT/MW. The vertical orientation for the T/M and the lower cross-over to the woofers than is typical for MTM's on their sides provides a better off axis response which looks desireable for your usage.

I built this center per Zaph's design and my mains are a slightly modified vertical WTMW. They sound great and were about $200 each for drivers and cross-over components.

There are many very good designs out there. You could probably spend less and be happy.

Good luck with your search.

Ray

[grcassidy]

Thanks so much for the replies. The Aviatrix do seem well suited to my requirements / wants thanks for the link.

So I'm currently thinking the Aviatrix or Zaph ZDT3.5's. Any advise, recommendations, experiences, etc. that could help me make up my mind would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Gary.