Looking for input/advice/questions answered.

[AndrewM]

I'm getting very tired of my current center channel speaker (old $30 warehouse store bookshelf type speaker), I'm looked at trying to take the easy way out and have looked at a few production type speakers, but I haven't found anything that does it for me at a price point that I can live with. My mains are an old Aria 7 TLR kit. So here's where I'm thinking;

1. Ditch the Aria 7 kit and go for 3 identical (or close to identical) speakers across the front, I have a projector setup, so I have a lot of leeway in design considerations (limited to about 36-42" in the middle). I'd like to keep the budget here under $1k, some of the kits/designs I've looked at;
- MurphyBlaster UtopiaOW1 and 3-way MB01
- Moderators own M8x designs or maybe even the Arvo
- Eton 11.2/8.1 combo (blows the budget away)
- Adire 281/LCC combo

The Adire is the least expensive, and I've had 281's before so I know exactly what I'm getting into, but I'm not sure it really compete's sound quality wise to the rest (nor should it considering the price point comparison). The Eton would be nice I bet, but if I get into that range there's a nice set of Magnepan 1.6's or Martin Logan's for sale locally here on Audiogon (which doesn't solve my center problem, but I love the sound of them).

2. My other option would be to buy the "current" raw Focal drivers to build a timber matched center channel and either hire somebody to build me an x-over for them, or buy the measuring equipment needed to design my own (with lots and lots of questions asked). This would be pretty risky as I'm sinking quite a bit of money into a project with no proven results.

Now I'm not really that unhappy with my current main speakers, although with the almost text book x-over's I doubt I'm getting everything out of them, which is why I'm semi-leaning towards buying my own measuring equipment and asking lots of questions a few times to get everything setup the way I like. But I figured I'd bounce the ideas around the collective brainpan and see what others thought, so any thougts/ideas/"what would you do" type input?

Andrew

[Paul H]

As I posted in the dual M8N's thread I'm really happy with those speakers. Cost was approx. US$1250 for 3 front speakers, including wood, taxes, shipping, everything.

The Arvos would no doubt be incredible but would destroy your budget.

Paul

[ThomasW]

Using generic XO's certainly isn't the best option for any speaker. And the problems are compounded with kevlar drivers and their cone breakup modes. Those must be addressed in the crossover, and very few designs do that.

$1K budget is to low for a 'good' matched L>C>R set. Perhaps you could sell the Aria 7 kits and use the money to create a system like Pauls. I've heard a MTM M8a based L>C>R system, and it's performance is pretty amazing.

Down the road if you want to upgrade the MTM design to an Arvo, all it takes is more $$$ :wink:

[AndrewM]

I was afraid you guys were going to say that Visting HT forums is bad for the budget.

Thomas, do you guys have a parts list for the MTM M8x design sitting around anywhere, or point me in the right direction? Mostly so I can source some of the parts, get an idea on costs, etc. Also, do you have a horizontal design setup for center duty, if so what do I give up as opposed to going with standard floor standing unit (still have to give some consideration to the SAF), more of a secondary concern, but one none the less.

And lastly, perhaps a question to the floor, I've never heard anything bad said about the speaker, but what can I expect out of them? Basically what I'm getting at is when I go to the local hi-fi dealer I can say brand X is bright and analytical, brand Z is laid back, brand Y has a smooth midrange, etc. Anybody want to take a stab at making some magazine'ish audiophile comments towards the speakers? I know Thomas/Jon have quite a bit of experience with Kevlar drivers and Focal tweeters, what's better/worse with the Vifa/Hi-Vi combo, what can I expect?

Andrew

[AndrewM]

Some more questions;

Thomas, is this the current M8 MTM x-over - https://web.archive.org/web/20151002...Tibor-MTM.html ? So I can use this for the parts list?

Also in regards to inductors, is there anything I should pay attention to, can I get "standard" 16 or 18ga Solen's, or were larger gauge units used in some places, or is the resistance not something to really worry about?

With current PE pricing I get around $450 in drivers, and I see x-over estimates around $250-300'ish for a pair (so I'll assume around $400-500 for 3 speakers), sound about right?

Andrew

[ThomasW]

Andrew,

Yes that is a current schematic for the MTM design.

We always recommend using 15 or 16 gauge inductors. Bigger wire is better

There are 2 ways to build the crossovers. Use parts from PE or Solen, or build the large cluster caps you see in the various posts dealing with the MTM design.

Building the high value caps results in a savings of about 50%, but significantly increases both the labor involved and the size of the crossovers.

I don't use those kind of descriptors for speakers. The MTM's are detailed, accurate, and somewhat revealing of the electronics in the signal path. With attenuation on the tweeter you can adapt the sound to most rooms. The XT-25 certainly isn't a 'hot' tweeter.

The center channel can be either horizontal or vertical, there's no difference in the cabinet construction or the crossover design.

Be sure to read this thread. We pretty much covered every possible question possible dealing with the MTM design.

One caveat this is a real world 4 ohm system. Make sure your electronics are happy driving that load