DIY inwall speakers - recommendations?

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  • mrdueck
    Junior Member
    • Dec 2012
    • 4

    DIY inwall speakers - recommendations?

    Hi everyone,
    This is my first post on an audio forum and although my family thinks I'm an audio nut, relative to the folks on this forum I'm far from that. I'm a DIY guy who is not afraid to go outside the box (imported RHD diesel van I converted to run on veggie oil, have installed all my car audio systems and have built at least 6 sub enclosures to date over the years, in the house I have installed and designed my own infloor heat/floor cooling system, water heat exchanger on my main stack, you get the idea). I am just about done my budget recroom HT/play area. It is a 24'x24' room with the HT area pushed to the side in a 10.5'x24' configuration. The ceiling is 6'10" with a bulkhead that hangs down to 6' dividing the two areas. I'm using a 6yr old Dell projector, have a Marantz SR9300 amp, I have a lead on a 12' Dayton sub that was custom built with a 500watt amp. I have studded the front wall with fl,fr and center enclosures that are .5 cubic feet. The enclosure essentially is made of 2x4's on edge and sealed to the rear concrete wall. I plan to cut out the drywall and use MDF as the front to mount speakers and fasten to the studs. The concrete wall is the former outside foundation wall but with a reno is no longer a cold wall. I want to do a 5.1 system and will have a sub put where you suggest it should go and the rears mounted flush or external (I have flexibility here).

    The question is the front 3 speakers. The plan was DIY flush mounted in walls. The concern now is the enclosure may be too small and I am now reading that flush mounted speaker compromise sound a fair bit? How significant is this? My budget is about $800 for the satellite speakers. Are there DIY drivers or kits you would suggest for in walls? Should I build the enclosures so that they protrude out of the wall to give more volume and/or give better sound? Suggestions on kits? I've been looking at Part Express and Madisound but can't decide. Your comments/suggestions are welcomed!
    Rudy
    Last edited by mrdueck; 22 December 2012, 12:02 Saturday.
  • mrdueck
    Junior Member
    • Dec 2012
    • 4

    #2
    It may be a tall order but I was hoping for some responses before Boxing Day. My family is pressuring me to go to the other side (futureshop speakers) and I don't want to sacrifice sound quality for convenience.

    Your input is appreciated.

    Comment

    • Chris D
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Dec 2000
      • 16877

      #3
      Heya, Rudy! Welcome to the Guide! :banana: Good to see a guy from the 'Peg again, too.

      Do you have a diagram that could help visualize your layout? And do you need to go with in-walls? You may know that in-walls by nature are generally much harder to produce as good of a sound as an equivalent-costing normal speaker. If at all possible, I would advise NOT to go with an in-wall, but you know your own restrictions and preferences. You may be looking for the aesthetics of in-walls.

      If not in-walls, then you also have more options, including DIY for your speakers.
      CHRIS

      Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
      - Pleasantville

      Comment

      • mrdueck
        Junior Member
        • Dec 2012
        • 4

        #4
        Hi Chris thanks for the reply,

        Yes I do get that inwalls are very limiting relative to free standing speakers. I have to be realistic here though with what the room functions as and the other players in the home. First of all I have three daughters 14, 11, 8 who practice soccer, volleyball, handstands, etc. in the basement. Speakers need to be able to handle occational impact. The projector is not boxed in yet and the previous one (an old freebee from my bro) died from a volleyball impact. I really need to make that a priority over Xmas. I was VERY active as a kids and love seeing my kids doing the same. It is -20 now and we will be having -30"s coming soon. I can't expect the kids to be outside to do all their activity. Inwall it must be or perhaps protruding speakers that are mounted to the wall. No rear port obviously. I currently have some Jamo 3way speakers for mains (from a garage sale circu late 70's?) and a JBL monitor 8" from Salvation Army that was over 1K in the 80's. They sound good, but are in the way and grills keep getting hit off. My wife hates the look and size of speakers but does like good sound. The sound is only for TV and movies. We don't watch at crazy loud levels either, but I do like a good action flick I'll work on a diagram yet. Any suggestions as to a program I should use for this?

        Rudy

        Comment

        • Chris D
          Moderator Emeritus
          • Dec 2000
          • 16877

          #5
          Gotcha. Totally understand about the indoor activity thing, and especially the cold. We're having a warm day in Alaska right now, and it's -10C. So yeah, in that case, I would probably also go with in-walls. I actually did in-walls for the LCR of my previous home bedroom A/V setup, although the reason for that was aesthetics. If it were me, I wouldn't get much more fancy than just building a basic enclosure, and wouldn't try to build a protruding box for it. I'd just mount them flush to the wall, and they'll look better that way anyway.

          Lots of options for in-walls. What I would recommend is clicking on the Parts Express banner at the top of the screen and buy some of what they have to offer--I've used their in-wall options before, and they work great. Plus, you can support a forum sponsor and help out the forum, too!

          Given the things you're going to be doing in that room, you then might as well mount the surrounds in-wall or in-ceiling too. And you're going to want to build a rigid box for the projector, like you point out! Having a box sub shouldn't be a big problem, unless you think someone might trip over it. (but you'll probably be putting it in a corner, anyway)
          CHRIS

          Well, we're safe for now. Thank goodness we're in a bowling alley.
          - Pleasantville

          Comment

          • mrdueck
            Junior Member
            • Dec 2012
            • 4

            #6
            Well no purchase yet. I'm leaning toward making my own kit at this point. I'm going to call the usual suspects that supply drivers and see what they can suggest. If I can I want to use a .5 cubic foot enclosure. I picked up a Dayton 12" ref. speaker and matching 500watt amp for my sub. Just the satelites now. Polk Audio would be the ones to go with if I ordered ready made but I'm thinking I can make something better if I choose my own drivers. I'm looking for suggestions but will otherwise start learning more about how to pick drivers. Soldering together crossovers and mounting drivers does not scare me, picking out the right pieces/components does though. I know I need to invest time to learn this but it is the time thing that I am lacking.
            Rudy

            Comment

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