I need new Bookshelf Speakers

[marincounty]

I would recommend building your speakers if you are at all handy with tools.
You can build exactly what you want with the quality of parts you want, and save a few bucks. Try madisound or partsexpress for parts and speaker kits.
They have already worked out kits for the newbie. Most commercial speakers use cheap chinese speaker drivers, you can use wonderful European drivers found only in the best, most expensive speakers.
You won't really save that much, but you will have pride of ownership and be able to show them off to your friends.
If you want to just buy some and be done with it, Polk, JBL, and Boston Acoustics are all pretty decent for the price.
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.partsexpress.com/

 

[Excelsior]

Originally posted by: marincounty
I would recommend building your speakers if you are at all handy with tools.
You can build exactly what you want with the quality of parts you want, and save a few bucks. Try madisound or partsexpress for parts and speaker kits.
They have already worked out kits for the newbie. Most commercial speakers use cheap chinese speaker drivers, you can use wonderful European drivers found only in the best, most expensive speakers.
You won't really save that much, but you will have pride of ownership and be able to show them off to your friends.
If you want to just buy some and be done with it, Polk, JBL, and Boston Acoustics are all pretty decent for the price.
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.partsexpress.com/

Don't forget Infinity.

 

[adwilk]

Why did i buy the more expensive one? I like the dual zone capability, i liked the digital switching, and the shear amount of power. I also didnt want to buy another for quite a while, this one seems to have everything i could need for years to come. That and more money must be better right? yeah right....

 

[adwilk]

Originally posted by: marincounty
I would recommend building your speakers if you are at all handy with tools.
You can build exactly what you want with the quality of parts you want, and save a few bucks. Try madisound or partsexpress for parts and speaker kits.
They have already worked out kits for the newbie. Most commercial speakers use cheap chinese speaker drivers, you can use wonderful European drivers found only in the best, most expensive speakers.
You won't really save that much, but you will have pride of ownership and be able to show them off to your friends.
If you want to just buy some and be done with it, Polk, JBL, and Boston Acoustics are all pretty decent for the price.
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.partsexpress.com/

Now, i'm really interested in this.... How in the world do i know which stuff to get and use? I know what components i need but how do i go about pairing them together and know what enclosure size to use? is this really the best way to get a good sound? What if i go buy a really cheap pair of Jenson's or something and just use the enclosure? Idunno... Anybody else with experience with "making" their own???

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: adwilk

Originally posted by: marincounty
I would recommend building your speakers if you are at all handy with tools.
You can build exactly what you want with the quality of parts you want, and save a few bucks. Try madisound or partsexpress for parts and speaker kits.
They have already worked out kits for the newbie. Most commercial speakers use cheap chinese speaker drivers, you can use wonderful European drivers found only in the best, most expensive speakers.
You won't really save that much, but you will have pride of ownership and be able to show them off to your friends.
If you want to just buy some and be done with it, Polk, JBL, and Boston Acoustics are all pretty decent for the price.
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.partsexpress.com/

Now, i'm really interested in this.... How in the world do i know which stuff to get and use? I know what components i need but how do i go about pairing them together and know what enclosure size to use? is this really the best way to get a good sound? What if i go buy a really cheap pair of Jenson's or something and just use the enclosure? Idunno... Anybody else with experience with "making" their own???

There are kits if you want to try one of those. If you can follow a schematic and solder I think it looks pretty simple if all the parts are there for you. I haven't done a DIY yet (don't know how to solder) but I know a lot of people have around here.

Ribbon13 has 7 pairs of these http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-642 that he likes. Might want to send him a PM to get more details.

If you search for "speaker kit" at partsexpress, you'll get a lot of results.

 

[adwilk]

I think i'll give these a shot!!!

Text

Anybody have experience with these...

I'm absolutely amazed at all the audio stuff out there... its almost unbelievable. I had no idea what i was getting into. I really do like the idea of building something. I've already taken apart every speaker in my house.. my wife is gonna kill me....

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: adwilk
I think i'll give these a shot!!!

Text

Anybody have experience with these...

I'm absolutely amazed at all the audio stuff out there... its almost unbelievable. I had no idea what i was getting into. I really do like the idea of building something. I've already taken apart every speaker in my house.. my wife is gonna kill me....

Might want to check out AVSforum and Hometheaterforum.
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
http://www.hometheaterforum.com
I'm not sure how much of AVS's DIY area is speaker specific, but you might find some useful links in there.

Example: http://www.htguide.com/forum/forumdisplay.php4?f=6

 

[JinLien]

SPL Calculator

Room size/listening distance
dB
Watts

Watts is not everything, because sound quality is important with speakers efficency (dB)

My system deliver roughly 115 Bd at viewing distance and it is crazy loud. And, I rarely have it crank beyond 90 dB. My niece once crank it up full blast and it freak the hell out of her & her cousin.

 

[GTaudiophile]

Originally posted by: adwilk
I was thinking maybe these

Boston Acoustics

I have personally been a big fan of Boston for years. I have demoed them against speakers from Polk Audio, Infinity, Klipsch, and Vienna Acoustics, and I've always walked away preferring the Bostons.

My recommendation to you is to get out the Yellow Pages and find a high-end theater store where you can demo a lot of speaker brands with a variety of source material. Sound is so subjective.

 

[adwilk]

What are the differences between car audio subs and home audio subs? I'm talking the actual drivers..... I guess i'm asking what the differences between home and car audio drivers... is it just impedance or what?

 

[adwilk]

and besides dc and ac what are the differences between amps?

 

[mindmaniac]

I've a pair of Pinnacle Platinum that sound pretty good.

 

[adwilk]

Which Model? Do you know?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: adwilk
What are the differences between car audio subs and home audio subs? I'm talking the actual drivers..... I guess i'm asking what the differences between home and car audio drivers... is it just impedance or what?

You could make a HT sub out of a car audio sub driver. A couple friends of mine have done it. I didn't get to hear the results, but it worked. Just match the impedence with the sub amp, and then get an enclosure to fit it based on the driver. I haven't gotten into car audio at all, so I don't even know what the design goal is for most car audio subs so performance vs HT subs is unknown to me.

 

[adwilk]

I just know that i have one ten inch Eclipse Titanium sub designed for use in a vehicle... it is supposedly one of the best car subs available. I no longer use it and its been sitting in my closet. I think i might give it a try if i can find an amp with enough muscle to move it. Worth a shot i suppose.

I did go listen to Boston, Klipsch, B&W, Focal and one more i didnt like today at a local stereo shop. I really liked the Boston and Klipsch.. the focals were way to bright but sounded incredible and the B&W's werent much better than what i have... all in all it was a good experience and i learned a lot. I have another to visit tomorrow and maybe we can make a decision.. i have decided not to build any right now.. i would like to start some kind of project though eventually. I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now.

 

[deftron]

Axiom if you want to order off the net


Athena (Best Buy) if you want to purchase locally


Both best bang for the buck

 

[adwilk]

Honestly, the Athenas weren't too bad, i think i'd rather spend more money and get something a little higher end.... Never dealt with the axiom

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: adwilk
Honestly, the Athenas weren't too bad, i think i'd rather spend more money and get something a little higher end.... Never dealt with the axiom

You might be able to find someone in your area through the axiom forums.
http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=Auditions

Check out used audio areas like audiogon, videogon, etc. and see if anyone is selling some in your area that you could audition.

 

[Cawchy87]

I was just at a friend's house for a going away party (her parents are loaded). And she has B & W speakers all around the house. All tower speakers. They sounded amazing.

Also, when I worked at best buy we had a HTPC hooked up to some infinity speakers (couldn't have been more then a foot and a half tall) and they sounded unreal. Better than huge tower speakers I have heard. Also, they were in a wide open set up insted of an enclosed set up.

 

[adwilk]

Well, I decided to buy Floor Speakers.. i finally went with a pair of bi-wirable Klipsch RF-7's. WOW... i'm pretty impressed. With little re-working on the inside of this tower, i think i'll have a real winner. They have a really dominant high end, great for movies and my new sunfire sub will make an excellent blend for music.. i cant wait to get home, i'm psyched!!!

Oops... i had RC-7's posted... I meant RF-7...

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: adwilk
What are the differences between car audio subs and home audio subs? I'm talking the actual drivers..... I guess i'm asking what the differences between home and car audio drivers... is it just impedance or what?

Car speakers are all 4 ohms, some may go lower to 2. Home stuff is mostly 8, unless you got some really hard to drive stuff. Car amps are all class D. Read crap.

Since you are talking about a very small space in the car, it is not hard to make it sound decent.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: adwilk
I just know that i have one ten inch Eclipse Titanium sub designed for use in a vehicle... it is supposedly one of the best car subs available. I no longer use it and its been sitting in my closet. I think i might give it a try if i can find an amp with enough muscle to move it. Worth a shot i suppose.

I did go listen to Boston, Klipsch, B&W, Focal and one more i didnt like today at a local stereo shop. I really liked the Boston and Klipsch.. the focals were way to bright but sounded incredible and the B&W's werent much better than what i have... all in all it was a good experience and i learned a lot. I have another to visit tomorrow and maybe we can make a decision.. i have decided not to build any right now.. i would like to start some kind of project though eventually. I'm just a bit overwhelmed right now.

Never be rush to buy speakers. Say you liked a particular pair, you need to grab a bunch of CDs that you are familiar with and spend 2 30 min sessions with them. the 2 sessions should have a few days in between and if you liked both sessions and the room is not too different from yours, then you are pretty safe. Most people forget the room is the most important component of an audio system.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: adwilk
Well, I decided to buy Floor Speakers.. i finally went with a pair of bi-wirable Klipsch RF-7's. WOW... i'm pretty impressed. With little re-working on the inside of this tower, i think i'll have a real winner. They have a really dominant high end, great for movies and my new sunfire sub will make an excellent blend for music.. i cant wait to get home, i'm psyched!!!

Oops... i had RC-7's posted... I meant RF-7...

Cool. Agaboogaboo almost went with RF-7s but be ended up doing some more demo-ing and went with Paradigm Studio 60s instead.

Did you move them in yet?

 

[adwilk]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Cool. Agaboogaboo almost went with RF-7s but be ended up doing some more demo-ing and went with Paradigm Studio 60s instead.

Did you move them in yet?

Yes, I'm really not disapointed. I really like what that horn driver does for movies and i love the effeciency(102db) even my amplifier makes these things rock. I dont like how bright and overbearing the top end can be in some music but i plan on utilizing the b-wire capabality to clean up the signal and mellow it out a bit with music. These are hands down the best thing i listened to for movies.... the best part.... I found a dealer here in town that is moving and i got them in the box for $980.00. He still has a couple of pairs left and i'm wanting to go back and get the RS-7's and RC-7 today.... (another $1150).. this is an unbelievable deal. the surrounds and center are display models... and did i mention i bought a sunfire sub?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Nice deal indeed :thumbsup:

EDIT: btw, having "bookshelf speakers" in your title is pretty funny now.