Affordable Accuracy Monitor Review

[hex168]

That's fine. The existing 1.0 mH inductor you would add your 0.51 mH inductor to (by putting it in series) is not a 1% tolerance part, anyway.

 

[Gilles H]

That's fine. The existing 1.0 mH inductor you would add your 0.51 mH inductor to (by putting it in series) is not a 1% tolerance part, anyway.

Ok, I see! Thank you, very appreciated.

 

[Gilles H]

Hello again, regarding the Dennis Murphy's Pioneer SB22 speakers modification.

He recommends using the damping foam: https://www.parts-express.com/Sonic-Barrier-1-2-Acoustic-Foam-w-PSA-18-x-24-260-520

The spec sheet: https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/more-info/sonic-barrier-msds.pdf

I can get this product instead: https://www.mcmaster.com/5692T61/

I would need to know if this McMaster-Carr foam would be as effective. Unfortunately there is not a lot of technical data to compare, so any idea based on gut feeling and/or experience is welcome.

Thank's again!

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I'm not sure I would bother with foam lining at all. The cabinet is quite sturdy as is. The ideal sound treatment is a 2" thick wad of EcoCore folded in a U shape like on the BMR, but I'm not sure you can get that. It's a denim material and available under a different label from Home Depot, and Meniscus Audio sells it.

 

[Gilles H]

I'm not sure I would bother with foam lining at all. The cabinet is quite sturdy as is. The ideal sound treatment is a 2" thick wad of EcoCore folded in a U shape like on the BMR, but I'm not sure you can get that. It's a denim material and available under a different label from Home Depot, and Meniscus Audio sells it.

Ok, thank you. I was not expecting an answer from the designer himself, much appreciated, thank you for taking the time.

I will proceed with the modification without the foam and see how it goes.

Good day, take care!

 

[DarqLyte]

I am one of the lucky few to own a pair of these! These are the speakers which introduced me to what good sound meant, as they were the first such high-quality kit I was able to afford. They still sit on my desk a decade later, powered with a Topping DX3 and a NC252MP kit amp. I registered this account for the sole reason that I stumbled on this review and wanted to say publicly how very good they are, and that I appreciate the work of people like Amir and Dennis for blowing the pixie dust off of audiophillia and showing what can be done for a reasonable price when driven by good data. Kudos and thanks!

 

[Dennis Murphy]

I am one of the lucky few to own a pair of these! These are the speakers which introduced me to what good sound meant, as they were the first such high-quality kit I was able to afford. They still sit on my desk a decade later, powered with a Topping DX3 and a NC252MP kit amp. I registered this account for the sole reason that I stumbled on this review and wanted to say publicly how very good they are, and that I appreciate the work of people like Amir and Dennis for blowing the pixie dust off of audiophillia and showing what can be done for a reasonable price when driven by good data. Kudos and thanks!

Thanks for the nice words. Too bad Pioneer discontinued the BS22--If I could get hold of 100 pieces, I would offer the speaker again using factory-wired crossover boards. I will be offering a new AA kit in a couple of months based on the Parts Express BR-1 kit.

 

[whereshaldo]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

 

[Colonel7]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

Large bookshelves? Also designed by Dennis https://meniscusaudio.com/product/philharmonic-audio-bmr-speaker-kit/

And a review with measurements

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

Philharmonic BMR Bookshelf Speaker Review

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

And member impressions

Philharmonic BMR Monitor Semi-Objective Review - Road Show Stop 1

Introduction @Dennis Murphy is generously sending a pair of his Philharmonic BMR Monitor speakers on a road show to various listeners east of that big river over yonder. Somehow, they found their way across it to rural-ish Texas and landed in my home first, before heading back east to continue...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[somebodyelse]

@whereshaldo Have a look at this thread for some suggestions, and the various speaker threads in the DIY section

 

[DarqLyte]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

I share your spirit. I started trying to build a nice system as a poor college student. I think that $500 ish per component is a pretty solid place to look. That not exactly cheap, but it is by audiophile standard, and with some thought you can get 95% of the way there.

A cheap DAC can be shockingly good these days, and enough storage and CPU to handle a lifetime of digital music is simple and easy. If you have modest power requirements, a $500 class D amp is all you need until you go for a multichannel AV setup. Even then, $1000 will do it fine.

Speakers are the weak link now. Distortion, directivity, etc are still a bit of a black art. The trouble is there is so much marketing voodoo and audiophile pixie dust BS sprinkled aroun, it's almost impossible to sort out truth from lies.

There's just a handful of folks like Dennis who are directly honest and open about how to do it right, and there's so many ways to go wrong. Good luck on your journey, but even with a PhD in materials science, I've never felt confident on how to get it right.

But experimentation is most of the fun!

 

[TimW]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

I also modified a pair of these speakers and found them to be excellent. I have owned many speakers in this size range and haven't found any that were definitively better. This includes the Polk T15, Boston Acoustics A40, Pioneer SP-BS21LR, Edifier R1280T, KEF Q100, Fluance Ai40, Parts Express C-Note, JBL Control X, JBL LSR305, KEF LS50, JBL Stage A130, and JBL Studio 530. This list is pretty much in order of worst to best, I have listened to many others and made some custom DIY stuff as well. The AAM has surprisingly decent bass for its size and does well in a small room with a close listening distance. What makes the AAM so good is its smooth and balanced frequency response, what holds it back is its size and directivity.

Well designed 5 1/4" woofer 2-ways like the JBL's are very good for their price, and are satisfactory in a small size room with medium listening distance or in a larger room with subs. For larger spaces a larger woofer is necessary and I have found 6 1/2" 2-ways like my Bay Audio JAM monitor or the AAM+ to be satisfactory but I always incorporate subwoofers. A 6 1/2" 2-way, especially those without a waveguide, have a major directivity mismatch between woofer and tweeter, but if the frequency response is well balanced the overall sound in a room can still be good. I found that the AAM+ sounds less smooth and tonally correct than the AAM making it worse in near-field listening, but the bass extension is very good and with a long listening distance the AAM+ is superior.

You should really consider the size of your space, your listening distance, and the reverberation characteristics and symmetry of your room when deciding what kind of speakers to employ. Multiple subwoofers and room correction EQ are always beneficial so if you haven't already, look into that before upgrading your speakers. If you're itching for another DIY speaker project, the popular and well designed one's I would consider are the Philharmonic BMR, the Heissmann DXT-MON, or the Linkwitz LXmini if you can position them correctly in your room.

 

[Matthew J Poes]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

DIYing is fun and can certainly return some value compared to commercial. The final finish will depend on you, for most, they can't DIY a better finish than you get in higher end commercial. Some are quite talented however.

There are a lot of DIY designs that are no good. It can be hard to sort the good from the bad, DIY is very rarely reviewed with measurements. I've tried to gain access in the past and not had much luck. Erin's Audio Corner did a bit better with some DIYSG efforts sent in, none did all that great, which surprised me a bit. Huge discrepancy between the actual measured performance and that expected by the designers own data.

As for this notion that $500 gets you $5000, that is a bit fanciful. I mean, there are certainly some really over priced commercial products that don't perform well, but that would just be cherry picking comparisons. I would say you typically see more like a 2-3 times multiplier, but that also assumes the DIY designs are good. Again, a lot are either untested or simply not that good. A good speaker is not just the drivers, it's also the quality of the crossover design itself. A lot of DIY efforts keep the price down by using high end parts but very few. As such, the response isn't that flat. Really talented designers often don't make DIY speakers. Murphy is an exception. There are also a lot of DIY designs that you couldn't easily replicate on your own. It's likely you would spend as much or more to DIY them and it would be far clunkier than buying the finished commercial product.

 

[mrmoizy]

I stumbled across this thread after doing some reading about Dennis Murphy. I have a pair of the Pioneers that I did the modifications to and am also extremely impressed with the quality. I just finished building a Voxel sub with a passive radiator and wow that really makes a big difference just filling in the low end in a way that I didn't even know was missing.

I'm new to this whole DIY audio arena but my limited experiences have been very rewarding. I'm wondering if there is a step up from here for speakers? I've read some comments that if you want to spend $100 on speakers then there isn't a lot of difference between commercial and DIY products but that you can spend $500 to make speakers that compete with $5000 commercial speakers. I guess my question is whether these efforts would pay me returns beyond the satisfaction of the project. I am somewhat limited in my space -- the speakers need to sit against a wall or maybe a foot away. Also I'm really not looking for anything bigger than large bookshelf speakers. I realize there is a whole lot of personal preference at play here. I really like what I have but I have the itch to make something better.

I should also mention I have a pretty solid woodshop and a lot of experience working with wood so making cabinets isn't a hurdle.

Hal

Hey Hal,

I grew up working in my dad's cabinet shop, I love to tinker with electronics, and I was the broke college grad for years. So, DIY speakers was a natural fit for me. At the start, the biggest hurdle was not having all the right tools when I lived in another state, or not having a space to build in. But those have been addressed over time.

I think a knowledgeable DIYer can produce some mean speakers, really high quality, something that would rival gear 2x-10x+ the price. The kicker for me is it takes practice. I've built 5 speaker projects now, and each one has gotten better and better. I'm toying around with an idea for a center channel speaker for my next project. Eventually, with a growing budget and increased experience, I think I could build the $1,000 set that would be really Hi-Fi, low distortion, flat response, smooth directivity. But where I don't save money over buying is it's going to take me several projects of learning to get there.

So, here's my take on DIY. If the process of building it is part of the reward, which it might be for you, then I think it's a great hobby that can produce great results. But if DIY for others doesn't offer intrinsic rewards, and is just seen as a cheaper shortcut to really nice gear, it's going to be a disappointment. There are a number of renowned DIYer builders that have published their work online (Paul Carmody, Zaph Audio, Jeff Bagby, Dennis Murphy that you mentioned are some that I've read), and the one common thread is they've spent a lot of time doing DIY, and have made a lot of projects, to get to the skill level of producing great sound. So, all those projects add up to a lot of cost in wood and components, and the easier route would have been just buying some nice speakers, if all you're looking for is good sound. If you're not following someone else's design, and you're going for your own, ground-up design of your liking, it's really tough to get results you're completely satisfied with on the first try.

I work on a computer now, and I miss the days of working with wood, so when I have the time and energy (which is rare right now with four kids, ages 3-12), I really enjoy DIY. I would just say it's not as cheap as some might think it is, and I would only recommend it if you enjoy the building part as much or more than you enjoy the sound it produces. If you do build something, at least have the guts to post it like I never have. Cool to see others' ideas and skills. Best of luck

Mike

 

[whereshaldo]

Wow that's a lot of response for a very short time and a lot of good food for thought. I'm in the middle of a general system upgrade at this point. I've got an Onkyo TX-8020 that works fine for me at least from the power perspective. Up until recently I've been mostly vinyl and have just picked up a amazingly clean and functional Realistic Lab 400. I had a mishap with my cartridge (ATVM95E) and so while I'm waiting for a VM95ML stylus to arrive I've been using the rebadged Shure with a replacement stylus that isn't the best but it works. I'm also waiting on a Darlington Labs MM5 phono cartridge and an Audioengine B1 bluetooth DAC. I think at that point I'll be about as set with other hardware as I plan to be for the foreseeable future -- a decent analog amp, a solid phono stage and a solid streaming stage.

At that point I think I'll really have a good sense of whether I need to even justify a speaker upgrade but like some people mention above, there is a lot of fun in the doing, even if the results are just slightly better.

I'll do some reading in the above links and come back with questions but thanks for all the responses.

H

 

[whereshaldo]

A couple more things to add, more by way of introduction than anything else.

I grew up getting burned with a soldering iron helping my dad assemble Heathkit color tvs and the like. It was only the excitement of looking at the little colored stripes on the resistors that kept me coming back. Well maybe that solder smoke high too...

Mike, I know EXACTLY what you mean about struggling to find time for projects with little ones around. I've only got one who is just about to turn the corner to 14 and as much as she still wants to hang out, I also have had a lot more time in the past few years to really get back to projects. You will soon find yourself with more than enough free time and maybe even some interested helpers as well.

I understand what everyone is saying about managing expectations with DIY. I've spent the last 20 years working on an old Citroen station wagon. The sweat equity alone has cost more than 3x what the car is worth but the knowledge gained in the process is worth double the value of the sweat equity. What I like about this little sliver of the DIY world is that the results (good sound) are more important than the acquisition of the shiny bauble. I currently have a speaker setup that cost me less than $200 in real dollars but has a broader and richer soundstage than my friend's audiophile brand name setups where they have over $200 in speaker cables. That's not a dig on high end speaker cables but I'd argue you can hear more results properly aligning your turntable cartridge than you'll hear swapping out cables and that costs $0.

The hardest part I've found is to figure out how to hear other systems by which to judge my own efforts. Are there any events in the Pacific NW like Iowa DIY?

Lastly, attached is a photo of the Voxel I just finished. I still need to slap some varnish on it and I want to paint the front face black but I can't bring myself to unplug it now that its hooked up.

Hal

 

[kalifa89]

This post is super inspiring! I already have Dennis's C22 mod I bought a few years ago, and he recently sent me the instructions for the FS52 mod. I'm a little bit overwhelmed by the process but it looks like a very fun build. I have some soldering experience, but last time I soldered my friend watched and said "oh you have no idea what you're doing" so that was helpful

I'm also planning to mod my 2 pairs of BS22s to make a 7 channel setup for my theater build I'm about to undertake. Eventually (probably later this year since I suffer from upgraditis) I plan to replace the front 3 channels with DIY BMRs, but I'm doing these Pioneer mods to prepare myself for the significantly more expensive BMR build.

Going to try to get amir to measure my modded C22 here in the coming weeks as well!

Can you please forward me dennis's fs52 mod instructions as I'm doing the same, already modded 2 pair bs22 and planning to mod c22.

 

[HighFutility]

Okay, I am beyond late to the party. I stumbled on this thread three days ago and read every post.

I have the Pioneer sp BS 22-LR speaker, and I would like to attempt the mod. I assume this is the most "up-to-date" mod for them. https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-pioneer-sp-bs22-lr-diy-modifications.610820/

The second question is @Dennis Murphy states the AA is dead and long live the AA+. I probably misquoted that, but it's along the lines. Is the AA+ kit from PE this kit https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-BR-1-6-1-2-2-Way-Bookshelf-Monitor-Speaker-Kit-300-640 ?
Or is it This kit: https://www.parts-express.com/BR-1-Kit-Components-300-641 ? Just for clarification, I assume I need to purchase one of the two kits, and then there will be an additional mod to them. Where can I find the mod for the kit to build the AA+ ?

It's the dead of winter; I am just looking to fill my time with some fun and watch my wife disapprove of my ever-growing speaker collection.

 

[silverD]

Okay, I am beyond late to the party. I stumbled on this thread three days ago and read every post.

I have the Pioneer sp BS 22-LR speaker, and I would like to attempt the mod. I assume this is the most "up-to-date" mod for them. https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...-pioneer-sp-bs22-lr-diy-modifications.610820/

The second question is @Dennis Murphy states the AA is dead and long live the AA+. I probably misquoted that, but it's along the lines. Is the AA+ kit from PE this kit https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-BR-1-6-1-2-2-Way-Bookshelf-Monitor-Speaker-Kit-300-640 ?
Or is it This kit: https://www.parts-express.com/BR-1-Kit-Components-300-641 ? Just for clarification, I assume I need to purchase one of the two kits, and then there will be an additional mod to them. Where can I find the mod for the kit to build the AA+ ?

It's the dead of winter; I am just looking to fill my time with some fun and watch my wife disapprove of my ever-growing speaker collection.

Those are the instructions I followed a few years ago when I did the mod.
I'm not familiar with the AA+ myself, but they are a larger speaker than the SP BS 22-LR (.5 ft^3 for the BR-1 cabs) and use a much more expensive tweeter. More info here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../philharmonic-aa-plus-monitor-my-notes.21852/
I would suggest starting with the AA mod as it is well documented and you have the Pioneers.
Nate

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Those are the instructions I followed a few years ago when I did the mod.
I'm not familiar with the AA+ myself, but they are a larger speaker than the SP BS 22-LR (.5 ft^3 for the BR-1 cabs) and use a much more expensive tweeter. More info here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/.../philharmonic-aa-plus-monitor-my-notes.21852/
I would suggest starting with the AA mod as it is well documented and you have the Pioneers.
Nate

Ditto that. The AA+ was a one-time mod to the Parts Express BR-1 kit that I offered when the price of the Morel tweeter was within reach. Soon after, the price soared to $100 a piece, and it was no longer "affordable." The AA+ was an entirely different speaker than the modded BS-22 Pioneer.