DBR62 vs DIY Speakers

[Chrispy]

Just a thought, I know it's a bit higher priced than being aimed at....

Philharmonic Audio

One moment, please...

(it's showing one moment please but it's a link to the BMR kit at Meniscus....)

 

[DanielT]

But yes, there can be some goals - like special look and finish - acheived (but most of DIY speakers look poor for some reasons).

But not all DIY:

My DIY speakers -"J&N"

Hello, A model of my DIY loudspeakers i have served Ti6k- JBL. My first contact with them, was in distant 2005. I started working with them in 2009 and finished in 2012. The loudspeakers are "SEAS"- Excel / Tw-1”, Mw-5”for center 2х 5.5”,Bass-8,5”/ and cross-over parts- "Intertechnik". Nominal...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[3125b]

The DBR62 are quite a bit smaller than the (quite sizeable) Hivi 3.1:

Hivi 31 vs Elac DBR62 vs Focal Alpha 65 vs KEF R3

comparesizes.com

 

[egothrasher]

Thank you everyone for all your thought out and wonderful replies. I love hearing the pros and cons, especially from those that have tons of experience and first hand knowledge. That's why I post questions, to try and learn as much as I can from as many people as I can.

 

[Sdvorak]

I can’t comment as to the kits referenced above, but have built a few well researched/thought out designs of my own. Many moons, piles of MDF dust, and iteration finally resulted in something that by objective measurements is “good.” You know what? To mine own ears, this Active MTM Bathroom-Shelf-Bachelor-Speaker-Thing sounds quite nice really. Sonically, it lays “the veil” quite nicely over those ghastly 200-400Hz (ish) oscillations frequently found in said Speaker-Thing’s home . Oh, and I haven’t gotten around to the cosmetics yet, so unless unfinished MDF is your thing, it looks like the end result of aforementioned “oscillations.” . It’ll probably stay that way…

That little speaker, a lark really represents in excess of 100 hours of research, reading, learning, ASRing, more ASRing, then re-ASRing. The actual assembly once I had verified and checked and re-checked everything took maybe a weekend. I agree with all of the above. I have the knowledge, skills, tools, resources, materials to theoretically re-create some very good speakers. In fact, I spent waaaaay too many hours unsuccessfully trying to figure out who makes the drivers in both the DBR62 and Debut 6.2. I already own two pairs of the former and one of the latter. I was gonna try and recreate my DBR62s. Even if I definitively found the OEM woofers, which I can’t— SB? SEAS? Peerless, Vifa? Wavecor? Anybody?

Buy the DBR62 for $425. Great price, I’m sure if they aren’t to your taste, you’ll have no problem offloading them. If you have an appreciation for good engineering choices, what is possible for asking price (see also JBL Studio 530, have and love them too), they are worth it just to see. I was very pleasantly surprised at the quality of the woofers in the Elat’s. Especially the woofers in the DBR62s. Wish I knew who made ‘em, curiosity won’t subside.

Whatever choice you make I hope its fun. This forum, and a little research will make it more funnnnnnner!

I agree with Scrivs. There are lots of good reasons to build a speaker yourself. But it's not for everyone. I've built a couple of DIY designs. You either enjoy building something like that... or you want a very specific "look" that you can't find on the retail market, and are driven to build it yourself. In my case, it was just a fun project that allowed me to get some excellent sounding speakers for less $$. I now have some very nice sounding speakers to show for it.
In regard to ELAC DBR82 drivers. I think you're out of luck Scrivs. I can't remember the source, but I seem to remember ELAC designs and manufactures their own drivers. This was one of the reasons Andrew Jones was interested in working with them. Like his previous employers, QEF and Pioneer, ELAC.... makes their own drivers I believe. For supporting evidence, take a look at the landscape of OEM driver designs. See any that have concentric drivers? SEAS used to make one. But it seemed to get mixed reviews. Regardless, (I could be wrong) I don't believe you'll ever find a driver from the likes of Scan Speak, SEAS, etc. that was used in a modern ELAC speaker.

 

[Paweł L]

Building your own, well if the kit is properly designed and the drivers are good quality, 'blend' with each, it can be fun. But whatever woofer with whatever tweeter via el-cheapo crossover will sound like 'whatever' junk. Big manufacturers have the extra resources to produce their own transducers according to their needs and budget. While there are many excellent transducers available to DIYers, sometimes exact final result might not be the expected one. However, if the designer knows his stuff, hits the right driver combination, proper crossover, right enclosure, and the results can beat many commercial offerings. As for CSS, I would definitely try the one with the LD25X tweeter, even though it's pricey.

 

[NEO Dan]

Wouldn’t the Revel M16 from crutch field be the better purchase?

I would pass on the Revel M16 based on the woofer distortion and port/cabinet resonance.

 

[ta240]

Times have changed. Then:

Kal Rubinson, #7:

Yes, in fact, in the very early days, you had no choice regardless of your budget. If you could not DIY, you commissioned someone to do it for you. Empty speaker and equipment cabinets were available along with custom cabinetry. My first real speaker had a 12" GE woofer and a 3" RCA tweeter with a network I designed and assembled myself. The cabinet was a floor-standing bass reflex which I bought, unfinished, from River Edge. I was fortunate to have a cousin who finished it for me in satin mahogany.

Most innovative manufacturer / person in HiFi in your country

Seen from a historical perspective. Company and or person. What is your suggestion? Feel free to motivate. It can be a person or company that is well known globally, but it can also be a company or person from your country that is perhaps best known within your country's borders. It would be...

audiosciencereview.com

What does not change is the skill of woodworking. It will be the finsh it will be, depending on the skill, on DIY speakers.

There was a time when store bought speakers often meant thin particle board with moderate finish quality. Now high quality, mass produced speakers that fall into a fairly normal budget range are pretty common. It is hard to compete with companies that produce large quantities off shore; buying their components in large numbers.
Video after video on youtube touts the latest DIY project as a giant killer at 1/10th the price. The odds that even a decent home designer with some free software is going to be able to quickly design a high end equivalent speaker seem pretty low to me. Granted there seem to be some pretty expensive speakers that don't perform real well so the bar could be low in some aspects.
If you can find a design that has gone through many many builds and refinements (and even some measurements) then you are likely to end up with a better product. The HiVi 'kit' is barely a kit as it is just the final assembly that is left to the consumer; it is more of a nearly complete commercial offering. But it does ensure more consistent results. I think a some DIY builds end up just enough off from the design to bring the final results into question.
If you enjoy building things like speakers then by all means go for it. If you later change your mind on them, be prepared to only recoup a portion of the purchase price of the drivers themselves unless you are a master woodworker. I've seen some amazing DIY speakers built by people with impressive skills but most end up looking a bit rough; and since for most the fun in DIY is the doing it is hard to get someone to pay much for someone else's fun.
There is a lot to be said for the pride felt in building your own speakers; just don't fall into the over hype of all speaker manufactures are greedy and driver and crossover component manufactures aren't....

 

[DanielT]

There was a time when store bought speakers often meant thin particle board with moderate finish quality. Now high quality, mass produced speakers that fall into a fairly normal budget range are pretty common. It is hard to compete with companies that produce large quantities off shore; buying their components in large numbers.
Video after video on youtube touts the latest DIY project as a giant killer at 1/10th the price. The odds that even a decent home designer with some free software is going to be able to quickly design a high end equivalent speaker seem pretty low to me. Granted there seem to be some pretty expensive speakers that don't perform real well so the bar could be low in some aspects.
If you can find a design that has gone through many many builds and refinements (and even some measurements) then you are likely to end up with a better product. The HiVi 'kit' is barely a kit as it is just the final assembly that is left to the consumer; it is more of a nearly complete commercial offering. But it does ensure more consistent results. I think a some DIY builds end up just enough off from the design to bring the final results into question.
If you enjoy building things like speakers then by all means go for it. If you later change your mind on them, be prepared to only recoup a portion of the purchase price of the drivers themselves unless you are a master woodworker. I've seen some amazing DIY speakers built by people with impressive skills but most end up looking a bit rough; and since for most the fun in DIY is the doing it is hard to get someone to pay much for someone else's fun.
There is a lot to be said for the pride felt in building your own speakers; just don't fall into the over hype of all speaker manufactures are greedy and driver and crossover component manufactures aren't....

DIY because it's fun, to learn. To feel the satisfaction of creating something of your own.
Affordable, as previously mentioned in the thread, not to old used speakers. It's hard for a DIY to beat that.

Same thing with subwoofers BUT there on the other hand you can actually DIY create some good ones yourself. If you buy good subwoofer drivers. Then there will also be another advantage to weigh in favor to the subwoofer DIY person: It is possible to build subwoofers that blend into the listening room, the living room. Subwoofers in furniture, adapted to fit behind or under the sofa and so on.

Edit:
OT

But then, sub-speakers. It is important to get:

But that's another thread, that topic.