Directiva r1 vs Off the shelf speakers

[Scott Ames-Messinger]

Hi! My friend and I are considering building the Directiva r1, perhaps with cheaper woofers (like the Satori WM16P @voodooless mentioned or the XBL^2 woofer from Misco others mentioned). Before we embark, we just want to make sure it's worth it. Let's say we can build it for under $1000 with amps (it's a stretch). Would we be making a better speaker than we could buy for that price? For instance, it looks like the Adam T8V Studio (review) ($600/pair) and the JBL 308P MKII (review) ($500/pair) and Kali In-8 (review) ($800/pair) all seem well reviewed on ASR and appear to have some similarities to the Directiva r1.

What would be gain by building the Directiva r1 for use in a living room (18'x12') where we're 6' from the speaker? I'm interested in the technical differences (e.g. less/more distortion, less/more SPL, less/more consistent directivity) as well as the experiential differences (e.g. better imaging, louder, lower, etc)

Thanks in advance for anyone who has thoughts!

 

[alex-z]

All the speakers you mentioned are studio monitors, intended mostly for near-field use. The Directiva R1 is capable of louder playback, it has distortion figures which are nearly unmatched. Particularly if you are using a subwoofer, SPL is limited by bass output.

The directivity is also slightly better, particularly in the treble region. Psychoacoustics aren't my strong point, but I imagine that would yield more consistent imaging.

$1000 a pair with amps included is not really possible. Drivers + miniDSP would be $807. A pair of Aiyima A07 are $160. $1150 is more realistic by the time you account for cabinets, paint, and mounting hardware.

 

[abdo123]

You’re not building a Directiva r1 if you change the woofer, it’s not a video game console where you take one game’s cartridge and add another.

 

[nopomo]

You might also consider building the Apollo MT from DIY Sound Group. Nothing's going to beat the Purifi woofer for distortion (not even the Satori), but the Anarchy woofers are at least capable of the same displacement. The flat-pack cabinets make for a very simple build.