DIY surround speaker recommendations

[Idemdito]

Hi all,

Im looking for recommendations for building surround speakers. I plan to use the speakers in a 5.1 setup.

Ive looked into a lot of DIY kits/projects, but most are not specifically build for my home theater goal.

Most interesting finds so far:
- C-Note kit (incl MTM build for center speaker), and
- Mechano-23 project (but this doesnt have a center speaker and seems to aim for almost.full range).

Love to hear from you!

 

[Svend P]

Why DIY?

 

[Idemdito]

Why DIY?

Im looking for a fun project (hobby) and also like the idea of having great quality for a fraction of the cost.

 

[DVDdoug]

but most are not specifically build for my home theater goal.

"Speakers are speakers". You generally want accurate reproduction no matter the application.

The main issue is that most people don't have space for (or simply don't want) 5 or more large full-range speakers and unless you have a projector and an acoustically transparent screen, there's no good place for a large center.

Also a subwoofer is required for the "point one" LFE channel, and once you have a sub you can use "bass management" to pawn-off all of the bass to sub and that allows for smaller main & surround speakers.

If you are not building a kit, get some speaker design software (WinISD is FREE) and plug-in the Thiele-Small parameters for woofers you are considering and you can model & optimize various sealed & ported designs before you start.

...As you may know, the subwoofer output on an AVR is line-level so you need an active sub or a separate amplifier. Many "plate amplifiers" for subs have built-in adjustable EQ which allows you to tweak the response. (I built passive subs and I'm using an "extra" amplifier that I had.)

 

[Idemdito]

"Speakers are speakers". You generally want accurate reproduction no matter the application.

The main issue is that most people don't have space for (or simply don't want) 5 or more large full-range speakers and unless you have a projector and an acoustically transparent screen, there's no good place for a large center.

Also a subwoofer is required for the "point one" LFE channel, and once you have a sub you can use "bass management" to pawn-off all of the bass to sub and that allows for smaller main & surround speakers.

If you are not building a kit, get some speaker design software (WinISD is FREE) and plug-in the Thiele-Small parameters for woofers you are considering and you can model & optimize various sealed & ported designs before you start.

...As you may know, the subwoofer output on an AVR is line-level so you need an active sub or a separate amplifier. Many "plate amplifiers" for subs have built-in adjustable EQ which allows you to tweak the response. (I built passive subs and I'm using an "extra" amplifier that I had.)

Appreciate your help! I currently have a AVR and a 5.1 Wharfedale set with active sub. Looking to gradually upgrade components. Its correct to state 5 full range large speakers would not be feasible. I dont think designing something myself is something id like to do now.

 

[Svend P]

Im looking for a fun project (hobby) and also like the idea of having great quality for a fraction of the cost.

It will not be cheaper to DIY. Implementation is much more important than driver quality, so you can't just buy expensive drivers and expect good results.

 

[kemmler3D]

like the idea of having great quality for a fraction of the cost.

It's a nice idea but hard to achieve in practice. You have reasonable speakers like this https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...s/micca-mb42x-g2-budget-speaker-review.60712/ on the market for $50 each... And for around $200 each you have these that are pretty hard to beat with DIY, the mechano 23 is one of the few public designs I know of that competes. And if you are open to secondhand speakers the value prop of DIY narrows further.

I think DIY is best for designs that are outside of the mainstream. Open baffle, large horns, SOTA spare no expense stuff... If you are looking for something common like surrounds, economies of scale mean the numbers don't really wash.

 

[DVDdoug]

Its correct to state 5 full range large speakers would not be feasible.

It's certainly feasible if you have the space. Usually bigger-better speakers are better, but you'll have to figure-out the center. And like I said, you still need a sub or you'll lose the LFE channel. (If your current sub is adequate you can keep it.)

 

[Idemdito]

Appreciate all the advice! Was hoping someone had found a great kit for my use case that I overlooked somehow.