Upgrade - New Speakers selection help

[vincent_freeman]

Hello guys,

I need your help once more.

I was looking to upgrade my speakers since i built a 3E AUDIO 480-1-29A dual mono amp, I narrowed it down to the following choices;

- WHARFEDALE Linton 85th

- HECO Celan Revolution 3

- ELAC Vela BS 403


All of these are around the 1000 EUR mark (Pair) , the Heco is a bit lower but not much, but... there is also the diy option and since i do like to do diy I would consider this also...
The diy option would be :

Heißmann-Acoustics DXT-MON 182

DXT-MON 182 | Monitor | Referenz-Lautsprecher

Passiver 2-Wege Kompaktlautsprecher, bestückt mit Seas DXT 27TBCD/GB, Wavecor WF182BD10 und Dayton-Audio DSA215-PR / Seas SP22R

heissmann-acoustics.de

The cost would be comparable to the Heco pair, perhaps a bit more.

Since I am a total newb i welcome your input, does anyone have experience with any of these, how would they compare? How would the diy option compare?

Thank you guys!

p.s.
My room is plain and 22 m2 ...

 

[DanielT]

I'm writing a post to see if your thread gets any momentum.

First, have fun with your 3E AUDIO 480-1-29A dual mono amp build.

It is possible that you already know what I am writing below. Anyway....

So the combination of your amps power and the sensitivity of the speakers. Is that enough for you? 3E AUDIO 480-1-29A dual mono has 192 watts into 4 Ohms, 102 watts into 8 Ohms.

If I take the ELAC Vela BS 403, Erin measured it to have 84dB sensitivity.
4 Ohm speakers with a minimum of 3.2 Ohm , 1.7 Ohm EPDR , above 80 Hz. Erin said:
Requires a bit more amplifier power due to the 84dB sensitivity and low impedance

Which then becomes a bit strange because the manufacturer says:
Recommended amplifier power: up to 100 watts RMS
Or rather, it might not be so strange. The drivers in them may not be able to handle more power.

I have a pair of 90 dB sensitive speakers. For every 3 dB , then doubling of power. Compared to 84 dB sensitive speakers with 192 amp watts, it gives a relative 48 amp watts with 90 dB sensitive speakers. I've tried powering them up with a 30 watt receiver and it's been enough because I live in an apartment and can't play too loud because I don't want to disturb and annoy the neighbors.
So the relationship speaker sensitivity, amp power depends on a number of things.

What do I know, you might love to play at really high volume? In that case that factor should be how the speakers cope under pressure; the speakers power handling, dynamic range, compression ability. Those parameters are then something you should study more closely and weigh in as a decisive factor.
On the other hand, if you don't have your own night club, disco and play at a crazy high level at home, in your apartment, you should study the different FR and dispersion patterns of the speakers and see if they mean something to you.

Generally. Non-linear on axes FR, fluttery on axes FR is usually what most people are annoyed about regarding speakers.
A good off axes is also to be preferred.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard any of the speakers you mention so I can't give you any listening impressions.

ELAC VELA BS 403 Bookshelf Speaker Review

ELAC VELA BS 403

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Edit:
If you are thinking about DIY, you also have these:

Small 2-way speakers with linear on-axis and power response characteristics (Scan Speak and SB Acoustics drivers). H&V off-axis measurements included

I've been trying to make design of a small, simple-to-build and inexpensive speaker that would not need a sub at least for music listening at moderate spl levels. No need for high power. This is third approach, code name "Mechano23". I'm sharing the results and VituixCad project file (LINK) with...

audiosciencereview.com

Mechano23 Open-source DIY Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the "Mechano23" open-source DIY speaker. A pair was kindly sent to me by the member. You can read more about it here. Baltic birch cabinet seems quite solid and well above what you get commercially. I was surprised to see a...

audiosciencereview.com

Mechano23 would perhaps be even better with rounded baffle corners and a curved slot port.

Or this one I thought was interesting:

My first diy speakers

Hello! This is my first try to do decent diy speakers and wanted to share some pictures. They use peerless hds 830869 woofer and sb26adc tweeter in 8" waveguide. They are still in progress so i will post more pics and info when i finish them. My plan is to try make a spinorama for these. There...

audiosciencereview.com

If you want to put in all the work it takes to get them together. Plus it's a floor standing speaker, which might not suit you. And that if Jonazkur shares the details of the construction.

One last tip:

Introducing Directiva - An ASR open source platform speaker project

There are several Directiva threads, but this is the main one for background and discussion. If you are considering building one, see the build thread here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/directiva-r1-speaker-build-using-denovo-flat-pack.23535/ For other related...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[DanielT]

One more tip. This seems to be a really good kit speaker. That is, as long as you're not looking for an SPL monster, as Erin says in the summary starting at 14:02.

With shipping included to US , $1250 for a pair.

Edit:
In the thread below, #9, the manufacturer comments about the speakers.

Audio First Fidelia on Erin’s Audio Corner

This looks to be an excellent speaker design. Similar to the Ascilab C5B although DIY construction. Audio First are local to me so I am tempted to try and get a demo…

audiosciencereview.com

 

[vincent_freeman]

I'm writing a post to see if your thread gets any momentum.

First, have fun with your 3E AUDIO 480-1-29A dual mono amp build.

It is possible that you already know what I am writing below. Anyway....

So the combination of your amps power and the sensitivity of the speakers. Is that enough for you? 3E AUDIO 480-1-29A dual mono has 192 watts into 4 Ohms, 102 watts into 8 Ohms.

If I take the ELAC Vela BS 403, Erin measured it to have 84dB sensitivity.
4 Ohm speakers with a minimum of 3.2 Ohm , 1.7 Ohm EPDR , above 80 Hz. Erin said:
Requires a bit more amplifier power due to the 84dB sensitivity and low impedance

Which then becomes a bit strange because the manufacturer says:
Recommended amplifier power: up to 100 watts RMS
Or rather, it might not be so strange. The drivers in them may not be able to handle more power.

I have a pair of 90 dB sensitive speakers. For every 3 dB , then doubling of power. Compared to 84 dB sensitive speakers with 192 amp watts, it gives a relative 48 amp watts with 90 dB sensitive speakers. I've tried powering them up with a 30 watt receiver and it's been enough because I live in an apartment and can't play too loud because I don't want to disturb and annoy the neighbors.
So the relationship speaker sensitivity, amp power depends on a number of things.

What do I know, you might love to play at really high volume? In that case that factor should be how the speakers cope under pressure; the speakers power handling, dynamic range, compression ability. Those parameters are then something you should study more closely and weigh in as a decisive factor.
On the other hand, if you don't have your own night club, disco and play at a crazy high level at home, in your apartment, you should study the different FR and dispersion patterns of the speakers and see if they mean something to you.

Generally. Non-linear on axes FR, fluttery on axes FR is usually what most people are annoyed about regarding speakers.
A good off axes is also to be preferred.

Unfortunately, I haven't heard any of the speakers you mention so I can't give you any listening impressions.

ELAC VELA BS 403 Bookshelf Speaker Review

ELAC VELA BS 403

www.erinsaudiocorner.com

Edit:
If you are thinking about DIY, you also have these:

Small 2-way speakers with linear on-axis and power response characteristics (Scan Speak and SB Acoustics drivers). H&V off-axis measurements included

I've been trying to make design of a small, simple-to-build and inexpensive speaker that would not need a sub at least for music listening at moderate spl levels. No need for high power. This is third approach, code name "Mechano23". I'm sharing the results and VituixCad project file (LINK) with...

audiosciencereview.com

Mechano23 Open-source DIY Speaker Review

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the "Mechano23" open-source DIY speaker. A pair was kindly sent to me by the member. You can read more about it here. Baltic birch cabinet seems quite solid and well above what you get commercially. I was surprised to see a...

audiosciencereview.com

Mechano23 would perhaps be even better with rounded baffle corners and a curved slot port.

Or this one I thought was interesting:

My first diy speakers

Hello! This is my first try to do decent diy speakers and wanted to share some pictures. They use peerless hds 830869 woofer and sb26adc tweeter in 8" waveguide. They are still in progress so i will post more pics and info when i finish them. My plan is to try make a spinorama for these. There...

audiosciencereview.com

If you want to put in all the work it takes to get them together. Plus it's a floor standing speaker, which might not suit you. And that if Jonazkur shares the details of the construction.

One last tip:

Introducing Directiva - An ASR open source platform speaker project

There are several Directiva threads, but this is the main one for background and discussion. If you are considering building one, see the build thread here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/directiva-r1-speaker-build-using-denovo-flat-pack.23535/ For other related...

audiosciencereview.com

Thank you for the Reply, awesome information, great tips.

The Mechano23 one does seem very good.

I know this is a difficult question to answer, not many people have heard all of these speakers and everyone has their preferences, so thank you!

 

[vincent_freeman]

One more tip. This seems to be a really good kit speaker. That is, as long as you're not looking for an SPL monster, as Erin says in the summary starting at 14:02.

With shipping included to US , $1250 for a pair.

View attachment 410901

View attachment 410903View attachment 410904

Wow, this is a good one... wow so many good choices... I will think about this one, thank you!

 

[Romario]

Your options go from very big to very small. The latter two probaply need a subwoofer and the Lintons need dedicated stands. But yeah, depending on where you live/ buy they're just below 1 k without the extra's. Nice options, though. What was your criteria to choose these ones?

 

[vincent_freeman]

Your options go from very big to very small. The latter two probaply need a subwoofer and the Lintons need dedicated stands. But yeah, depending on where you live/ buy they're just below 1 k without the extra's. Nice options, though. What was your criteria to choose these ones

Hello,
All of them had great reviews and these are the best speakers I could find at that price point.

 

[DanielT]

Hello,
All of them had great reviews and these are the best speakers I could find at that price point.

It seems to be nice speaker options you picked out.

Since you're in the phase "see what's on the market",so one more tip.
AsciLab C5B:

The price performance ratio is superb. I'm not 100% sure about the exact price, but around $1000. Shipping cost from Korea I don't know but the manufacturer is active here on ASR so it will be revealed. This is what AsciLab says about the launch about them, page 8, #151:
We had planned to launch worldwide this year, but with the addition of the entry-level F Series and higher-than-expected sales within Korea, we aim to address these aspects first. Once resolved, we plan to launch worldwide in January or, at the latest, February next year.

The only thing you should keep in mind is that you need a decent powerful amplifier that can handle tough loads because it dips low in Ohms. Other than that, they seem to be superb speakers:

For a discussion of that see from page 5, #100 onwards:

AsciLab C5B Review.

Today, I’ll be reviewing the AsciLab C5B, which features a 5.25-inch woofer along with two passive radiators. For this review, I measured one official sample provided by the manufacturer and another pair owned by an individual who had purchased the product personally. Impedance The...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Romario]

Hello,
All of them had great reviews and these are the best speakers I could find at that price point.

In Germany you can get the Heco in white for €650,- the pair. Add a €500,- sub in white to complement the set.

However, for resell value Heco is seldom submitted as a search item in that price bracket, I think.

 

[JeremyFife]

That's an interesting point (apologies if it's already been made) - there's no resale value in DIY, you do that as a hobby.

Otherwise, all nice choices