if you are unwilling to listen to honest advice.. you are going to be presented with a bunch of pre-built nonsense that is overpriced.
i think people who demand the pre-built products are asking their parents to wipe their butt well after age 7.
there are alternatives.. and most people wont take the alternative route until somebody actually does it and other people hear the alternative to decide for themselves that it was a better choice.
two 5.25 peerless woofers for $30
http://home.comcast.net/~jhidley/
these woofers are used in these two speakers
http://www.hometheatermag.com/compactspeakers/54/index2.html
http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-loudspeakers/speaker-systems/nht-vt-2.4-multi-channel-speaker-system.html
the center channel uses two of these woofers and cost $450
so if you built a bookshelf speaker that uses only one - wouldnt that mean each speaker is worth $250 ??!!
two cerwin vega 2-way crossovers $16
http://cgi.ebay.com/Cerwin-Vega-2-Way-Cross-Over-In-Pairs-/360275760844?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item53e21bd6cc
two of these vifa tweeters $39
https://www.madisound.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=45_229_324&products_id=1087&osCsid=1c7c5aa1e95db02d49ba9d9b0e21faa5
i am at $85
you can find some wood in the garbage for free.
people throw out things made of wood and particle board all the time.
old computer desks.. old entertainment centers that have began to lean really bad.. counter-tops
what ever scrap material you use.. could be plywood, particle board, 2x4 glued & sealed (probably heavy though..hehe)
you can grab some spray paint and paint 'em so nobody can tell what they are made out of.
now my amplifier recommendation might be a bad choice.. i really am too lazy to test this out for myself, but i do have one.
try to find a used klipsch promedia 2.1 amplifier/subwoofer (with or without the bookshelf speakers.. because without the bookshelf speakers - it is cheaper)
these things are all over ebay for various prices.
hell, you could purchase one of these units and use the speakers that come with it until you find enough wood to make the boxes for the other speakers.
something fantastic about the klipsch promedia 2.1 amplifier is that the outputs are already crossed over for the subwoofer and the midrange (there is another crossover inside the bookshelf speaker for the tweeter)
what this means is, you will have a three-way system that gets well down to 30hz
these pre-built bookshelf speakers that 'audiophiles' are using might make some very faint noises at around 30hz.. but your subwoofer will blast out audio at 30hz with lots of authority.
its like going from a needle drop in a dead silent room to a person out in public that is talking and shouting way too loud because they are being gay and having fun.
i have a receiver that has a rear channel that isnt working.. so what i did was pulled out my old klipsch promedia 2.1 subwoofer and hooked it up to my soundcard.. then instead of using the bookshelf speakers that came with the klipsch set, i am using some old sony speakers that have a 6.5 inch woofer in a big bass reflex box (the tweeters blew out and i replaced them with some onkyo tweeters that fit the existing hole on ebay for dirt cheap)
now i have rear speakers again for when i am playing my video games or watching a movie with surround sound.
and what i was trying to say is.. the bash amp might rob some of the superb clarity from the speakers i am trying to have you build.
the specification on the amp says there is 5% total harmonic distortion and my sony woofers arent superb midranges.. they are actually some decent mid-bass speakers that i had hooked up in my moms trunk with 110 watts rms going to each speaker and someone told me that it sounded like i had a single 10 inch sub in there.
the car was a hatchback and the speakers made the license plate rattle and the rear view mirror wiggle a little bit.. so you should be able to visualize that there was some sound pressure going on.
the only bad thing about 'em is that they are in a box tuned in the 30-40hz range and not the 20-30hz area.
i am actually thinking about taking those speakers out and swapping them with some peerless mid's and making a new box for the sony speakers with a lower tuned port.. then i could use the sony speakers for a dedicated subwoofer to give some additional effort towards my two twelve inch woofers that i have for the front stage.
so.. $85 for the speakers (screws are $3.. and glue is another $3 or $5)
$91 + whatever it costs for the klipsch 2.1 (probably get a used one for $70) = $161
but remember.. the two speakers are worth about $225 each!! and then there is the fact that you have a dedicated subwoofer added to your system.
so that is like reading about these people with 'studio bookshelf' speakers and they are posting because they want a subwoofer for more bass.
and that is because the bass that those speakers put out is 'lite' and you have to listen for it rather than the bass being loud enough for you to say that it is loud enough where you cant avoid it.
anyways.. i dont think you will find a better amp for that price range.
you would be extra special lucky to find an old receiver that doesnt sound like 'brown' color being added to the sound.
most of the receivers from the past didnt sound good when they were new.. and many of them are not designed to get better with age.
the components inside are starting to dry up and evaporate like a puddle of water on the asphalt.
and in reality.. you could easily say that most recievers sound like they have a 3-band graphic equalizer with the bass all the way up / the midrange on the middle setting / and the treble all the way up.
(although some receivers have the bass and midrange on the middle setting with the treble all the way up.... and some other receivers have the midrange and treble on the middle with the bass all the way up to fool you into thinking there is ample amounts of power across the frequency spectrum being applied)
i cannot lie when i tell you that there are a bunch of sony recievers from the 2000 era that have quite a linear amplifier (although some people know that the amp is weak.. but it is linear)
and also.. those people fail to mention that the amplifier is only weak when used in surround sound mode.. if you put the amp into dedicated stereo mode, the amp isnt so weak anymore and is quite a bargain for stereo use.
i remember the pioneer receivers from the 1990's and they sounded just like any technic receiver except that the treble was more detailed with the pioneer receivers.
all bass and treble with no midrange and vocal ability.
the sony receivers from the 1990 era are 'toys' also.. and they have dips and peaks in the frequency spectrum too.. so avoid 'em.
people are really weird nowadays..
you could make some speaker boxes out of popscicle sticks with cardboard behind (on the insides to make the box more stiff so that it wont vibrate and bend as much)
you would have to make the popscicle sticks sideways or in the shape of ^ because one popscicle stick isnt wide enough for a 5.25 inch speaker.
you would need a lot of cheap glue to fill in the gaps and to make sure that each popscicle stick is completely glued to the cardboard.. but the end result should hold the tweeter up at the top with no problem... and i would put some cardboard in between the midrange magnet and the bottom of the speaker box to keep the speaker from making the front of the speaker box bend/collapse.
i dont consider anything above strange at all.. i have seen some very adorable grahm-cracker houses around christmas time.
we always started with an old milk box (the ones like the schools pass out)
then we just glued the grahm crackers onto the milk carton and decorated the outside with candy and frosting and glitter.. maybe attach some bushes on the outside or use a piece of cardboard and do the entire front yard and backyard with bushes and a tree or hotwheels/matchbox car.
the results are only as bad as the effort you put into them.
when you build a box.. you have to make sure it is the right size.. sometimes it doesnt matter if it is square or rectangle.. just as long as there is enough 'space' inside the box.
then there are simple rules like..
dont try to cut a straight line with a jigsaw.. jigsaws are made for cutting circles (it can take up to 5 whole minutes to make one slow and steady cut with a jigsaw that is straight enough for a box)
a table saw is the best because you can use the guide to make absolutely certain that the cut is straight as a razor.
a circular saw is kinda like a table saw.. but if you dont take the time and care while you are using it.. the end result wont be straight and trying to put the sides of a box together with edges that arent straight is going to require a lot of glue to fill in the gaps (and it wont look good at all)
use a drill bit to make a hole prior to shoving a screw through the wood so that the wood doesnt crack and split (you might have to start all over again if the wood splits)
if you dont have a drill bit.. use a hammer and skinny nail (just yank the nail out and use it again if you can)
i was using the klipsch promedia 2.1 as a subwoofer connected to my home theater receiver's subwoofer rca out (which is the LFE channel)
but i grew tired of people sneaking up on me from behind while i was playing video games.. so i put the rear speakers into action.
the difference between those who laugh at such attempts is..
the people who wait and save up a whole bunch of money so they can buy something already built and done for them.
compared to those that didnt have to wait very long and didnt have to spend very much PLUS they are getting some action because they didnt have to wait to save up the money.
and do i need to mention that those speakers are worth $250 each.. making a pair cost $450
you will see posts on this forum with people talking about speakers already built that range in cost of $150 - $350
and they have NO SUBWOOFER (and some of them dont come with an amplifier)
for $85 you can get in the race.
of course.. there are some cheaper speakers out there.. but they sound terrible (there arent any 'they dont last very long' options in the very cheap price range)
$85 build your own box
$450 have the box already built for you
spending $365 for someone to build the box for you is a whole bunch of money.
i dont spend that much money on groceries for the entire month.
and that is just like going to the junk yard and purchasing a car with no engine for $500 and then get yourself one of those rebuilt engines off ebay for $3,000.
the engine comes with a 3 year / unlimited mile warranty. these engines have very high compression and run like they are 2011 fresh off the showroom floor (as long as the transmission is good)
you might have some wheel bearings that need replaced so the car rolls 'like-new'
but sagging suspension and aged rubber bushings arent the same 'quick-fix'
(but some people know how to change front struts with a long piece of wood from a railroad track and that makes fixing the suspension about $120 for the front and another $120 for the rear)
the rubber bushings are a different battle altogether, usually requiring at least $60 per side for one or two pieces of rubber (its ugly.. but you may find the old bushings smoother or responsive compared to the new ones)
the long post basically says purchasing everything pre-built rather than finding the parts piece by piece is expensive and the original post asked for absolute cheapest.
the original post also asked for decent quality and i own a pair of the speakers suggested above.. so i am certain that they meet the 'decent quality' needs of the topic.
