[Swingtops]

^^ I like it. Make everything - you get what you want and you should be able to get better components and end up with an overall better system. I will be interested to see how it turns out for you.

 

[kgb_m3]

^^ I'll be posting my progress up soon, I'm sure this would have been a much more interesting thread if I started it with my progress. Had to make some choices prior, so hopefully soon I can piece everything together and have some sound once again!

 

[LUCIDD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgb_m3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^^ I'll be posting my progress up soon, I'm sure this would have been a much more interesting thread if I started it with my progress. Had to make some choices prior, so hopefully soon I can piece everything together and have some sound once again!

Definitely want to see progress!
Customized to your liking + you know you made it with your own 2 hands.
Good Luck!

____________L

 

[Operandi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgb_m3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't think I want to mess with car stuff in the house, rather try to sell it. I'm set on buying a Dayton sub, enclosure and plate amp. Can't decide between the 8" or the 10" HF series. It will be mostly used for games and music, never movies. I'm also thinking of returning the Polks and building my own monitor type bookshelf speakers using Dayton components from parts express. That way I can pick a set of nice mids and highs, make custom passive crossover that will be tuned exactly how I want.

Nice!

If you need any help feel free to PM me. I've completed two DIY speakers so far and am currently working on build # 2 and 3 as well as a DIY sub with the 12" Dayton RS and 500 watt BASH amp.

As far as the sub size and budget are the primary determining factors. For reference my vented design for the 12 RS315HF is 21x15x20", about 2.6 cuF with a 4x15" port tuned to 25HZ. If you are just going to be using it for music and games you can probably go with a sealed sub and get away with a much smaller cabinet.

I would highly recommend ditching the Polk's, if you want a balanced system, even a budget orientation build will completely blow them away.

The Zaph ZA5.2 would make for a very high-end monitor (think $800-$1000 retail equivalent) if you have the room, there is also a nearfield specific crossover ava. from Zaph's site.

For something a bit smaller and cheaper the Overnight Sensations have been built by a bunch of people and have gotten rave reviews, I'm currently working on a pair myself.

Checkout the PE Tech Talk Forums and the HT Guide Forums for guidance and assistance, lots of geniuses and experts reside there.

 

[Swingtops]

Are Dayton components high quality or are there better ones?

I am interested in possibly building bookshelf speakers and a sub, most of the places I have looked have cheaper parts than Dayton stuff but I am worried about the quality. What sort of brands seem to be the best?

 

[kgb_m3]

Operandi, you're the man, thanks for all the helpful info. Polks are probably going to be kept for garage or something just because I picked them up so cheap. Sending them back and taking a 15% restocking fee will make it a pointless return. I'll get around $65 back, is that even worth returning those for?

As far as progress, so far I've received some amp parts, still waiting on others. The Zaph components are very attractive, price is decent as well.

Need amp enclosure ideas and I really gotta figure out what route to take with the sub.

 

[Operandi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swingtops /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are Dayton components high quality or are there better ones? I am interested in possibly building bookshelf speakers and a sub, most of the places I have looked have cheaper parts than Dayton stuff but I am worried about the quality. What sort of brands seem to be the best?

Dayton is very good but it's all relative to your budget and goals. The Dayton Reference line are some the best you can get for money and compare pretty well with a lot of stuff costing much more, the Modula MT would be something that competes with ~$2000+ speakers. The Dayton Classic is nice entry level stuff that is well known and easy to work with. Probably the best example would the the TriTrix, thats probably more like a $400-$500 speaker. Here is my variant of the TriTrix MT ported two way.

There are lots of other brands / manufactures to check out; Vifa, Seas, Tang Band all make very nice drivers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kgb_m3 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Operandi, you're the man, thanks for all the helpful info. Polks are probably going to be kept for garage or something just because I picked them up so cheap. Sending them back and taking a 15% restocking fee will make it a pointless return. I'll get around $65 back, is that even worth returning those for? As far as progress, so far I've received some amp parts, still waiting on others. The Zaph components are very attractive, price is decent as well. Need amp enclosure ideas and I really gotta figure out what route to take with the sub.

Yeah the 15% restocking fee hurts a bit, up to you if you want to keep them or send them back.

If you have the room the ZA5.2 is probably one better designs you could build and pre-made crossover makes it pretty simple. If you are for sure building the sub build the sealed version. The 8" Dayton RS would probably be plenty, its a very serious sub. My ported 12" is complete and total overkill, but thats almost half the reason I did it

.

I haven't built any electronics yet but there are some guys on the both the HT Guide and PE forums that have built some amps. I would like to give it a shot at some point, are you going to document your build here?

 

[kgb_m3]

Yeah man I think you should definitely give it a shot, at least buy a chip amp kit that comes with everything you need for your first build. I just got my AS in electronics engineering with a pretty good understanding on how amps work and how to put one together. But for specific sound quality, specific applications, builds, etc. it all comes down to experience with trying out different configurations, different components, different values, etc...

My problem is that I have most of components needed for these amps in my toolbox, but they're all lab quality, nothing I would run in an amp. So with a limited budget it's taking a little to put everything together to save as much as possible. I'll definitely document my build here in the next few days when the parts arrive.

If anyone can help me out with one thing though. Since this amp will be used with a Forte sound card, I would need to know the soundcard output voltage, would the sound card function as a passive preamp? Would I need filters and dc coupling capacitors on the amp inputs to filter out the noise from the DAC or whatever else on the sound card? I'm still researching these things to build a really good amp with the least amount of components for my specific build and also have additional info on other possible setups.

 

[Operandi]

Yeah I think I will go with an amp kit when I get some of speaker projects out of the way.

I really only know the basics when it comes to electronics but if you are building a complete power amp it should be able to handle different voltages. I was under the impression that the higher the voltage from the source the higher the volume? In that case the sound card would be like a passive preamp.

 

[kgb_m3]

Well according to the sound card it's 3v RMS on the output
Auzentech, Inc. X-Fi Forte PCI-Express Soundcard : World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming

Input level on the amp says 1v max on the data sheet. You're right though the higher the voltage on the source it gets multiplied by the amp's gain, the higher the volume. You don't want too much though.

 

[kgb_m3]

A little update on the progress, received all the amp and power supply parts, still waiting on the transformer.

A few things still left to pick up locally, enclosure, jacks, connectors, etc. Everything should be in by this weekend so I can post some build pics.

Some amp/psu parts

I also got bored and built a small quarter watt amp for my bench speaker

YouTube - LM386

 

[kgb_m3]

double post, mods please delete

 

[Operandi]

Man, thats gona be one serious amp! Nice work on the 0.25 watt amp too

!

I'm looking forward to the progress and what you choose for an enclosure.

Have you given any thought into what speakers you are going to build?

 

[kgb_m3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Operandi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Man, thats gona be one serious amp! Nice work on the 0.25 watt amp too ! I'm looking forward to the progress and what you choose for an enclosure. Have you given any thought into what speakers you are going to build?

quarter watt amp has 200 gain, but sounds pretty decent for what it is.

The enclosure might go 2 ways, full custom aluminum with 3m carbon fiber wrap all around except for the face plate. Or a premade aluminum project box from a local shop that I've yet to see. Depending on how good the premade box looks, I'll likely build one out of individual pieces, should look much better.

Once that's done my Polks will be hooked up while I start a speaker build. So far I'm leaning toward the components you listed above or something similar from parts express. I'm pretty open to any ideas for cabinets and components within reason keeping it mind it's for a PC 2.1

 

[Operandi]

Both options sound nice and I'm sure would look great. I personally love the look of anodized aluminum.

Of course it depends on budget, size and other factors but there really are lots of options for speakers. I'll hold of on making specific recommendations until you get closer to that point.