[jshnks]

Hello everyone, looking to get some speakers for a 12' x 14' room, musical preferences are --
 
Ska -- All forms, from the 70's to the 2000's
Reggae -- Old and new
Dub -- 
Acoustical -- Think Jack Johnson
Jazz -- Anything with horns really.
 
Also prefer woman vocals for the most part.
 
I currently do not have an amp or source, but I really like the vintage look so I am looking into the old 70's silver face with wood paneling. I just don't know which ones are good really.
 
I also wouldnt mind building the speaker's myself, I do know a bit of wood working, and have the tools to do so.
 
As for budget -- I really do not have one yet, but let's just say the lower price the better.
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[crazychile]

Is $600 in your budget?

One you may consider is the Magneplanar MMG, ordered direct from Magnepan.com. It's a planar and wont play at ear splitting levels, but if you want to hear all the detail and imaging in spades, this is worth a listen with their home trial. I listen to a lot of the same stuff as you and for jazz and acoustical you won't do better at double the price. The ska and reggae wont have the deeeeep bass, but it will be accurate and you can always add a sub later. More power is better, but I've driven larger magneplanars with 50-60 watts and been very satisfied. Plus you have small room so no problem.

 

[DrKC]

You need to head over to Audiokarma.  If you're interested in some vintage gear, I would start there and you'll most likely find more suggestions on both new and vintage speakers.

 

[cel4145]

I also wouldnt mind building the speaker's myself, I do know a bit of wood working, and have the tools to do so.

Then definitely check out Madisound: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/. You can definitely get more bang for your buck building speakers than buying new ones.

Note that you can't just make any kind of box and put drivers and tweeters in it. There is some significant engineering to the enclosure design to make the speakers work properly. Madisound does have some full kits that come with the enclosures that you put together and finish. To learn more about creating your own enclosures, you'll want to look for proven designs for particular tweeter, driver, crossover sets. Here could be a place to start asking questions: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-diy-speakers-subs/

 

[audionut44]

If you'd like to build some and Vintage appeals to you I'd highly recommend this build.
 
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/seas-a26-10-2-way-kit-pair-based-on-the-classic-a25/
 
Should jive with your music preferences very well too.