Help with Custom Bookshelves

W

willpoer

Audiophyte
Hello,

New to the forums, but I've been always reading alot on the side over the years.

I'm looking for advice regarding fabricating high end Custom Bookshelf speakers. I will be using these speakers for my computer desktop where I play music and games.

I'm currently using PMC 25.21 , and also have Paradigm Prestige 15B in storage. I've used maybe 10 sets of speakers under 2500$.

I have a AV stand next to my computer, and I am using Computer -> Yggdrasil -> Mcintosh C52 -> Mcintosh MC152.

My goal is to have a compact bookshelf fabricated (preferably you can help me with someone that can help me make such a bookshelf from wood), and pack some $$ woofer, tweeter and crossover.

My goal is near field listening with rich bass / depth, and smooth/detailed treble. I'm not going to use a subwoofer at the moment.

Id love to have a box thats 8 inch wide, 10 deep 14 tall or smaller. Sealed or Ported.

Is there a custom builder you know that I can hire? If not I would try to do it myself. I would want to finish the box in a high quality automotive finish.

Lastly, is what I'm asking for sounding like the Salk Silk Monitors?

Thanks!!
 
I

ichigo

Full Audioholic
Why do you want a custom speaker? Is it for the looks? Or for the sound?

In the nearfield, good imaging is harder to achieve because the vertical axis is compressed quite a bit (you are sitting much closer, so differences in vertical axis dispersion become much more exacerbated) so even a typical 2-way won't image that well unless the crossover is quite low, in the ~1k range, which is hard to achieve without a compression driver. Humans are generally less sensitive to vertical axis localization as the frequency goes down.

I generally find coaxial drivers the best nearfield. A custom speaker is probably not going to be great for the nearfield since unless you are manufacturing your own drivers with total control over the specs and can build your own waveguide, you can't control directivity well with off the shelf drivers and that's everything when it comes to imaging nearfield.

For your specific size requirement, without EQ, the only speaker I can think of that falls within those specs are the Genelec 8331 or 8341s--at $4500+ might be a bit above your budget.

I have a friend who recently switched from the Salk Silk to the Kef R3 and preferred the R3 quite a bit--better bass, better imaging, similarly neutral. R3s are a bit bigger than what you would like, so I would suggest trying the Kef LS50 or Technics SB-C700 and using EQ to achieve the bass you need--REW or DiracLive are great tools for this.

Measurements of these 2 speakers here:

Technics SB-C700:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/technics-premium-class-sb-c700-loudspeaker-measurements

Kef LS50:

https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-ls50-anniversary-model-loudspeaker-specifications
 
Last edited:
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Hello,

New to the forums, but I've been always reading alot on the side over the years.

I'm looking for advice regarding fabricating high end Custom Bookshelf speakers. I will be using these speakers for my computer desktop where I play music and games.

I'm currently using PMC 25.21 , and also have Paradigm Prestige 15B in storage. I've used maybe 10 sets of speakers under 2500$.

I have a AV stand next to my computer, and I am using Computer -> Yggdrasil -> Mcintosh C52 -> Mcintosh MC152.

My goal is to have a compact bookshelf fabricated (preferably you can help me with someone that can help me make such a bookshelf from wood), and pack some $$ woofer, tweeter and crossover.

My goal is near field listening with rich bass / depth, and smooth/detailed treble. I'm not going to use a subwoofer at the moment.

Id love to have a box thats 8 inch wide, 10 deep 14 tall or smaller. Sealed or Ported.

Is there a custom builder you know that I can hire? If not I would try to do it myself. I would want to finish the box in a high quality automotive finish.

Lastly, is what I'm asking for sounding like the Salk Silk Monitors?

Thanks!!
I purchased my speakers from Dennis Murphy/Philharmonic Audio. He recently closed shop, but is responsible for the design work you see on Jims website. I don't know if Dennis did the driver testing/selection for everything... but his specialty is crossovers. With Dennis' retirement, Jim picked up the last part of my order through Dennis and built my Phil 3s. I feel pretty confident in saying that if you are remotely interested, you should email and start a conversation with Jim. All of his speakers are built to order, and the flatness and accuracy of them is pretty amazing. His cabinets make them that much better... though you did say you want automotive paint... which I think he does.
Definitely worth reaching out to him.
I've heard some good things about Rick Craig at Selah Audio, also. I have not heard is speakers yet, and am looking forward to that at the CAS in July.

Happy Hunting!
 
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