Starting out and planning

[ssn vet]

Hey gang,

After over a decade-long hiatus from stereophonic pleasures (kids and a blown amp), I'm looking to get back up to speed with modern equipment and piece together a 5.1 channel system for music and HT and am hoping that you audioholics might school me some and recommend appropriate components.

The room is 24' x 16' with 7.5' ceiling, has w2w carpet with a lot of furniture and has a flat screen on the short wall with the primary listening position a pair of recliners in the middle of the room.

25 years ago I blew my homebrew speakers and replaced them with what was then a relatively obscure brand called B&W (cost a fraction of what they do today). These are DM-310s (ported 2-ways with 8" woofers and 1.5" domes) and still sound great, so I plan to keep them as my front L & R channel speakers, though I can't really afford to match that quality level for the rest of the system.

I jumped back in with an underpowered Yamaha RX-V381 amp (70 W/channel) but it has 4K throughput and I think it has fairly modern CODECS (still learning about this). This amp will have to suffice for a couple years, but I hope to acquire a powered subwoofer for 2.1 this Christmas, and then a center for 3.1 early next year. I'm inclined to get at least a 12" sub, as the B&Ms already have pretty darn good bass.

Santy Claus is torn between the Monoprice 109723 and the Dayton Sub-1200, but he's confused about a few things. Monoprice only lists the frequency range as going down to 50 Hz, while the graphs linked in some reviews here seem to indicate they go down to the low 40s @ ~-5dB. While Dayton claims the Sub-1200s go down to 25 Hz. What's up with that? Is this the difference between honest and exaggerated ratings?

I want to wire up the sub with the LFE output on the Yammi and give their YPAO a try. The Dayton has you wire this to the R channel RCA input. While the Monoprice talks about using some type of splitter to wire into R & L. What's up with that?

Early next year I'll be looking to purchase a center channel speaker. Can anyone make a recommendation for a center that would keep up with the B&Ms, but not cost an arm and a leg? (i.e. ~$200)

After I get up and running with 3.1, I'll have to figure out if I should get a pair of powered satellites (saving the Yammi's meager 70 W for the B&Ms) or save up for a better amp.

I've really enjoyed watching Gene's videos and reading on the forum here. Thanks in advance for any advice and recommendations. A lot has changed in the past 15 years

Matt

 

[shkumar4963]

Hey gang,

After over a decade-long hiatus from stereophonic pleasures (kids and a blown amp), I'm looking to get back up to speed with modern equipment and piece together a 5.1 channel system for music and HT and am hoping that you audioholics might school me some and recommend appropriate components.

The room is 24' x 16' with 7.5' ceiling, has w2w carpet with a lot of furniture and has a flat screen on the short wall with the primary listening position a pair of recliners in the middle of the room.

25 years ago I blew my homebrew speakers and replaced them with what was then a relatively obscure brand called B&W (cost a fraction of what they do today). These are DM-310s (ported 2-ways with 8" woofers and 1.5" domes) and still sound great, so I plan to keep them as my front L & R channel speakers, though I can't really afford to match that quality level for the rest of the system.

I jumped back in with an underpowered Yamaha RX-V381 amp (70 W/channel) but it has 4K throughput and I think it has fairly modern CODECS (still learning about this). This amp will have to suffice for a couple years, but I hope to acquire a powered subwoofer for 2.1 this Christmas, and then a center for 3.1 early next year. I'm inclined to get at least a 12" sub, as the B&Ms already have pretty darn good bass.

Santy Claus is torn between the Monoprice 109723 and the Dayton Sub-1200, but he's confused about a few things. Monoprice only lists the frequency range as going down to 50 Hz, while the graphs linked in some reviews here seem to indicate they go down to the low 40s @ ~-5dB. While Dayton claims the Sub-1200s go down to 25 Hz. What's up with that? Is this the difference between honest and exaggerated ratings?

I want to wire up the sub with the LFE output on the Yammi and give their YPAO a try. The Dayton has you wire this to the R channel RCA input. While the Monoprice talks about using some type of splitter to wire into R & L. What's up with that?

Early next year I'll be looking to purchase a center channel speaker. Can anyone make a recommendation for a center that would keep up with the B&Ms, but not cost an arm and a leg? (i.e. ~$200)

After I get up and running with 3.1, I'll have to figure out if I should get a pair of powered satellites (saving the Yammi's meager 70 W for the B&Ms) or save up for a better amp.

I've really enjoyed watching Gene's videos and reading on the forum here. Thanks in advance for any advice and recommendations. A lot has changed in the past 15 years

Matt

While we all feel that the "old is gold", especially if we have owned them for a long time, speaker design technology has made significant improvements, especially in the areas of imaging, sound stage, clarity and transparency.

So before deciding about the future course of action, buy some new B&W speakers from Best Buy and compare them with your speaker in a pseudo blind test. After the test, you can return them.

You can decide what else to buy after you assess your current speakers.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[ssn vet]

That's a good point. I'm not so keen on buying something without being sure that it's what I want, but there's a good electronics store a couple towns over that has a nice audio listening room. I should make the trip and listen to some options.

That's actually exactly how I wound up buying the B&Ws, as I thought they were overpriced for "small" speakers, compared to the Pioneers and Polks. But the sales guy had me do a side by side listening test and the deal was done.

I also am halfway through making a pair of 2 way speakers for my shop with 6" Dayton drivers and 1" dome tweets. I should put them side by side with the B&Ws and see how they compare.

I guess when it's all said and done, it's really all about how they sound.

 

[shkumar4963]

That's a good point. I'm not so keen on buying something without being sure that it's what I want, but there's a good electronics store a couple towns over that has a nice audio listening room. I should make the trip and listen to some options.

That's actually exactly how I wound up buying the B&Ws, as I thought they were overpriced for "small" speakers, compared to the Pioneers and Polks. But the sales guy had me do a side by side listening test and the deal was done.

I also am halfway through making a pair of 2 way speakers for my shop with 6" Dayton drivers and 1" dome tweets. I should put them side by side with the B&Ws and see how they compare.

I guess when it's all said and done, it's really all about how they sound.

Sounds good. Let me know how DIY speaker compare with B&W.

HAPPY HUNTING. . It is fun to upgrade.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

 

[lovinthehd]

That's a good point. I'm not so keen on buying something without being sure that it's what I want, but there's a good electronics store a couple towns over that has a nice audio listening room. I should make the trip and listen to some options.

That's actually exactly how I wound up buying the B&Ws, as I thought they were overpriced for "small" speakers, compared to the Pioneers and Polks. But the sales guy had me do a side by side listening test and the deal was done.

I also am halfway through making a pair of 2 way speakers for my shop with 6" Dayton drivers and 1" dome tweets. I should put them side by side with the B&Ws and see how they compare.

I guess when it's all said and done, it's really all about how they sound.

Which speaker/design is the current diy build?

 

[ssn vet]

Cabs are sized to G. R. Research X-LS Encore plans, but drivers and tweet are same size with similar specs from parts express.

 

[Verdinut]

For the center channel speaker, since your AVR is not very powerful, I would suggest the Klipsch brand because of their efficiency (98dB/1w) and high peak power handling capacity as well (400w) for the R-25C. That model would be a good option IMO. I believe it is discounted for the Black Friday weekend.

For the moment, you could complement your system with other Klipsch bookshelves. Should you decide to get powered bookshelves for your surrounds, the JBL LSR305 or LSR308 might be a good option. They are reasonably priced and very well rated. I am assuming that your Yamaha AVR has pre-outs for this.

As you know, it is always preferable to hear speakers before buying them. Also, some online stores allow return and refund within a specified time period if you are not satisfied.

Keep us posted on the developments in your system building venture.
Cheers,

 

[lovinthehd]

Cabs are sized to G. R. Research X-LS Encore plans, but drivers and tweet are same size with similar specs from parts express.

What does that mean? Sounds like there is no particular design here? How did you determine drivers specs' suitability for the box? What are you doing for crossover?

 

[ssn vet]

What does that mean? Sounds like there is no particular design here? How did you determine drivers specs' suitability for the box? What are you doing for crossover?

Driver specs are well detailed on Parts Direct. I down loaded one of the free speaker design software programs and crunched numbers and came up with a cab volume similar to the C R Research size, so I downloaded their cab plans and called it good enough for economy shop speakers.

 

[lovinthehd]

Driver specs are well detailed on Parts Direct. I down loaded one of the free speaker design software programs and crunched numbers and came up with a cab volume similar to the C R Research size, so I downloaded their cab plans and called it good enough for economy shop speakers.

Using the same crossovers?

 

[ssn vet]

No... just mimicking the cab aspect ratio, port size and location... crossovers were picked out on Amazon, as making them from the component level is not something I thought I'd enjoy.

I have no delusions about theese being audiophile quality. I'm a hobby woodworker and decided I'd rarthere make my own economy speakers than simply buy a pair of Daytons. If nothing else, I know they'll look better

 

[ssn vet]

So I'm looking for a good center speaker match for my older B&W speakers. I was able to dredge up the specs.

Technical highlights
- 1" aluminium domed tweeter
- Reinforced low-frequency driven diaphragm, & rigid die-cast chassis
- 2-way 4th order, ported bass reflex drive Units
- 200 mm bass/midrange with rigid die-cast chassis, reinforced propylene diaphragm and 31mm high temperature voice coil.
-Frequency Response: 70 Hz – 20 kHz ± 2dB on reference axis
-Sensitivity: 90 dB spl(2.83V 1m)
-Nominal impedance: 8 ohms
-25 W – 100 W into 8 ohms on unclipped program

I don't know what RBH prices look like in reality (compared to MSRP on their web site) but their Black Friday sale prices look pretty interesting....

They have their Signature Series center on sale for $249 with free delivery.
https://rbhsound.com/bfs-sx661c.php

Sensitivity matches, but the RBH is 6 ohm.

Any thoughts are appreciated...