SVS or DIY?

[Hi Ho]

I have been contemplating building some AR.COM kit speakers so I have them all the way around. I haven't heard a negative comment about that kit so I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet.

First, how do you think these speakers would compare to my current Advent Smaller Loudspeakers (1977)? I really like the Advents but they require a lot of power and their really isn't anything that will match for a center.

Second, do you think the new SVS speakers would be any better? The AR speakers are ported and go lower which is something I want because my DIY sub rolls off around 100hz.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

[edwelly]

Hi Ho - I can't comment on the SVS speakers, but I do own a SVS PB10 sub and I can honestly say I think I paid WAY TOO LITTLE for it. I watched War of the Worlds last night and it was sooooooo swweeeeeetttttt..... My wife even loved it

 

[jaxvon]

I have been contemplating building some AR.COM kit speakers so I have them all the way around. I haven't heard a negative comment about that kit so I'm thinking it's a pretty safe bet.

First, how do you think these speakers would compare to my current Advent Smaller Loudspeakers (1977)? I really like the Advents but they require a lot of power and their really isn't anything that will match for a center.

Second, do you think the new SVS speakers would be any better? The AR speakers are ported and go lower which is something I want because my DIY sub rolls off around 100hz.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

After talking to a pair of brothers who have been in the audio hobby for awhile, I came to realize that if you have the will and ability, DIY is the best value in speakers. One brother bought Vandersteen 3A Sigs, the other has been building his own speakers. They both love their setups, but the brother that built his own has spent far less money for an almost-as good system (not that you couldn't equal Vandersteens with DIY). If you can build speakers yourself, opt to do it. I don't have the time/means/budget right now to do such an upgrade. But I know that DIY will be a serious consideration for my next set of speakers.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Hi-Ho,

As Jaxvon said, if you have the time, space and tools(or can borrow the latter)...DIY speakers or subwoofers is often an unbeatable path in regards to cost/performance ratio. One of the primary benefits of DIYing is that you can apply your own value system to the project. You can pick the enclosure size, driver compliment, and all of the other design considerations. Of course you need to have a reasonably good idea of how each of those choices will relate to one another or the end result may not be what you hoped.. when you start with a pre-designed kit though...that does a lot of the guess work out of it.

Tom V.
SVS

 

[RMK!]

SVS all over the place

Tom,

Nice objective post on the DYI.

One question though, since you and Ron seem to be hanging out here a lot lately, why don't you pony up some advertising $$ and help support the site. You get a lot of free press from your loyal followers and I'm sure they will come to your defense on this issue even though this is not an attack. Just a question from another businessman who understands the importance of advertising revenue for a site like this. Perhaps you could at least buy a sweatshirt like I did.

 

[Hi Ho]

Thanks for the responses. I know what kind of value I can get from DIY. My DIY subwoofer is amazing. There is no way I could top it in retail for the $270 I paid to for the parts.

I have a fully equipped woodshop with more that I need for building speaker boxes.

Over at AVS Forum somone recommended some different drivers than the ones in the AR kit. I can't link to that thread at the moment (blocked at school) but I will later.

 

[j_garcia]

As others already said, if you have the equipment and skill to do DIY, I don't think there is a better value. As Tom mentioned though, starting from scratch is not the ideal situation if you don't already have some experience and the equipment to test your designs. It takes some experiementation to get a design just right. Using a kit takes out the guesswork of driver selection and x-over design and it's a great way to go. Check out my sig - GR sells a nice sub kit.

 

[Takeereasy]

Hidog, I've seen SVS banners along the top, even clicked on one to double check the cost of the new bookshelfs.

 

[jcPanny]

First, how do you think these speakers would compare to my current Advent Smaller Loudspeakers (1977)?

The surrounds and woofers on your 30 year old Advents are probably about worn out. Sounds like you are due for an upgrade.

Good luck on the DIY project.

 

[RMK!]

Hidog, I've seen SVS banners along the top, even clicked on one to double check the cost of the new bookshelfs.

Good to hear they are supporting the site. Thanks for the update.

 

[T2T]

Hi Ho - I can't comment on the SVS speakers, but I do own a SVS PB10 sub and I can honestly say I think I paid WAY TOO LITTLE for it. I watched War of the Worlds last night and it was sooooooo swweeeeeetttttt..... My wife even loved it

I'm in the same boat as you. However, I did pick my PB10-ISD up locally as someone purchased the sub, owned it for 3 weeks, then decided to go larger. The post was made on CraigsList, so I responded. In the end, it was a great deal for both of us, as the guy selling it had disposed of the box and couldn't return it to SVS, even though it was still within the return window. I've done lots of DIY stuff, but I think the PB10-ISD has me in a state of contenment as it was great to just plug 'n play vs. inhaling lots of MDF dust.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

No worries at all Hi-Dog, I try to check if there are any SVS support threads that need input at least once a day and I have yet to see our banner pop up.. I'll probably have it pop up 10x in a row next week...just the way the "dice" roll sometimes...

Tom V.
SVS