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Dayton Speaker Kits and others

W

weez82

Senior member
Ok, so Im planing on getting new speakers by mid/end of summer. I would like to get a speaker kit and have been looking at the dayton kits on parts express. The limited user reviews have been positive so thats good. But what kit to get? Budget is $400. Doesnt have to be dayton but does need to have everything ready to go. I cant build my own cabinets and I cant solder worth a darn.

Some info -
No sub will be used. Just dont have the home for that right now 🙁
Amp is HK3490
Music played - 70's rock, 80/90 metal, 90's grunge, 00's rock/metal
These will also be used for movies and I hate speakers that blow out deep male voices. I need voices to sound natural.

Right now Im using a pair of Cerwin Vega LS-8. I like the sound for the most part but it's time for an upgrade 🙂
 
What size are you after? If you can handle a tower speaker the tri trix is supposed to sound great. Although I've never heard a pair personally,I have heard a transmission line and it doesn't do the exaggerated male voice thing.
I have built the overnight sensations, but I'm not sure it would have the output you may want. It does sound surprisingly full for a four inch woofer though.

I have a buddy that built one of their other bookshelf kits, but I'll have to ask him which as I don't remember.
 
I built the Dayton BR-1s a few years ago as my first kit. They sounded pretty good, but as I've gotten more into 100% DIY stuff, I've found that I like a lot of other designs a lot better. The TriTrix that Plungers mentioned is a design from the DIY community and is REALLY popular. For the budget, I'd recommend that one as well:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-702

The only downside is that you'll have to solder the components. Soldering is dirt-simple though - the Dayton's were my first real soldering project and came out fine with a $10 Radio Shack iron (and lots of tutorials are available online). Plus, Parts Express has a Youtube video on how to assemble the crossover:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4Y1OGalDUo

If you don't want towers, also like Plungers mentioned, the Overnight Sensations are another popular bookshelf-style design from the DIY community:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-706

Here are some other source for DIY kits:

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/

http://www.madisound.com/kits/

For gluing the cabinets together, I'd recommend running down to Home Depot or Lowes and getting some PL Premium construction adhesive from Loctite. You'll need one of those $5 caulk guns. It's pretty strong stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDe1KwWH6qA

There are lots of options for finishing the cabinets, not sure if you have a plan for that. Probably the easiest thing is truck bedliner in a spray can - nice textured black paint that hides any defects. Rustoleum & Krylon also have a lot of cool spray paints, like hammered, camo, and stone, as well as the regular metallics and matte/glossy colors. I'm doing a 7.1 set for my brother right now with Rusoleum's Hammered Green on the faceplates, which looks pretty cool:

http://www.storesonline.com/members/1506961/uploaded/hammered_green_closeup.jpg

MDF is very porous material, so I would recommend sealing it before painting. I use a couple coats of Zinsser B-I-N shellac sealer/primer (also available at Home Depot etc.) with a foam paintbrush, then sand it down. I also use wood putty (Elmer's sells small tubs of it at Home Depot) for sealing any cut/curved edges before I put the primer on, because they will suck in paint like a black hole unless you seal them. Here's a link to that BIN stuff I use:

http://www.rustoleum.com/cbgproduct.asp?pid=216

One thing I've been using lately is contact paper (like for lining the insides of cabinets) - you can get faux wood, granite, marble, leather, etc. I'm doing a pair of stereo speakers for my cousin for her wedding in faux brown leather and white paint and they are looking pretty awesome so far! Another Home Depot steal, haha. If you want some higher-end stuff, there are some nice vinyls here in different metals (stainless steel, etc.) and different granite colors: (they sell them on eBay as well)

http://www.stainlesssteelfilm.com/main.sc

DC-Fix is another cool brand (a lot is available on eBay) that comes in faux woodgrains and stuff:

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/

So you can get some really nice-looking woodgrain on your speakers without having to use veneer:

http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/images/apple-birch.jpg

All kinds of stuff to play with!
 
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weez82 said:
No sub will be used. Just dont have the home for that right now 🙁
Click to expand...

If you are space-limited, you might want to check out a tapped-horn subwoofer - they are tall & skinny and can be placed against a wall without using up a lot of space. It's the unfinished one in the corner in this picture:

http://www.techfx.us/web/insubnia/bedroom.jpg

I recently got turned on to these from the sub thread here and will be building an Anarchy TH sub this summer. Dimensions are 8.25" W x 20.125" L x 30" H. The pre-cut wood is $75:

http://www.diysoundgroup.com/flat-packs-1/subwoofer-flatpacks/anarchy-th.html

The subwoofer is $70:

http://www.diycable.com/main/produc...s_id=538&Cid=fdf5c69138df89f9d8b43743f292d666

Then you'll need an amp, binding posts, and some other finishing materials.

If you're not doing a sub due to noise issues, you might want to check out bass shakers. I couldn't have a sub in my last apartment, so I went that route. Basically they are small, sealed subwoofers that vibrate instead of making noise - so when you are watching Jurassic Park and the T-Rex is stomping around, your whole couch shakes! It's pretty cool :biggrin: They are about $40 a pop and run off a standard stereo or subwoofer amp. 2 to 4 per couch is recommended, depending on the size of your furniture:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=299-028
 
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random question about these speaker builds,

As ive only ever looked into building subs ive never had to worry about the xover, i know the dayton kits come with the xover components but do they also come with instructions on how to assemble it and whatnot or no? asking because i think i may build some overnight sensation MTMs for my dad and i have no idea about the xover stuff
 
I own a pair of tritrix speakers, for the money I don't think they can be beat. They're not quite as bass heavy as a lot of the speakers you'll hear at best buy, at first I was a little disappointed, but after listening to them for a while other speakers with more apparent bass sound really muddy. You'll have to solder the crossovers but it's not a big deal, if you want some help or if you want to demo the speakers shoot me a PM I live in PDX.

My HT speakers are a pair of Nano Neos http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=218177&highlight=nano+neos although the price has crept up from $55 for the pair, I believe they are still a good value, competing favorably with the Overnight Sensations. I run mine with a small sub for tactical impact in movies, but for music they're pretty decent without a sub, it's almost comical that the little 4" woofer can play so low.
 
Anubis said:
random question about these speaker builds,

As ive only ever looked into building subs ive never had to worry about the xover, i know the dayton kits come with the xover components but do they also come with instructions on how to assemble it and whatnot or no? asking because i think i may build some overnight sensation MTMs for my dad and i have no idea about the xover stuff
Click to expand...

just follow the instructions, it's like IKEA furniture, maybe a little more complicated.
 
thank you for the replies. I think I'll go with the TriTrix. I watch the soldering vid and it looks easy enough. Should be a fun summer project 🙂
 
Im surprised no one has zaphaudio yet, he has great diy kits and has won award with them, cheapest build to high end 2k pair.
 
I've built a Dayton BR-1 kit and can vouch for its quality, i wouldn't hesitate to build a larger set from them and have herd great things about the Tritrix speakers as mentioned above.
 
Buy yourself a pair of the Behringer B2031P and call it a day. Your first DIY speaker will cost much more than you think it will, given the tools and unaccounted-for parts you'll need to get yourself started. This goes double if you even want to think about cutting wood.

The B2031P are very neutral, measure extremely well, are inexpensive, are fairly sensitive (i.e. loudness per input wattage), and can get very loud.

EDIT: I would advise learning how to solder, regardless. Very useful skill to have.

EDIT2: Strange. These speakers were only $220/pair a few months ago.
 
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Kaido said:
I've got that on my list for this summer as well...a pair of sealed Dayton 8's with an 18" sub for music use :awe:
Click to expand...

I love a sealed speaker but to really enjoy these guys, port'em!! I am still playing around with the crossover on theses guys some 5 years after building them. I settled on Mills resisters in the notch filter, after the 20th revision. I still need to finish them.
 
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