My HT/Stereo setup w/dyi speakers

My 1st post.. I have a custom PC I built as my primary source. It's cooled by T.E.C's and water. Which feeds audio through optical to a Marantz 8801 Preamp Processor. Then the surround and center speakers are powered by an Adcom 5006 with the fronts powered by a SoundValves (Hafler replica) amp. The speakers I made myself using Peerless and Vifa drivers and ERSE caps resistors and coils. The subs I have had for a long time now are two 15" Swiss Audio SPL series in 7.5 cubic ft cabinets tuned to 17Hz and Two unknown 15" aluminum coned subs in a 3 cubic ft sealed cabitnet. The big cabinets I built. The smaller ones I bought many years ago from Jamac in Portland, OR. The subs are driven by an Adcom 555MKII modified by K-Amps. It is a totally different animal now. I am looking to replace the SoundValves and 5006. Trying to find the right 7 channel amp for my setup.

Enjoy

wow, very cool. :yes:

i'd love a thread on each of those items. like, how did you build that computer?

You just pick out a case, motherboard and all the components to match the motherboard. The cooling system was tough though. A lot of practice fitting, assembly dis-assembly and some drilling. The computer ended up needing a 2nd power-supply for the cooling alone. Here's a close up on it from you tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iQBVwK7wHc[/url]

Very nice & the computer build is also a treat!

I need a faster one with a better video card or something.

Rome

I am glad you guys like it. I was worried posting it. You never know how people might respond. And I think a persons stereo is.. well personal.

I do need help figuring out which amp/amps to get for the upper speakers.

I was using three DH-220's before. I had been a Hafler fan since I was about 13. I had that Adcom 5006 in my game room and then on day I decided to see what it sounded like on my main system and I was sad because it sounded as if it had more clarity then my haflers. So I sold all but one of the haflers. The two I sold were in very nice shape.

how did you design the speakers?

i think you're a much better craftsman than you are a photographer. i'd love some more illustrative shots of your gear and the whole system....

cool stuff

shrinkboy said:

i think you're a much better craftsman than you are a photographer. i'd love some more illustrative shots of your gear and the whole system....

cool stuff

Click to expand...

I am a terrible photographer

I am also terrible at getting the terrible photos to upload...

So the 1st is the raw surround cabinets, the 2nd is a close up of the front. All the walls are 1.5" thick and that is what I was trying to capture there. The 3rd picture is a test fit once I put the stain and clear coat on. The 4th is the High-pass crossover. And the last is the left front tower.

rogerfederer said:

how did you design the speakers?

Click to expand...

Well.. It took me a long time.. I bought the woofers (14 of them) several years ago. I thought Peerless was going out of business and wanted to get them before I couldn't any more.

Then when the dual concentric dome came out I fell in love with it. On paper it looked pretty good. In photos I thought, "Damn that's sharp" but they were back ordered for ever and when they came in stock I ordered 7 of those. I had no idea getting those woofers to play nice with those tweeters would be such a headache.

My 1st mistake was buying all of the crossovers at once thinking I had it right. Maybe I can reuse those coils and caps on something else some day

Then I tried some zobel networks on the tweeter. I couldn't get this squeal sound to go away. Then one day I decided to listen to the drivers separately and realized the squeal was coming from the woofers. I then started swapping parts and found the capacitors I was using along with the order of the crossover was my problem. I then started pricing how much a zobel network for the woofers would cost. When I added it up and weighed the benefits I decided to simplify instead of going overly complex. So in the end I went with a simple coil on the woofers and a 4th order butterworth on the tweeters (I'm sure I'll see some comments on that). Maybe I broke some rules but it sounds best this way to me and those I asked.

The cabinets I used a computer program too plot out. I built a few different versions. Some had tube ports, some MTM's, MMT's, Then I decided to try a time aligned MMT. To me that sounded best. And the slot port sounded much more natural than the tubes. I swear I could hear the plastic from the port!

I also aligned the tweeter on the center. I didn't do it on the rears because of the height of the cabinet with a tweeter on top and also since the speaker is so high up and the tweeter is above the woofer you kind of get the delay on the tweeter anyway.

I have built a few since I was a teenager. These are the best sounding so far.

Let me know if you have any more questions.:thmbsp:

DAMN!! With your sub/amp combo I'll bet your neighbors neighbors have noise complaints about you!!

Kzoomichman said:

DAMN!! With your sub/amp combo I'll bet your neighbors neighbors have noise complaints about you!!

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They used to. I bought my house about two years ago and made sure it was brick. You can hear it across the street but I don't think they can hear it inside the house. We also make sure the doors to all of the rooms are shut to help keep the noise in the house.

I did get 3 visits from the cops when I was younger though and they told me if they had to come out one more time they would take my stereo and put so many fines on me that I would never get it back. So I moved to a more isolated house

Welcome to AudioKarma. That is one custom setup. Very nice work you did. Thank you for sharing.

A new arrival added to the system

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=3845&pictureid=26735
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/picture.php?albumid=3845&pictureid=26736

There's the thumbnails! :lmao:

Wow that is really awesome- more pics more pics!

My question is what did you do for sound? Do you have a separate sound card and if so what did you go with?

I am running a similar system in my home office. That is a digital optical out to a Marantz SR 7001 receiver.

I am currently using on board sound from my ASUS motherboard- my receiver is receiving PCM signal.

I have been thinking about a dedicated sound card but my video card will force me to use a USB variety.

VWGUY said:

Wow that is really awesome- more pics more pics!

My question is what did you do for sound? Do you have a separate sound card and if so what did you go with?

I am running a similar system in my home office. That is a digital optical out to a Marantz SR 7001 receiver.

I am currently using on board sound from my ASUS motherboard- my receiver is receiving PCM signal.

I have been thinking about a dedicated sound card but my video card will force me to use a USB variety.

Click to expand...

I used to buy the Audigy "stuff" I have other words for it. But they were spendy, the drivers were not impressive and to be honest I did not notice a difference. Now I use on-board. I have an optical out and I turn off the HDMI audio. I run EVGA gear. I would like an opportunity to compare a modern audiophile player to see if I can hear a difference. Since stuff is digital I don't think I would.
So don't waste your money on a sound card. There are several videos on this and in the end of it all it is not worth the $$ because they cannot discern a difference in sound quality. :grnbounce