Bazfletch3 Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Hi all Looking for some suggestions for options for some hopefully tried and tested designs that might work as LCR's for our lounge area. Like most everyday lounge/family areas there are constraints and compromises everywhere, so Im just looking to try and make the best with what Ive got! The chief interior designer in the house made it known that looks trump everything (which is wonderful....), but I managed to reserve some real estate within the built in cabinetry, as can be seen in the photo; those 3 doors have speaker cloth within the door surrounds. Im looking to try and squeeze matching (or at least complimentary) front speakers across the 3 cupboards, along with a sub at the bottom of each side. With a small mod to the Micro Marty Sub design I can fit those in, so that is my plan at the moment. This leaves me with a space 460mm high x 635mm wide x 460mm deep on each side, and 670mm x 435mm x 460mm for the centre. My initial searching led me to the 88 Special at DIY Sound Group, which would fit pretty much perfectly (with a very small mod for the centre). However, the poor exchange rates at the moment, along with the hassle, time and cost of shipping, has led me to wonder whether theres easier options available; either a "cloned" version of the 88-Special, another econowave style design, or a more traditional design approach - the key aspect being that the design uses drivers and components that are more readily available locally. And unfortunately trying to avoid any of the custom designed and manufactured drivers that DIY/Denovo, Zaph and the Troels Gravesen's of the world have developed. It may be that the easiest end solution does entail me bringing something in from overseas, but any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewantsmoore Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 (edited) 30 minutes ago, Bazfletch3 said: This leaves me with a space 460mm high x 635mm wide x 460mm deep on each side, and 670mm x 435mm x 460mm for the centre. ???? You could also make the HTM-12 fit. (Minor changes in cabinet dimensions won't hurt). It is not ideal to have the "firing forwards" if placed in the corners.... ideally, they need to point so they crossover in front of the listener.... but I understand the power of SWMBO. If you are oK with making your cabinets, then DIYSG is a very good option.... and having speaker which will not be seen is great for this. Edited August 7, 2020 by davewantsmoore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Oops - second set of dimensions are the wrong way around. Centre speaker cupboard is 670 wide x 435 high x 460 deep. The full dimensions of the left and right cupboards is 635 wide x 1150 high x 460 deep. To modify a MicroMarty to fit the depth restriction (should be 525 square) I end up using the bottom 690mm, which leaves me 460mm of height to play with. Of course Im not wedded to the MicroMarty either, but it did seem like a reasonable solution. Yes, I appreciate the fronts are too far apart and should be toe'd in - which again might be possible (slightly) depending on the width of the speaker, although that would then introduce another concern in that the speaker wouldnt be flush with the front of the cupboard.... Im not sure what would be the least worst.... compromises.... Ive got a good idea of what my lounge room would look like if I was single!!! Making the cabinets is the easy part, for whatever reason my 3 best mates are all cabinet makers - so all they cost me is materials and beer! I keep coming back to DIY SoundGroup, but then when I start doing freight forwarding enquiries and running exchange rate and duty calcs I just wonder if there might be an easier way. Cheers Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 Knowing your budget would help a lot. One of your key issues will be that the center would be mounted very low and it's likely to be disconcerting having the sound come from there. You might reduce this be having the center angled upwards. Alternatively, you could use a "phantom" centre (many modern AVRs will allow you to delete the center speaker and direct that signal to the L&R) - this approach can be quite effective and you could use the center space for a subwoofer. Using the phantom center approach you might use a pair of Scenix in-wall speakers for the L&R and have your cabinet maker friends install them as high as possible(so the sound is at a similar level to the TV). Perhaps @Krix Loudspeakers could be persuaded to make a custom Volcanix slimline to fit in your center space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Thanks Quark. Im hoping to keep the component cost down around 5 to 700 per speaker, with cabinets on top. I can get DIY Soundgroup speakers landed for something in that range . I hadnt thought of the phantom centre route - ill check my AVR specs, its a Denon mid level model from 10 years ago, so likley not?.... I have thought of trying to angle the 3 speakers slightly - the L & R inswards and the centre upwards, but I dont know how much they will be negatively impacted by what would then be a slight "funneling" affect. I dont think I'll know that until I try it out, Im not sure how one would predict that... The Krix home theatre range looks amazing - Ive never had the pleasure of hearing them. I guess Im in the market for some DIY Krix Megaphonix clones.... my budget wont quite stretch for the real things.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quark Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 If your Denon has Audyssey it will be able to handle a phantom centre. Sorry, I don't really have any suggestions that fit your budget. Yes, Krix have a great range and supply many commercial cinemas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Quark said: If your Denon has Audyssey it will be able to handle a phantom centre. Sorry, I don't really have any suggestions that fit your budget. Yes, Krix have a great range and supply many commercial cinemas. Thanks - it does have Audyssey, so that might be a real option..... And yes, the budget is somewhat modest - hence me being in the DIY area 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest niterida Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 How about Wharfedale Pro Titan 8 PA speakers - on ebay for $229 and they sound amazing. I have 5 of them as my LCR and surrounds and I recently auditioned a demo room with Krix and it sounded only a tiny bit better then my room !! I got on to using PA speakers from the many great reports of using Behringer B215XL (do a search on AVSForum) but the B215XL are just too big for my room. Will need a good sub with these though as they are only rated down to 70hz, although I am currently running mine full range and they are coping just fine (but I haven't gone above -10MV) They will fit ncely in your space and can easily be toed in since they have an a sort of wedge shape and toeing them in behind the speaker cloth doors won't be an issue. On the phantom cntre issue - this only really works for one central seating position - as soon as you move to either side you lose the centre image. So unless you only have one or 2 seats then a centre is pretty much mandatory. And the Wharfedale will fit upright in your centre cupboard as it is only 396mm high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 7, 2020 Author Share Posted August 7, 2020 Thanks Niterida, really interesting; you've sent me off down another rabbit hole....... sheesh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest niterida Posted August 7, 2020 Share Posted August 7, 2020 3 hours ago, Bazfletch3 said: Thanks Niterida, really interesting; you've sent me off down another rabbit hole....... sheesh.... At least this one is a cheap rabbit hole........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest niterida Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 You do also realise that space will lend itself ideally to a nice AT screen and you can have any centre speaker you want then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 Just now, niterida said: You do also realise that space will lend itself ideally to a nice AT screen and you can have any centre speaker you want then You're not the first person who's suggested that! I've got ZERO chance of getting that approved! God that would free up some options! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest niterida Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 1 minute ago, Bazfletch3 said: You're not the first person who's suggested that! I've got ZERO chance of getting that approved! God that would free up some options! Could do a retractable screen and a move the centre speaker in and out when you watch a movie and listen to stereo only at other times Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazfletch3 Posted August 8, 2020 Author Share Posted August 8, 2020 1 hour ago, niterida said: Could do a retractable screen and a move the centre speaker in and out when you watch a movie and listen to stereo only at other times Yes - a drop down screen is the long term plan hopefully. Although to be honest I wouldnt want to be moving speakers around - set and forget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest niterida Posted August 8, 2020 Share Posted August 8, 2020 13 minutes ago, Bazfletch3 said: Yes - a drop down screen is the long term plan hopefully. Although to be honest I wouldnt want to be moving speakers around - set and forget. Get your carpenter mates to build an enclosure for it the same as the rest of your cabinets and you wouldn't even know there was a centre speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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