Opinion - Every audiophile should build at least 1 pair of speakers
Gotta give another shout-out to Danny @ GR Research. While I've never built a set of his designs, he did help me out when I had the crossover for my vintage Pioneer HPM-200s redesigned, and listened to several of his works. He runs a pretty active forum over at http://audiocircle.com Now that he has his version of the BG Neo 3 back in production, check out his "Wedgie" design. I'm particularly keen on this implementation - http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=151056.0. |
I built the amp from prefabbed PCBs, transistor kits, and various parts I obtained from at least 6 suppliers. I certainly didn’t design it, but I definitely built it outside the design specs to good effect. I vividly recall an article in Stereophile where someone built a very well laid out Focal Aria 5 kit to some dubious results. He used unfinished MDF and ended up with a bright, beaming speaker. When he consulted Focal and D’Apolito about the lousy sound and measurements, D’Apolito provided his creations, the only difference being a finish veneer, and the sound was vastly improved. That seems to me a relatively minor alteration in comparison to ramping up amp voltages from 24V to 34.5V. That kind of thing would drive me nuts trying to sort out and I don’t have a lab full of gear to measure, sort out issues, and make changes. Beyond that, I have no desire to become embroiled in the OCD discussions concerning exotic caps and wire and resistors. The amp was easy. No caps in the amp aside from the power supply. Used the quiet Vishay, Panasonic, and Ohmite resistors, soldered the stuff together, and it just sounded awesome from day 1. The finish on the case didn’t make any difference. I also live in a condo and my best friends / landlords would be less than impressed if I decided to build speakers on the brand new carpet they bought for me. |
