# Help me pick out some bookshelves for my dad.



## Brian10962001 (Jul 11, 2009)

So my dad finally decided he wants a stereo like he had back in the 70s. Back then he had an Akai 4 channel deck with a reel to reel and all the goodies to go with it. He remembers listening to Santana and being blown away by the 4 channel stereo back then and now has access to a ton of records and wants to re live the glory days. The last thing he had for "hi fi" sound was a little Sony deck with the cheapo 5 watt surround speakers and such. I told him about 5.1 and such and gave him a little Kenwood 8in sub. He ordered a Denon 375 watt 5.1 receiver and now I need to build him some budget speakers to get him started. My plan right now is to build him 4 decent 6in bookshelf speaker and a center channel, then get him a decent sub later down the road. I'm looking to pick up some of the Jamo buyout drivers and build some small enclosures now, my question is this, which of these 6in drivers would you choose and how should I build the enclosures?

Parts-Express.com:JAMO 20422 6" Treated Paper Cone Woofer 6 Ohm | JAMO 20422 6" Paper Cone driver Woofer speaker midrange mid

or

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=299-154

I'm pretty set on this tweeter but if there are any other budget drivers I should consider feel free to suggest

Parts-Express.com:JAMO 20138 1" Soft Dome Shielded Tweeter 4 Ohm | JAMO 20138 1" tweeter Soft Shielded Dome Tweeter hf high frequency mtm ferrofluid philips ad11401t8 ad11404t4 amperex norelco JamoBuyouts111309

I'm thinking sealed on the woofers letting them roll off on their own but I don't know if this will be to harsh or if they'll get enough extension to be worthwhile sealed. I'm pretty much open to any suggestions right now. Thanks in advance everyone.


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## m3gunner (Aug 6, 2008)

If you're unsure about building the speakers, you might be better off buying some inexpensive ones.

Parts-Express.com-Dayton HTS-1200B Home Theater Speaker Set Black

Don't get me wrong here, I'm all for building your own... but from a cost standpoint, it doesn't make a lot of sense to spend $75 on drivers that are probably going to take a bunch of work to get sounding really good. In addition, the tweeter you chose is a 4 ohm model... make sure that the receiver will work with 4 ohm drivers as many of the multichannel ones do not work with anything below 6 ohms.

And did you mean to put the same URL for both 6" drivers?

I modeled these drivers here:

Closed Sealed Speaker Box Software Online Enclosure Design With Frequency Power Graph

For these drivers, the Vas is 6.22 liters and the other measurements can be found on the P-E website. If we shoot for a .7 Qtc (optimum), you need an enclosure that's about 0.12 cubic feet and the bass will roll off below about 107 Hz. Works fine with a sub, but don't try to boom with them as they will quickly hit the xmax on this driver...


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## Brian10962001 (Jul 11, 2009)

The link is now fixed. I'm really wanting to make these, I do a lot of car audio stuff and understand Win ISD and such, I just want to get some more input before I dive into this. I could get him some old used towers around here cheap, heck I have a nice set of Mitsubishi 12in towers but that's really not what he's after, he has a lot of grand kids at his house and such, they would have them crayoned up and knocked over from curiosity. I also don't think it's going to take a whole lot to contend with the old 4 way setup, clean power, modern drivers, and a sub should cover it well. Like I said he's upgrading from one of those Wal Mart Sony setups. I do believe his receiver will handle 4 ohm loads which is why I linked those specific drivers. I appreciate the input, hopefully I can get this worked out.


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## Dryseals (Sep 7, 2008)

OK, dad's an old fart like me. If you can talk him into a little extra cash, jump on the RB3 from madisound. I just bought two sets for the bed room, haven't built the enclosures yet, starting today, but I trust them. I bought a two sets of thew RB1 and they turned out well

See if you can get a budget from him. Other than Santana, what other music does he like? This is one of my hobbies, building speakers and I'm an old rocker from way back so I know what he'll do. Everyone gone and he cranks it up. I'm lucky, I have a large shop that I spend my free time in. Nothing like being 52 and sitting out in the shop playing Call of Duty after a day of work on a 7.1.

See if you can get a budget and I'll help. If he goes small the first time, he'll want more, which means spending more again. Twist his arm, play up to his old instincts. If anything build the fronts a little more robust. I have grandkids also, so some slim towers keep the speakers high enough that little fingers can't reach.

I also find that for music, I like the surrounds to go as low as possible, so I shoot for a roll off around 50. I think it just sounds more realistic and pleasing.

Take him to Zaphaudio for a look around and get his appetite going.


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## miniSQ (Aug 4, 2009)

Back in the 70's we did not have mini monitors and 8" subs....we had real speakers....Hers what i was rocking led zep to in the 70's

JBL 4312 STUDIO MONITOR SPEAKER SPEAKER (NO RESERVE) - eBay (item 320477185369 end time Jan-28-10 18:40:49 PST)

get your dad some real speakers.


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## Dryseals (Sep 7, 2008)

miniSQ said:


> Back in the 70's we did not have mini monitors and 8" subs....we had real speakers....Hers what i was rocking led zep to in the 70's
> 
> JBL 4312 STUDIO MONITOR SPEAKER SPEAKER (NO RESERVE) - eBay (item 320477185369 end time Jan-28-10 18:40:49 PST)
> 
> get your dad some real speakers.


JBL set the sound stage back then, the "west coast" sound. Cerwin Vega had a simular sound, lots of heavy bass kicking. I was an AR fan. You had to have a minimum of a ten for a woofer if you wanted to play Steve Miller's, Keep on Rockin me Baby and disturb the neighbors.

We had an old Chevy II with the rear seat gone and placed some JBL stage monitors in there, 10" with a horn driver and a Rat Shack power amp. Drive down to the beach, toss them on top of the car and rig a parachute for a tent and it was instant party.


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## teldzc1 (Oct 9, 2009)

I think your best bet might be following some of the designs on Zaph's site. He's gone through the measurements and designed the crossovers which is probably the hardest part about home speaker design. Quite a few are inexpensive or have Price / Performance as one of the main building criteria. There are quite a few DIY home speaker sites out there for all price ranges.

Zaph|Audio


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## zoomer (Aug 2, 2009)

Brian10962001 said:


> So my dad finally decided he wants a stereo like he had back in the 70s. Back then he had an Akai 4 channel deck with a reel to reel and all the goodies to go with it. He remembers listening to Santana and being blown away by the 4 channel stereo back then and now has access to a ton of records and wants to re live the glory days.
> QUOTE]
> 
> Your Dad is an old fart like Me.. I still have my spakers (Advent), amp and record player from the 70s. I also have new HT system with 12 inch sub woofer and towers with dual 6 inch woofers.. well...Young Man.. it aint the same thing.
> ...


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## Brian10962001 (Jul 11, 2009)

I am a full supporter of large format stereo sound, I started out with a pair of 15in Kenwood towers that I still own and as I mentioned earlier I have the 12in Mitsubishi towers sitting unused in my living room now. Dad's not an audiophile and this has to fit into his living room and be put up (sub is hiding behind his TV, speakers up high) to keep the cousin's kids away from them. I don't want to go with one of the bose like setups, I've heard them they just don't seem powerful like I'm hoping for. I have a set of Infinity 6 1/2 bookshelves now and would like something similar to them which is why I was planning to build a set of 4. I think this will make him happy. I'm trying to keep this super budget right now because I'm funding it... and I'm WAY broke


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## zoomer (Aug 2, 2009)

dont want to burst your bubble but those kenwoods and mitsubishies would not really qualify as audiophile quality sound. They come from the Big n Cheap is better marketing in the 80s...

Still you can get a lot for the money if you buy used, even smaller bookshelf.. and a lot less trouble!


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## Brian10962001 (Jul 11, 2009)

"dont want to burst your bubble but those kenwoods and mitsubishies would not really qualify as audiophile quality sound"

What bubble would you be bursting? I never claimed them as such, I know what they are .

The only issue I have with buying used is that it's going to be tough finding 4 matched, or similar bookshelves. I will stalk eBay later tonight and see what I can turn up.


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## zoomer (Aug 2, 2009)

Brian10962001 said:


> "dont want to burst your bubble but those kenwoods and mitsubishies would not really qualify as audiophile quality sound"
> 
> What bubble would you be bursting? I never claimed them as such, I know what they are .
> 
> The only issue I have with buying used is that it's going to be tough finding 4 matched, or similar bookshelves. I will stalk eBay later tonight and see what I can turn up.


But you dont need 4 matched speakers. You have a 5.1 receiver, so the best way to go is to get a 5 channel speaker set. fronts, center, rear. All receivers have synthesized 5 channel sound from stereo music that will use the center and rear for a much better sound experience than any 4 speaker system from 30 years ago! And with that you can get a universal cd player that does 5 channel dvd audio and sacd for a truly awesome experience! 

Try something from here for unbeatable value! 

EMP Impression Series Speakers at Audioholics Store


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## Rob K (Apr 28, 2009)

I strongly suggest building a pre-designed set, there are tons of DIY designs around the web. Unless you have measurement and x-over design software.


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## Dryseals (Sep 7, 2008)

Brian10962001 said:


> "dont want to burst your bubble but those kenwoods and mitsubishies would not really qualify as audiophile quality sound"
> 
> What bubble would you be bursting? I never claimed them as such, I know what they are .
> 
> The only issue I have with buying used is that it's going to be tough finding 4 matched, or similar bookshelves. I will stalk eBay later tonight and see what I can turn up.


From the old fart view, zoomer is right. The two most important speakers for what your dad wants is going to be the fronts. For the style of music he listens to, two beast up front will give him the sound he misses. Problem is most companies have moved far away from having large format speakers and I have yet to hear a set of the newer styles that can compete with the sound.

It's not the quality, it's the format. We didn't listen to a surround style setup, so the older music was geared towards two heavy movers. I'm even changing my shop setup to mimick the old sound stage. If I had never heard ZZ Top on to heavy thumpers from one position, I may like the newer style surround. But when I was young, this is what we listened to. Think format and not size, because it's the memories that will make it sound right.

Do some reserch on the "California sound", thats what was popular then, two big speakers with some kick. Add the other speakers in for a little dvd experience and I'll put money on it he'll be as happy as can be.

Just be aware, you'll pull up on a Friday night and wonder what happened to your dad, cause he'll be rocking.


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## cybersailor420 (Mar 9, 2009)

I agree, when it comes to pure music listening, I can't stand all this new surround sound crap. Just give me 2/4 beast speakers all pumpin out th same thing.

I came into this thread cause I'm on the same mission. Starting to work on this late Christmas present for my dad since his new house is almost done.

He wants 2 speakers for the living, and 2 for outdoors. I'm thinking 2-ways with 8" drivers (he loves his bass). We are going to be adding a sub as well, probably 12". Can't decided on sealed or ported. The whole has is always open, as it's warm year-round.

Not necessarily trying to thread-jack here, but if the OP is on the same path, I'm hoping to use the input you get here.

Oh, and I also would like plans for building the enclosures, as my dad is a carpenter and would like to make something to match the house.


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## ihartred (Jun 1, 2009)

it was asked once already but what is your budget?


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## cybersailor420 (Mar 9, 2009)

ihartred said:


> it was asked once already but what is your budget?


me, or the OP?


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## ihartred (Jun 1, 2009)

actually, either one. I would definitely recommend going with a proven design... setting a budget would help narrow that down tremendously (depending on the budget)


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## cybersailor420 (Mar 9, 2009)

ihartred said:


> actually, either one. I would definitely recommend going with a proven design... setting a budget would help narrow that down tremendously (depending on the budget)


yea. I would say somethin in the $300ish range for the speaker equipment for 4 cabinets. The two that will be outdoors can be more robust (power-wise) than the inside ones.


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## tyort1 (Jun 2, 2010)

Get a tube amp, it'll replicate the sound he was used to back then.


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