# Vifa Swifty speaker kits



## evan (Dec 2, 2006)

I was browsing Madisound and saw the *Vifa* Swifty speaker kits. Has anyone tried them or found a reason not to? I was thinking those speakers and the recommended crossover would be a great way to try out some speaker building and keeping it really simple at the same time.















http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1731
http://www.madisound.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1732


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

*Re: Seas Swifty speaker kits*

Don't you mean Vifa?


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## evan (Dec 2, 2006)

*Re: Seas Swifty speaker kits*



sephiroth619 said:


> Don't you mean Vifa?


:blush: Oops. Yeah... I'll edit.


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## s10scooter (Feb 5, 2007)

I have been seriously considering a kit. I am at the point where I want to assemble and chose, but not at the point where I am ready to solder things up and design my own crossover.


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## rdv (May 14, 2007)

those do seem interesting. it's 54 bucks for the 4 drivers right? cheap enough for an experiment. it's the crossovers that i find expensive.


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

rdv said:


> it's the crossovers that i find expensive.


x2. Funny thing is, with most speaker kits that I've been discovering as of late the crossovers tend to cost more than the drivers themselves. 

Over at av123.com, they have this sweet bookshelf set called the X-ls. If you wanted to upgrade to a nice set of crossovers called the "Ninja" something crossover, the crossovers cost more than the speakers. Kinda ironic.


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## QtrHorse (Oct 17, 2007)

sephiroth619 said:


> x2. Funny thing is, with most speaker kits that I've been discovering as of late the crossovers tend to cost more than the drivers themselves.
> 
> Over at av123.com, they have this sweet bookshelf set called the X-ls. If you wanted to upgrade to a nice set of crossovers called the "Ninja" something crossover, the crossovers cost more than the speakers. Kinda ironic.


Link to the above please, I'm to lazy to Google it myself.


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## azngotskills (Feb 24, 2006)

sephiroth619 said:


> x2. Funny thing is, with most speaker kits that I've been discovering as of late the crossovers tend to cost more than the drivers themselves.


That is the kicker when making quality, optimal passives  You can make a simple xover using a capacitor and inductor, but how do you think it will sound?  I think that is why some turn to an active setup using an external DSP or a computer software but you have to think of the added cost including more power, but flexibility to switch out drivers freely


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## hawkfan (May 1, 2006)

azngotskills said:


> That is the kicker when making quality, optimal passives  You can make a simple xover using a capacitor and inductor, but how do you think it will sound?  I think that is why some turn to an active setup using an external DSP or a computer software but you have to think of the added cost including more power, but flexibility to switch out drivers freely


I considered the Swifty when I was looking to do my first home audio project. In the end, I was convinced to go with the Natalie Portman design found on Htguide.com and I have not regretted that decision. I LOVE these things. The strange thing is how complex and expensive the crossovers are in this project. What's even stranger was that the crossover in this design was actually cheaper and had a lower parts count than the very similar Modula design  . The Dayton RS drivers are good low distortion drivers, but the crossover is truly THE driving force behind the design. It was designed to get rid of the imfamous cone breakup of the Dayton's aluminum cone at higher frequencies, and I have to say that it does a great job of this. I'm now a firm believer in how important a well designed crossover is to the overall performance of the speaker.


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## s10scooter (Feb 5, 2007)

How would you use a computer to go active?


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## BlackLac (Aug 8, 2005)

a soundcard with independent outs for each channel and expensive software?

just a guess...

or just a pro audio preamp. $$$

Not worth it to me. There's enough decent bookshelves in the $150-200 range for me to stay passive.


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## guisar (Nov 20, 2007)

Flipx99 said:


> How would you use a computer to go active?



http://drc-fir.sourceforge.net/ 

Check this wiki. DRC (Digital room correction, works for autos too) and the associated FIR software allows you to product tailored filters which not only accomodate all the usual Passive crossover models but also correct for in-room positioning and allow each changes to speakers and filtering parameters. There is a significant learning curve and it will require multiple amps.


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## rdv (May 14, 2007)

so has anyone bought these yet?


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