# Looking to do a clean and somewhat modest bedroom setup



## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

I've decided I want to do a somewhat mild but clean sounding setup in a bedroom. Most of it will be for TV watching but also as a reference listening station. I know some of you will say for me to have a reference type of listening area that I need to prep the room for it but shockingly enough in the house I'm not as picky as I am in the truck:surprised:It will be what it is and hope I get lucky and sound pretty good too.

Here are the speakers I'm thinking about building with the available flat packs. Reason for me getting the flat packs is I hear they're really nice and worth the money. My time is worth SOMETHING and I trust a CNC way more than I trust myself with a crude rip fence and circular saw. Still up in the air on how I want to finish them. 
https://www.diysoundgroup.com/home-...ome-theater-series/home-theater/ht-8-kit.html
Now, right now I have an entry level Onkyo 5.1 receiver I bought about 10 years ago that can be used. As money allows I'd like to switch over to a home system built a lot like we do our car systems with a way to connect my sources for easy switching to a processor and then to a couple amps. Again this will be on a budget. I want good bang for the buck here. Budget is a relative term because if I feel something is worth the cost of investment I'll buy it. It MUST be of good value and reliability for me to pay up though. 

To recap, I just need something to hook the tv up to and a music source unit. I'd be happy with just sticking a flash drive in like I do my headunit in the truck, but considering one of the smaller Fiio units to use at work but also use with this small setup. Also a processor. A minidsp 2x4 with 2.1 plug-in would be perfect for this project I think. And then there's a couple amp...2ch and a mono for an 8" or 10" ported subwoofer. Again, I don't want to spend more than I have to for decent quality and would prefer to buy new.

OR, should I just get my Cerwin Vega LS-12's from my dad that I bought in 01 with my first good income tax refund and freshen up the caps in the crossovers? No clue what kind of shape the surrounds on the woofers are in. They are known to dry rot. Bet they haven't been powered in over 12 years because while he likes good sound he doesn't like taking that extra step to turn on the receiverHe told me yesterday they were still sitting there and to come get them. Man I got multiple threats of bodily harm from the neighbors with those things back when I was just a punk teenager/early 20's kind of guy:laugh:Calmed down a lot over the past 15 years.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Got the old Vega LS12's in here. Thought one of them was boned but turns out the connections for the fuse the LS12 and LS15 used at the time just had some corrosion on it. They don't sound bad at all on this Onkyo receiver but I would like to get a real processor on them. I honestly think they have some potential if I can actually tune them. I know I won't be happy with anything I put in here unless I can have more than just bass and treble control on them. Typical Cerwin Vega sound signature that's ingrained in my memory. 

I'm reaching out to anyone that can help me get set up like I need to be. Let's just set the budget at $600 for a 2ch amp and processor. I would like to have ample l/r eq in the processor as well. All I need to hook into it is tv, cd player, and have a place to hook up an aux source like a Fiio. Guessing I don't need a preamp? Seriously, I'm totally lost in the home audio field.


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

Behringer iNuke w/ DSP is very popular on AVS with the DIY crowd. They are more pro audio oriented but they are good, clean amps and pretty inexpensive. The DSP is also pretty good though I haven’t used it in a while and don’t remember the interface. I have one myself that I use for testing sometimes.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

This one looks perfect for my needs. 160rms x2 at 8 ohms. 
https://www.parts-express.com/behri...ss-d-1000w-power-amplifier-with-dsp--248-7011
Now, what would be a good preamp to connect at least 3 sources to for easy switching?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

This preamp was suggested to me by ChrisB as a good budget option.
https://www.amazon.com/OSD-Audio-Pr...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=G8GKTFAZYV5WZ3Z3SQJK


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Just got to thinking, I'd only be using one source at a time so could I just have a dongle to connect each source to and go that route? Or is a preamp needed regardless?


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> This one looks perfect for my needs. 160rms x2 at 8 ohms.
> https://www.parts-express.com/behri...ss-d-1000w-power-amplifier-with-dsp--248-7011
> Now, what would be a good preamp to connect at least 3 sources to for easy switching?


I just read a review that mentioned fan noise so that is something to consider and I almost forgot about that tidbit. Many have also modded the fans by replacing them with Noctua fans. Let me see if I can come up with other options but there aren’t many at that price point with built-in DSP. 

Crown XLS-1002 is another popular amp but you’d need to pair it with a MiniDSP 2x4 HD.


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## dgage (Oct 1, 2013)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Just got to thinking, I'd only be using one source at a time so could I just have a dongle to connect each source to and go that route? Or is a preamp needed regardless?


No preamp necessary. I have driven the amps from my phone using an adapter, which brings up another point, pro audio sometimes uses different connectors (TLS/XLR for input/output) and Speakon for speaker connections. So plan ahead with the adapters.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Ooh not a fan of loud fans that's for sure. That Crown looks like a much better option. Minidsp with 2.1 plug-in would be great for when I add a sub amp.


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## 04quadcab (Dec 31, 2017)

Dayton Audio has a cool 2.1 Bluetooth amp. I bought a pair for my kids. I built some very simple bookshelf speakers.

https://youtu.be/jnvOMwUySCM



Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

I do like those DIY theater speakers but have you considered simplifying in an all in one like the JBL 308?


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## 04quadcab (Dec 31, 2017)

dcfis said:


> I do like those DIY theater speakers but have you considered simplifying in an all in one like the JBL 308?


I like building speakers, so I will probably get around to that at some point. 

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## dcfis (Sep 9, 2016)

You could do your own m2s with about 1200 in parts a mini dsp and a couple amps.


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## PorkCereal (Nov 24, 2009)

Consider the philharmonic aam series. He takes the Dayton kits and puts them together with upgraded parts for about the same price as parts express sells the kits for. Very nice warm sound with decent bass output for the money.


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