# Should I buy new or upgrade?



## Grannys65 (Mar 17, 2011)

Iv had this home setup for years now, for sure im going to need a better sub, i have an 8 in that barely does anything I mean my farts produce more bass than that sub itself!!

















My reciever is a Technics SA-DX940









Speakers


















I run my ps3 through the optical connection. Im thinking about maybe upgrading all the speakers and getting a bigger sub, suggestions ill be taking at the moment


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## Viggen (May 2, 2011)

What's your budget...... is used stuff OK?

Depending on budget & all that stuff..... behringer EP2500 or EP4000 amp ($300-400 new) is a great DIY sub amp. Lots of power..... only negative is noisy cooling fan which can be easily changed.

Sub wise & if you are a DIY'rrrrrr from what I have read DIYcable.com has some of the best sub's available for HT use. I plan on using a pair of their 18's with PR's on my system.... wife's 2 mirage 8in subs do not move enough air. Depending on the size box that you can use will determine which sub to go with. They list suggested size boxes which each sub on their site...... 

There are lots of great speakers that can be purchased used...... I prefer this to the DIY route but with the right stuff a DIY speaker can perform really well.


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## Grannys65 (Mar 17, 2011)

What if I upgraded the speakers that are my shelf box and got a bigger sub? I read on the other thread u could even build your own crossovers. There's some subs online I found really cheap like 100 bones and the inclosure along with the amp come together just plug in and play. It would take a lot of hours to make a new box out from scratch what if I just incorporate those new speakers into what I already have?


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## emrliquidlife (Jan 19, 2008)

XtremeRevolution said:


> A DIY speaker off of a proven design can perform better than 90% of new speakers and even better than most used speakers.


True that. It is likely that the cabinets that house your current tower speakers are not worth upgrading. Adding a mishmash of drivers would be hit or miss at best. 

I would start with the sub. Get a plate amp that has an independent level control and enjoy.


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## Grannys65 (Mar 17, 2011)

Iv been looking at this sub, Polk Audio PSW Series PSW505 12" Powered Subwoofer they are only $229 and it's got great reviews.


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## emrliquidlife (Jan 19, 2008)

Where ever possible, I prefer to buy seperate components. So a sub and amp in one package is quite limiting. Whereas, you buy a plate amp,and you can have your pick of sub options. 

Here is a company with some plate amp options:

MnK Amp
Love the above, this amp has options so that you can install it if you don't have a sub out from your home receiver. The phase option can really open up the options for precise tuning. Best of all, at $139, it won't break the bank.

Poke around the site, he has other options, some chepaer. 

That polk will certainly make noise. For the $, you have better options available.


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

how is your center channel? Do you like it? Given my understanding that is one of the most important speakers in a ht?


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## Brian_smith06 (Jan 31, 2008)

Fair enough. I was going to build my towers out of id speakers but since Eric is no longer there I'm waiting for his new line of stuff to do anything new. I'll look into just running towers once I have a good set to scrutinize


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## Grannys65 (Mar 17, 2011)

Ok so this is what my current set up looks like. What i want to do is build custom cabinets above where the tv would sit and a custom stand, i could incorporate custom build speaker boxes that would go into the tv stand, ill take measurements and do a rough sketch of what im thinking of doing.

I got the idea from DIY's house crashers, check out this episode, this is kind'v what i want to do with the Tv media area. 
http://www.diynetwork.com/videos/media-room-makeover/42197.html


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## XtremeRevolution (Dec 3, 2010)

Brian_smith06 said:


> Fair enough. I was going to build my towers out of id speakers but since Eric is no longer there I'm waiting for his new line of stuff to do anything new. I'll look into just running towers once I have a good set to scrutinize


What's the point? There are so many infinitely superior documented DIY builds out there that would put those to shame. Here's one I'm in the process of building:

Statements_Monitor

Crossovers already documented and designed. Building a cabinet is more than just building a box, cutting a hole, and mounting a speaker. I'm not sure what your knowledge is, but using car audio speakers in home audio usually ends up with mediocre results. 



Grannys65 said:


> Ok so this is what my current set up looks like. What i want to do is build custom cabinets above where the tv would sit and a custom stand, i could incorporate custom build speaker boxes that would go into the tv stand, ill take measurements and do a rough sketch of what im thinking of doing.
> 
> I got the idea from DIY's house crashers, check out this episode, this is kind'v what i want to do with the Tv media area.
> Video: Media Room Makeover


Why place them above the TV? That's a generally bad place to put speakers. The ideal placement is to have the tweeters at ear level due to off-axis variances. 

As for what speakers to build, there are a LOT of excellent DIY designs out there, and all bookshelf designs can be made into floorstanding designs if the internal volume is kept the same, even if a "dummy" chamber is made below. 

Let me know if you want to know more about this. I can make a lot of great recommendations.


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## Grannys65 (Mar 17, 2011)

I want to build cabinets on top and at the bottom of where the TV will sit, i waqs thinking of putting speakers at the bottom not the top. I will be in touch when i decided to get the ball rolling if you havent seen that DIY video i wanna build an entertainment area just like on the video.


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## derekbannatyne (Nov 14, 2007)

If you're going to try and integrate them into the cabinets, you might want to consider bookshelf speakers instead. If you aren't completely against DIY speakers, you can build a park of bookshelf Modula MT (utilizes the Dayton RS180 and RS28a) design (just google it). I built a pair for around $300, and it'll probably be better than anything under $1000 retail.


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## derekbannatyne (Nov 14, 2007)

Here's a link to the speaker design:
HTGuide Forum - RS180 Modula MT - you asked for it, you got it!


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