I want to DIY

[TehDeskDude]

Hi,
I want to do it yourself. This is my first time doing it. I just want to make a good speaker system not a set. I was wondering what would be a good combo.
I can get the logitech z680's 2 satellite speakers and the center speaker for 35$. Now i need the sub woofer and what else. Sorry for my noobness, i dont know much about speakers.
Thanks
P.S. Can a pro help me make a good speaker system for under 85$? Thanks again, and tell me if i should get the logitech z680 satellites and center speaker

[Ryan T]

Well if your budget is set at $85 it is going to be a bit hard to get some speakers in that price range. What will you be using to power the speakers? I'm assuming a home theater receiver right? You can get a nice starter set of speakers for around $80 shipped on Ebay. Something like the Harman Kardon HKB6's. I wouldnt suggest getting the Z680 sattilite speakers. In my opinion you should either get home theater/home audio gear or a computer sound system. The sound quality of the 680's will be similar to any other Logitech computer system. While the true home theater/audio gear will be quite a bit better in terms of sound quality.

When you say you want to DIY I'm not sure i get what you mean. It sounds like you want to piece together a audio system. DIY would be designing and building the speakers. DIY will run you quite a bit more but the returns are heads and tails above retail. If you could post a little more about what your looking for and what stuff you have now that would be great.



Ryan

[TehDeskDude]

Well,
Im using a 2.1 altecs right now and there okay. I just want the best possible sound for under 75$ and im getting an audigy 2 or audigy 2 zs dont know yet. I dont think im that good to DIM. I m just going to piece togher an audio system for my computer. Or I can spend up to 200$ and make it my audio system too. I think ill do that. Also should i get a receiver? What receiver would you recommand. Oh ya my max is 200 up to 250$ max. so ya, i just need your help on what parts to buy or would you mostly recommanding DIY?
Thanks for all your help.

[Ryan T]

Well I dont always recommend DIY. There are positives and negatives for DIY. First if you have the knowledge of what parts to buy and how to design a proper enclosure/crossover network etc then you can spend fairly little and get a VERY nice speaker. But It usually isnt a good idea to do DIY anything just cause its cheaper. It takes a lot of design and construction work to build a pair of speakers. So if you enjoy working with your hands and are willing to put a LOT of hours into research then DIY is great. On the other hand you can buy kits for relativly cheap that have all the design work already done and you just assemble the parts.

Now onto your situation. I would seriously think about combining the two systems. That way you can maximize your budget and it isnt hard to get your main sound system to hook up to a computer and get good results. For $250 you may be able to piece together a solid 2 channel setup. You will need a receiver because that is what privedes the power to home theater and home audio speakers (unless they are self powered which is uncommon). Now the receiver will likely take up the bulk of your budget. You have to decide if you want to get a home theater receiver or a stereo receiver. The difference is that the HT receiver will have 5 amps (or more) built in and usually has decoders built in for dolby digital and DTS etc. The stereo receiver will only have two amps onbaord and will only work for stereo music, games, movies etc.

If you ever plan to build a multichannel sound setup I would recommend getting the HT receiver. You can get pretty cheap ones nowadays. They wont be the greatest qulity in the $100 range but I think they will suit your needs. You could wait around and see if anyone is gonna sell a pair of HKB6's on ebay for your main speakers. They were around $70 shipped but the company that was selling them is out of stock I guess. In terms of DIY probably the cheapest and easiest kit is these.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-640
It includes everything you need. pre finished enclosures, crossover parts, drivers, etc. So all you do is solder the crossovers and screw in the drivers.

In the long run peice together an audio system is almost always more expensive than the computer sound systems but the end results are much higher quality sound and upgradablility. So you have to decide how important the sound quality is vs the ease of use that the computer speaker systems have.



Ryan

[TehDeskDude]

Thanks for all that, but i think ill just get the logitech x-530 $54 and use these for now until summer. When summer comes ill put 450$ into the sound system and research and have more time to do it. Or should i buy that kit, use my brothers JVC Stereo receiver and build an amp or buy one?
Oopz I mean build a subwoofer or buy one? Also do you need an amp? What do they do. Sorry for all my noobness. Oh ya, i also have a set of some bose freestyle speakers (2).

[Ryan T]

Well heres what I would do. Go down to your local best buy or CC and see if they have any X-530's to test. Listen to them and get a feel for how they sound. Now most the time they are setup VERY poorly at those stores and the speakers will sound different in your room but it will give you an idea how they sound.

I would propably wait on a home theater system untill you can get a HT receiver. It would probably be smart to start doing some research and when you have more money this summer put together a system.


Ryan

[TehDeskDude]

k Well thanks, I think im going to buy the x-530 for right now until the summer when im out of school and do some research and put together a beast.
Again thanks for all your help