DIY Loudspeaker Gurus - advise needed

[derek murray]

I have a pair of 15 year old Reference 3a speakers (2-way) which I would like to upgrade, if possible, by replacing their components with newer / better stuff. The speakers are now used (thanks to the kids) almost exclusively for home theater. Are there any DYI websites, or manufacturers you guys might suggest that would help me out?

I am assuming that I can significantly improve what I have for a modest amount of money ... please let me know if I am wrong.

[RoninLB]

some mfg's have replacement speakers and plans for building the boxes.

[scottmandue]

Are you talking about building new speakers from scratch or putting new drivers into your old cabinets?

[kang]

I used www.speakerlab.com about a million years ago. They were good back then, but I can't speak to their quality now, though.

[derek murray]

Originally posted by scottmandue
Are you talking about building new speakers from scratch or putting new drivers into your old cabinets?

new drivers in old, yet very nice cabinets.

[imcarthur]

Yes, you can buy any drivers & stick them in but it is an audio crap shoot unless you get specific replacement drivers from the manufacturer. The crossover & cabinet volume are designed for that specific combo - usually right down to a spec # on the driver depending upon who made them.

Sometimes, you can just recone the drivers - new surrounds & cones - but this is a dying art.

Ian

[sand_man]

Reference 3A makes nice stuff!!! I always liked the de Cappo model. Have you tried contacting them to see if they offer an upgrade path? http://www.reference3a.com/

As for some DIY stuff here ya go:
http://www.madisound.com/
http://www.e-speakers.com/
http://www.meniscusaudio.com/
http://www.northcreekmusic.com/
http://www.speakercity.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
http://www.speakerworkshop.com/Links.htm
http://speakerbuilder.net/
http://www.zalytron.com/
http://partsexpress.com/
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Diy_Loudspeaker_Projects.htm
http://home.hetnet.nl/~geenius/index.html

This one is in Canada, it's what Sonic Frontiers used to be...they offer a alot of quality caps and such:
http://www.partsconnexion.com/

[imcarthur]

Originally posted by sand_man
it's what Sonic Frontiers used to be[/url]

It's also what they started as. They used to buy WBT connectors from me in the '80s when they were hand-building funky tube amps on Queen St in Toronto pre-Sonic.

Ian

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by imcarthur
Yes, you can buy any drivers & stick them in but it is an audio crap shoot unless you get specific replacement drivers from the manufacturer. The crossover & cabinet volume are designed for that specific combo - usually right down to a spec # on the driver depending upon who made them.

Sometimes, you can just recone the drivers - new surrounds & cones - but this is a dying art.

Ian

I agree with what Ian said, speakers have to be matched to the cabinets. Speaker of the same size can have very different performance/specifications.

[sand_man]

Originally posted by derek murray

I am assuming that I can significantly improve what I have for a modest amount of money ... please let me know if I am wrong.

I gotta be honest with you, when you really get into it, you quickly realize just how much science is involved to create an audiophile grade speaker...or even an average speaker for that matter. I say this as I'm listening to my Harbeths playing in the background! Just fantastic sound! Never been happier.

Your goals can be realized (modifying your 3As with success), but it does take a great deal of effort...and you could indeed end up with worse sound. Some of it will depend on how good your front end components are...some systems are more forgiving than others.

Like the Porsche DIY bug, DIY audio can be a maddening hobby!

[imcarthur]

Originally posted by sand_man
Harbeths

Which model? The FIRST real speaker I heard was a Harbeth monitor on an Ampzilla pre/power around 1977. HL7's maybe? Dudley Harbeth was the first manufacturer to use polypropelene drive cones. Mission claims the same but he beat them fwiw.

Ian

[sand_man]

Originally posted by imcarthur
Which model? The FIRST real speaker I heard was a Harbeth monitor on an Ampzilla pre/power around 1977. HL7's maybe? Dudley Harbeth was the first manufacturer to use polypropelene drive cones. Mission claims the same but he beat them fwiw.

Ian

I've got the new 7ES2s in the eucalyptus (spelling?) finish. I think a fellow named Allen Shaw now owns Harbeth. They (Harbeth) still manufacture their own drivers (well the woofer). It's made from a material called Radial, which I believe is some sort of poly material. With my tube gear, they really seem to do all things pretty well. They are very accurate and revealing. I'm finally in a happy place.

Jeff