Hi Ian I envy you !! a woodworking shop!!! can you imagine, we are housed in an apartment one room is confiscated as hobby room - working with a router building speakers, i started with a German full-range speaker the AX-8 https://www.intertechnik.com/shop/loudspeaker-kits/kits-by-driver-brand/loudspeaker-kits-with-gradient-axis/_ax8-hr_1768,en,6822,129264
It was a trial and error project and pretty straight forward, never used a router … I am a software guy … - and surprisingly everything worked smooth and good - the sound was almost perfect to me. (impression, they sounds like the full range Tannoy speakers good detail and soundstage - but lack of a little tsss (high) which is due to the full range system - but the (low) bass is perfect) Than I got in touch with the super tweeters for more (tsss…) and I started with a Fostex FT17 and found out that it was a good match with the full-range the highs are perfect (use an L-pad to adjust the dB’s and immediate ithe impression i had was that the bass (low) was even more defined as before. https://www.hificollective.co.uk/components/fostex-ft17h-horn-super-tweeter.html this was my first project and I really loved it - is it is very contagious building speakers …
I hope you also enjoy DIY speakers. use google translate for this review
btw when you go digital streaming - tri Tidal HiFi and Roon - and for audio networking try the switch NetGear GS108 Plus - and build a linear power supply … cable just CAT6 and speaker cables SUPRA … you will be astounded what quality your 851N / amp and speakers perform by then …
California that is MY state (I frequently visited the states almost all states I have seen) California is my second home I have some close friends living in Los Gatos, Oja, San Diego, and Barstow. I miss sunny CA!
Having completed my first set of DIY speakers I am definitely addicted. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a set of horn speakers but I am intrigued. Below a photo of my first effort. I made several mistakes but learned a lot. Given the price (<$200) I am extre
Real pleased with the sound. Nice tight bass plus clear mids and highs. Sound stage isn’t there yet but I need to experiment with placement, toe in etc. I also need to think about room treatment - the walls are slopped, a book case on one side and open to the stairwell on the other.
Both of my systems (main living room and ‘man cave’ run Tidal / Roon. The living room is via the 851N and the man cave is via a lap top (Roon remote) to a Audioquest DragonFly Black. I live out in the country so my internet is via a microwave receiver to a Logitech WiFi router. The 851N in the living room is ‘hard wired’ to a Logitech WiFi extender. I have another WiFi extender in the man cave which connects wirelessly to the laptop Roon remote. DO you think I would hear a difference if I run cables from the router directly to the 851N rather than going through the WiFi extender? It will be a significant challenge to get the hard wire to the 851N - but I’m willing to try if it’s going to improve sound.
By coincidence I am looking to upgrade my speaker cable and the Supra had already come up on my radar. I can get the Supra Classic for a reasonable price - any thoughts on this cable?
FYI - I am definitely not a software guy; I could not get Google Translate to work!!
Hi Ian awesome looking speaker good Job!!! Even Better when the sound is perfect … I can imagine you get addicted.
I started indeed with wireless etc - but due to a malfunctioning WiFi point turned to UTP and bought me a netgear GS 108 and added a linear power unit to it . From my ISP router I use fiber optics RJ45 to fiber v.v. to the switch where all Audio comes together. In total it costed me about €175 and I have a smile from ear to ear …
The high hats are clear and sound as it should the bass are fast and strong with more detail and you cannot believe what soundstage the N851 has … of course depending on source quality.
Listening to Diana Krall, in DSD64 or 96/24 nothing but the girl in AIFF 44/16 the remastered album of the Beatles and MQA from Tidal all sound SO good!!!
Now back working on my speakers to make it more WAF …
Kudos to you beautiful speakers and what will be you next one?
I finally over the course of about 12hrs over 2 afternoon/evenings completed a waaaaaay long overdue linkwitzlab.com LX521.4 migration. The hairball ASP.4 boards were done years ago it seems (soon as they were available pretty much) and assembled into a chassis etc with 15V SMPS mean well supplies.
All went pretty smoothly removing the passive parts. Drill out the 4way speakon hole to fit an 8way speakon at the baffle rear and move the old 4way down to the bass bin. All the screw holes still lined up so that was great. A new pair of RCA interconnects for the extra channel to connect to the amps (2 Lexicon DD8’s). Recabled the wires in the baffle and sub to the new transposed speakons and built up a new 4 cable to connect to the bass units. Redo the connections for the different setup on the DD8’s and done.
Hi Max - thank you for the kind words. They don’t look so ice close up but, as I said, I am very pleased with them. This is what I am planning next - but it will be a while, my wife is out of work due to the CORVID-19 think.
I just got my latest copy of The Absolute Sound magazine and it has an article praising the benefits of going fiber optical. It sounds like an economic way to increase sound quality; however I’m not too comfortable with routers / wiring etc. Would you be kind enough to explain a little more what I need to do / buy to set up a fiber optic connection?
At the moment my NUC sits next to my 851N connected with a USB cable. My router is the other side of the room (about 10m / 30ft). Do I need an RJ45 to fiber v.v. each end and just connect these to the NUC and router and join with fiber optic cable? My router is a Netgear R6400 AC1750.
Alternatively I can move the NUC away from the 851N next to the router and connect them with a CAT6 patch cable. Then run the fiber optics from the router directly to the 851N.
Which approach do you think would be best and what hardware do I need to get?
Sorry for all the questions, but appreciate your advice.
https://www.hifisound.de/Do-it-yourself-Products/Speaker-Drivers/Fullrange/Gradient-Axis-AX-08-Fullrange.html
