Very clean, uncolored sound. Great immaging and soundstage, great bass!

like none.

These are by far the best bookshelf sized speakers i have ever heard. Their bass is amazing for a speaker of their size. They excell at acoustic, live, orchestral, and highly vocal music, but do not dissapoint on any track i have yet played on them. I said bookshelf sized because these produce sound like a full tower speaker, which to me signals that they are perfect to act as a 'mini-monitor' for home theater, and indeed they passed my 'Gladiator DTS' test.
To compare these to other speakers i travelled to all the hifi stores around the area and could not find an equal speaker when auditioning.
As a kit they are very easy to assemble and even the enclosures can be purchased fully built.
My only regret is i now have $800 speaker stands(my towers ;)
Go build these and enjoy!

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, B&W, NHT

Musical, tight bass, full bodied, punchy, nice vocals, WIDE soundstage, big sound, dynamic, sound absolutely great with budget gear

slightly boxy, image focus, inner detail MIA

I plugged these into my reference system that normally runs a pair of Vandersteen 3A's. The strengths and weaknesses listed are from that comparison. Given the price difference - nearly 10x - that's one heck of a short weakness list. I also went and auditioned the B&W 302. These DIY speakers literally stomp the original. After auditioning the DIY speakers at home on three different systems at three different price points, it became clear that they are at their best on the reasonably priced systems. They give their all from the get-go and there is no need to throw high priced electronics at them to get great sound. And they do sound great. They have a full body without booming and a punchy quickness that drives the beat. Higher frequencies stay in their place without jumping out at you and low frequencies are tight, deep and impressively authoritive. Vocals are clear and full, not overblown or hooty. And the DIY's look nice too.

Similar Products Used:

none at this price point

Excellent soundstage, tonal balance, and price!

None

First, I must thank all of the previous reviewers here that convinced me to try these sans audition. I purchased 2 initially, listened for a while, and bought 3 more to round out the HT setup.

I have listened to these speakers for about a month now, and must say that for the price they kick tookas! The more power you feed them the better they sound. I auditioned Klipsh, Boston, Infinity, Polk, and B&W prior to purchasing these. It was tough finding a speaker I could live with. I liked the Klipsh soundstage and the B&W tonal balance, and when I purchased these for +/- $300 a pair my expectations were fairly low. Talk about being surprised...they sounded as good as the Nautilus 604's, and the soundstage was comparable to the Klipsh. Even the WAF was high, and she was the one that suggested purchasing the additional 3 for HT. Who was I to argue?

Construction - I purchased the Xovers and drivers from Madisound, and the enclosures from Speaker City. No problems with shipping or ordering, but it did take about a week for all of the pieces to arrive. I won't list too many construction details, as I benefited from others experiences prior to building. I will note a couple of gotchas I ran into though:

1. The amount of fiberfill to add - if you haven't read the DIY column about this issue please do. I added too much initially, and the bass response suffered. I popped off a quick email to Ed Frias, and he steered me in the right direction. I ended up using about a Nerf football sized hunk of fill (compressed), spread it around the cabinet (don't block the port), and the bass response is now what it should be.
2. I used a single hole on the bottom of the enclosure to mount the xover. I also used the standoffs that came with the woofers (one on each corner of the xover board), and a single screw in middle. It seemed to work well and provides a little shock mounting too.

Music - unbelievable. I have a rather esoteric taste in music, and the first week these were in the house, I spent most of my free time with the volume up and my eyes closed. As has been stated previously, THE SOUNDSTAGE IS INCREDIBLE!
I just had to listen to my entire CD collection again, as now I'm hearing things I never did before. The addition of a sub really rounds things out nicely.

HT - since the wife made the suggestion, I just had to build 3 more (sigh). I have the fronts and surrounds mounted on 29" Lovan Affinity stands, and the center sits appriox. 6" above the TV jacked up in rear about 2". I haven't had to pull out the old degaussing coil yet; so video shielding is not an issue for me. Again the sound is incredible

I would like to thank Ed Frias for sharing this design with all of us, and for his assistance in answering my silly questions. In closing all I can say is - BUY THESE SPEAKERS. You won't be disappointed.

Boy, they sound great.

Enclosures don't have much style, and waiting for the parts(Speakercity)

Equipment used: Pioneer NS5 18wpc mini-receiver/cdp $70 ...maybe I'll hook them up to my HK one of these days.
I bought some 12 gauge wire, but it wouldn't fit very well into the minisystem, so I cut about half of the wire strands, and soldered them together to feed into the Pioneer's clip connects.

Music auditioned: Steve Earle: The Mountain, Coldplay, Travis, Dido, Eon: Void Dweller, Willie Nelson, Smashing Pumpkins:Machina, AIR, The Gourds and several others + many others off DSS music channels(jazz, bluegrass, dance, classical, jazz etc).

Getting the parts:
I ordered the enclosures, crossover parts, stuffing and cups from Speakercity. I got the drivers from Madisound. The black screws, which are difficult to find localy, were purchased through MCM. Various other parts aquired from Radioshack and Electronic Parts Outlet. The xover parts from Speakercity were the wrong values on three components. One of the enclosures had a crushed corner. I sent them back so that they could sent replacements which added another two weeks to the wait time. The enclosure they sent had the port tube bent down from the back. Fortunately, I was able to fix this myself with some wood glue.


Construction:
It took me a couple of days to complete construction. The hardest part was aligning the drivers to screw them in. The woofer and tweeter spacing was still off, even though I measured and tried to make them identical. If I had to do it again, I would put both drivers in at the same time to arrange them.

I used a 4x6 PCBoard from RadioShack for the crossover. It was easier to acquire than the MDF specified, and it has a grid of holes on it that make soldering easier. I used rubber grommets and small bolts also from radioshack to secure the some of the parts. I screwed it into the back of the enclosure instead of the bottom because I couldn't get a drill inside for the pilot hole. If you do this, you will have to lengthen the woofer wire. Make sure you use a 30W+ soldering iron because the 15W would not work for the 14 gauge wire.

Sound:
Initially, I listened it the garage after I built them, but it was too echoey to really listen. Next, I tried them at work on my desk, but it was fatiguing for me to have them that close and on all day, so I took them home. I now have them on a dresser about 6' apart in my bedroom hooked up to a secondary DSS receiver and the pioneer. They work great as sound for the TV. My wife, who is hearing impaired, commented on how good they sounded. I interpret this as being able to clearly hear voices on the TV. The room is carpeted and not too big.
The highs:
At first, difficult to get used to because they are so natural. They are transparent, and not the hissing that many tweeters approximate the HF with.

The lows:
Good, for this size speaker. You can at least hear the low notes, so that you don't yearn for a sub. With some small speakers, you know there is supposed to be a low note in certain places, but it is MIA. Not the ARs. I do think they could benefit from a larger enclosure, though.

The mid bass is excellent and not boomy.

The mids:
Anyone can build a speaker with high highs and low lows, but it takes a builder with real skill to make the the middle come together gracefully. The AR's were created by such a designer.

Overall:
When I listen to these speakers, they are not there. I only hear the musical instruments in the material. Part of this can be attributed to the quality drivers selected by Mr. Frias, and the rest is the great crossover design work. The musical instruments and vocals sound as they should, and you never get the impression that you a listening to a speaker struggling to reproduce these sources. Accurate and effortless is the best way for me to describe the sound.

All I can say is that I am extremely happy with mine, and you should definitely build them. They don't need high powered equipment to sound good, and are fun to build.

Thanks to Ed Frias for designing these gems and putting up with my attempts to get information about how these babies work. :-)

Similar Products Used:

DCM TF600, Boston Acoustics Microsystem 9000

See my previous review.

See my previous review.

Igor (another AR participant) and I have gotten together twice to do brief comparisons between two well-known, good quality speakers and the AudioReview.com DIY Speakers. I've posted my comments in the forums, but wanted to preserve them here for other potential builders to see. I've copied the initial comments almost verbatim, with minor editing for clarity.

Comparison to the KEF Coda 7:

The KEFs are an very good, inexpensive bookshelf speaker that were selected as the Best Buy Loudspeaker of the Year by What Hi Fi? mag in 1995 and the Best Hi Fi Loudspeakers below 200 Pounds by The British Hi Fi Awards and Hi Fi Choice mag in 1996. The KEFs have a 5.25 inch midwoofer and a 1" soft dome tweeter. I was very happy with the KEFs before I built the AudioReviews.

Here's how we did the comparison. I hooked the ARs to my Cambridge Audio A300 integrated amp. I hooked the KEFs to my Sherwood Newcastle R-525 receiver. My Sherwood Newcastle CD-980 CD player was connected by the fixed output to the Cambridge and the variable output to the Sherwood. I used a Radio Shack SPL meter to equalize the volume for each speaker. I used the speaker on/off button on the Sherwood to mute the KEFs and the tape monitor button on the Cambridge to mute the ARs. This permitted simultaneous switching. The speakers were about 7 feet apart, about 8 to 9 feet in front of us and were a little more than 1 foot from each side wall and about 3 feet out from the front wall. ARs were on 30" stands and the KEFs were placed directly on top of the ARs. For those not familiar with the KEFs, they have the tweeters beneath the midwoofer, so the tweeters were in close proximity to the ARs' tweeters and both were close to ear level.

We only listened for about an hour with several CDs, ranging from acoustic guitar, female vocals, harder edged rock and a little jazz. This is the first time that I moved the speakers to a larger room and also the first time I really turned up the volume.

My impression was that the ARs are a much better sounding speaker, in every respect. The KEFs sounded muffled, almost as if something was blocking the speakers compared to the AR's open, airy sound. The highs on the KEFs, which had never seemed bright to me before, sounded almost tinny by comparison. The highs on the ARs seemed more subdued, but much more realistic. No brightness, but good detail. The bass seemed flat on the KEFs but was full-bodied, taut and much more pronounced on the ARs. The most impressive difference was the much wider soudstage from the ARs. They did not sound like the sound was emanating from two fixed points, but rather spread the sound across the stage. Imaging was also much better with the ARs. It was easier to place musicians right/left or front/back with the ARs. When the switch was made between the speakers, the ARs stood out as a much better speaker. I was happy before, but I've even more pleased with the decision to build the ARs. The funny thing is, without a direct comparison, the KEFs sound very good to me. With the direct comparison, there is no competition. The ARs rule. We did note that at higher volumes the KEFs actually improved and were a closer challenge for the ARs. Still, I will be selling the KEFs and keeping the ARs.

Comparison to the Energy Connoisseur C-2:

And the winner is? Nah, I'm gonna make you wait. Igor came over again as promised. We listened for about an hour to a variety of music. Here were the "imperfect" test conditions. As with the KEF Coda 7 test, I had the AR.com speakers (AR) connected to my Cambridge Audio A300 integrated amp with Beldin 12 gauge cables. The Energy C-2s were connected to my Sherwood Newcastle R-525 with biwired Audioquest Type 4+ cables. The speakers were volume matched with a Radio Shack SPL meter. Using two amps permitted simultaneous switching. The AR speakers were on 30" stands and the C-2s were on 18" stands (sorry, that's the best I could do). The C-2s are several inches taller than the ARs so the tweeters were only about 6" lower on the C-2s. For those not familiar with the C-2s, they are a 2-way bookshelf speaker with a 6.5 inch midwoofer and a 1 inch aluminum dome tweeter.

Initial impressions: The ARs were slightly (but noticeably) airier, with a broader soundstage and presence. The upper midrange and high end were more pronounced. They seemed more open and less like the sound was actually coming from the speaker. The C-2s have noticeably deeper bass, a fuller lower midrange and bass presence and seemed a little better balanced overall. I listen to music on the C-2s without a subwoofer at home most of the time and compared to the ARs, the C-2s don't need a subwoofer. I have been perfectly content with the ARs at the office at lower volumes without a sub. When playing louder music or rock music, I feel the ARs could benefit by having a sub. They are perfectly fine without it, but in a direct comparison, there was more than a subtle difference. Keep in mind the C-2s have a much larger enclosure (about 30% larger) and are front ported. The speakers were well away from all walls, but the front port might add to the bass presence of the C-2s. Interestingly, the C-2s seemed laid back compared to the ARs. A lot of people call the Enegys "bright" because of the aluminum dome tweeter. Compared with the ARs, the C-2s were not bright at all. The ARs are not bright either, but with the more pronounced upper mids and highs the ARs seemed "brighter" than the C-2s.

We then switched the ARs to the R-525 (both speakers on same amp) to see if the amps made a difference. When on the same amp, the speakers sounded more alike. Still more presence with the ARs and more bass with the C-2s, but closer in sound. Amazingly, they were exactly the same loudness on the SPL, meaning that they are the same efficiency, I guess. Then we swapped the speaker stands to lower the ARs and raise the C-2s. The C-2s' tweeters were now right at ear level. WOW! The C-2s opened up, with the ARs mellowing a little bit. The C-2s were much more sensitive to placement. And we both preferred the ARs with the Cambridge amp.

Final analysis: In a nutshell, there is not a dramatic difference in tonal qualities. Aimee Mann's voice sounded almost the same on both speakers, but perhaps slightly deeper and throatier with the C-2s. Sax sounded the same, acoustic guitar sounded the same. The C-2s are slightly more balanced, but for everyday listening, I'd be perfectly happy with either one. Keep in mind that the C-2s are $600 a pair (twice the AR's price) and were until recently Stereophile Class C (LF Restricted) components. And don't forget that I had $120 of speaker cable running to the C-2s and Beldin 12 gauge ($.30/foot) to the ARs. I call it a dead heat, with the upper mids and highs going to the ARs, the lower mids and bass going to the C-2s. That's high praise for the ARs. It's a great speaker and a definite keeper. Thanks again Ed!

Postscript posted the next day:

Upon further reflection, I found the Energys to be more laid back than the ARs. Stereo Review tested the C-2s in the mid-90s and found them to have the flattest frequency response that they had ever tested. I suspect that the ARs have a slight (and I mean slight, as in subtle) rise in the upper mid to high end, which is perceived as more forwardness. Frankly, with most music, I prefer the ARs' forwardness. It comes across as a broader soundstage and enhanced presence. We didn't get time to test imaging with specific recordings that make placing instruments and singers easier, but my impression was that both speakers imaged quite well. Igor believed the C-2s seemed much more sensitive to placement. He also noted that the short stands really hurt the ARs, much more so than the Energys. This is most likely related to the tweeter height. As noted below, the C-2s are almost 5 inches taller than the ARs, raising the tweeter about that amount.

Another afterthought is that I'm glad I used the 5 ohm resistor. If the highs of the ARs were enhanced because of the higher efficiency of the 4 ohm resistor, I suspect that I might find the ARs a little too forward for my taste. On the other hand, Ed Frias described the effect of the 4/5 ohm mod to be akin to removing the grills, which implies a very subtle difference.

We realized that the test was imperfect. It's almost impossible to do a true a/b test. We had the speakers flanking each other with the ARs on the left and the Energys on the right (to keep the distance between the pairs the same). This is almost impossible in most in-store comparisons. Except for the height, we could not have improved the physical layout for the test.

The AR speaker can hold its own against great competition. A virtual dead heat with the C-2s is high praise, IMO. Jim Rouse found that the ARs could compete with much more expensive NHTs (I look forward to his next test). The fact that you can build a speaker of this caliber and that it costs so little compared to the comparable competition is astounding. I won't be letting mine go anywhere.

Similar Products Used:

See my previous review.

Bass is fantastic! Cosmetics! Equal to speakers costing four times as much!

None

I,m using an intergrated KT-88 tube amplifier with the AR.com speakers. Soundstage is three dimensional. Instruments are true to life! Overall sound is very neutral and non fatiguing. Bass is tight and deep. No trouble running these speakers with my 25wpc amp and have plenty of power left if need be. Always been a tube person and have had trouble running other speakers, but not these! Very happy and highly recommended!

Equipment used:

Antique Sound Lab KT-88 Integrated amp
Musiclink Interconnects 1 meter
12 Gage OFC speaker wire
Harmon Kardon CD recorder

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Dunlavy, Totem, Boston Acoustic Linnfields, Vandersteen

Great highs, lows and mids. Detail and soundstaging are amazing. Unbelieveable price!

None noted

For the record: I am not related to Ed, I do not owe him money, he does not pay me for reviews! In fact I look foreward to the day that I can write an unfavorable review on one of his products.
I auditioned these speakers after listening to Ed's giant T60's. It didn't take much time for me to adjust, I was totally blown away at sound that these guys put out, big sound from a small speaker! I was really impressed with the bass, you will find yourself looking for a hidden subwoofer. Dynamic.....oh yeah! I could listen to these babys for hours, no fatigue.
Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

T60's , T36's, Def. Techs., Infinities, Legacys.

Great Price, Great Quality, Fun to Build, Nice Looks, Small Size - but BIG Sound!!

Lack of Bass - Hard to find some parts (Certain size black screws)

First, all I can say is that these speakers are FANTASTIC!! I wasn't sure what to expect, but all these great reviews fueled my interest.

The cabinets are built solidly and look nice (black oak finish). They were a little smaller than I anticipated from looking at them in the picture, but that's ok because they take up less space yet still sound wonderful.

The midrange is superb and the highs are spine-tingling. The sounds are incredibly detailed but not too bright. I am hearing instruments and sounds that I never noticed before in almost every CD I listen to. I did a little research on the drivers selected for this kit and found that Peerless is well known for its excellent woofers. However, they never show up on the top of lists for their tweeters. I wouldn't have guessed that from listening to these speakers!

One thing I would like to point out is the speakers do not have great bass. Some of the reviewers here commented on the deep bass coming from these speakers, but I just don't hear it. Its ok for me, since I'm going to get a decent subwoofer, but if your expecting good bass from these speakers, you may be disappointed.

As far as building these speakers, I purchased the cabinet and terminals from Speakercity, the crossover from Madisound, and other misc. parts from Menards and Home Depot. Prices have increased a little from those given in the instructions. I was going to build the crossover myself, but MCM Electronics was out of some of the parts for the kit. This turned out to my advantage, since I quickly found out that my soldering skills have deteriorated. Also, the prebuilt xover from Madisound was less expensive and used better parts (their claim) than the unassembled kit from MCM. I did not find out if Madisound used the same design or what Ohm resistor they used. (I will find this out if I ever build a 3rd one for the center). To connect the xover to the drivers, I used gold plated audio quick disconnects (approx $3 for 6-8)and a quality 12 guage speaker wire. I soldered the wires to the xover, but I'm not sure if this is necessary - I probably should have used quick disconnects on both sides. If you purchase the prebuilt xover - add a couple inches to the wires connecting to the cabinet terminals. As far as sanding the inside of the grill to fit around the woofer, a Dremel rotary tool works great!

I give great thanks and congratulations to Ed Frias for designing this high quality speaker with such a low price. Speaking of Ed, He is a great guy! I e-mailed him the other day to ask his opinion on a center channel and subwoofer. He responded almost immediately. He recommended using the same speaker for the center if I could find a way to suspend it at least 6" above my tv. (Its not shielded and I found it messes up my tv when it is any closer than 6" away.) Otherwise, for a low price he recommended the BIC DV-62clr for a center. (He sells for $170) Even though this speaker is getting great reviews, I'm a little hesitant. I want an awesome system! I'll probably find a way to make the DIY's work. For a subwoofer, he recommended the JBL PB-12, which he said was great for the price (He sells for $350). I'm considering this, or going with the NHT 1259 "kit" from Speakercity. (total price approx $565). Decisions, Decisions. If any of you have a suggestion please e-mail me. Anyways, sorry to go off on a tangent.

Thanks Ed, and thanks to all of you reviewers who helped me make a decision on buying this kit without even hearing them beforehand.

Similar Products Used:

Altec Lansing

Exceptional detail, enormous sound form a small box, first quality components. supurbay desingen crossover

This space will always be blank

There comes a time in your life when you just want the best. At fifty, I reached that milestone in my hifi gear. The nice thing about speakers is that if you treat them with respect, they will last a long time. This takes the sting out of the initial investment. Speakers are an area where you can not compromise as they are the final and most importat link in the sound you hear. As such, I have listened to everyitng in every showroom in San Diego at every price level. Then, by chance, I auditioned the DIY kit designed by Ed Frias. What a shock. The sound from a 9" x 10" x 13" box was amazing. The detail, smoothness, and power handling capacity was tremendous. However, what most impressed me was my total lack of fatigue after listening for an extended period of time. I found myself turning up the volume time after time as I stepped into the music. You really felt like you were in the same room as the performer.
What I kept asking myself is how a small independent designer can create such a first quality system when the "big boys" keep coming up with gimmicks that don't improve the sound. I had a million questions for Mr. Frias. What the secret got down to was three things....first quality woofers and tweeters, first quality cabinets, and a no compromise crossover specifically designed for the speaker components. The crossover is a work of art and truly controls the sound.
Needless to say, I bought the kit and I am now enjoying the best sound of my life. Big statement I know but true. I can flatly say there is not a better bookshelf on the market and the price makes it a steal.
For reference, I am playing these speakers with a Hafler preamp and a Citation 7.1 power amp.
If you tired of all the overpriced hype from large manufacturers and want a very pleasant listening experience, audition these speakers.

Quality Sound

n/a

Please cross reference to EFE manufacturer
under model T-36 for my comments.
I auditioned them and just received the kit.
I will post another review after they are built.

Similar Products Used:

Bic DV62si, Boston Acoustic CR-7,Allison Five...