[Danny Richie]

Thanks for the reply!

Question about the ports supplied with the kit. Do they need cut down or use as is?

I do as well but cannot tolerate the dust. Usually cut it outside but thats not going to happen for awhile with this weather.

The supplied ports need a 2" through hole cut for them, and they are ready to install.

What? It's suppose to hit 71 today: http://www.newschannel6now.com/link/429710/skywarn-6-seven-day-forecast

[Danny Richie]

Hey vlad335,

Maybe this will help: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=123677.0

[vlad335]

What? It's suppose to hit 71 today: http://www.newschannel6now.com/link/429710/skywarn-6-seven-day-forecast

Man thats just cruel! lol.

Weird. It was in the 30's today and the sun was out. What is sad is it actually felt warm.

[vlad335]

Hey vlad335,

Maybe this will help: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=123677.0

Explored the above option and was going to pull the trigger but thought, "I have a full woodshop in my basement and all the tools. Even have all the MDF needed from scattered pieces."

"Screw it. Stop being a pus!"

Plunged down into the cold and I am now gluing up. Saved $115 and someone else without the wherewithal can get one of the 4 flat packs remaining. ( Itching like hell right now.  )

[vlad335]

Cabs are coming along... Danny, another question.

Plan is to upgrade with Sonicaps down the road. So with soldering the wires to the crossover board, terminal cups and drivers how does one remove the boards to replace the caps later? Put in extra wire and clip them to rejoin together later?

Is there a type of connector that wouldn't degrade the sound horribly that I can solder into the crossover boards to attach the wire?

Having a brain fart. Thanks for any help.

[Danny Richie]

Cabs are coming along... Danny, another question.

Plan is to upgrade with Sonicaps down the road. So with soldering the wires to the crossover board, terminal cups and drivers how does one remove the boards to replace the caps later? Put in extra wire and clip them to rejoin together later?

Just un-solder the wiring from the binding post cup and drivers. Then remove the crossover.

Is there a type of connector that wouldn't degrade the sound horribly that I can solder into the crossover boards to attach the wire?

No. And it just takes a few seconds to un-solder or solder wiring to the crossover board. It really can't be any easier.

Having a brain fart. Thanks for any help.

No problem.

[flavo]

Hi Danny, I'm sorry for the total noob assault here, but am hoping you can help me out. I'm about to build my 1st set of speakers to replace a pair of passive event 20/20's.  These new speakers will be used for music listening solely. They are going to go in the family room which is roughly 20x13 but will be pointing into the open kitchen and just generally used for filling the house with music at any given time. With that back ground for you and me knowing that they cant sound good every where. Let's just talk about when I'm actually listening to them and just enjoying them from say, 10' away.

Now the questions because I know so little and just need to make a decision. I am trying to decide between the x-mtm and the fusion 8 from jeff bagby.  http://www.diysoundgroup.com/review/product/list/id/348/category/81/

I have no way of listening to either speaker and don't even really know what I like so it may be impossible to answer. I can tell you I don't like my event's because I think they sound muddy.
How do these speakers compare sound wise? You don't have to get in-depth as it would be over my head anyway.
Will the x-mtm have a similar bass response to the fusion since it has 2 woofers?
I tried looking for numbers that would help me figure this stuff out but all I could find for the x-mtm was graphs and the sensitivity of 90db

The fusion has a db sensitivity of 94 and a FR of 65hz - 20khz

Looking at the numbers, which I don't understand anyway. I think the fusion 8 may just be a better speaker? And for the price difference it isn't even a fair comparison. I'm just looking for a brief description of what you think may suit my needs better.

I really appreciate the help and your time.
Mike

[Danny Richie]

Hi Danny, I'm sorry for the total noob assault here, but am hoping you can help me out. I'm about to build my 1st set of speakers to replace a pair of passive event 20/20's.  These new speakers will be used for music listening solely. They are going to go in the family room which is roughly 20x13 but will be pointing into the open kitchen and just generally used for filling the house with music at any given time. With that back ground for you and me knowing that they cant sound good every where. Let's just talk about when I'm actually listening to them and just enjoying them from say, 10' away.

Now the questions because I know so little and just need to make a decision. I am trying to decide between the x-mtm and the fusion 8 from jeff bagby.  http://www.diysoundgroup.com/review/product/list/id/348/category/81/

I have no way of listening to either speaker and don't even really know what I like so it may be impossible to answer. I can tell you I don't like my event's because I think they sound muddy.
How do these speakers compare sound wise? You don't have to get in-depth as it would be over my head anyway.
Will the x-mtm have a similar bass response to the fusion since it has 2 woofers?
I tried looking for numbers that would help me figure this stuff out but all I could find for the x-mtm was graphs and the sensitivity of 90db

The fusion has a db sensitivity of 94 and a FR of 65hz - 20khz

Looking at the numbers, which I don't understand anyway. I think the fusion 8 may just be a better speaker? And for the price difference it isn't even a fair comparison. I'm just looking for a brief description of what you think may suit my needs better.

I really appreciate the help and your time.
Mike

Those two speakers aren't really much of a comparison really. I like the designer of the Fusion. Jeff Bagby is a good guy, and he does a good job with his design work. But those speaker are really different.

The Fusion has high sensitivity and it trades off low frequency extension to get that. It will play to a -3db of 65Hz while the X-MTM Encore will play down to a -3db of 40Hz. So the X-MTM will have a much stronger foundation, and better bass extension.

Comparing the woofers is no comparison either. The Fusion woofer is not in the same class as the woofers used in the X-MTM, and for a number of reasons. And the dual woofer design of the X-MTM gives it even further advantages.

The Fusion uses a compression driver for a tweeter and not a high end tweeter. The X-MTM Encore uses one of the best dome tweeters on the market. No real comparison there either.

Crossover parts quality is very different too. The Fusion uses an iron core inductor on the woofer (not good) while the X-MTM uses all air core inductors. That makes a considerable quality difference. The Fusion uses sand caste resistor (cheap and not good) while the X-MTM uses a higher quality wire wound resistor. The X-MTM Encore even has Sonicap Gen.2 by-pass caps on the tweeter circuit further detail levels and resolution to another level.

These really just aren't in the same class. Your choice really depends on what you are looking for. If your goals are a speaker that will easily play loud then go for the Fusion. If you are looking for more of an audiophile type speaker then the X-MTM excels in that area.

[rajacat]

Dr.Geddes might beg to differ on using compression drivers in "audiophile" rated speakers.

[goskers]

What the heck does he know anyways...

[SoCalWJS]

Sounds like apples and oranges - each has it's advantages and disadvantages. There are trade offs. You have to decide which is more important to you. Chances of hearing both prior to decision/purchase are slim and none.

Efficiency CAN lead to greater sense of dynamics, but the Fusion has a big drop off in bottom end response.

Decisions, decisions. 

[flavo]

Thanks all. I don't recall seeing what was needed to drive these? I was thinking of using a classd'audio amp along with a buffer.
http://classdaudio.com/amplifier-kits/cda-254l-kit.html
Ideal or not?

[Danny Richie]

Thanks all. I don't recall seeing what was needed to drive these? I was thinking of using a classd'audio amp along with a buffer.
http://classdaudio.com/amplifier-kits/cda-254l-kit.html
Ideal or not?

That will drive them easily.

[Ron]

  Danny -  Do you have a frequency response curve for the X-CS Encore that you could post? Also, would two (2) sheets of No-Rez be enough to do the interior walls of two (2) cabinets? How much for the Sonicap / Mills upgrade option?

Ron

[Danny Richie]

  Danny -  Do you have a frequency response curve for the X-CS Encore that you could post? Also, would two (2) sheets of No-Rez be enough to do the interior walls of two (2) cabinets? How much for the Sonicap / Mills upgrade option?

Ron

I don't have a frequency response on the server right now, but can load one up later. It has a nice smooth response just like the other models.

2 Sheets of No Rez will leave you some material left over.

The Sonicaps are $77.5 per speaker.

Mills resistors are $9.80 per speaker.

[Ron]

  Thanks Danny. Appreciate your reply to my questions.

[johngalt47]

I just heard a pair of the $109 speakers...well, to be honest, I cut out the wood on my cnc router. I was blown away by how good they sound. Do you still sell them?

[Danny Richie]

I just heard a pair of the $109 speakers...well, to be honest, I cut out the wood on my cnc router. I was blown away by how good they sound. Do you still sell them?

Yep. I have lots of them in stock.

[Ron]

  John - If you were blown away by how good the $109.00  X-LS Classics sound, you should hear the X-LS Encores. They cost only  $40.00 a pair more and sound even better. A real bargain!

[jazyes]

I just heard a pair of the $109 speakers...well, to be honest, I cut out the wood on my cnc router. I was blown away by how good they sound. Do you still sell them?

John,

I just started "burning in" my Encores and all I'll can say is, WOW!. Consider the Sonicap and Mills Resistors upgrade as well as No-Rez and you won't be disappointed.
I'm going for the matching center channel next. - John