Is there a good source for speaker recipes?

I built some speakers 6 months ago. They turned out very nice. I am selling my Hales Revelation 3's. The 4 months before I started, I read a lot of discussions on diyaudio.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=6

During the 4 months of reading, I changed my design many times. The forums on diyaudio discuss kits and crossover design, what type of wood to use for the cabinet, and compare raw drivers. I combinded a kit with my own ideas for a very nice 3/way system, bi-amped.

If you buy raw drivers from Madisound, they will design a crossover for those drivers using the latest software. Costs about $40. I could go on and on about stuffing, baffle step correction, wiring, best capacitors to use in crossover..., It is all on diyaudo.

If I were building a speaker today, I would buy a kit from North Creek. Their documentation makes me realize how far we have come from the days of G.A. Briggs' Cabinet Handbook, which I used to build my first boxes. At that time, I would have needed a signal generator, a mike and a scope to measure the free air resonance of my drivers and calculate the box volume and port dimensions for a reflex cabinet.

I agree with D_edwards. To equal the performance of today's designs would be a horrendously bigger job, even for a system much less good than the ones you mention, even if I could budget for quality materials instead of paying markup.

That doesn't mean you can't have fun, though.

North Creek
.

Look it will take you 10 years to learn what you need to know to select a speaker to build yourself to achieve that level of quality. Lots of DIY guys will tell you that you can build better speakers than the ones you mentioned, but you can't because you said it yourself. There are kits and designs available that can be of great value to you but like anything what is your price point?

Do yourself a favor and get out and learn some more about speakers, because the three speakers you listed above are completely different in character. We cannot suggest anything when you're all over the lot. Don't liksten to ultra speakers either, listen to the $2K crowd. They are easier to find and their difference can be very easy to discern.

This process will make you realize one of two things, 1. your not willing to educate yourself enough to buy a kit and roll your own or 2. Give yourself some insight to what you want, whether you decide to build or buy. Both are good things. Makinf your own speakers is not an easy way around spending $$$, you will save money but it takes knowledge and time to compensate for that savings.

If you like the SSM9, check out the Eton 11.2 kit, it is competitive with the Wilson's to a degree and isn;t too expensive. It has a cool character will mate with Adcom, Rotel, Anthem and other brands you can get affordably on Ebay.