Vinyl Asylum

I built a pair of GR Research AV/2 + sub

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texanater

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In Reply to: Which speakers did you buy? posted by tubesforever on April 26, 2007 at 15:34:58:

I'm really happy with them so far. This was my first attempt at heavy duty woodworking. I learned Gorilla glue turns your hands black if you're not careful. I haven't finished or veneered them yet. They're just plain mdf. They sound great!!! I spent about $850 for the parts(4 drivers - 2 tweeters - electronics - active and passive sub drivers - wood - sub amp), and got several grand worth of speaker. If you are not familiar with them I can give more detail. This is the best deal I can think of if you are a do it yourselfer!!!
Nate

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Been building DIY now for 36 years.... - tubesforever 23:45:05 04/26/07 (2)
My most recent are built expressly for my apartment setting.
The lower driver is a Scan Speak Revelator 7" thrown paper on graphite cone, the upper is the 5 1/4 inch Revelator cut carbon cone, then I have MB quartz 3" titanium dome mid tweets and the Foster Ribbons.
To say things sound effortless, uncompressed and very natural is an understatement. These things just blow me away with their detail, their emotion and their ability to sound like natural live music.
I have just under a grand in each speaker with parts, cabinet, and crossovers. They have the transient detail and air of an electrostatic, the midrange of a Sonus Faber and I am getting ultra low sub sonics with a couple of 12 inch Peerless XLS drivers in separate cabinets behind the main speakers.
Building speakers can be as much fun as building plinths and restoring old Rek O Kuts from the dead.
Let me know how your speakers break in. These seem very economical adn I am certain they sound at least as good as a 2,000 per pair set of speakers....probably even more.
Cheers!
- What do you think about feet and stands? - texanater 06:01:05 04/27/07 (1)
  If you are interested you can go to the link below and see the speaker design I used. I hastily designed and built the stands and used left over 3/4" MDF. They are basic stands with a 16^2" base, 4" thick columns and a 7x14 inch plate at the top to hold the speakers. They are about 48" tall. I put the feet from GR research on the base of the stands and currently just have wine cork type feet I got at michael's between the stands and the speakers. I originally used the some foam/cork pads I made but didn't like them as much as the wine corks. Should I go ahead and pop for the extra set of metal spike feet or do you have another suggestion? Do you have any speaker stand recs?
  Did you design you speakers from scratch or did you use a commercial design? I had a great time building my speakers. I think at some point in the next many many years I think I'm going to assemble a cornet II into a unique wood box. The baby and an impending move to LA in a couple months are the reasons I built these speakers in the first place. I had Alons but they are dipole and require placement deep in the room. I doubt I'll have the room in LA for proper placement. Further I don't really like the idea of a baby running around speakers that are several feet into the living room. I'd just as soon put the speakers as close to the wall as possible.
  By the way, thanks for helping my Dad (Jazzthusiast) on his Russco project. He really valued what you and the several other folks who took an interest in his project had to say.
  Thanks for your thoughts.
  Nate
  - http://www.gr-research.com/kits/av2.shtm (Open in New Window)
  - I got the cabinets from PartsExpress.....99 bucks a piece - tubesforever 11:09:28 04/27/07 (0)
    The speaker drivers were purchased from ebay or Speaker City in Los Angeles.
    I bought the Ribbons and the 3" titaniums from Speaker City back in the mid 80's. They were 45 bucks each for the ribbons and 149 dollars each for the 3" titaniums way back then!
    The Revelators sell new for about 175 dollars each.
    The crossovers are pretty clean and I have vinyl sound deadener inside the boxes as well as pads to adjust the tweeter and mid tweeter output for when I swap between solid state and tube amps.
    I have a great deal of money in the internal wiring and the crossovers. They sound pretty tasty.
    If you hear the Martin Logan Ascents, these sound just as open and airey, and just as dynamic however they have tighter bass, a more defined sound stage, and do not require you to sit with your head in a vice.
    If you get a chance to hear Sonus Faber Cremona speakers these will have the same wonder midrange, less bass bloat, and much clearer from the midrange up.
    If you get a chance to hear the Sonus Faber Guarnari Homage speakers these will sound a little warmer in the vocals and a little more crisp and airey up top.
    These are all pretty nice speakers and the tubes DIY project sounds like the best of all three without any of the deficiencies I hear in these other speakers.
    I sold all of the above and like mine more. Although my cabinets do need the tubes touch in the future. Perhaps in a year or two.

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