I have a quick question and was wondering if someone could help me out. I have been reading a lot about the Tempest and Sentinel builds. I currently have the Klipsch KL-650 THX speakers for my front left, center and right speakers and was wondering how the Tempest or Sentinels would compare with the Klipsch THX speakers. I like the Klipsch but I feel I can get a little more dynamics, clarity out of either the Tempest or Sentinels for two channel and blu rays.My listening is about 50% home theater and 50% music and I currently run a SVS SB13 Ultra dual subs. My movie preference is action and music preference is souther rock, folk, and country with a little hard rock as well. I'm a big fan of bands like Heart, Bruce Springsteen, Elton, Mumford & Sons, Gordon Lightfoot, Cat Stevens and Harry Chapin so as you can see quite a mix. If I go this route I would probably purchase the flat pack as well as the crossovers. All my wood working equipment is in storage at this time and I would probably butcher the crossover build anyway. So if I have this right I would assemble the boxes, paint, stuff, install the crossover and then the waveguides and woofer. I know I would seal the waveguide and the woofer but what about sealing the ports? Do you use the same gaskets or silicone them?Any and all advise would be great. I am basically wondering how easy building my own speakers would be. Thanks, Ted
I have SEOS speakers but have not used flat packs. My ports are friction fitted and the ones that I cut the hole a little to big I used hot glue to hold them. Check out this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgvjHB_7FV4
Thanks. I have a lot to learn but I have been reading everything I can find and jotting down questions for the experienced builders. I want to build the Tempest first and then possibly a couple of subwoofers with the 18" Dayton woofer to see how they would compare to my SVS SB13 Ultras.
I wish I could give a timely answer, as I have the woofers, horn tweeters and crossovers to build 4 Klipsch KL-650 THX speakers, but haven't had the time to build them yet. I also plan on building a pair of SEOS speakers to compare (undecided at this time as to which). My expectation is that the Klipsch will out-perform anything I currently have and that the SEOS will out-perform the Klipsch. But, I've never heard either yet, as I am busy playing catch-up with other tasks. My suspicion is that the CD used in the Klipsch is perhaps not as good as the ones used in the SEOS designs. It is worth knowing that guys who have built the Cheap Thrills and other SEOS designs have commented that they are hearing detail that they've never heard before. But, none were compared directly to the Klipsch KL-650 THX that I know of. By the way, I remember reading some comments about the Klipsch horn tweeter having some plastic shards--manufacturing artifacts of some sort--hanging in the throat, where it mates with the Compression Driver, causing some lack of clarity in the sound. The recommendation was to remove the CD from the plastic horn and inspect/de-burr the throat opening on each one. Just thought I should mention that. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful at this time. But, I fully intend to compare the Klipsch KL-650 THX to a SEOS design whenever I get the chance to build some more speakers. You will probably beat me to a comparison, so I hope you will let us all know how they compare.
Passinginterest, If you don't mind how did you come up with the parts for the Klipsch speakers including the crossovers. I'm kinda interested in building some surround speakers or buying the Klipsch KS-525 surrounds. Thanks, Ted
I got the 6.5" woofers from Parts Express, but sadly, they are now no-longer available. I also got the horn tweeters from PE and they are available, still. I got the original crossover boards directly from Klipsch with a phone call. Come to think of it, I remember seeing some woofer/horn tweeter sets for the KL-650 THX in PE's classified section. http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?238905-KLIPSCH-THX-Ultra2-buyout-woofers-amp-horns, but they are all sold now. Perhaps you can use your current KL-650s as surrounds after you do a SEOS build for your front mains.