First post here. As stated in title I am looking for speaker build that would be an upgrade from the Dayton III speakers which I build maybe nine years ago. I am not a super audiophile kind of guy. Rather a simplest. I have enjoyed the DIII's for many years. Like the presentation of the speakers and the sound. That being said, I do adjust EQ to match my listing tastes. As my ears are not what they use to be now at 50yrs old. Equipment: Cambridge Audio Azur 551R - That's it. It does 60W RMS per channel, into 8 Ohms, it is a 5.1 AVS receiver. Only setup for 3.1 currently BIC F12 subwoofer. Low budget I know. But this is for later upgrading Dayton III MTM monitors Space: 14'L/12'W/9'H or 1,512Qft carpeted townhouse (have neighbors both side, but doesn't present an issue moderately loud as townhouse separation is double sheet-rocked. I do not want floor standing speakers. Smaller TM's or MTM's is what I would prefer. Music: Listen to Rock/Alternative from The monkees, Led Zepplin, Van Halen, Nirvana, Third Eye Blind, Cake, you get the idea. About 85% of the time. As a change up I will listen to other types of music 15% of the time. Initially I was thinking of building the Overnight senssations MTM version. Probably slightly better than the DIII's. But I thought, why not build something hopefully much better sound wise? I like Paul Carmody's designs, Speedster, ClassicII maybe the Carrera's. My worry here is going from a MTM to a TM could be disappointing. Then I thought, if I where going to spend the money for Carrera's, I might be better of with finalist for nearly the same price. However, would prefer something I can order and simply put together such as this site has. Is there another MTM that would sound significantly better than the DIII's in the price range of $400 a pair? Looking for clear highs and wonderful midrange, decent base extension from a TM or MTM (not floor standing) Nothing is of the table, but I don't want a pair of speakers where it will be necessary to buy additional electronics. Looking for options as I don't know everything that is out there DIY wise. Any help would be appreciated.
Going to Overnight Sensations would mean going to smaller drivers. While the OS are over-achievers, you would lose mid-bass punch, something important to the music you like to listen to(think kick drum). While I have never listened to Dayton III's, I can relate. Years ago, I knocked together a pr. of Tritrix transmission-line floor standers that use the DC28F "silkies". While Curt Campbell's amazing cabinet design made any deficiencies the Dayton budget woofers might have had moot, the budget tweeters were definately the "Achilles Heel" of the Tritrix. How about this for an idea, how nice are your Dayton III boxes? There are a number of MTM's that use approx. that size box, maybe you could recycle them. For example; http://www.diysoundgroup.com/speaker-kits/denham-kit.html A Jeff Bagby design using Dayton Reference drivers. Perhaps graft the kit's baffles onto your box. Just a thought.