| The Karma Indignia [message #68257] |
Mon, 20 June 2011 06:15  |
AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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This little speaker has been hanging around on the Audio Karma forum, and it also appeared in the January 2011 Parts Express sale flyer, which earned it a position in the PE project showcase. http://www.parts-express.com/projectshowcase/indexn.cfm?project=KarmaIndignia
This project intrigued me because it costs about the same as the BR-1 speaker kit that I exhibited at the LSAF a few years ago, and which I build and sell to friends for my cost. The retail price for all the parts, including a pair of pre-built BR-1 enclosures, is about $200. I knew if it sounds even better than the BR-1 kit it would be a real bargain, because you can use a good sounding $200 pair of speakers with a $99 Best Buy Insignia stereo receiver and any $50 DVD player to build a good sounding $350 stereo system.
A $350 stereo solves the most important problem in recorded music today: almost everybody I know (who isn't an audiophile) listens to it on equipment that doesn't come even close to conveying the emotion of the music. Whether it's Giovanni Gabrielli or Govt. Mule, it's going to sound like crap on most computer speakers, boom boxes, or $10 earbuds. Most people can't afford a $5K stereo system, but they can afford a $350 one if they really want it.
So I completed my Indignia pair a few days ago and they sound wonderful, with good but not exaggerated bass, midrange and treble to die for, and a great soundstage. The only downside is that they achieve this at the cost of efficiency, and they can play only so loud before the woofer runs out of steam and starts to make noise. They are not a party speaker, but they're great for listening at reasonable volume levels.
The key to building them for less than $200 is to use a pair of the $54 Parts Express #300-645 enclosures. These are intended for the PE 6.5" classic paper cone woofer, and the 7" aluminum cone woofer used in the Indignias will not fit into the woofer recess, but it will cover it nicely if new pilot holes are crefully drilled into the baffle. If you use the furniture-finished curved cabinets shown in the project showcase the cost will bump up to more than $300 and you'll have to cut your own driver and port holes. This is already done for you with the BR-1 cabinets. With either alternative you still have to assemble and solder the crossover parts, which I mounted on a 4" by 7" piece of perfboard and hot glued to the bottom of the enclosure.
Here's the measured in-room response in my relatively small upstairs listening room (1/3 octave smoothing, microphone placed at tweeter level at one meter):
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Attachment: Indignia.bmp
(Size: 1.35MB, Downloaded 9247 times)
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