underzone
pfm Member
Hi all,
after having tried many speakers for my living room and getting mixed results, I have decided to go the DIY route! I have had many sets of speakers over the years from AE109's, Monitor Audio Bronze BX6 (£600) to Linn Majik 140 (£1600) then Monitor Audio Silver 10 (£1500), Kudos Cardea C20 (£2950) till PMC Twenty.24 (£3400). I had decided that I like the low end response and effortless dynamics of the transmission line design, but wanted a model with more bass weight (and finished in Oak to match the floor for WAF). The PMC Twenty.24 is a fine speaker, but in the end the 6.5" bass drive didn't deliver the bass extension and quantity I would expect at that price point.
I had recently been thinking about buying the newly released Proac D20 (£2649) as it features a ribbon tweeter, but was hesitant again that I would likely not get the bass extension with just one bass 6.5" drive. Also the Oak finish I wanted was not an option.
That was when I saw an advert in the back of HiFi News. A company called IPL (http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/) had a mail order kit for a transmission line kit that featured the renowned Foundtek CD3.0 ribbon tweeter an excellent HiVi Research 8" Kevlar paper bass drive unit and it had a lower frequency response of 23Hz! If you were wondering, the IPL in the IPL Acoustics equation is Ivan Peter Leslie, they are UK based and have been in business for over 20 years. I telephoned IPL and was immediately aware that the owner Ivan wasn't trying to do the usual hard sell. I had initially thought I would order the biggest (and most expensive) kit the S5tl, but Ivan talked me out of it due to my room size and layout. It is not often that a company don't want you to buy their most expensive item. I was also pleased that all my technical questions about the crossover design, boundary distances and tuning methods were competently and easily answered.
I have since ordered the S4tl total kit had it delivered and part built it. This is what I ordered:
http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/ipl_s4_mk5__transmission_line.htm
The cost of the kit delivered was just £614 - amazing value. The oak veneer costs another £125. The internal silver plated OFC cabling (Chord Odyssey 2) cost £120. Labour was free...
The pics below show stage 1, construction. I will add stage 2, finishing & veneering with iron on Oak veneer when I actually do it later this month.
One of the delivered boxes. This one full of machined MDF (the other full of drivers, components and foam):
Starting to build the MDF carcasses. I used Gorilla wood glue and a brad nail gun (optional, I am only using it because I have it) to hold and then clamped the pieces together. The Gorilla wood glue has a clamp time of just 30 minutes so build time was fast:
Two cabinets nearly built:
Acoustic foam now added. Note that there are two 45 degree reflectors that are part of the transmission line. I decided to fill the created voids with Soudal Genius insulation foam to ensure no resonance could occur. I used this foam from ScrewFix with has a stated 60dB acoustic rating. Also I used Evo-Stik carpet spray adhesive as it sticks like crazy (the instructions say to use hot melt glue) and was very easy to use:
Now ready to join the two sides and seal the cabinet enclosure:
One built crossover. The kit design schematics specify a bi-wire crossover. However I wanted a foo free speaker, and modified the design internally to present just one pair of binding posts. I used Pro-G Series Insulated Binding Posts just out of personal preference (the kit comes supplied with 4x gold hard plated posts):
Crossover installed and wires just waiting patiently. I used Chord Odyssey 2 cable to wire internally, which matches my speakers cable:
I also made a speaker base plinth (which will be finished satin black) from 2 layers of 15mm MDF glued together. They were later cut to size and a radius was routed on the top edge. This is not supplied by IPL but is something I like the look of:
Drivers installed (a small amount of long haired wool goes behind the bass driver (between 10-20g to tune bass extension), speakers placed into position:
after having tried many speakers for my living room and getting mixed results, I have decided to go the DIY route! I have had many sets of speakers over the years from AE109's, Monitor Audio Bronze BX6 (£600) to Linn Majik 140 (£1600) then Monitor Audio Silver 10 (£1500), Kudos Cardea C20 (£2950) till PMC Twenty.24 (£3400). I had decided that I like the low end response and effortless dynamics of the transmission line design, but wanted a model with more bass weight (and finished in Oak to match the floor for WAF). The PMC Twenty.24 is a fine speaker, but in the end the 6.5" bass drive didn't deliver the bass extension and quantity I would expect at that price point.
I had recently been thinking about buying the newly released Proac D20 (£2649) as it features a ribbon tweeter, but was hesitant again that I would likely not get the bass extension with just one bass 6.5" drive. Also the Oak finish I wanted was not an option.
That was when I saw an advert in the back of HiFi News. A company called IPL (http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/) had a mail order kit for a transmission line kit that featured the renowned Foundtek CD3.0 ribbon tweeter an excellent HiVi Research 8" Kevlar paper bass drive unit and it had a lower frequency response of 23Hz! If you were wondering, the IPL in the IPL Acoustics equation is Ivan Peter Leslie, they are UK based and have been in business for over 20 years. I telephoned IPL and was immediately aware that the owner Ivan wasn't trying to do the usual hard sell. I had initially thought I would order the biggest (and most expensive) kit the S5tl, but Ivan talked me out of it due to my room size and layout. It is not often that a company don't want you to buy their most expensive item. I was also pleased that all my technical questions about the crossover design, boundary distances and tuning methods were competently and easily answered.
I have since ordered the S4tl total kit had it delivered and part built it. This is what I ordered:
http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/ipl_s4_mk5__transmission_line.htm
The cost of the kit delivered was just £614 - amazing value. The oak veneer costs another £125. The internal silver plated OFC cabling (Chord Odyssey 2) cost £120. Labour was free...
The pics below show stage 1, construction. I will add stage 2, finishing & veneering with iron on Oak veneer when I actually do it later this month.
One of the delivered boxes. This one full of machined MDF (the other full of drivers, components and foam):
Starting to build the MDF carcasses. I used Gorilla wood glue and a brad nail gun (optional, I am only using it because I have it) to hold and then clamped the pieces together. The Gorilla wood glue has a clamp time of just 30 minutes so build time was fast:
Two cabinets nearly built:
Acoustic foam now added. Note that there are two 45 degree reflectors that are part of the transmission line. I decided to fill the created voids with Soudal Genius insulation foam to ensure no resonance could occur. I used this foam from ScrewFix with has a stated 60dB acoustic rating. Also I used Evo-Stik carpet spray adhesive as it sticks like crazy (the instructions say to use hot melt glue) and was very easy to use:
Now ready to join the two sides and seal the cabinet enclosure:
One built crossover. The kit design schematics specify a bi-wire crossover. However I wanted a foo free speaker, and modified the design internally to present just one pair of binding posts. I used Pro-G Series Insulated Binding Posts just out of personal preference (the kit comes supplied with 4x gold hard plated posts):
Crossover installed and wires just waiting patiently. I used Chord Odyssey 2 cable to wire internally, which matches my speakers cable:
I also made a speaker base plinth (which will be finished satin black) from 2 layers of 15mm MDF glued together. They were later cut to size and a radius was routed on the top edge. This is not supplied by IPL but is something I like the look of:
Drivers installed (a small amount of long haired wool goes behind the bass driver (between 10-20g to tune bass extension), speakers placed into position:
