Classix II Speaker Kit

Product Description

The Classix II Speaker Kit by Paul Carmody

If you have been looking for an inexpensive and fun build, then you have found a great contender.  The Classix II is the audio equivalent of a burrito.  Tasty, spicy, flavorful, filling… probably fattening, too.  But so much fun!

The Drivers

Subjectively, however, this woofer is “euphonic”–meaning that most ears find it very enjoyable and pleasing to listen to, despite poor measurements.  Paul believes that if a driver sounds really good, then it’s a good candidate for a speaker design, regardless of how it measures.   The tweeter is very reasonably priced and has a pleasant sound that doesn’t draw attention to itself, and never gets harsh or fatiguing.

The Design

Both drivers just barely reach into one another’s frequency spectrum, so the crossover between the two is almost a stunt-like flying leap.  With a lot of coaxing on Paul’s part, the end result comes across sounding pretty seamless, and very natural.

 

How do they Sound?

The Classix II’s are voiced with a slightly “relaxed” midrange.  The bass response is rock solid down into the mid 30 Hz range.  The impedance load presented by the Classix II is an easy load for any amp to drive.

Paul says, ” know you’ll think I’m kidding, but of all the speaker designs I’ve done, if I could only keep a handful, these would be near the top of my list.  Why?  Because not everything I listen to is all that well-recorded–and that’s where the Classix II really shines.  For example: give them a grungy rock album and they will run with it.  Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, Metal, Country–all stuff we spent so many hours of our lives listening to, developing emotional ties to–that music usually doesn’t stand much of a chance on a true HiFi set of speakers.  But as I said, the Classix II has a “euphonic” quality about them.  These “gloss over” many of the problematic details of popular music (that an “audiophile” speaker would glare at you with), but at the same time are engineered to be revealing enough that most people would be surprised to hear new things in favorite old recordings.

The imaging is pretty solid.  No, it’s not pinpoint like you might get from a speaker with a Hiquphon OW1 or a Vifa XT25, but the soundstage is surprisingly spacious, with a nice sense of separation.  I find it interesting each time I turn on a pop song to realize that there actually is a soundstage on the recording and to hear instruments and voices intentionally placed–not just a mash of sound like I thought I heard in my car or at the mall.

And of course, the big highlight of the Classix II is the deep bass coming from such an unassuming bookshelf speaker cabinet.  Perhaps one reason I’m so attached to this design is that I wish so dearly I had it for the years I was living in apartments.  During that time–the time before I knew what DIY was–I had to keep listening volumes pretty soft, and all I had to listen through was a dusty pair of old Cerwin Vegas.  Kinda sad, really.  I loved listening to music, but a sub was out of the question, and the Cerwin Vegas sort of sucked the life out of the music.  If only I’d had something like these.  Even now, these have superseded the Overnight Sensations as my “late night” listening speakers because they go so low.  Plus, the paper cone woofer with its slightly dipped mids goes a long way to eliminate any possibility of listening fatigue.”

When you buy these, here is what you get:

Included in this kit are the full build plans.  You can purchase in in two forms, depending on your resources.

The Bare Bones Version:

• 2 x Tymphany, BC25TG15-04 Tweeter
• 2 x Dayton, DC160, 6.5″ Classic Woofer
• Crossover parts – Standard caps are Cebo Poly at Audyn Price!
  • You can choose other brands of capacitors.
  • Sand-cast resistors – you can also choose Lynk MOX
  • Paul’s specified inductors.

Add the full kit Package:

• Flared Port Tubes
• Internal Damping – Foam, not pictured (The big cost in this package)
• All Mounting Screws.- Upgrade to Socket head types.
• Crossover mounting boards and terminals
• Color-Coded Hook up Wire
• Choice of Input Terminals
• Optional push-on connectors
• Build Plans

Have trouble soldering or reading a crossover diagram?  We can assemble them for you at a nominal charge.

• The crossovers will be built on individual 1/4″ MDF boards with hard-wired, lead-free soldered connections.
• .205 terminal lugs for connection of hook up wires

Classix II Writeup