Hitmakers Loudspeaker Kit

Product Description

The Hitmakers kit by Paul Carmody.

Paul said he’d never forget the first time he heard a pair of high-quality near-field studio monitors.  He was working for an A&R rep at Verve Records, and They were listening to new singles through some cute, colorful 2-way Tannoys in his office.  The experience of listening to music through them was different than any other speakers he’d ever heard before. Instead of just “playing back the song,” they were recreating the recording with a sense of depth and accuracy.  It wasn’t just about detail–although they did have a good level of detail.  They were balanced.  The instruments and voices in the recording were actually “placed” in the room in front of me. 

Since them. he’d seen the pro audio market become flooded with 2-way nearfield monitors from various companies.  Some were actively powered with their own discrete amps, and some were passive and required an external amp.  The sound quality was pretty darn good most of the time too – definitely a huge step up from the sort of makeshift setups most people had hooked up in their home studios.  But, the one option he never saw was for someone to build a studio monitor (Although a friend and he did attempt this, with terrible results, since we had no idea how to design a speaker back then.)  Most project studio owners are DIYers in their own right, will get their hands dirty, trying to do what the big boys so for a fraction of the cost.  So why couldn’t they have the ability to build their own speakers?

The Hitmakers are here to fill that role.  It’s a straightforward DIY project that a studio owner can attempt and be assured of good results.

Yes, it is very similar to the popular Classix II.   This uses the same Vifa (Tymphany – Peerless) tweeter but mated with the Dayton, DA175, Aluminum cone woofer.

How Does it Sound?

These drivers are performing way out of their price class.  When handled gracefully in a crossover, they provide a full, balanced, effortless sound.  The Hitmakers have just enough detail without becoming fatiguing.  Imaging is precise for such a speaker and the soundstage allows for natural placement of sounds. The bass is deeper than what you get from most near-field studio monitors, which might come in handy for some musicians and producers.

The woofer cabinet is .56 cu ft or about 15.5L and measures 8.5″ wide, 14″ High and 12.5″ deep (3/4″ material)

What do I Get?

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

The Bare Bones Version:

• 2 x Peerless, BC25TG-15-4 Tweeters
• 2 x Dayton, DA175-8 Woofers
• 2 x Crossover components. Standard with MDL XPP in tweeter section.Upgrades available.  Sand-cast resistors and specified, Air-Core Inductors.

Need all the goodies?

The Full Kit Package:

• 2 x Choice of input terminals
• 2 x Port Tubes
• All mounting hard hardware (screws) -two varieties
• Internal damping material
• Color-coded hookup wire
• Optional push-on connectors
• Gasket sealing tape
• MDF boards for mounting the crossover parts.

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

Upgrades – Have a favorite input terminal or preferred capacitor brand?  Feel free to call or email with your request.  We are happy to accommodate you.

The Hitmakers Writeup

See the original blog post here