Fullrange W3-871S Monitors

Listening Impressions

Without the notch filter installed (awaiting parts at this point) these speakers already sound astounding. I can not give better praise than to say I will certainly be trying out some more of John's designs in the future. They are oozing simplicity, the same as which is said about the chip amp used to power them. I dare anyone to say a better audio combo can be built for the price.

All praise given, they do lack bass - as is to be expected, and they are little forward - which the implementation of the notch when it arrives will solve hopefully. They are comfortable at normal listening levels but anything more and distortion rises rapidly subjectively speaking. But hey it's a £20.00 3" driver which has already exceeded expectations.

Notch Filter

Adding the three component notch immediately solves the face-contorting top end and makes the whole system more listenable at higher levels, although I'm little torn by losing the purity of of a filterless single driver setup that I was enjoying. It is however a required tradeoff, and a less fatiguing experience in the long run.

Final Words

If you want a cheap amplifier then pick up a LM3875 kit. If you want a cheap monitor with all the benfits of a single driver and don't mind losing some of the bottom end, then I can't recommend this enough! Thanks to John Krutke for spreading awareness of this driver and sharing his design.


Build Process

Hi Resolution Images
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Copyright © 2006 Vikash Chauhan. All rights reserved.