Glasshouse Speaker Kit No. 1
We are happy to announce our first speaker kit under the Glasshouse brand. After a lengthy development process, Speaker Kit No.1 is an excellent value project for those wanting to build their own high-quality bookshelf speakers.
The UK Hi-Fi industry has a long record of producing high-quality small bookshelf speakers. Goodmans started the ball rolling in the 1960s with the Maxim, which can be considered a pre-runner to the BBC LS3/5A. When the BBC auditioned the Maxim, they rejected it due to sample inconsistencies. Rocking into the early 80s, the Wharfdale Diamond was the way to go, followed by the latest Goodmans Maxim, Mordaunt Short MS10, Acoustic Energy AE1, Celestion SL6, and the list goes on.
So, for our kit speaker, offering a small bookshelf system made sense. For the design, history tells us that a 5-inch woofer and 1-inch tweeter work well together; paper cone woofers and fabric dome tweeters make for an excellent sonic signature. At the core of these speakers are the Vifa BC25SC15 4 ohm Tweeter and Vifa TC14WG67 8 ohm Woofer. The combination provides near-unmatched sound quality at their price point. Sample cabinets were drawn up. Mark and I made prototype cabinets out of 12mm MDF. External dimensions are 195mm (width) x 165mm (depth) x 305mm (height).
Some speakers use simple first-order filters for the crossover, and some, like the LS3/5A, use highly complex filters. The well-behaved Vifa woofer suited a second-order filter integrated into the tweeter with a third-order high pass. The third-order filter gives excellent off-axis integration, resulting in a wide, open sound stage. The balance is lively, informative, and engaging, making listening fun and enjoyable.
Happy with the design, we were keen to provide the cabinet as a flat-pack. After all, this is the hardest bit when constructing a loudspeaker. We were lucky to meet Gareth from OB Audio in Welshpool, who showed off how he makes a CNC machine flat-pack speaker at the Staverton Hi-FI Show 2023. Beautifully crafted, the six panels slot together so easily.
With the cabinet done, we turned to the crossover. Using the longer Jantzen binding posts and a logoed plastic panel on the outside and a white panel on the inside so the posts can be fitted firmly without damaging the MDF. On top of these, the built crossover tag board is fitted. The crossover board is built on our small Glasshouse tag board, and the components are held in place with tie wraps. It is all hard-wired. We have chosen good quality components, such as Ohmite Audio Gold resistors, Jantzen and Mundorf PLAIN type bipolar electrolytic capacitors, and Jantzen inductors. As well as the famous Duelund DCA type of internal speaker wire.
We provide Jantzen's Polyester dampening cloth for acoustic padding to wrap internally. The drive unit fitting are Tee nuts and hex screw bolts so the speakers are fixed securely.
When ordering the kit, you will receive the flatpack cabinets and internal components, including drive units and fittings, so you only have to provide the tools to assemble the speakers.
These speakers' sensitivity is around 87dB. We used the Elekit TU-8850 throughout our development, using EL34s on the output. This single-ended valve amplifier gave 7.5 Watts, which felt like plenty.
To make this assembly process as easy as possible, we have taken the unique approach of filming the entire build with helpful pointers. Just use a combination of the videos below and the provided booklet (also below), which contains diagrams, circuit drawings and valuable images.
If you are stuck somewhere, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Getting the speakers up and running is just the beginning of the journey; you may want to make further customisations, e.g. lacquering the cabinets.
The booklet below lists everything included and all the tools required for assembly.
PRICE (1 kit)
£250.00 +vat +p&p
Please follow the videos below for an efficient build. You can also find the YouTube playlist to save for later HERE.