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Trev
··The ArchitectI'm planning to replace our Sonos Arc + Sonos One set with Wiim Amp Pro + DIY speaker enclosures (ML-TL design) based around Mark Audio Alpair 11ms full-range drivers. The Wiim Amp Pro has decent-sounding TI TPA3255-based class-D amplification (review) and ESS ES9038 Q2M DAC, built-in streaming and DSP functions, all in one tidy unit. It also has HDMI-ARC support. The general aim is to sell off the Sonos gear and upgrade while keeping costs similar, at least as a starting point. I used ChatGPT's o3 "deep research" + Claude Opus + DeepSeek to evaluate current DIY speaker driver and design choices to best suit our requirements.
We've had our Sonos Arc and Sonos surrounds for a few years now. It's fine for Atmos/movie content, but feels distinctly lacking when it comes to music. In an era when the home HiFi experience is often degraded to the point of becoming a single monophonic speaker that we yell at to start Spotify, I really felt like a course correction was overdue. Sonos fills the room with music, but in a lifeless sort of way that's nothing like I remember from owning better sets of speakers when I was younger.
Firstly, I wanted to replace Spotify because I don't feel like the company cares about audio quality and their encodes sound worse than competitors. I started off by evaluating Apple Music, Tidal, and Qobuz. Tidal won for convenience, ease of use across all devices, and their extensive catalog. Next up was component shopping. I found a Wiim Amp Pro on FB Marketplace for a good price. I'll probably upgrade to streamer + DAC + tube-amp later, but for now this is a solid start and still offers DSP + room correction.
For the speakers we wanted something with a smaller footprint that can be placed up against a wall. Eventually, I decided on the Sea Stack ML-TL by Woden Design with front-facing port. Around 1.4 m (about 4 ft 7 in) tall, but footprint is only 25x25cm(10x10in). We’re going for a narrow tower design instead of a bookshelf speaker + stand, as it occupies a similar amount of space while offering extended bass response. This design uses the single Alpair wideband driver, so doesn't require any crossover electronics.
We found a local dealer with good prices on marine ply with Okoume top layers, which we'll probably just wax and buff for finishing. Ended up buying 2 full 2.4m sheets because there's internal bracing required too. I don't have much in the way of woodworking tools or experience, so thankfully have my dad to help out and prevent anything from going horribly wrong.
Some early test cuts on spare pieces:
Gluing up the first box and setting now:
We'll be using isolating spikes too, found these from Dayton Audio:
I know there's an active crew of HiFi guys here, so would appreciate any general build advice or suggestions on future amp upgrades, etc. I'm also interested in building an amp if there's worthwhile kit options around.
To be continued...
We've had our Sonos Arc and Sonos surrounds for a few years now. It's fine for Atmos/movie content, but feels distinctly lacking when it comes to music. In an era when the home HiFi experience is often degraded to the point of becoming a single monophonic speaker that we yell at to start Spotify, I really felt like a course correction was overdue. Sonos fills the room with music, but in a lifeless sort of way that's nothing like I remember from owning better sets of speakers when I was younger.
Firstly, I wanted to replace Spotify because I don't feel like the company cares about audio quality and their encodes sound worse than competitors. I started off by evaluating Apple Music, Tidal, and Qobuz. Tidal won for convenience, ease of use across all devices, and their extensive catalog. Next up was component shopping. I found a Wiim Amp Pro on FB Marketplace for a good price. I'll probably upgrade to streamer + DAC + tube-amp later, but for now this is a solid start and still offers DSP + room correction.
For the speakers we wanted something with a smaller footprint that can be placed up against a wall. Eventually, I decided on the Sea Stack ML-TL by Woden Design with front-facing port. Around 1.4 m (about 4 ft 7 in) tall, but footprint is only 25x25cm(10x10in). We’re going for a narrow tower design instead of a bookshelf speaker + stand, as it occupies a similar amount of space while offering extended bass response. This design uses the single Alpair wideband driver, so doesn't require any crossover electronics.
We found a local dealer with good prices on marine ply with Okoume top layers, which we'll probably just wax and buff for finishing. Ended up buying 2 full 2.4m sheets because there's internal bracing required too. I don't have much in the way of woodworking tools or experience, so thankfully have my dad to help out and prevent anything from going horribly wrong.
Some early test cuts on spare pieces:
Gluing up the first box and setting now:
We'll be using isolating spikes too, found these from Dayton Audio:
I know there's an active crew of HiFi guys here, so would appreciate any general build advice or suggestions on future amp upgrades, etc. I'm also interested in building an amp if there's worthwhile kit options around.
To be continued...
