DIY Speaker Kits - Build, Modify and Review the Dayton Audio C-Note Kit from Parts Express

Is the Dayton Audio C-Note from Parts Express an 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭? That is the question we are going to try to answer in this video here at the Cuban Redneck DIY Channel. If you follow my channel, you know that I have been hinting at installing a surround sound system in my living room. Yes, my living room, I will not call it home theater because I know what that is and it is not. I am not going to call a media room because it is not that either. It is just my living room. Where last year, I installed a Visio 65" screen. The room is a bit strange, measuring 19X11. Hell, the entire house is weird. All the rooms are rectangular, no 12X12 here, as customary in Florida.
As I said in the video, I don't need speaker enclosures, but the kit comes with them. My goal is to build an on-wall plate much like the Morel SoundWall LCR4SW In-wall speaker. At around $2000 or $3600 with a sub, that is a little too rich for my wallet. Not from the point of view of money, but I just don't think they are worth that much. However, it is one of the most accurate sounding inwall-soundbars in the market, so when you are considered the Bugatti of speakers, a premium price tag is to be expected.
Nevertheless, many people may be interested in a 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 that seeks to push what the speakers kit is already to another level. Yes, there are hundreds of videos on the Dayton Audio C-Note from Parts Express and endless numbers of blogs where it got reviewed and tested. Indeed the Dayton Audio C-Note from Parts Express is considered by many to be an entry-level Audiophile DIY Speaker Kit that does not disappoint! Not for $100 anyways! And that is precisely why I am building this speaker kit! After speaking to several acquaintances, some in the recording business, more than one has said that nothing at Best Buy, Crutchfield, or Audio Advisor under $500 can touch these speakers with a ten-foot pole.
This video and build have two goals. One is for me to find out how these speakers sound, and two cover areas of the build many of the other videos and reviews have ignored or skipped regarding the 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐂-𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 from 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬. I think that too many audiophiles focus too much on measurement. Many every tested the speakers on raw MDF without any finish. I will finish these speakers to where they are pleasant to look at, and I will make modifications I think will enhance their performance.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐂-𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
PROS: There are many pros to this 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭, starting with high-quality crossover parts. I mounted my crossover on a pc board simply because I am not a fan of loose crossover components or even hot glue together. Although the drivers are budget pieces meaning plastic lens for the tweeter and stamp basket for the woofer, they measure very well. The crossover design is also on point.
CONS: There are very few things to nick pick about the Dayton Audio C-Note DIY Speaker Kit from Parts Express. But I think most will agree that ½ MDF is a little cheese, even for a small bookshelf speaker like the C-Note. There is just a little bit of store energy resonance present in the decay plot, and I think that the less than adequate speaker enclosure has a lot to do with it! The sand cast resistor is something else I have a little bit of an issue with, just because I am well aware of the performance gains from this simple upgrade.
𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐬
Aside from using a pc board to mount the crossover components, the only other modifications I did to the C-Note speaker kit were adding dowels to eliminate unwanted resonance - two from the baffle to the backplate and one from side to side. I used what I had on hand, but .500 to .625 is more than adequate.
𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐢𝐭
I am very disappointed that I could not demo this DIY speaker kit for you guys on the video. As I explained at the end, the video was flagged by UA-cam, and I opted to take it down and reload without the demo session. As I said in the video, the end goal of this system is not to play reference 96k WAV files but rather live streaming media from the internet. So, I think that to properly judge the speakers' UA-cam offers the resources.
With that said, I was very impressed with how the speaker kit sounded with different tracks from @Audiophile NBR STORE but especially the video called - DSD Music Streaming ( • DSD Music Streaming - ... )
That first track was just amazing. The width and height of the stage were amazing and representative of speakers costing four or five times more. But I think that if you want to hear what this speaker kit can do, you need to check out Canen's @Jo Next Door Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers) - • Ain't No Sunshine - Bi... /
This was genuinely spectacular! I just ordered the center channel from Parts Express, and I hope you come back for that speaker kit build!
#DIYSpeakerKit #DaytonAudio #C-Note #PartsExpress #AudioPhile