Overnight Sensations MT Speaker Kit Pair /w Cabinet

For anyone who wants to build their own speakers, this is a great place to start. I considered getting Dayton Audio's BR-1 kit from Parts Express, but I decided to try this instead. The BR-1 kit comes almost complete and all you have to do is some assembly. The speaker boxes are already finished and it's a matter of assembling the crossover components and installing the speakers. I wanted to try to tackle a little bit more. The Overnight Sensations kit comes with all included parts needed to assemble with the exception of binding posts. Of course, the glue and solder and tools you will need to have. The boxes themselves came in a flat pack and I just glued them together and held them together with clamps until dry. After that I finished them with spray paint. I considered staining them but I wanted a two tone finish with the baffles being blue. There are so many finish options that you will find on the web and it's just a matter of personal preference. I will probably stain the next set I build because I will definitely build another set. The crossover is probably the most challenging part of the build. My soldering skills my weak point and I ended up with a pretty sloppy board. It's on the inside however and nobody would ever see them anyhow. There are some pretty good pictures and designs on the web, but I didn't get the same results. When it comes right down to it however, it doesn't matter. These speakers sound amazing. I was completely surprised at the amount of bass coming out of these things. It made me laugh at what I was hearing. That's without breaking them in. I know when these little guys break in some, they will just get better. The mids are nice and the treble is bright without being harsh. Very smooth. I started out powering them with a Topping TP-60 but ended up pairing them with my Nobsound MS-10D. That's when these speakers really opened up. I recently bought some Micca MB42X's and while those are really nice speakers, these beat them hands down in the bass department. These are probably the closest comparison that I have in size. The Overnight Sensations are slightly more spendy than the Micca's, but for the size and sound these are well worth the difference. Plus, I get to say I built them!

What a great project!When I first decided I wanted to build a pair of speakers, I was torn. Did I want to buy a kit, and learn less because all the choices are made for me, or buy from scratch and potentially be in WAY over my head? I decided on a kit, because I figured that even though all the choices may be made, at least I would end up with a functioning pair of speakers.I was TOTALLY wrong. All of the choices are far from made for you with this kit, and I learned a TON about speaker building, from crossover design to cabinet building! I also learned a ton about the difference between a "Nice" speaker, and a "Cheap" speaker. There really is more going into the speaker than just tossing some speakers into a box and connecting it to an amplifier. In the process of building these, I had to research crossover layouts, figure out how to read wiring schematics, learn to solder, as well as problem solve the woodworking needed to assemble the cabinets, finish them nicely (I chose a clear acrylic finish), and adjust the cabinet ports to my preference.It took me a solid weekend to build these, taking my time and being as picky as I can be (some of the crossover designs I found on line look jumbled and thrown together, I took extra time to make them tidy, even though no one will see them). At the end of the weekend, I have a beautiful pair of excellent sounding bookshelf speakers, and I can show them off to people and say "I BUILT THOSE!"Some notes: The plywood used for the cabinets is nice, but all plywood is subject to tear-out. Be very very careful drilling, sanding or cutting on these. Use a piece of wood as a backer to prevent tear out. Also, this kit DOES NOT contain everything you need. You will need, at a minimum, wire, and terminal posts, not to mention all of your tools, glue, solder, and finishes. I am luck enough to have a small workshop to work in, I think this would be a rough project to do on a kitchen table...

I'm really starting to back in to audio but decided to start a little more at the bottom, learning more about speakers, crossovers and such. This kit sounds pretty well in my home office. I had them mated to an old Onkyo 5.1 reciever but just purchased a Dayton 50W amp. I will be starting to build my second pair of these in the next week.

First off what you see in the picture is what you get. I was kinda pissed that there was no wood for the x-overs but I found some good stuff at a hobby shop. I guess they leave it out to keep the cost down and let you design how you want to build them. That is one thing about this kit, you will make them your own the way you want them. You will need screws, boards for the crossovers, glues paint yada yada. To be clear the cabinets are not assembled. It is not a hard build and is only as hard as you want to make the cabinets. If you look on google you will see many pictures of how people have finished them. I painted mine and after 3 coats primer filler 5 coats black and 4 coats clear, My next set I am going to stain and clear coat. Yes I am going to build a couple more sets. The components are top quality and the cnc wood fits like a glove. Now the sound, These little suckers ROCK!!! The sound that comes out of them is amazing for a little 4 inch woofer. Ok it is not going to blow down the walls but they sound AWESOME!. I would say that they are better and louder than many larger store bought speakers. They do crank plenty loud!

Simple small kit, with great sound (especially for its size) and great value. You have to be OK with gluing wooden panels together, soldering parts together (for the crossover), and then (optionally) finishing the wood (sanding, and then a variety of finishes can be used).