Family 1.0 Loudspeaker Kit
The 2.1 speaker set of the Family series can be integrated unobtrusively anywhere in the home and are amazingly audiophile with their good sound thanks to bass support, with the price/performance ratio being the best thing about this combination. Anyone looking for a universally usable 2.1 system in mini format will be happy on the PC as well as on the flat screen. The system has already successfully managed a meeting with many people in a cozy round. The speakers play loud and quiet equally without being annoying - one of the most important features of a speaker system, not only for us.
The "Family" series stands for particularly simple cabinet construction and a convincing price/performance ratio without losing sight of the high audiophile demands of our customers. This exciting series is opened with the new Family1 - actively supported by the new Family Sub 08. Where the 8 does not stand for the cabinet volume in liters but for an eight-incher, which incidentally plays in seven liters and already enriches the DIY market for more than 30 years.
This exciting series opens with the new Family 1.0 - actively supported by the new Family Sub 08. Where the 8 does not stand for the cabinet volume in litres but for an eight-inch speaker which, by the way, plays in seven litres and has already enriched the DIY market for more than 30 years.
The series is not limited to Gradient here: it picks out those components with the best price/performance ratio from the full range of drivers from all our manufacturers, in order to combine the ideal playing partners. With our own bass-midrange drivers and the addition of a tweeter from SB, the result is a couple of top-class speakers that play far above their nominal price segment.
Since Intertechnik specialises in components and custom-made products in the components sector, the course is set correctly here as well ...so the Family 115 is already "Audiophile in Mini Door".....
The Dayton DTA-2.1BT amplifier is a first-class amplifier in mini form factor that goes very well with the Family LS.
Development
This is where our experience from our top speaker series comes in to measure these tiny speakers against their sound standards - which is a really unfair comparison, but which on the one hand undoubtedly leads to a particularly successful sound tuning and on the other hand to an unorthodox crossover design. In terms of sound, this is inevitably noticeable in the clear presence and the pronounced richness of detail.
The minimalism of the Family Mini 115 meets the Family Sub 08, which also creates atmosphere with plenty of bass drive in the smallest of spaces. As the smallest candidate among the bass bolides, it likes to be supported in its bass reproduction by placing it close to the wall.
Intended use
It's hard to imagine a more inconspicuous way to intrigue speakers in a room. In terms of sound, a pair of Family Mini 115s is supported by the Family Sub in our smallest subwoofer cabinet.
So this simple build is a real alternative to today's ubiquitous soundbars, and it's also ideal for PC work. At the same time, it's almost too bad to hide the little bass maker under the table, but it often sounds better there. Just try it out: Connect the 2.1 amplifier from Dayton to the PC or laptop and let "the Families" play. Oh yes: living room suitability is just as guaranteed as suitability for children's rooms, conservatories or bedrooms, as is compatibility with home furnishings, because thanks to do-it-yourself construction, the cabinet can be designed as desired.
The price should not hide the fact that this is an audiophile set. The Family Mini 115 consists of a small 19 mm SB Fabric dome tweeter and a handy Gradient Select bass-midrange driver with a polycarbonate diaphragm and an inverse dome tweeter. The undoubted advantage of all small drivers is always the good polar diagram, i.e. the fantastic even and wide dispersion into the room. This results in a super sound from the smallest cabinets practically in the whole room, and not just in a "sweet spot".
Important: We designed the small Family band presented here as a 2.1 speaker system, and that's why the Family Mini 115 sounds really good in a set with subwoofer support.
Crossover
The crossover is optimised for maximum economy with the right parts - optimised and not cheap.
A filter with damped blocking capacitor is built into the woofer branch, which is almost always a very good choice with "normal" bass-midrange drivers, and the tweeter is cleanly coupled according to the acoustic phase with a 1st order filter and a suction circuit to compensate for the tweeter's ressonance. This crossover design, as already used in the Home Monitor, offers an outstanding acoustic staging and a very natural sound.
All those who expect a linear frequency response with +-1 dB on axis have to be disappointed, because we are only boiling water and this speaker concept is simply not suitable for that. It is absolutely clear that the criterion "linear frequency response" is absolutely necessary as an orientation aid when tuning a loudspeaker, but when tuning the crossover, the focus is on comparative listening with much higher-quality loudspeakers before the measuring technique, so that the sound colours and authenticity of the acoustic reproduction are coherent. Thus, this speaker is tuned according to the acoustic sound impression and the acoustic phase on axis to the listening position (i.e. the optimisation of the temporal behaviour) and not according to the (only) theoretically perfect frequency response.
Since we wanted to optimise the loudspeakers for cheap chip amplifiers from the beginning - we also made sure that the impedance curve of the loudspeaker is favourable. This criterion is very important for sound colouration on different amplifiers and is often underestimated. In practice, however, amplifiers are measured on ohmic loads, but never on loads as complex as real loudspeakers usually are.
Cabinet
All boards can be glued together without any tools.
Wash off the excess joint glue with a damp cloth. This makes sanding easier.
Treat all open joints with MDF filler.
Sand everything well. A sanding block is also sufficient for this work.
I have always had good experiences with "Toom Preminum Lack". (The fact that the varnish is not opaque here is intentional.)
Drill holes for the pole terminals.
Family Sub 08 Cabinet
The subwoofer enclosure is also hard to beat in terms of simplicity of assembly. 5 steps are also sufficient to assemble the enclosure quickly.
Glue five casing parts together. Allow the joint glue to set for 30 minutes. Then glue the baffle together and let it harden well.
Alternatively, fill the joints with a two-component filler. TIP: Fills even larger gaps without any problems.
Sand by hand or machine.
Primer with door and window primer. It's available to match the Toom paint. But as long as my "Patros" editon is not empty, there won't be a new one.
Insert the speaker chassis. Pre-drilling facilitates screwing. The Gradient MDS 08 can be easily connected with the screw terminals.
Solder and screw the binding posts.
Conclusion
The harmonious combination of the Family 2.1 System represents a soundbar alternative that can be taken seriously. As mini speakers, they can be inconspicuously integrated anywhere in the home and with their good sound thanks to bass support, they are amazingly audiophile, with the price/performance ratio being the best thing about this combination.
Anyone looking for a universally usable 2.1 system in mini format will be happy on the PC as well as on the flat screen. The system has already successfully passed a meeting with many people in a cosy group.
The Family play loud and quiet without being annoying - one of the most important features of a loudspeaker system, not only for me. By adjusting the level of the subwoofer on the 2.1 amplifier, it can be universally adapted to the set-up situation in the listening room, so that the various room modes do not spoil our enjoyment of the music.