Canadian Suppliers and Shipping

[Bekr]

I'm in the process of starting an SLA/Tuba 18 build and am balking at shipping costs to Canada. The MCM 8" for the Tuba is already ordered (for $10 shipping), but the other sites I was expecting to get parts from (PE and Madisound) are charging very high rates to ship to Kitchener, Ontario. I understand that issues like the border and the relatively high weight of audio parts makes shipping expensive, but I'm not willing to pay $40 shipping on a $50 order for the Madisound drivers. This is make or break for me- either I find something else or I build the Tuba and find a replacement for the SLA.

What I'm seeing is $40 shipping on a $50 Madisound order of 14 4" Onkyo drivers and $75 shipping on a $150, 25lb PE order of crossover components, 28 Onkyo tweeters and a 240W Dayton sub amp. Shipping the same PE order to Detroit costs $13.

So, for you southern Ontarians out there- what have you done? Are there Canadian suppliers out there that I'm not finding, or do you just live with it as a cost of building BFMs? What I'm most in need of are drivers and a sub amp, I'm pretty sure I can scrounge the other stuff on my own.

Another aspect is that I'm a complete novice to all this, and so building with non-standard parts makes me a bit nervous. Any recommendations anyone could give on alternative drivers that might be easier to find would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the hassle, but either I find a way around this or the project's off. I just can't afford to nearly double my expected parts costs. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The fault is with UPS, who bone you for for taking your packages through customs. Use sources that offer USPS shipping.

[Bekr]

That's the problem- the Madisound order is USPS, and it's the same kind of difference: it only costs about $10 to ship the same order to Detroit.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

That's the problem- the Madisound order is USPS, and it's the same kind of difference: it only costs about $10 to ship the same order to Detroit.

That means Madisound is boning you.
Unfortunately there are few Canadian sources of reasonably priced components. Solen is Canadian, no major bargains are to be had there, but worth a look anyway.

[T_Gowan]

Don't forget to check out www.loudspeaker.ca for some of your needs. They are located on Colby Drive right in Waterloo

The main products they have that interest me are Eminence and Duratex along with other things ,corners , connectors etc. I now there is a lot in their catalog that may help you in some areas.

TG

[AntonZ]

Have you asked Leland at http://www.speakerhardware.com for a quote with shipping? He has Duratex, Eminence, cabinet hardware and BFM specifics for decent prices.

[jeffbabcock]

I ordered my stuff from Leland, and he was very reasonable, and shipped USPS. Some of the stuff like powder coated grill sheets were quite large but shipping was still not bad at all. USPS is absolutely the way to go. $5 brokerage fee flat rate, plus sales tax. The only cheaper way to do it would be to pick up from a US location if you lived near the border like I do.

[T_Gowan]

Just wanted to correct my post from before. The address is www.loudspeakers.ca

TG

[Bekr]

First of all, thank you to everyone who posted- the level of support available on this forum is amazing. You've all got me a lot more optimistic about this working.

So, it's looking like my best bet is to try and find replacement drivers from somewhere else, either loudspeakers.ca or an American supplier who ships USPS. This leaves me with the problem of selecting an alternative to the recommended drivers, though. So, a few questions so I know where to start:

What's more important: wattage? physical size? impedance? or one of the other specs mentioned in the plans (fs, Qts, vas)? price? So far I've found a few leads, but none of them hit all of the recommended specs. So if I find one that looks right in terms of impedance and size but is rated at 50W instead of 5, is that better or worse than one that's closer on some of the other specs but is a 5"? I'll definitely run the specific drivers I find by you guys before buying, I just what to know where to start.

Also, am I just blind or does Leland not have SLA type drivers on his site? And would the piezo tweeters used on the bigger builds be suitable for the SLA?

Thanks again for all of your help.

[Sydney]

What's more important: wattage? physical size? impedance? or one of the other specs mentioned in the plans (fs, Qts, vas)?

With any design, the closer you are to the recommended T/S parameters the better.
But remember a driver also has to have Power handling and Excursion capabilities,

[LelandCrooks]

Also, am I just blind or does Leland not have SLA type drivers on his site? And would the piezo tweeters used on the bigger builds be suitable for the SLA?

Too many variables. Finding appropriate drivers is a task. Finding appropriate drivers at wholesale is next to impossible.

[Bekr]

I've been thinking about this, and I've decided to bite the bullet, up my budget and go with 2 T18s and a pair of Omni 10.5s. This will let me buy drivers locally, as well as give me much more flexibility in terms of how much sound I can put out. It's more expensive, but I'd rather spend the money on getting a better system than on getting parts to my house. Thanks again for all of the help, I'll keep you posted on the build.

[jskrypek]

Buy from Leland. Even with shipping, prices are better than Canadian and he will ship USPS. I do a lot of cross border stuff and unfortunately, almost everything is more money.

www.loudspeakers.ca can supply some hard to get items at a reasonable cost.

https://www.tchweb.com/cgi-bin/TCH2.storefront/ TCH is located in Toronto and is a pro hardware supplier. Have just about everything you could possibly want.

I have bought from all 3.

[Bekr]

Yep that's definitely my preferred route, it's just good to know that I can hop on a bus to Waterloo and pick them up in person if I run into any more shipping headaches.

[Tom Smit]

Last July I ordered 2 10.5 kits from Leland but I didn't order enough tweeters, so I called Loudspeakers.ca. When I asked for 20 tweeters, he asked if I was building a Bill Fitzmaurice cab! He knew! And I didn't say anything in that regard. The guy I talked to was a real nice guy. And so is Leland. Guess you have to be one to be an Eminence dealer.

TomS