Anybody firmiliar with the Zalytron Kits


I've been looking into the speaker kits from Elliot at Zalytron, in particular, the Aria 7 TLR. Does anybody know anything about these, or the other kits that Elliot has to offer?
Thanks for any input.
waynev
Thanks Mroadster. I'm still digging, trying to find out what I can about these kits. I've checked out a few other kits, but it seems that Elliot's have the highest efficiency, which will work well for me as I will be using an SET tube amp. Regards,,,,,,,Wayne
Hey Wayne,
Built a pair of Elliot speakers over 10 years ago and still have them in rotation. Best cabinets for the money!!! My pair consisted of dual Cabasse 17NDLB's and a Cabasse Dom 4 tweeter. Great bargain for the money. Elliot can seem standoffish at times but when you get to know him he is a great guy. As Trelja says crossovers can be bettered with parts such as North Creek or Jensens, must experiment. But you have a hard time to find better cabinets and he carries great drivers. If you are comparing the Focal TLR tweeter I would also consider the Raven tweeter. If you have access to go to his showroom go and listen to both. Good Luck!
Mike
Thanks for your insight Trelja. I will have to do a bit more research into these kits before I decide which route I will be taking. You are correct to say that the Aria uses the Focal tweeters. The Aria 7 TLR uses the Focal TLR tweeter, which, from what I understand, is a very good tweeter. Regards,,, Wayne
Zalytron kits are really quite nice. Elliot can be a bit offputting to some people, but he is really a fine person in the speakerbuilding hobby. As far as the kits go, they are as good as almost anyone else out there sells. His designs are first rate; almost always coming from either Kimon Bellas and/or Joe D'Appolito. The cabinets are well made, heavy duty, and just what you want for good sound. The finish is not furniture quality, as is popular in many of the top assembled speakers of today. Drivers are excellent. He carries Accuton, Cabasse, Focal, Morel, Raven, Seas, etc. His kits usually feature Focal or Cabasse mids/woofers. Tweeters can be Accuton, Cabasse, or Focal. I am a big proponent of the Focal mids, but absolutely hate the Focal tweeters. Being that Kimon Bellas and Joe D'Appolito design the kits, you are usually getting a D'Appolito configuration(which the Aria 5 and Aria 7 are). You could look at things as though you are getting a JMlabs Daline(of which the plans are available from Kimon), for a much lower cost. I find the one area that the kits fall a little short is in the quality of the crossover components. While the Axon or SCR caps are good, you really can make a nice improvement in sound by using better, thicker gauge coils. I have found that two good sources for coils are AlphaCore Goertz or North Creek Music, depending on your tastes. And, please use Ohmite wirewound resistors in lieu of whatever is included in the kits these days. These resistors really do make a huge improvement. Well worth the very small cost(usually $5 - $17 for a pair of speakers). Good Luck!