Built your own speakers ?

I have tried to build my own speakers as well using Dynaudio drivers. It took years and lots of tinkering. I was never satisfied. I thought I could make them sound even better each time I played with the cross-over and box. I spent more time playing with the design than listening to music. After a few years and much frustration I bought the North Creek Rythmn speakers and I am again listening to music not frustrating myself with speaker design. If you do not have an excellant understanding of electronics and are skilled in cabinet making and have software to design x-overs and lots of time and patience, do not do it! Buy a good designed kit!

I've only built a sub but sure learned lots from the experience. My next project is my fronts and I'm only looking to spend around 1600. If you take the approach that the saving from dyi going into the parts, I'm sure you can build as good a speaker as commerical. Very good drivers can be purchased from manufactures ( I heard vr 4's. Geez they don't make their own drivers). Crossovers? Parts are made by other people. Enclosure? Material again made by other parties. I am leaning towards building the BESL 2.4 using Seas Excel drivers. Not cheap but will be a very nice speaker. Again I'm looking to spend less than 2 grand. The story may change if your spending megabuck, but I my price range you can do just as well as a commerical company.

Didn't say I couldn't reverse engineer my VR4's and come close to their sound for less money but that would be cheating wouldn't it? (Besides you've got to buy a set and dismantle them to copy them) Seems to me I've seen a ad for a company that does just that advertising is stereophile in the last year or so. (Copies other company's designs) Anyone else seen the ad?

I'm not sure how getting the most for your money is cheating; guess it is a New England concept. I found a site off of the sub dyi that lists the drivers found in many quality speakers. Some of these drivers are included in kits. It takes a leap of faith to go from a pile of parts to speaker, but in my price range you can get a very good speaker.

My opinion is still if I was given the drivers and crossovers of a speaker I like, I'd still be hard pressed to duplicate the sound because of the cabinets. Its not just a woodworking exercise. The sound deadening, diffraction limiting, time alignment issues of the cabinet, not to mention the finish, are not trivial issues.