DIY Speaker Kits, a good idea?

When one builds designs that are the creations of others, what they are building is another's take on what a frequency range and distortion is to be like for a particular audio device.

I have EE friends who have built and measured audio devices and friends adept at building audio devices that have built items that have been measured. Where the results of the measurements taken, strongly suggest the critical areas of sound production that relates to audio fidelity are not produced as a result of the design, not an issue with the actual build of the device.

The same is also known for Off the Shelf Branded Audio Products. Reports in the media have been made showing certain measurements but not all. Suggesting if all measurements that could be taken had been taken and shown, for those who read data with a good understanding, a product would have been identified for their not aligning to what is considered as having audio fidelity.

I like to think my choices I make with audio devices are tightly aligned to what is considered meeting the fidelity of an audio design, being how accurately sound equipment reproduces the original source, whether it's a master recording or live sound in a studio or concert hall. High fidelity (Hi-Fi) implies a high degree of accuracy in sound reproduction, with minimal distortion and a focus on clarity, precision, and realism 

I am not keen to have a design that produces a sound that come from a bespoke  circuit design which is not entirely conforming to attaining audio fidelity.    

KennyC

If I had the guts to attempt it, my number one choice would be the Linkwitz LX521, and this looks to be a complete kit with the wood flat pack for $5,350 https://linkwitz.store/product/lx521-kit/

The completed speakers are $16,500, so if the kit is complete it's a huge savings. I may give them a go sometime next year

GR-Research's NX-Otica are open baffle and look really interesting as well for $,3850 with the upgraded caps and foil inductors. I'd love to hear the NX-Treme, but I am not buying 7' tall speakers

@vthokie83 

The price listed above is in EU, it runs about $6300 US for the kit. Their price also includes the VAT. I think the VAT(usually a hefty %) is excluded for people ordering from the USA.

Madisound also carries a Linkwitz LX521 "kit" of sorts for considerably less money.. I appears all the pieces are there in separate sub-kits(except power). 

I came very close to committing to the Linkwitz Orions years ago(2010-ish), but I shied away at the required power options.  The current LX521's still require a true commitment (the build, crossover, non-std power..), but it's much easier.  I expect the path to an up and running pair of the 521s is well worth the effort. I ran across this build-blog recently on the 521s. While a fair amount  of work, the process looks pretty straight-forward.

https://www.afterness.com/audio/lx521.html

At the time(2012) I did pick up a kit to build GR Research's Super V.  Long story, but I'm now, finally, building them up.  I have the cabinets built(from scratch, no flatpack) and I'm approaching the paint-finishing stage.  I'll run them with a Don Sachs pre and power amp(speakers have 97 dB sens, 8 ohms). 

Hopefully the Super Vs will be my forever set of speakers.  If not, a pair of 521s would be on my short list.  It's nice that since Siegfried has passed, his speakers continue to be available. Quite a legacy. 

nogaps

Thanks for the correction, I was bouncing back and forth between the Linkwitz site and Madisound....and forgot to correct my brain. The link was great thank you, though I have NO wood working skills and would have to get the best flat packs available.

I'm still considering building the 521s in the future, as I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can justify a $20,000 speaker purchase......not when so many magical speakers exist in the $7,000 to $13,000 range

I highly encourage speaker building. It's really not that difficult and is very rewarding and yes, they can sound as good as any commercial units.

One area of DIY speakers that could use improvement is the cosmetic finish. Most of the DIY speakers look home made and not in a good way. Most I see are poorly done.

The world of veneers and stains and high gloss finishes requires very specilized tools and years of experience. These products are NOT available at Home Depot. You can get a decent appearence if you stay with basic finishes. However, you will NOT achieve the level of Sonus Faber high gloss finish. High gloss piano black requires a good deal of expertice.

It seems a shame to pay an auto body shop to paint speakers for the same as the entire cost of the kit, possibly more. It also seems a shame to have a new speaker end up looking like a high school project. Some do OK, but not many. It's a sore spot.