Go DIY, my friend! The satisfaction you experience will be tremendous! Every time you time your system on, you will smile. Most of the cost of "built" speakers is labor, cosmetics, and R&D. It's the drivers, the cabinet, and the crossovers that count. If you can get the cabinet pre-cut, that will help a lot (but shipping is expensive) and save you a lot of time. How the finished project looks is up to you. As long as no one in the house throws a fit, it doesn't have to look marvelous. GO FOR IT!
To Buy or to DIY, here is my question
If I buy the speakers that appear closest to what I desire
they are $11k new and $8k used.
If I buy the raw speakers and build it
the speakers alone are $2.2k.
That is a 3 way system.
Still must add costs of XOs and cabs.
Assume the total custom build cost would be about $3k.
The $8k speakers used are Proac D40Rs.
The raw components would be from ScanSpeak and SB acoustics
and include 10" woofer, 4.5" Mid and a planar ribbon tweeter.
MadiSound provides XO advice.
Comments???