I have heard a number of DIY designs (and built about 15 or some from
various speaker designers.) I'm a cabinet builder not a crossover guy, so I've
looked for work by people who I consider to be very talented.
I have not heard the Linkwtiz kit, and I am sure it is very good. But to say
anything is without peer I think is a mistake. There tons and tons of DIY
designs out there be people that really know what they are doing, no one has
heard them all.
Madisound is a fun place to start. (http://www.madisound.com. They
have kits they have designed, they also have kits by popular designers. In
addition, they can measure and build any type of speaker you want.
Meniscus audio has a similar philosophy. (http://www.meniscusaudio.com)
They also do custom work, but actually measure drivers in cabinets. In
addition, they have tons of kits for basically every driver they sell. Good folks
over there.
There are message boards with shared designs. At
http://www.htguide.com/forum
you will find the statement series from Curt Campbell. Many people have
been highly impressed.
As Peter mentioned, Troels does incredible work with all types of drivers. So
does John Krutke of Zaph audio (http://www.zaphaudio.com). I
helped a friend build the ZRT 2.5. A super nice design for a pretty minimal
outlay of cash compared to the finished speakers available at that price.
Tony Gee at http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com is no longer publishing
free designs, but his archive page still
has probably close to 30 designs.
I know there are people that say DIY designs will never rival the commercial
competition. But a lot of the stuff I listed above is beyond what I could call
DIY. They have similar measurement and testing setups to a lot of
commercial speaker designers, and are able to spend more time tweaking
crossovers because they don't have to hit a price point and are not necessarily
concerned with number of hours spent on designs.
The parts express board has some more cost effective designs that are very
nice as well. (http://techtalk.parts-express.com) Have fun exploring. For
me, it's become an addition. I've had over 40 pairs of commercials speakers,
but I've come to the conclusion that because I'm competent with cabinet
building, veneer work, and finishing, I can't afford to buy commercial
speakers any more. The value (in general) isn't there for me. The most fun
for me has been learning the skill of unbacked veneering. I've spent countless
hours perfecting my abilities in that arena and really enjoy it.
various speaker designers.) I'm a cabinet builder not a crossover guy, so I've
looked for work by people who I consider to be very talented.
I have not heard the Linkwtiz kit, and I am sure it is very good. But to say
anything is without peer I think is a mistake. There tons and tons of DIY
designs out there be people that really know what they are doing, no one has
heard them all.
Madisound is a fun place to start. (http://www.madisound.com. They
have kits they have designed, they also have kits by popular designers. In
addition, they can measure and build any type of speaker you want.
Meniscus audio has a similar philosophy. (http://www.meniscusaudio.com)
They also do custom work, but actually measure drivers in cabinets. In
addition, they have tons of kits for basically every driver they sell. Good folks
over there.
There are message boards with shared designs. At
http://www.htguide.com/forum
you will find the statement series from Curt Campbell. Many people have
been highly impressed.
As Peter mentioned, Troels does incredible work with all types of drivers. So
does John Krutke of Zaph audio (http://www.zaphaudio.com). I
helped a friend build the ZRT 2.5. A super nice design for a pretty minimal
outlay of cash compared to the finished speakers available at that price.
Tony Gee at http://www.humblehomemadehifi.com is no longer publishing
free designs, but his archive page still
has probably close to 30 designs.
I know there are people that say DIY designs will never rival the commercial
competition. But a lot of the stuff I listed above is beyond what I could call
DIY. They have similar measurement and testing setups to a lot of
commercial speaker designers, and are able to spend more time tweaking
crossovers because they don't have to hit a price point and are not necessarily
concerned with number of hours spent on designs.
The parts express board has some more cost effective designs that are very
nice as well. (http://techtalk.parts-express.com) Have fun exploring. For
me, it's become an addition. I've had over 40 pairs of commercials speakers,
but I've come to the conclusion that because I'm competent with cabinet
building, veneer work, and finishing, I can't afford to buy commercial
speakers any more. The value (in general) isn't there for me. The most fun
for me has been learning the skill of unbacked veneering. I've spent countless
hours perfecting my abilities in that arena and really enjoy it.