DIY Speakers, worth the hassles?

Agree with all the above posts. I am currently in love with my North Creek Rhythm Signatures. I had the cabinets built by their resident master - Lee Taylor. The quality of the the kit components, especially the crossovers, are way high end. To my ears these speakers compete with speakers in the 5k to 12k range (Verity, Dynaudio, Vienna, Audio Physics.)

This was my first "DIY" project. I admit that having someone else do the research into crossovers and driver integration as well as cabinet building made this less DIY. But from the subtext of your post I assume you may be looking more for a break in price than the challenge of design and construction. If that is the case, I would highly recommend the North Creek kits. They are more expensive than most DIY kits, but the advantage gained in time and quality make them a real value.

Have fun. -Karl

I have never tried building my own. The commercialy made speakers that I seem to enjoy all seem to be designed and built around some pretty sophisticated tesing equipment. I don't have access to a Fast Fourier, quailty microphones, etc. I am under the impression that drivers and parts come with generous tolerences and are still often way out of spec. I haven't the measurement tools or expertise to deal with what appears to be a rather complicated venture.

Ake , About the Seas EX High Edition, log onto http://www.kochaudio/ Then click home hifi then click bausatze then click on Excel (not Seas). This 3 way speaker is fully assembled i believe. Its 650 euros/each. I believe Mike can ship. A very beautiful speaker, with some very fine drivers, Seas W21+Seas W17+Seas 650 Neo tweeter. This would be my only other choice IF i could not find someone to design my speakers. Rick sold me some cabinets that he had laying around for like $200/pr! 36x12x10 The xovers cost me $275, that may be for only the parts, i'm not sure. Rick used Hovland, Eagle, Solen parts. I suggested that we use superior parts, and that whichever parts we don't need, i pay he keeps. I wanted him to "tweak" as best he could. He asked $400 for the installing the drivers and for the xover design. That was fair for me.

Like i said i believe and am confident that the Excel High Edition is the best speaker for the money, well worth the hassel to import from Germany. Alot less than most commercials, so well worth the gamble.

DIY is the only way to go in speakers!!! Even if you have someone else to everything, you still save 70% over retail. And if you have any kind of skill with a screwdriver or soldering iron, you can save 90% over retail.
Start simple and use premium parts, especially in the crossover. Many people and companies do designs that are as good, or superior, as commercial speaker products.
Another thing is just the learning experience of what goes into a speaker, and the ability to sort through the marketing crap that the commercial companies use to describe their products.