The most fun you can have in audio is DIYing your own speakers

I designed my speakers from the ground up.  Took about 18 months from preliminary designs for the cabinet, identifying drivers, multiple crossover designs, etc.  It can be a steep learning curve if you don’t go the kit route, but the forums listed above can help.  With the help of a woodturner in Iowa and a carpenter in Chicago I put together a very unique loudspeaker.  And as challenging as it was, it was a really rewarding experience.  The fact they sound great and punch way above their cost helps too.  Word to the wise, tho, it’s an addicting hobby—hard to stop building after your first pair.

Troels is a very experienced and accomplished kit designer, far more than I am, however I often catch myself smiling at some of his comments and choices matching so well with mine. If I had a soul-brother in terms of speaker design I'm sure it would be him. 

If I had the time I'd like to try it.

10x is very off. Pricing for retail goes more like this manufacturer gets 30-40% over total costs retailer sells for about 33% over what he paid manufacturer. Still some like magico are pricing at what the market will bare.But on average if it costs manufacturer a $1000 they will sell to retailers for about 1300-1400 retail would be about $1800-2k. This cost structure is fairly standard.

I have reached about 40 hrs on the Klang & Ton Madisound kit - The Lee Taylor cabinets are works of art with the Koa wood veneer . The sound is the best I have heard in my room . These replaced a pair of Ohm Walsh 2000s . The price to performance ratio is a good reason to take the DIY plunge .