Beyond Boutique Speakers

Personally I think way too much attention has been focused on cabinet, style, looks.
My main concern, especially at my age today, is cabinet weight.
AS I’ve mentioned here, my limit on consideration of a speaker choice is 80 lbs max. I can lift 80,,or at least half drag/carry.
I plan to add a 2nd speaker next year, after i recover my paypal debt from investment in a failed tube flipping business.
will be the Seas Bifrost,,, I plan to build my own cabinets out of oak , like stair treads from Home Depot.
I think we need to reconsider speakers and pay more attention to the quality parts in the xovers.
With my new Thor /Mundorf xovers,, I can tell you caps make a huge impact on speakers performance.
I am about to swap out 2 more caps, from EVO going to Supreme EVO, 8.2’s, list at $220 each, so its a big investment, but i’m guessing the nuance payoff will be worth it.

Back to OP, I agree with Erik, folks should look/consider beyond the commercial venue  when purchasinga  speaker.
The 3 cabinet makers Erik posted all offer beautiful designs at a  lot less cost vs commercial labs price bloated  price offerings, not to mention they can be <customized>> to your requests. .
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Defining "boutique" is like defining "craft" in many other industries. Given the nature of the products, they all have to be produced using "hand-crafted" methods. Most companies aren’t public so unless you get a D&B on them, sales are unclear.

I like the idea of "having a personal relationship with your speaker maker" as a defining characteristic.

Incidentally, by any measure I am pretty sure my company fits (not sure if that is good or bad) so please add Verdant Audio to your list.

verdantaudio.com

Tyler Acoustics has many great reviews by owners but very little mention, and by that I mean no mention,  by the big hitter reviewers. He uses Seas drivers and his cabinets look great. I guess I’m going to have to drive to Kentucky and give them a listen!

I don't believe Louis Chochos of Omega Speaker Systems has ever had a dedicated review in Stereophile.  And, as far as I know, he pretty much continues to build every pair himself to order, although he may well have some part-time help now.  Seems to me the very definition of a boutique/craft operation.

https://omegaloudspeakers.com/

The definition of "boutique" implies a small, exclusive business that specializes on their specific product or style of products and that offers customized service.  Any small business specializing in making speakers should meet the definition of "boutique" but few of those would get many (if any) reviews in publications such as Stereophile.  However, I suspect there is latitude with respect to the definition of "small."

Other related terms we sometimes hear are "bespoke" which means the product is custom-made for the buyer, artisanal which implies a distinctive product made by an "artisan," typically in small quantities, and usually by hand crafting and/or by using traditional methods, and "craftsman" which is a person who is skilled in a particular craft.  In our hi-fi world, it is not uncommon for boutique businesses to be run by an artisan who makes bespoke products for their clients/buyers.