DIY Speaker Kits, a good idea?

"However, the typical audiophile mantra is to demo for yourself to find what subjectively “resonates” with you.  Can’t do this with a kit."

Not true in all cases.  The GR Research forum on audiocircle has a sticky up on top where people offer auditions of the speakers they've built. There's lots of people willing to help, if you're interested enough to pursue an audition.

I haven't chased it down, but I'd be surprised if CSS didn't offer some way of hearing their speakers before ordering.  

"Usually it's the box that is hard to make. A strong, non resonating speaker cabinet takes a lot of bracing and wood working skills."

..well, we definitely don't want to try anything outside our little bubbles.  CNC-cut flat packs are offered from the two kit vendors mentioned above. It only takes modest skills, and a minor amount of common tools, to assemble them.  People (that have never done it before) do it all time. You just have to want to do it.  There are a ton of build threads on the GR Research forum.  CSS builds are discussed on other forums(parts express, what's the best..). 

Resale..yep, there is a market(usually within audio forums as they are familiar with the models and vendor), but it'll be harder than selling a name-brand speaker.  But, say you buy a name-brand speaker for..$10K.  That speaker has..I don't know..$2500 worth of parts in it??  Then one day you need to move on from that $10K speaker and sell them for...$6K?  Well, that $4K hit you just took more than covers the cost of a very good kit.  So, the moral of the story is we all need to pay to play. You can buy a speaker kit for $2-$3K (that'll sound like a $7-$10K set of speakers) and sell it eventually, after enjoying them for years, for.. $1500? Seems like a similar story compared to the buying and selling of a name-brand speaker. 

Disclosure..I'm currently building an older model (offered & popular 12+ years ago) GR Research speaker (Super V) from scratch, no flat pack.  I'm a somewhat seasoned woodworker.  I've seen a number of sets of these built up Super V kits sell over the years for around $2K+.  The parts for this speaker kit didn't cost much more than that. 

All of the info I've offered here is on the web if you do some searching. 

Just remember, build them for your enjoyment (of the build and the music).  Don't expect a high resale value.  Same with custom cars and bikes.

I say, go for it (I have done it also!)

@nogaps 

say you buy a name-brand speaker for..$10K.  That speaker has..I don't know..$2500 worth of parts in it??  Then one day you need to move on from that $10K speaker and sell them for...$6K?  Well, that $4K hit you just took more than covers the cost of a very good kit.  So, the moral of the story is we all need to pay to play. You can buy a speaker kit for $2-$3K (that'll sound like a $7-$10K set of speakers) and sell it eventually, after enjoying them for years, for.. $1500? Seems like a similar story compared to the buying and selling of a name-brand speaker. 

This is an excellent point, and the number estimates are feasible.  Very few of us profit when reselling our audio gear, but it's certainly possible to cut our losses when we buy right.

Troels Graveson is a very very good place to start investigating options on a DIY Speaker.

I know from experiencing a few models from these designs and can say the ones heard have had a profound effect on myself, I actually believe I have heard extremely high end design for a Cabinet Speaker.

In a system very familiar to me that went through a few speaker changes over a few years, when the TG were introduced the systems End Sound was transformed in a way unimaginable.

There are high quality DIY speakers using top end drivers, solid cabinet plans, using  competent crossover designs and components. Madisound has a few kits I have been interested in building but I don’t have the need, space, or motivation at the time.

Building your own speakers is a labor of love. You might save some money but in my opinion you build because you enjoy it like any other hobby. I don’t have the design experience to design my own crossovers and it has been a number of years but still enjoy the North Creek Music System Vision Signatures and Okara II nearfield monitors I built. I’m currently looking into ways to refinish then so I can move them into a light controlled home theater. I may just cover them with a black velvet cover or tape.

You can always try building a subwoofer first. They are easier and you can find out if you enjoy the experience. The subwoofer in the background was the first DIY project, The NCM Leviathan 18" in a down firing end table design.