DIY Speaker Kits, a good idea?

@vthokie83 

The price listed above is in EU, it runs about $6300 US for the kit. Their price also includes the VAT. I think the VAT(usually a hefty %) is excluded for people ordering from the USA.

Madisound also carries a Linkwitz LX521 "kit" of sorts for considerably less money.. I appears all the pieces are there in separate sub-kits(except power). 

I came very close to committing to the Linkwitz Orions years ago(2010-ish), but I shied away at the required power options.  The current LX521's still require a true commitment (the build, crossover, non-std power..), but it's much easier.  I expect the path to an up and running pair of the 521s is well worth the effort. I ran across this build-blog recently on the 521s. While a fair amount  of work, the process looks pretty straight-forward.

https://www.afterness.com/audio/lx521.html

At the time(2012) I did pick up a kit to build GR Research's Super V.  Long story, but I'm now, finally, building them up.  I have the cabinets built(from scratch, no flatpack) and I'm approaching the paint-finishing stage.  I'll run them with a Don Sachs pre and power amp(speakers have 97 dB sens, 8 ohms). 

Hopefully the Super Vs will be my forever set of speakers.  If not, a pair of 521s would be on my short list.  It's nice that since Siegfried has passed, his speakers continue to be available. Quite a legacy. 

nogaps

Thanks for the correction, I was bouncing back and forth between the Linkwitz site and Madisound....and forgot to correct my brain. The link was great thank you, though I have NO wood working skills and would have to get the best flat packs available.

I'm still considering building the 521s in the future, as I don't think I'll ever get to the point where I can justify a $20,000 speaker purchase......not when so many magical speakers exist in the $7,000 to $13,000 range

I highly encourage speaker building. It's really not that difficult and is very rewarding and yes, they can sound as good as any commercial units.

One area of DIY speakers that could use improvement is the cosmetic finish. Most of the DIY speakers look home made and not in a good way. Most I see are poorly done.

The world of veneers and stains and high gloss finishes requires very specilized tools and years of experience. These products are NOT available at Home Depot. You can get a decent appearence if you stay with basic finishes. However, you will NOT achieve the level of Sonus Faber high gloss finish. High gloss piano black requires a good deal of expertice.

It seems a shame to pay an auto body shop to paint speakers for the same as the entire cost of the kit, possibly more. It also seems a shame to have a new speaker end up looking like a high school project. Some do OK, but not many. It's a sore spot.

I guess it depends what you are looking for. Audiophile sound (not just good sound), a neat project (commendable), or trying to save money. 
I see it that even high end speaker Co can’t get it right so how is something that I build (even a kit) going to give me exceptional sound?!

If you build a proven design like Linkwitz's 521 and you stick to spec, you will have audiophile sound in a world-class speaker.

It's easy to spend well over $10K (including amplification) on a 521 build, but it's still a bargain relative to the handful of retail speakers capable of equal or better sound quality, or even to the $30-35K linkwitz.store charges for the finished product. 

Linkwitz 521 can be auditioned - look up "Linkwitz lounges". Have fun!