DIY Speaker Kits, a good idea?
Looking at the high quality of drive units in DIY loudspeaker kits like from Madisound, GR Research, SEAS, etc., it easily looks like a sonic bargain.
However, the typical audiophile mantra is to demo for yourself to find what subjectively “resonates” with you. Can’t do this with a kit. But a kit could be a sonic jackpot for one on a tight budget. Also seems fun to build.
What’s your opinion?
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. |
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! |
@tshark "...so how is something that I build (even a kit) going to give me exceptional sound?!" You off-load the design to someone else. That's the point of buying a kit and not designing the kit yourself. (..and many high end designs do get it right..you're buiding a straw man and then easily cutting it down..)
gdaddy1..yep DIY appearance can be an issue. Building a set of speakers from a pre-cut flat pack is pretty easy, even for someone with minimal woodworking skills. If you're at all handy around the house then building a set is very doable. Then comes the appearance-finishing stage(gulp). I've seen many DIY finishes that are very nice, either painted or veneer, but that does take experience and some talent. I've seen many DIY stained Baltic birch speakers that may sound wonderful, but stained Baltic birch..ugh. (to me) One of the ugliest appearances on the planet as birch doesn't take stain well..at all. B-birch can look nice(r), but you need to know how to do it. So yes, appearance is a thing and either you need to have the talent yourself, or you hire it out, or..you do what you can. There's a couple build threads on the GR audiocircle site now where guys with little finishing experience are getting to very nice finishes because that's what they want and they're willing to do what's necessary to get there. Where many people fall down, in any endeavor in life, is they just are not willing to do what's necessary to get where they want to go. Such is life.
..and(not directed at you) many folks excel at coming up with a thousand reasons why things can't be done. In my working life, they were everywhere.(..and they were often boring people.) |
