DIY Speaker Kits, a good idea?

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!

@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.)