I've built a set of Edgarhorns in kit form this past year. Even though the cabinets are finished for the most part and I'm using the crossover designed by Bruce Edgar I still find many parameters to tweak, adjust, experiment with. I knew going into this project that there are many things that Bruce knows that I don't know so I'm sure that the performance I'm getting is only about 80-90% of what it would be if I'd just bought an Edgarhorn system from Bruce. But I've saved close to 1/2 the cost.
Some of the kits from GR Research have also caught my eye. Danny has done all of the work with driver selection and component matching so you just supply the sweat and lumber. Many have reported that his open baffle kits rival planars in dynamics. I'd like to have a listen for myself before diving in.
I think you can learn a lot by DIY and a speaker kit may be one of the easier projects in this hobby to take on. This does depend on your skill level and tool chest. However, the quality of sound has little to do with how good the cabinets look. You can still get very good results. There are suppliers that will help you match components, just like buying tubes. I believe it is possible to DIY a speaker that will compete with many speakers costing around $10-12K, maybe more. It may take a good deal of effort, both physical and mental. If you like to tinker this should be a project right up your alley. You will probably make a few mistakes, but you won't be learning much if you don't.
Don't expect to get much of your money back if you build speakers and then want to sell them to buy something else. Even if the cabinets are gorgeous, they may still be a one-off speaker.
You can get an decent RTA for free. Just Google RoomEQ Wizard. It will work with most currently available sound cards. TrueRTA is also a great product but will cost about $100 or so. I would suggest using a good Behringer test mic. Parts Express has an ECM8000 for a decent price. The source for the RoomEq will also have a calibration file for this mic that will be close enough to do what you need. There is also software to help design cabinets if you want to go all out from the ground up.
Visit AudioCircle, DIYaudio, AudioKarma.org, and AudioAsylum. There is tons of info out there on DIY speakers.
Some of the kits from GR Research have also caught my eye. Danny has done all of the work with driver selection and component matching so you just supply the sweat and lumber. Many have reported that his open baffle kits rival planars in dynamics. I'd like to have a listen for myself before diving in.
I think you can learn a lot by DIY and a speaker kit may be one of the easier projects in this hobby to take on. This does depend on your skill level and tool chest. However, the quality of sound has little to do with how good the cabinets look. You can still get very good results. There are suppliers that will help you match components, just like buying tubes. I believe it is possible to DIY a speaker that will compete with many speakers costing around $10-12K, maybe more. It may take a good deal of effort, both physical and mental. If you like to tinker this should be a project right up your alley. You will probably make a few mistakes, but you won't be learning much if you don't.
Don't expect to get much of your money back if you build speakers and then want to sell them to buy something else. Even if the cabinets are gorgeous, they may still be a one-off speaker.
You can get an decent RTA for free. Just Google RoomEQ Wizard. It will work with most currently available sound cards. TrueRTA is also a great product but will cost about $100 or so. I would suggest using a good Behringer test mic. Parts Express has an ECM8000 for a decent price. The source for the RoomEq will also have a calibration file for this mic that will be close enough to do what you need. There is also software to help design cabinets if you want to go all out from the ground up.
Visit AudioCircle, DIYaudio, AudioKarma.org, and AudioAsylum. There is tons of info out there on DIY speakers.