I built a set of George's Eska speakers, which are basically floor-standing Okara II MTM speakers. The crossovers are a work of art! MASSIVE inductors and great parts quality. The drivers are among the best available.
Your skills as a woodworker will determine the quality of the finished outcome. I'm a woodworking hacker, altho I've built quite a bit of furniture. But I will say that the Lee Taylor cabinets are extraordinarily fine looking. I started to build my own cabinets, but then I got busy at work and they sat for 6 months. So eventually I just ordered a set from Lee.
One thing I did notice. If you build your own cabinets according to George's guidelines, you'll have much more rigid and acousically inert boxes. When I carefully examined the ones Lee made, I found they do NOT have all the features of the designs that George suggests that you build. Specifically, the wood thickness of the front baffle is less, and the internal bracing is less. The internal damping and constrained-layer construction isn't there either. I never did finish my own cabinets, but sometime I will and do a comparison of the sound to the Lee Taylor cabinets.
The speakers themselves turned out to sound extremely nice. I needed speakers that could be close to walls, and these fit the bill. Great highs, nice midrange and clean but not very extended bass. I supplement with a Vandersteen subwoofer and I'm a happy camper.
Recommended! And the Manifest is a beauty! Wish I could afford them.
Good luck!
Frank
Your skills as a woodworker will determine the quality of the finished outcome. I'm a woodworking hacker, altho I've built quite a bit of furniture. But I will say that the Lee Taylor cabinets are extraordinarily fine looking. I started to build my own cabinets, but then I got busy at work and they sat for 6 months. So eventually I just ordered a set from Lee.
One thing I did notice. If you build your own cabinets according to George's guidelines, you'll have much more rigid and acousically inert boxes. When I carefully examined the ones Lee made, I found they do NOT have all the features of the designs that George suggests that you build. Specifically, the wood thickness of the front baffle is less, and the internal bracing is less. The internal damping and constrained-layer construction isn't there either. I never did finish my own cabinets, but sometime I will and do a comparison of the sound to the Lee Taylor cabinets.
The speakers themselves turned out to sound extremely nice. I needed speakers that could be close to walls, and these fit the bill. Great highs, nice midrange and clean but not very extended bass. I supplement with a Vandersteen subwoofer and I'm a happy camper.
Recommended! And the Manifest is a beauty! Wish I could afford them.
Good luck!
Frank