Making High End Clones at Home for Fun and Savings


I recently ordered a Sonic Impact amp from parts express and I have been experimenting with speakers including a pair of Epos ELS3's and the Radio Shack Presidians to use with an iPod.

On the one hand, this really made me appreciate my ARC, Levinson, and Tympanis which was nice.

But as you know if you have tried these bargain components, they can sound surprisingly good. And experimenting with them has given me a bit of a do it yourself bug.

Can anyone please provide more links or details on how to make high end components at home?

Given the fairly easy availability of good drivers, can we also buy high quality, simple crossovers? Amplifier kits?

Composite cabinets to knock off Green Mountain Audio or Wilson monitors?

This is FUN! Please do tell.
cwlondon
Audiokinesis...True, the "clone" might be slightly different. For example, the enclosure could be made of superior wood and with better craftsmanship, and the crossover could use superior parts. Crossover upgrades are a common diy project. It improved my MG1.6.
Eldartford:
your best bet is to biamp using an electronic crossover that is easily reconfigured for frequency and slopes
I couldn't agree more. I would recommend this in the strongest terms for anyone wanting to take up speakers as a hobby. For example, an investment of $~200 or so buys a Behringer 2496\ which, used as a tool, saves days of wasted efforts!
Gregm...I didn't mention the Behringer brand because people may be begining to think I work for that outfit! But your suggestion is good. Just to be clear, you are talking about the DCX2496, a crossover, not the DEQ2496 which is an equalizer. But why not do both for about $600(including mic). The DCX crossover is part of the speaker system. The DEQ measures how the system performs, and then fixes what is wrong. Life is good!
I meant the Xover, thanks for clarifying. But your suggestion for the "full system" still takes the prize!