DIY Speakers

Well, I do agree that Parts Express does not carry many of the better brands, none the less. For $1200 or less with a promo, I find this one of the best kit values out there.... Period. Of course, it stays sold out. They only sell about a dozen at a time, then you have to wait for parts to come in again. And regardless of the brands they don't sell, you can't knock Morel, which they do stock. 

Solstice MLTL Reference Tower Speaker Kit (parts-express.com)

Most definitely MADISOUND!

If you can follow directions and are reasonably dexterous - get any of the Linkwitz OB speaker kits (e.g. Orion, or LX521, etc.), assemble them and treat yourself to sound that rivals the best available at any price!  

Really!

Raw drivers from Solen. That's 'stolen.ca'.

Just put together a sub using a Scanspeak (Danish - Scandinavian Speaker) Revelator 4557. Their prices are in Canadian $, so subtract a quarter. That's about $400 for a tremendous speaker: fast, articulate.

I judge a speaker, in part, by how well it differentiates similar frequencies. The 4557 easily discriminated 35Hz from 32, about a tone, which is what I want working with (and not against!) a system of planars.

Something else about Solen - They are a really great company which supports their customers. I just told them about a faulty item yesterday afternoon. Today they emailed me a transaction report for a 100% REFUND.

Now that's a quality company. Why buy elsewhere when you've got a choice like that?

I'll add my vote for GR-Research and Madisound.

GR has kits that deliver pretty amazing performance with high quality parts, starting at a few hundred dollars. I've lived with the NX-Oticas for about 16mo now, and I've very impressed with the overall performance. In my fairly large listening room, they deliver a deep, wide soundstage with excellent detail, dynamics and tone.

For a total investment of about $7K (including a pair of 3 driver servo open-baffle subs) and 40-50 hours of time, they deliver the best sound I've had in any system I've owned which have included several Magnepans and Revels (up to the Studios) and Duntech Sovereigns. 

My experience with Madisound is pretty dated at this point, but they provided good value and fast shipping. I never had an issue so can't comment on how they deal with problems.