No frills speaker manufacturers

@blue_collar_audio_guy, just a note of caution on DIY/kits. Not all of them sound good even if they use good drives and show a nice modeled response. I’ve built a number of kits, designed a couple of my own, and heard many more at DIY meets. Sometimes, commercial speakers sounded better even at similar BOM cost vs retail.

If you are going this route, due diligince is recommended. Espically, if your are going with a BOM over a grand. Some designs available as kits that impressed me were Jeff Bagby’s Kairos and the Linkwitz Pluto & LX Mini.

For commerical, another high value brand is Salk but his speakers are not no frills in the finish department. However, even with their nice encolsures they are still very high value in dollars to performance ratio. The Song3 BeAT is a gem as is the SM6 IMHO.

Used and neglected 80s vintage Ohm Walsh talls if you can find them on a fairly local Craigslist, and then buy upgraded speakers to install in the original cabinets.  With luck the cabinets are presentable, and the new speakers come with new grill cloth.

When I first got into audio during high school, I was robbed for all I had, buying a set of speakers. It stung since money came hard to me as a kid. I then discovered a kit that I built in woodshop that turned out to be better than I ever imagined. Point here is, if you have the ability and want to get most out of your hard-earned dollar, the right kit will be unbeatable. Just imagine what a manufacturer has to spend in shipping and labor to design a speaker to a certain price point. Add to that the commission of a dealer and it all gets very expensive for the consumer.

 Way back when I returned to buying a consumer product, I chose a $900/pr set of speakers along with a sub. I had to replace the tweeter in one cabinet because of a mistake that I made and found a $17 driver was used. That lowered my trust back making my own ever since. Absolutely no regrets about it either.

I must second the GR Research suggestion. I have a pair of XLS Encore from GR that are my cheapest speaker set (out of 3 total) and the best sounding of all. 
I am NOT a woodworker, so I had them pre-built for me with the upgraded Xover components. WOW! Such clean, clear sound with surprising bass. 
Worth a look and you don’t have to build them if you don’t want to. 

thegm,

  I'm going back your idea because I built a GR Research sub about a year ago. I just happened to have had a cabinet that I made for passive sub many years ago and used it. My compliment to GR Research was about the quality of the driver and the amp. Plus, it came with many ways to 'tune' the sub to my system. If they build products for active subs this well, then it carries into their speaker line as well.