Joseph Oberlander wrote in message news:NW%cc.92415$K91.201387@attbi_s02...
Nousaine wrote:

What the DIY producer can do .... is make cabinetry that is elegant, unique and
magnificently finished. There's nothing wrong with that but, after building,
measuring and listening to hundreds of OEM and DIY full range and satellite
speakers over the years I can think of exactly 2 that could not be equalled or
bettered by a commerical product for significantly less money.

And here we disagree. With enough time, testing, and tweaking of
the design, a DIYer can easily equal the low-end offerings from
most every manufacturer.

Also, designs and plans for older speakers from the 80s and 90s are
available, as well as several major manufacturers that offer kit
versions of their high-end speakers. All of this data gets absorbed
and passed around. A decade ago, The Web was in its infancy. Now,
it facilitates the exchange of this data to such an extent that a
smart DIYer can start up their own speaker business and do well
enough.

Take KEF or B&W or Tannoy. A pair of MXm-2s doesn't have any magic
happening in the cabinet - it's a rectangular box with a few
tweaks to improve the bass since it's ported. The technology,
other than the shielding, is well-understood 1980's designing.

Contrary to popular belief, the big companies don't spend very
much if any time developing their lower-end "budget" models.
Certainly nothing that a DIYer with enough time and patience
couldn't do.

The guy who runs Ellis Audio has been at it for several years and
has easily more man-hours than KEF would spend on a comparable
sounding speaker. KEF would of course have several people working
for a few months on the design versus his several years by himself.

Joseph,

There may be a simple way to see if things have changed in the last 10
years. I have a great deal of respect for Tom's measurements and
evaluation techniques as I am sure many here do. See if Ellis, Salk,
Dennis Murphy , (or one of the othters) would part for a few days with
one of their best creations and see if Tom would be willing to measure
them. I can think of several speaker designs that the DIY crowd hold
close to their hearts. Maybe take it off line to see if any of the
parties are willing (oh, and let me know the results)