whats there in impedence? why 4 ohms speakers are costly?

[gcpraveen]

does 4ohm speakers sound well?

I saw Polk Audio RTI A3 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Black) : costs 399$ after discount(List price is : 459.95$) - 8 ohm

Polk Audio LSi9 Bookshelf Speakers (Pair, Ebony) : costs: 599$ after discount(List price 1149.95$ ) - 4 ohm.


this is just sample, but most of the 4 ohm speakers are costly... why is that? will there be any difference in sound ( I mean quality)?

 

[doors666]

the specific example given by you could be because the bookshelf uses better and more expensive drivers.

usually (not always) a speaker is 4 ohms when 2 8 ohm drivers are connected in parallel, resulting in a 4 ohm impedence and higher cost.

 

[spirovious]

These polk do not belong to same family.LS series is certainly costlier than Rti.TS BS are still cheaper than rest.

 

[Flash]

The Lsi is a better speaker nothing to do with ohms.
The drivers used are better than the RTI.

However word of note. Most companies in this price bracket use cheap drivers. you are usually paying 50% extra for shipping , Company profits, Dealer profits, Distributer profits, Chinese factory profits etc. Not much going into technology here.

That is why. The DIY community exists. you can build a much better speaker with quality components removing all the profit margins from the chain
My 2 cents hyeah:

 

[Hari Iyer]

The Lsi is a better speaker nothing to do with ohms.
The drivers used are better than the RTI.

However word of note. Most companies in this price bracket use cheap drivers. you are usually paying 50% extra for shipping , Company profits, Dealer profits, Distributer profits, Chinese factory profits etc. Not much going into technology here.

That is why. The DIY community exists. you can build a much better speaker with quality components removing all the profit margins from the chain
My 2 cents hyeah:

I Concur. At the same cost DIY can give far more better quality.

 

[Flash]

gcpraveen.. Forget the Lsi / TSI / RTi from Polk .....

Have a serious look at Mr Hari Iyer's transmission line speakers. From what I heard from the guys who were at the Hifi meet in Mumbai recently. They seriously rock at the price point. A very well designed speaker with a lot more thought / design process that has gone into it than most big brand manufactures who strap cheap drivers in a box and call them speakers.

There are other options as well in india... So look at all options available seriously

Take for example
Polk Tsi400. (Since you spoke about Polk)
It has 4 drivers and a tweeter in a Big FS cabinet and all for around 35k a PAIR.
So 2 speakers with a total of 10 drivers

Factor this, A dealer in India will buy it from a distributor and atleast have a 10% -15% profit margin minimum so out of 35k. So minus 5k
Cost of the speaker is now Rs 30k ..
Add the distributors/importers, profit margin of another 10% cost now works out to Rs 27k
Now import duty on the product since it is not made in India is another 20% minimum. Lets stick to 20% . So reduce another 6k approx .
Cost of speaker is now 21k,
Now freight charges from China Reduce another 1k per speaker
Cost of speakers pair is now 19k.

Now Polk needs to make some sort of profits. They are after all in a business and would need to make at least a 20% profit margin to make it sustainable to survive So lets reduce 4k off the total

Cost of speakers is now 15k

Now lets assume it is made in China and the company factoring labor costs, electricity, management, Premises local taxes etc It probably works out to 2.5k a speaker pair as overheads including their profits
So now cost is 12.5k for a pair of Polk

Now manufacturing costs. the cabinets using cheap Chinese MDF, finishing, Grill, grill cloth Binding posts, Speaker Spikes, Crossover etc lets say works out to Rs 2.5k per cabinet as bare minimum, It should be more but lets stick to 2.5k per cabinet so a pair would be 5k
Cost of the speaker pair is now 7.5k

We are now finally left with Speaker Drivers

So 10 drivers in total The drivers cost now Rs750 each. Which is still being overly optimistic... In all reality the drivers probably cost Rs250 - Rs 500 each.

So does it honestly make sense buying a big brand and paying 35k for a pair of speakers which uses probably Rs2,500 to Rs 5000 of drivers in total.

Now assume you decide to make yourself a Pair of FS for 35k - you would probably spend 25k on the drivers and get one hell of a kick ass FS that would sound better than speakers in the 75k - 100k range from big brands

My 2 cents AGAIN..... Cheers

-F l a s h-

 

[corElement]

i wish i knew how to diy =(

 

[Flash]

i wish i knew how to diy =(

Dude.. Its pretty simple .... No Rocket science here .. there is a plethora of Info on the net. there is a Huge DIY community, and there is absolutely no shortage of drivers. you can get el cheapo drivers right up to the expensive highly acclaimed Accuton Drivers

Try it out. You will not regret it ever.

 

[avidyarthy]

One guy has to show some guts .... as someone earlier said .... have balls of IRON .... rest would follow suit ..... damn, 'bher-chaal' .... huh!

 

[BLASTO]

gcpraveen.. Forget the Lsi / TSI / RTi from Polk .....

Have a serious look at Mr Hari Iyer's transmission line speakers. From what I heard from the guys who were at the Hifi meet in Mumbai recently. They seriously rock at the price point. A very well designed speaker with a lot more thought / design process that has gone into it than most big brand manufactures who strap cheap drivers in a box and call them speakers.

There are other options as well in india... So look at all options available seriously

Take for example
Polk Tsi400. (Since you spoke about Polk)
It has 4 drivers and a tweeter in a Big FS cabinet and all for around 35k a PAIR.
So 2 speakers with a total of 10 drivers

Factor this, A dealer in India will buy it from a distributor and atleast have a 10% -15% profit margin minimum so out of 35k. So minus 5k
Cost of the speaker is now Rs 30k ..
Add the distributors/importers, profit margin of another 10% cost now works out to Rs 27k
Now import duty on the product since it is not made in India is another 20% minimum. Lets stick to 20% . So reduce another 6k approx .
Cost of speaker is now 21k,
Now freight charges from China Reduce another 1k per speaker
Cost of speakers pair is now 19k.

Now Polk needs to make some sort of profits. They are after all in a business and would need to make at least a 20% profit margin to make it sustainable to survive So lets reduce 4k off the total

Cost of speakers is now 15k

Now lets assume it is made in China and the company factoring labor costs, electricity, management, Premises local taxes etc It probably works out to 2.5k a speaker pair as overheads including their profits
So now cost is 12.5k for a pair of Polk

Now manufacturing costs. the cabinets using cheap Chinese MDF, finishing, Grill, grill cloth Binding posts, Speaker Spikes, Crossover etc lets say works out to Rs 2.5k per cabinet as bare minimum, It should be more but lets stick to 2.5k per cabinet so a pair would be 5k
Cost of the speaker pair is now 7.5k

We are now finally left with Speaker Drivers

So 10 drivers in total The drivers cost now Rs750 each. Which is still being overly optimistic... In all reality the drivers probably cost Rs250 - Rs 500 each.

So does it honestly make sense buying a big brand and paying 35k for a pair of speakers which uses probably Rs2,500 to Rs 5000 of drivers in total.

Now assume you decide to make yourself a Pair of FS for 35k - you would probably spend 25k on the drivers and get one hell of a kick ass FS that would sound better than speakers in the 75k - 100k range from big brands

My 2 cents AGAIN..... Cheers

-F l a s h-

Hey Flash,

We are forgetting the R&D.
Speakers is not about putting costly drives into speaker boxes. It is merely assembling process that we are talking about.

Even so, who designs and builds the speaker drives? Can you do it DIY? Why not do it then? Extending your argument, how much does a 25k driver actually take to make? What if a 5k driver is sold to you for 25k after all the intermediate charges? What if a 25k driver is sold to the mass companies for 10k because they are purchasing it in millions and you are buying like -wait for it- 2?

A lot of companies do create their own drives along with other components to get their in-house sound. You can specifically hear out the differences as you move up the chain and definitely it is not due to only driver differences you would agree.

Iam not saying DIY is not benefecial, but under-stating the R&D and fine tuning done by big brands is not correct. It can be argued that they are able to sell their speakers for less than DIY speakers of the same plant by mass production and decreasing margins on single units. Not to talk about strict quality control + brand value maintenance + competitive edge. Other than ultra high ends, most mid end companies will die to price their products lesser to pip out the competetion if they can sell more units at the said price. And not to forget, most mass market companies are mostly DIYs ones upon a time which were accepted by a majority of the population. Else they would not have reaches the heights. Last thing, china is not synonymous to 'bad'.

If what you say is true then,
1) World will be full of DIY speakers
2) The DIY companies will eventually become mass producers and lose market.

 

[mav]

This thread seems to have lost the direction in which the OP wanted it to go but I cant help but admit am loving the discussion about DiY and its pros and cons ! I love the way we are all so passionate here

 

[Flash]

We are forgetting the R&D.
Speakers is not about putting costly drives into speaker boxes. It is merely assembling process that we are talking about.

There is a big difference in assembling and designing. Yes DIY is about designing and not assembling. I am talking about the run of the mill el cheapo FS here

Even so, who designs and builds the speaker drives? Can you do it DIY? Why not do it then?

Can a speaker driver be made DIY .. Yes it can be .... Not rocket science. there are a lot of people who have designed and made their own drivers. Including Indians . So lets not get into can I build a driver . the same goes for an Amp... Can it be built .. Yes .. We are seeing amps built by DiY hobbists left right and center. Including some prominent FM's here.
Spend some time looking at the DIY community in this forum as well to understand the level of expertise that some Fm's have over here
The question is can you build one .... I guess not .. If you don't have the skill or the brains then it makes sense not to even go there .. Can i build a amp.. Again no , for reasons mentioned above

Now Can i build a speaker driver...Well yes and no ... yes .. Because I can design one would it be good at the first go . Hell no ... It would sound like crap and No because I would not know where to source the components like the spider frame etc.
Would I ever get it right ... well yes . after probably 100 - 500 attempts .. Like a wise man who designed the Light bulb once said .. " I now know 9000 ways of how not to make it."

So yes everything involves a learning curve .
Look at Rethm speakers with the Lowther driver.You think Mr Jacob George got it right the first time around .... Years and years of patience and Trial and error. But does that make it impossible . I guess not...

Extending your argument, how much does a 25k driver actually take to make? What if a 5k driver is sold to you for 25k after all the intermediate charges? What if a 25k driver is sold to the mass companies because they are purchasing it in millions and you are buying like -wait for it- 2?

I get your point.
How much does a Tile on your floor cost to make ... Depends on the manufacturing process, Materials used etc etc

How much does a 25k driver take to make .... Depends on whats being used and how it is made Paper, kevlar,Ceramic, Diamond etc etc...
... Look up on Accuton drivers. Do you know that Tidal a very well renowned Hifi company used Accuton drivers which I can buy off the shelf. Or for that matter Do you know who makes Gr-Research drivers ..I guess not
A another brand that makes Hifi speakers System Audio. well guess what I can buy the exact same drivers at a fraction of the cost.

Now would it sound as good as a System Audio or Tidal speaker whch costs several 1000's dollars .. I guess not ... Because of research & development on crossover design / Cabinet design.
But if a Diyer takes the time and knows how to design a cabinet / crossover etc and kmos the principles of a Driver.He can build something using the same drivers that can knock the socks out of any big brand at the same price ... Hell yeah. No 2 ways about it .
Would it ever sound as good as a Tidal .... Again trial and error.

Now the question about quantity. Luckily there are speaker drivers available left right and center. I guess you never probably looked around and researched them cause they are not your cup of tea.
Since they are being bought by the 100's and 1000's .... their pricing is very competitive. So wait for it........ 2 does not exist... I am not the only one buying it ...... lol ....

Yes a lot of companies make their own drivers.
you need to understand speaker drivers design to understand how they work.
Speaker drivers is not rocket science. Take a speaker from the 1960's and compare it to a speaker drivers from today. Not much has changed. Read up on T/S parameters of speaker drivers before going off to sleep to better understand Speaker drivers

A lot of companies do create their own drives along with other components to get their in-house sound. You can specifically hear out the differences as you move up the chain and definitely it is not due to only driver differences you would agree.

Agree and disagree ..let me break it into 2 parts.
1. In house sound ... Is primarily due to Drivers, Crossover ...Cabinet.
Lets take for example a wharfedale FS ...they are known to be warm speakers . can i make it bright using the existing drivers and cabinet and change the entire sound signature .. Yes ... Completely.. by modifying the crossover.
Can I make them sound as bright as a Klipsh.. No there is a inherent difference between a silk dome tweeter / Alluminum tweeter and a Horn tweeter.
Again read up before going off to bed.

2.Now the In house sound ..... Again governed by a setup rule of principles of speaker driver / Cabinet / Crossover
Yes they build their own drivers ir get it made for them and get it down to a specification to get the same sort of sound signature, use better quality components etc etc etc as you move up the chain.

I am not saying DIY is not benefecial, but under-stating the R&D and fine tuning done by big brands is not correct. It can be argued that they are able to sell their speakers for less than DIY speakers of the same plant by mass production and decreasing margins on single units. Not to talk about strict quality control + brand value maintenance + competitive edge. Other than ultra high ends, most mid end companies will die to price their products lesser to pip out the competetion if they can sell more units at the said price. And not to forget, most mass market companies are mostly DIYs ones upon a time which were accepted by a majority of the population. Else they would not have reaches the heights. Last thing, china is not synonymous to 'bad'.

I agree.
Bec of mass manufacturing etc. Their prices are competitive and probably even lower than a Diy effort. But think about it .... Prices in India suck .. and you agree with that.. Look at the import duties, Exchange rate fluctuation, middle men, Distributers importers, freight charges et all

Where is all our money going. a huge chunk 50% or more going straight into the chain and not the component itself.

Let me put forth an example we have Cadence in our own backyard. Look at the Indian prices and the prices of the same amps / speakers that Cadence sells in the US / European markets ... the Price difference is Astronomical.
Purely due to the entire chain mentioned above.

China is by no means bad... Nor have I said they are Bad.. IAG group for example has their own factory with strict quality measures so does Paradigm B&W etc etc.

I am not saying don't buy a mass market brand ..... Buy it by all means . I use a Mass market speaker and would buy one again..
They know what they are doing atleast with the midfi setups that we have. It feels nice to place your money with companies that know what they are doing.
Would I build my own speaker design using drivers sourced from elsewhere . Yes I will and I am at the moment .


Would I buy most Hifi products off the shelf in India.... I guess not .... My Power Amps , Even the B&W 685 were all brought abroad.My Preamp / CDP /DAC is coming down from the US
I visited a AV shop today and the 685 MRP is now 62k in India. For god sakes I bought it for a good 30k less a couple of months ago.

Infact I was talking to the owner about the 805D.. Since I am pretty much interested in it. I have given up on FS. Anyway the bookshelves costs 3,90,000 here in India and he can source it for me ....However He was very blunt ..... Get it from abroad for around a lakh and a half cheaper

If what you say is true then,
1) World will be full of DIY speakers
2) The DIY companies will eventually become mass producers and lose market.

Yup how do you think each and every speaker company started .... DIY . read up on each and every speaker company and how they started ....1, 2 men had a vision took drivers put it in a cabinet built a crossover then tweaked their design . then built the driver themselves . failed tweaked the design again over and over till they got it right ...
Formed a company started selling .. slowly gained prominence as sales took off Slowly added more speakers into their portfolio. hired research staff . got drivers built for them through OEM. Did a lot of marketing vis print media etc etc etc.....
So yes ... Come to think of it ... Each and every speaker you see in the market today from irrespective which brand was once a DIYER / Engineer etc who took things to the next step. ......Capiche

An example read up on John Bowers from the B&W fame

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowers_(loudspeaker_builder)




END NOTE ::::: I am not saying stop buying commercial speakers .. I am saying look at alternatives as well if you have it in you.....
If you look at the first post that i made in this thread.. I said ... the words IN THIS PRICE RANGE....

Cheers

- F l a s h-

 

[Flash]

This thread seems to have lost the direction in which the OP wanted it to go but I cant help but admit am loving the discussion about DiY and its pros and cons ! I love the way we are all so passionate here

Happy to keep you entertained !!!! hyeah:hyeah:

 

[BLASTO]

Can a speaker driver be made DIY .. Yes it can be .... Not rocket science. there are a lot of people who have designed and made their own drivers. Including Indians . So lets not get into can I build a driver . the same goes for an Amp... Can it be built .. Yes .. We are seeing amps built by DiY hobbists left right and center. Including some prominent FM's here.
Spend some time looking at the DIY community in this forum as well to understand the level of expertise that some Fm's have over here
The question is can you build one .... I guess not .. If you don't have the skill or the brains then it makes sense not to even go there .. Can i build a amp.. Again no , for reasons mentioned above

Now Can i build a speaker driver...Well yes and no ... yes .. Because I can design one would it be good at the first go . Hell no ... It would sound like crap and No because I would not know where to source the components like the spider frame etc.
Would I ever get it right ... well yes . after probably 100 - 500 attempts .. Like a wise man who designed the Light bulb once said .. " I now know 9000 ways of how not to make it."

So yes everything involves a learning curve .
Look at Rethm speakers with the Lowther driver.You think Mr Jacob George got it right the first time around .... Years and years of patience and Trial and error. But does that make it impossible . I guess not...

Well, we are discussing this in a thread where the OP asks why is a 4 Ohm speaker better?
I assume neither he nor you or me are gonna do any of what is mentioned above.

My point is simple.

1) When I start with drivers and start building, I will not be sure of the outcome in terms of how it sounds. Not as easy as walking out of an auditioned. Not to mention it involves time and effort.

2) You adviced the OP in terms of monitory benifits of DIY and why you should choose DIY as an alternative to big manufaturers. Now you yourself say, you would need 100-500 attempts to succeed. Where is the monitory consideration now? I just asked why do you want to start with drives as available entities. Those constitute 60% of innovation and can be argued as beefed up from the production prices before they reach your hand.

3) If you posted this in DIY section, you would not have seen my reply mostly.

4) Yes, learning curve, trial and error and fine tuning are not my cup of tea. I like to pay for end results of other people's experiments and have an option of walking out. My TIME spent of building a speaker will be WORTH MUCH more than the worth of the get from audition. It is fool proof too. But thats just me.

5) This hobby can make to nitpick. I know few how does not enjoy music anymore. Journey is not interesting than destination after a point of time. Remember lying down on the couch and listening to music is the end result. I can refute many here spend more time in getting the system right rather than enjoying the music. Atleast currently, i consider DIY in the same league. Its a different hobby if you think of it.

I get your point.
How much does a Tile on your floor cost to make ... Depends on the manufacturing process, Materials used etc etc

How much does a 25k driver take to make .... Depends on whats being used and how it is made Paper, kevlar,Ceramic, Diamond etc etc...
... Look up on Accuton drivers. Do you know that Tidal a very well renowned Hifi company used Accuton drivers which I can buy off the shelf. Or for that matter Do you know who makes Gr-Research drivers ..I guess not
A another brand that makes Hifi speakers System Audio. well guess what I can buy the exact same drivers at a fraction of the cost.

Now would it sound as good as a System Audio or Tidal speaker whch costs several 1000's dollars .. I guess not ... Because of research & development on crossover design / Cabinet design.
But if a Diyer takes the time and knows how to design a cabinet / crossover etc and kmos the principles of a Driver.He can build something using the same drivers that can knock the socks out of any big brand at the same price ... Hell yeah. No 2 ways about it .
Would it ever sound as good as a Tidal .... Again trial and error.

Now the question about quantity. Luckily there are speaker drivers available left right and center. I guess you never probably looked around and researched them cause they are not your cup of tea.
Since they are being bought by the 100's and 1000's .... their pricing is very competitive. So wait for it........ 2 does not exist... I am not the only one buying it ...... lol ....

Well you dint get the point.
Driver manufacturers sell 8/- manufacturng cost driver to mass buyers who buy in millions for 10/- they make money by economy of scale.
You need to pay 25/- still as you are buying only 2 and it passes through 3 middlemen. Doesn't matter how much other people buy.
Happens every where. I was just asking 'why start with drivers when they go through the same middlemen procedure as speakers'?

I agree.
Bec of mass manufacturing etc. Their prices are competitive and probably even lower than a Diy effort. But think about it .... Prices in India suck .. and you agree with that.. Look at the import duties, Exchange rate fluctuation, middle men, Distributers importers, freight charges et all

Where is all our money going. a huge chunk 50% or more going straight into the chain and not the component itself.

Let me put forth an example we have Cadence in our own backyard. Look at the Indian prices and the prices of the same amps / speakers that Cadence sells in the US / European markets ... the Price difference is Astronomical.
Purely due to the entire chain mentioned above.

Would I buy most Hifi products off the shelf in India.... I guess not .... My Power Amps , Even the B&W 685 were all brought abroad.My Preamp / CDP /DAC is coming down from the US
I visited a AV shop today and the 685 MRP is now 62k in India. For god sakes I bought it for a good 30k less a couple of months ago.

Infact I was talking to the owner about the 805D.. Since I am pretty much interested in it. I have given up on FS. Anyway the bookshelves costs 3,90,000 here in India and he can source it for me ....However He was very blunt ..... Get it from abroad for around a lakh and a half cheaper

-

Now you hit the nail in the head.
I make sure I never buy 'current' product lines. They just dont make sense. Look for 'just discontinued' products, you will get them for lesser than street prices of what they are sold in UK and the US. All other taxes and diffentials just vanish. It just works for me every time. 1/2 price for sealed units with warrenty. Sure you miss some innovation. But thats very less compared to the saving.

B&W prices are just insane around here. Forget about getting them in india.

Yup how do you think each and every speaker company started .... DIY . read up on each and every speaker company and how they started ....1, 2 men had a vision took drivers put it in a cabinet built a crossover then tweaked their design . then built the driver themselves . failed tweaked the design again over and over till they got it right ...
Formed a company started selling .. slowly gained prominence as sales took off Slowly added more speakers into their portfolio. hired research staff . got drivers built for them through OEM. Did a lot of marketing vis print media etc etc etc.....
So yes ... Come to think of it ... Each and every speaker you see in the market today from irrespective which brand was once a DIYER / Engineer etc who took things to the next step. ......Capiche

An example read up on John Bowers from the B&W fame

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bowers_(loudspeaker_builder)

Agreed. But whats the point? This is the same thing I said.
Speaker companies are DIYers who perfected their products.
They became what they are now because majority of the population liked their sound.
It all makes more sense to audition and buy their products.

 

[doors666]

Hey Flash,

We are forgetting the R&D.
Speakers is not about putting costly drives into speaker boxes. It is merely assembling process that we are talking about.

Even so, who designs and builds the speaker drives? Can you do it DIY? Why not do it then? Extending your argument, how much does a 25k driver actually take to make? What if a 5k driver is sold to you for 25k after all the intermediate charges? What if a 25k driver is sold to the mass companies for 10k because they are purchasing it in millions and you are buying like -wait for it- 2?

A lot of companies do create their own drives along with other components to get their in-house sound. You can specifically hear out the differences as you move up the chain and definitely it is not due to only driver differences you would agree.

Iam not saying DIY is not benefecial, but under-stating the R&D and fine tuning done by big brands is not correct. It can be argued that they are able to sell their speakers for less than DIY speakers of the same plant by mass production and decreasing margins on single units. Not to talk about strict quality control + brand value maintenance + competitive edge. Other than ultra high ends, most mid end companies will die to price their products lesser to pip out the competetion if they can sell more units at the said price. And not to forget, most mass market companies are mostly DIYs ones upon a time which were accepted by a majority of the population. Else they would not have reaches the heights. Last thing, china is not synonymous to 'bad'.

If what you say is true then,
1) World will be full of DIY speakers
2) The DIY companies will eventually become mass producers and lose market.

There are plenty of extremely talented designers on the web that have open source projects, you can make them for personal use. Many of these designers have made reputed commercial speakers also. To give you an example, I am in the process of making a pair of speakers by guys who did the salk sound speakers. There is no disputing quality there.

The companies do get a lot of discounts from driver manufacturers due to mass purchase. But the fact remains that with most of the brick and mortar sellers, the cost of parts is 10-20% of the retail price.

If you are selling at only 5 times the construction cost of a speaker, you will not survive as a company...... To make decent profits and all that, you need to be between 5 and 10 times ratio:lol:

 

[gcpraveen]

Thanks Flash and Blasto, thats huge info.

I know few guys who makes drivers and assembling in horrible wood box to sell as home theatre . But I am sure, they are capable of doing much more than that, because they are doing handling speakers and assembling boxes for past 10 years or more.

I have contact of a guy who does speaker production (I have seen, they keep the coil, then they paste the paper).

I have a question, when you say DIY, does that mean starting from the coil or buying drivers and designing the box?

so to start with, will buy drivers and will ask whether it is possible to design box for speakers..

 

[BLASTO]

Yeah.. What's DIY in this context? That would help a lot.
Is it finding good speaker drives and speaker maker who will fit it?
Is it auditioning and purchasing from guys who buy drives and build DIY speakers?
Those are very different from what Iam discussing. The second option especially can be hugely cheaper if you like the sound

 

[gcpraveen]

Yeah.. What's DIY in this context? That would help a lot.
Is it finding good speaker drives and speaker maker who will fit it?
Is it auditioning and purchasing from guys who buy drives and build DIY speakers?
Those are very different from what Iam discussing. The second option especially can be hugely cheaper if you like the sound

For design and drivers selection, I will check few threads already available or will start new one.

If I can get good speaker design, I can use their help to create a new box.

 

[stereorules]

Blasto and Flash..As you guys maybe aware, there is a GB going on at present to buy speaker kits from GR research at a very good price ....There has been a lot of interest and number of people (me included) who hv never done any Speaker DIY are purchasing those kits. Since many of us are not into DIY, we are planning a GB for cabinets also ( the plans are given by GR ) ....So at the end of the day, we will get an almost finished speaker at a fraction of the cost of a branded one ..the only thing to see now is how good the final speaker actually sounds ...If it performs even half of what it is supposed to be capable of, it wud be fantastic ..

 

[stereorules]

As far as DIY is concerned, there are plenty of designs available ..And some designs have a huge fan following ..have been made by many many guys ..are available in kit form..u only need to get the cab made and voila ..only problem as of now is that the kits are mostly available in US ...getting them here is expensive ..