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DIY recs for dummies, this dummy

Good to hear. The SB kits are a nice contemporary designs but are pretty pricey here. At least they have finished cabinets unlike many of the other kits though. Their cabinets are also fancier designs than you would get from comparably priced commercial offerings. The Satorique appears to mimic the SB approach.

There are several existing ASR threads on DIY kits already. Amir reviewed the CSS and it was nothing special. With the demise of Selah Audio, kits sold with nice cabinetry are harder to find anymore.

Happy hunting!
The Satorique loudspeakers are completely in-house developments and come from one of the most experienced companies in the world in the field of loudspeaker development. The aim was to develop loudspeakers that were as uncompromising as possible and were not subject to commercial or financial restrictions. The speakers should be able to be built by (almost) any DIY novice, which, in my opinion, has been done very well with the housings. The housing kits have a plug-in system that only requires glue, screw clamps and straps.
 
The Satorique loudspeakers are completely in-house developments and come from one of the most experienced companies in the world in the field of loudspeaker development. The aim was to develop loudspeakers that were as uncompromising as possible and were not subject to commercial or financial restrictions. The speakers should be able to be built by (almost) any DIY novice, which, in my opinion, has been done very well with the housings. The housing kits have a plug-in system that only requires glue, screw clamps and straps.

Whether SB or Satorique, they are not inexpensive. Would really need to have them tested. Here they are comparable in price to Ascend's Sierra offerings.

Am really curious whether the premium design approach yields significantly better sound.
 
Whether SB or Satorique, they are not inexpensive. Would really need to have them tested. Here they are comparable in price to Ascend's Sierra offerings.

Am really curious whether the premium design approach yields significantly better sound.

That's the million $ Q right there. If I was to build a kit, it should be as good (for less $) or better (if similar $) to what I have now, which are ATC SCM 19s V2, and brand new - possibly replacing those - Quad Revela Ones.

I have no interest in building some basic lit speaker that's not per above. Buy once cry once and all that. However, while labor costs are a major cost I can do the labor part, the law of diminishing returns kicks in also.

Will 2k on a higher end kit from Satorique sound better than what I have, or Ascend's Sierraa? I don't know. They'd need to be tested as you point out and I don't have the gear nor background to do that. It's on my list of things to learn!

I do wonder if there's someone close enough to me (West Palm FL area) who could do it. Gene D is not that far away, a few hours. Maybe he'd be willing to do it as part of a vid/article project "are high end kits as good as pre made for the $?" kinda angle.

This could be an interesting project for a DIY noob like me, which may result in some great speakers, or, not...
 
The Satorique loudspeakers are completely in-house developments and come from one of the most experienced companies in the world in the field of loudspeaker development. The aim was to develop loudspeakers that were as uncompromising as possible and were not subject to commercial or financial restrictions. The speakers should be able to be built by (almost) any DIY novice, which, in my opinion, has been done very well with the housings. The housing kits have a plug-in system that only requires glue, screw clamps and straps.

I can't imagine them being anything bu great speakers. I'm not worried about that. More the Q is, does it result in better audio than what one can purchase pre made these days for similar $? "On paper" doing the labor part - a substantial part of the costs to any company - suggests the answer should be yes, but there's things like economy of scale etc.
 
Whether SB or Satorique, they are not inexpensive. Would really need to have them tested. Here they are comparable in price to Ascend's Sierra offerings.

Am really curious whether the premium design approach yields significantly better sound.
I wasn't prepared to spend a five-figure sum on a pair of speakers and didn't want to invest the time in developing them myself, I know where that leads me... :facepalm:
That's why I have a pair of Satorique 4s.
At this year's High End in Munich there were only a few rooms where it was worth it for me to stay.
Out of curiosity I also got myself some cheap speakers that were tested or recommended for ASR, Elac Debut Reference 6.2, Carina FS 247.4 and FS 243.4. All of them are really good, not just for the price range, but the Satoriques are in a different league.

I am convinced that devices have to deliver good electrical measurements, but I wouldn't care about that with the Satorique 4. I have only heard a few speakers in my life that completely convinced me and very few of them fit in a normal living room and were affordable.
You can find the measurement diagrams for each Satorique loudspeaker further down in the description, or in the first construction description/report.
 
Those cabinets look nice and well made……but, if I can’t DIY it for much less….at least half…. and expeditiously….and something different from what is typically available, I’m not doing it.

That said; I’ve made five DIY speakers (three subwoofers….back when wood was cheap) and two DML XPS exciter speakers (this was and still is a $30 project).

With the subwoofers, I disregarded any science…..and just built them really, really big…..much bigger than what is commercially available.

What I did—-To make things easier with speakers (in order to worry less about crossovers, etc)…..I purchased an amp with a high pass filter like the $120 DTA-100ST (for the satellite DML XPS panel exciter speakers) along with a dedicated subwoofer amp with a low pass filter and EQ like the like the $110 DTA-100LF along with a sub DSP like the $60 DTA-DSP LF
 
Those cabinets look nice and well made……but, if I can’t DIY it for much less….at least half…. and expeditiously….and something different from what is typically available, I’m not doing it.

That said; I’ve made five DIY speakers (three subwoofers….back when wood was cheap) and two DML XPS exciter speakers (this was and still is a $30 project).

With the subwoofers, I disregarded any science…..and just built them really, really big…..much bigger than what is commercially available.

What I did—-To make things easier with speakers (in order to worry less about crossovers, etc)…..I purchased an amp with a high pass filter like the $120 DTA-100ST (for the satellite DML XPS panel exciter speakers) along with a dedicated subwoofer amp with a low pass filter and EQ like the like the $110 DTA-100LF along with a sub DSP like the $60 DTA-DSP LF

Feedback is, best to not attempt to find best drivers and X over to fit that cabinet with my limited knowledge/experience in DIY. A kit makes sense no doubt, and if I'm going to bother, I'd want to end up with a speaker as good, if not better, than what I have, which has been ATC SCM 19v2, and new Quad Rovela Ones I'm trying out as possible replacements for those. Both speakers are excellent, but different. The Quads are a good 1k less $ than the ATC. As to the bolded in your post, I'm interested in the the Satori S1 kit, but it's pricy. The Q is then, do they exceed what I have for that $? "On paper" the Satori kit should be very good, but might be pumping hard into diminishing returns? Hard to know. I find their web site les than informative, much of it likely due to the translation to English. I sent them a conact, no responses so far.
 
Is it not the most overpriced kit that is best. Maybe keep that in mind. I saw some quite expensive stuff in this thread.

The first thing you should do is stop thinkering about theoretical "Sarori" ideas and go find a good carpenter you can trust and that is able and willing to realize a cabinet from a plan, without any creative "improvements" and "I thought it was better that way" ideas and short cuts.

Just build veneered cabinet from plan and material mentioned in the plan. If he starts to tell you "I will basically do it like that, but...", look for someone else.
You think that is simple? Be prepared for a surprise. If he tells you "I have done that a hundred times", he has no clue and will give it some apprentice to build some crap.
.
If you are so naive to tell him "the speaker pair will be valued 9000$ but only cost me 2000$, he will carge you 2000$ per single cabinet. In his mind you are still saving 3000 Bucks. Having worked with carpenters for 40 years now, I think I know them all. By the way, ask if he works in imperial or metric units. In imperial units anything will go wrong. Ask the NASA how many billions they have lost that way.

PS I send you a PM
 
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Is it not the most overpriced kit that is best. Maybe keep that in mind. I saw some quite expensive stuff in this thread.

The first thing you should do is stop thinkering about theoretical "Sarori" ideas and go find a good carpenter you can trust and that is able and willing to realize a cabinet from a plan, without any creative "improvements" and "I thought it was better that way" ideas and short cuts.

Just build veneered cabinet from plan and material mentioned in the plan. If he starts to tell you "I will basically do it like that, but...", look for someone else.
You think that is simple? Be prepared for a surprise. If he tells you "I have done that a hundred times", he has no clue and will give it some apprentice to build some crap.
.
If you are so naive to tell him "the speaker pair will be valued 9000$ but only cost me 2000$, he will carge you 2000$ per single cabinet. In his mind you are still saving 3000 Bucks. Having worked with carpenters for 40 years now, I think I know them all. By the way, ask if he works in imperial or metric units. In imperial units anything will go wrong. Ask the NASA how many billions they have lost that way.

PS I send you a PM
None of this will happen if you give a carpenter a reasonable order (contract for work) in which the workpiece is described in sufficient detail with its final state, materials (including glue), processing and finishing, and of course with the price per piece and number of pieces.
The best thing is a technical drawing with CNC data, which you can order online for $25-100. This leaves no room for anything and saves a lot of time and stress.
If the carpenter doesn't stick to it, he is liable, or you don't have to take the speaker housings. Or only with a discount, if you want.

Always get a quote and make it clear that you are getting several quotes. You should always avoid giving any further information, also because it can influence the price calculation.
My experience over the last 40 years with hundreds of commissioned metal and woodwork jobs, both professionally and privately.

I'm interested in the the Satori S1 kit, but it's pricy. The Q is then, do they exceed what I have for that $? "On paper" the Satori kit should be very good, but might be pumping hard into diminishing returns? Hard to know. I find their web site les than informative, much of it likely due to the translation to English. I sent them a conact, no responses so far.
That is a way of thinking about costs that is inappropriate, especially for these kits. Simple question, do you work for your employer for free, or do you want to be paid for your work?
You pay a surcharge of around 10% for the development and the effort to get a kit that really contains everything, even small parts, in high quality. There are no cost-cutting measures for the crossover either.
It is no secret that Intertechnik is behind Satorique. I have already written about who Intertechnik is and the enormous know-how behind it in loudspeaker and crossover development. For example, a developer with over 30 years of experience was involved in the Satorique crossovers, who worked for many years in development at Focal and Dynaudio.
I don't think they ever really get paid for the development time they put in, but I am convinced that 10% per loudspeaker is an incredibly low price.

We have now compared 2 of these speakers, my 4 and the 1 from a friend, with finished speakers that cost 3-6 times as much at a dealer. The dealer was amazed and at times shocked at how good these speakers are. I would have been willing to pay 3-6 times as much for a better and more detailed speaker, but that's not the case for either of us. Future comparisons at this dealer will only take place outside of opening hours.
 
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