Top DIY speaker resources / projects of 2023?

[Newman]

DIY to me is about price/performance.

Like I just said, I doubt it really is.

For instance, I could build Zaph ZRT for ~1300 which would give me great performance,

So you just 'believe in' great performance because ...why? The drivers are pricey? People rave about it during sighted listening?

Unless you have a full spinorama, like I said, it can be discarded from consideration.

I mean, you did ask for help in making heads or tails of the options...

and that wouldn't require a MiniDSP, a new receiver, etc. These ZRT from brand name speakers would likely cost at least double, more likely 3 times what it would cost to build... And they would likely outperform retail speakers of that price. Another example would be the Holtz Statements, to get retail speakers of that type, with matching dynamics and all, these would cost a lot more!

Show us the spinorama... without it you are relying on here-say and vague assumptions that expensive components make things sound better.

The ASR Directiva looks like an interesting option, but out of all these options, these do require new electronics for most people, who tend to own stereo amps rather than receivers... So you have to consider them part of the cost of the project. IMHO, just looking at measurements, driver & driver costs, etc., they should overall, maybe even all around the board (including bass..) outperform the ZRTs, but as I was asking, if they require $1k electronics or whatnot to drive them properly, it does affect the bang for the buck quite a bit, as passive speakers do not require 4 channels of amplification... Also, I'm not even entirely sure if they should be considered full range, or whether you should also factor the cost of a sub?

For a little bit more than 2500 bucks you could build the Enthraals, of course, apples and oranges, but there are always tradeoffs, and going active has a big tradeoff in price of entry...

I followed your link...ouch, poetic verbal platitudes a-plenty, and even more assumptions about component quality (aka price) being directly linked to better sound quality. Spend hundreds of dollars more for the Mundorf Supreme tweeter capacitor option, you will be rewarded. LOL, seriously, that is what I am trying to save you from.

But yeah, of course, I would rather spend less money to achieve a certain performance, than paying more... For instance, rather than buying McIntosh, Classe or I don't know what else, I went with used pro amplification. So I don't know each watt cost maybe 1/25th or what it would have cost going 'audiophile' wattage?


But anyway, my question was basically; what do you need to properly drive a pair of Directivas to their potential? There's likely also pro solutions for the Directivas, but these seem to me a little bit more 'high end' than your average DIY; where some DIY solutions are about bang for the buck, these are more chasing absolute performance, so the equation for amplification might be a little bit different than your average DIY project. Kind of speaker making it worth spending a bit extra on amplification to match the speaker performance? Or maybe I'm wrong, and they're fine with your typical $500 receiver. Certainly sensitive enough!

As a DIY option the Hypex 180W mono modules (2) and 400W PSU can be purchased new for about EU300.

A closing comment on saving money with DIY speaker kits. There is always total cost to consider, not just initial purchase price.

You might spend $2500 on a DIY speaker vs $3000 on a reputed-brand commercial speaker, but after 5 years of ownership you can sell the commercial speaker for $1000 more...if indeed you can find a single buyer for the DIY speaker, since you might have built painted MDF cabinets for them (based on the measly cost you allowed for cabinets in your posts).

It looks even worse for DIY if you allow second-hand commercial speakers into the equation. For $3000 second hand you might get a $5000+ commercial speaker, and probably sell it in 5 years for almost what you paid for it!

No...I maintain...DIY needs to be for love of DIY, or bespokeness.

 

[GM3]

Like I just said, I doubt it really is.

Weird. In my experience, DIY by far exceeds retail commercial products for bang for the buck. Which is logical. As the company that makes the speaker needs to profit, the price of the speaker needs to be greater than the cost of its parts. Add the retailer with storefront which speaker sale also needs to support... Employees vs your own time being 'free'... Bit puzzled about this disagreement. And don't forget marketing...! Good portion of that brand name speaker goes to Marketing.

Ex; The Totem Hawks retails 3000 and uses 2 Scan Speak Revelators, so do Zaph ZRTs, but total driver/crossover ~1200. Not sure about tweeters, but I'm certain the 6600 AirCirc tweeter is a better tweeter. Design is typically free for DIY, and this particular cas, ZRT will likely be better than Totem's, given my experience with their products. And honestly, I'd rather build/own/buy a pair of ZRTs than Totems, even their 5000 forests...! We could do the same exercise, B&W, Focal, etc., imho, you'll get similar results.

So you just 'believe in' great performance because ...why? The drivers are pricey? People rave about it during sighted listening?

Unless you have a full spinorama, like I said, it can be discarded from consideration.

I mean, you did ask for help in making heads or tails of the options...

It may purely be coincidence that I always liked the sound of the speakers using that SS Rev, but I'm sure there's a correlation between driver cost & speaker performance. The Purity driver for instance is expensive, but is backed up with performance. Can you find me a 1500 speaker which will outperform the Directiva? Amir said ~4-5k for retail speaker with similar performance. #notall Why doesn't the Directiva use a $30 woofer and a $10 tweeter?

Show us the spinorama... without it you are relying on here-say and vague assumptions that expensive components make things sound better.

Don't think it's available. http://www.zaphaudio.com/ZRT.html There's "2-way measured response, Measured 0,15,30,45,60 degrees horizontal off axis, 10ms window" though;

But yeah that doesn't mean that this particular is the holy grail of performance. There might surely a exist a combination of cheaper woofers which would outperform such a driver / speaker. Hence this thread. I opted at the time for a 3 way design with Ribbon. Design typically have +/-, actives being electronic cost of entry...

I followed your link...ouch, poetic verbal platitudes a-plenty, and even more assumptions about component quality (aka price) being directly linked to better sound quality. Spend hundreds of dollars more for the Mundorf Supreme tweeter capacitor option, you will be rewarded. LOL, seriously, that is what I am trying to save you from.

Thanks. Unironically & genuinely appreciate it, and agreed. And yeah, you don't have to go for any of those options. But that RAAL was at one point one of the more highly regarded tweeter. I can't speak for the entire design, but the bass from the Enthraalls should outperform the Directiva by a wide margin. Tweeter should at least hold its own, as I said, many considered the RAAL as maybe the best tweeter in the world... Dedicated mid & bass driver...

My point was just that for those who have a stereo amp, the price of new receiver for Directivas need to be factored in the final price, and that's a significant cost which might affect choice.

As a DIY option the Hypex 180W mono modules (2) and 400W PSU can be got for about EU300.

Is there Spinorama data for those class D amps? My experience with class D was that they don't hold to a solid class AB design, but these don't appear to be using the same OpAmps so... Are they really as good as good AB class amps? That's the thing, even Schiit who sells very affordable headphone amps sells 100/200W amps (8/4 ohms) for $800. But yeah maybe the above class D amps do the job and wouldn't be differentiable under blind conditions vs those Schiits?

A closing comment on saving money with DIY speaker kits. There is always total cost to consider, not just initial purchase price.

You might spend $2500 on a DIY speaker vs $3000 on a reputed-brand commercial speaker, but after 5 years of ownership you can sell the commercial speaker for $1000 more...if indeed you can find a single buyer for the DIY speaker, since you might have built painted MDF cabinets for them (based on the measly cost you allowed for cabinets in your posts).

It looks even worse for DIY if you allow second-hand commercial speakers into the equation. For $3000 second hand you might get a $5000+ commercial speaker, and probably sell it in 5 years for almost what you paid for it!

No...I maintain...DIY needs to be for love of DIY, or bespokeness.

Like they say, when you assume, you make an ass of you and me. Bit ironic for speakers it's about end result (spinorama) but DIY just because it's not expensive it's automatically poor...

You can get great results from painting. Just a lot of elbow work; ex; sanding for piano finish. Even with veneers, some are cheaper than others. Myself, I had opted for very affordable vinyl which looks like carbon fiber. Did it look like a million dollars? Not really... Finish of $50000 speakers is much better. But good enough for me; was more interested in performance than looks. YMMV. But again, it's an option you rarely get with high end speakers, quite a bit of the cost tends to go for wood veneers, finishing, etc., as higher prices you go, companies tends to spend a lot of attention/cost on looks. So if you're purely interested in bang for the buck, it's another limiting factor for brick and mortar brands.

And sure, better bang for the buck with used speakers than new speakers. And yeah, agreed, don't build DIY with the intent to sell!

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

You can always go with cheap amplification like a set of Aiyima A07s for whatever active amplification you need if more than 2 channels

 

[morpheusX]

Today, IMHO, DIY is the best choice for one of two reasons:-

1. You simply love DIY
2. You want to do something a bit different to the ready-made options

I would add:
- 2.1. The freedom do use any shape or form, that might suit your specific requirements
- 2.2. The use of "brute force", i.e., bigger drivers in large boxes, something comercial speakers can't do.

 

[617]

Driver quality isn't really the biggest determinant in speaker quality. Drivers give you incrementally less distortion and incrementally more output but generally speaking a 6" cone will radiate like any other 6" cone before breaking up. The only exception are BMR drivers.

Most state-of-the-art systems are going to either be 3-ways like the Philharmonic BMRs or two-ways with waveguides. Unfortunately there aren't that many off-the-shelf waveguide tweeters out there - the Seas DXT is the most popular, and Heissman uses them in many of his designs as a result. SB makes one but it is quite expensive, and of course the aforementioned Spirit Wind monitors use a very old Scanspeak tweeter (28 years old if you can believe it) but it has a few tricks up its sleeve; one, it can crossover very low, and two, it has a slightly dished faceplate.

When Zaph and Speakerdesignworks and Troels were cranking out tons of great designs we were living in a more innocent era. Spatial measurements were just not as practical, so people would debate endlessly over phase and crossover order (electrical and acoustic) while not realizing that almost everything they were hearing was encapsulated by the off-axis response. People took interesting risks with speakers; I have a particular fondness for the speaker design works semi-dipole designs. It was assumed, back then, that simply putting the best european drivers together in a design which balanced low distortion and shallow crossovers you would have excellent sound - and the designers were correct. The thing is, back then, the big fancy hifi brands weren't doing anything different.

Nowadays hobbyists are better informed but the price of that is that truly excellent DIY speakers require more work. Designing a speaker with regard to full 3d radiation is way more time consuming and the results, I would argue, are less likely to 'wow' you because there are so many inexpensive speakers with great sound.

Still, there's some very refined projects out there; and if you just want a big impressive speaker I wouldn't hesitate to build a pair of Statements II. DIY has always offered good value if you want big speakers.

 

[GM3]

You can always go with cheap amplification like a set of Aiyima A07s for whatever active amplification you need if more than 2 channels

These cheap class D amps aren't very good in terms of amplification... Own a similar Fosi BT20A, they can work as really cheap amplification, for instance cheap speakers to play music in the background, but for any type of serious listening, really not as good as a proper amp... Definitely not something I'd want to run high end speakers like the ASR Directiva with!

 

[GM3]

Nowadays hobbyists are better informed but the price of that is that truly excellent DIY speakers require more work. Designing a speaker with regard to full 3d radiation is way more time consuming and the results, I would argue, are less likely to 'wow' you because there are so many inexpensive speakers with great sound.

Still, there's some very refined projects out there; and if you just want a big impressive speaker I wouldn't hesitate to build a pair of Statements II. DIY has always offered good value if you want big speakers.

Which inexpensive speaker have 'great' sound?

There's still a big cost performance correlation... Cheap speakers are small, tend to be lower quality. Moving up in price gives you either more fullrange speakers, more refined speakers, or bigger speakers with larger drivers, etc. So comparing DIY vs B&M, you generally tend to have more, better and bigger drivers & enclosures for the same money. In the case of Directiva, top tier drivers.

The Statements are a great example, they're a bit similar to say Dynaudio, Wilson, etc., flagship speakers in terms of size/drivers configurations, and would blow away B&M speakers you could get for the cost of materials of the statements; but they don't even have models with similar designs at anywhere near the price; so you're comparing smaller B&M speakers, or much more expensive B&M speakers... Internet Direct is often better than B&M, but again, YMMV.

But yeah the Statements II are waay too big and heavy for me and my room! Still rocking these, they're still heavy, but much more manageable! (Statement Monitors)

Some brands do focus on performance rather than aesthetics; ex; JTR speakers, but again, quite expensive... Even a bit rare. But these are the types of speakers are more similar to DIY or Pro audio. A similar setup with affordable Dayton drivers or whatnot could like you give you taste, maybe even similar performance, at a fraction of the cost... But again, different designs have different goals; different strengths, weaknesses, design target/goals.. Yep, as mentionned, DIY allows you to get what you want.

 

[kemmler3D]

Having paid some attention to the DIY scene over the past year or two, here is what I've observed:

DIY doesn't seem price-competitive with mid-high end commercial speakers anymore, mainly because the commercial speakers have gotten a bit better, and parts have gotten a bit more expensive. My vague impression is that a mid-tier active Neumann or JBL is going to meet or beat anything you can build at home in terms of cost, (especially if you can find secondhand) and you don't have to go through the considerable effort it takes to build your own. To put it another way, there aren't many mistakes in those speakers that even a determined hobbyist could correct without some extra $$ and a lot of trouble.

The caveat about amplification (and whether you already own amps or not) applies, but you can always sell decent amps on the secondhand market if you don't need them anymore.

Big manufacturers get much better prices on parts than we do, plus they get economies of scale. The fact that you can even remotely compete while paying retail for drivers is still impressive on its own, TBH.

I think you can still justify DIY if you're going to use SOTA drivers and/or interesting or impractical construction techniques.

Commercial speakers incorporating SOTA drivers tend to be $$$$ and you can do better just buying those drivers yourself, (my impression)

Commercial speakers that are XXL or extra heavy tend to be $$$$ or nonexistent.

Unpopular designs like OB or dipole are also good options for DIY since commercial options are few. Synergy-type horns are also commercially almost nonexistent, but can perform very well and can be worth DIY - but the paint-by-numbers DIY plans don't seem to exist, you need to do a lot of simulation and stuff, or ask a fellow DIYer for plans. My understanding is that horn designs tend to be pretty tricky to design yourself.

From what I can tell, though, these days to DIY and beat commercial, you either go with Directiva or a similar build, or you get your UMIK and learn VituixCAD and get to work measuring and simulating. You will probably want a 3D printer for waveguides. Etc. "Get two decent drivers, slap them in a box of the right volume, and tune crossover by ear" is no longer enough to get beyond commercial offerings at a given price point from what I can tell.

But, if you look at some of the builds that have spinoramas on DIYAudio, some home builders are managing to put together designs that rival Genelec or Neumann in measured performance. So it can be done, but you need to aim high and hit your mark. From what I've seen (haven't built anything myself) this is not a hobby for casuals unless (as others have said) you just like to build stuff for the sake of building.

 

[Newman]

I’ve been trying to make this point but getting pushback.

 

[Newman]

Is there Spinorama data for those class D amps? My experience with class D was that they don't hold to a solid class AB design, but these don't appear to be using the same OpAmps so... Are they really as good as good AB class amps?

I can tell you are biased against Class D amps.

[regarding Aiyima 07] These cheap class D amps aren't very good in terms of amplification... Own a similar Fosi BT20A, they can work as really cheap amplification, for instance cheap speakers to play music in the background, but for any type of serious listening, really not as good as a proper amp...

I suggested a Hypex amp. Amir’s words the first time (2018) he tested a Hypex amp: “Wow! Finally we have a power amplifier that matches the performance of mid-tier DACs and outperforming previously tested amplifiers by tens of dBs….Previous amplifiers that we tested were awful in measured performance and I was starting to think good amps are a thing of past.”

Perhaps dig around here on ASR and revise your anti-Class-D bias.

 

[kemmler3D]

I’ve been trying to make this point but getting pushback.

Yep, just trying to show a bit of consensus on this. I have been lurking and sporadically commenting on DIYAudio for a while. At this point I don't think people consider "traditional" designs to be obviously worthwhile, unless you really happen to enjoy building circuits - which to be fair, a ton of the members there do.

Most of the interesting DIY projects that I've seen are now either something gigantic (line arrays, multiple 18"s, large horns), semi-exotic (various funky OB / dipole designs), or are firmly aimed at performance that would cost $10K+ in commercial offerings. In every case I think people who attempt their own designs are fully prepared to do semi-anechoic spins at home.

Bottom line most mainstream stuff (and especially cheap stuff) is hard to beat in a dollar-for-value metric.

 

[GM3]

I can tell you are biased against Class D amps.

Maybe.. Yeah pretty good review; nowhere near 300W (55W/77W depending on power supply), but surprisingly apparently decent, are they good enough for a full blown system though?

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/aiyima-a07-tpa3255-review-amplifier.18984/

Conclusions
Traditionally these desktop amplifiers have produced really poor performance in the form of noise and distortion. Not so anymore. These TPA3255 based amps seem to have good bones in them, producing above average performance for peanuts. Alas, you are saddled with two boxes and cheap and potentially non-safety compliant parts.

For desktop use, these are probably acceptable compromises.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...n-audio-dta-120-stereo-amplifier-review.9867/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sabaj-a1-desktop-amplifier-review.17357/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-da-6-stereo-amplifier-review.35576/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/smsl-a100-review-stereo-amplifier.33727/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ds/topping-pa3-review-stereo-amplifier.20085/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...azon-basics-80-watt-class-d-amp-review.20943/
etc.etc.

I wonder how well/badly the Fosi BT20A measures... A lot of cheap class D perform somewhat poorly especially with 4ohms loads, and it just happens that the Statement Monitors I'm using: "impedance minima is 3.3 ohms at just above 100 Hz, but the majority of the impedance is above 4 ohms. I'd call this a 4 ohm design, but if it were a commercial design, is suspect the marketers would call it a 6 ohm impedance.".

The supplied power supply of those little amps also isn't enough to deliver advertised power, and reading misc reviews/comments, many such designs simply cannot deliver advertised power. The Statement Monitors are not incredibly efficient either, I wasn't surprised at all that a cheap class D couldn't match the performance of a class AB amp rated 400W at 4ohms and 700W at 2 ohms... So yeah, maybe I'm biased...

I suggested a Hypex amp. Amir’s words the first time (2018) he tested a Hypex amp: “Wow! Finally we have a power amplifier that matches the performance of mid-tier DACs and outperforming previously tested amplifiers by tens of dBs….Previous amplifiers that we tested were awful in measured performance and I was starting to think good amps are a thing of past.”

Perhaps dig around here on ASR and revise your anti-Class-D bias.

Do you have a link with measurements for these Hypex amps? Ah ok found the review where you took the quote from:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...and-measurements-of-hypex-nc400-diy-amp.5907/
"$980 Amp modules, SMPS, internal cables (AC, DC, and shielded input) with shipping from Hypex. putting aside labor, it is about USD $1,100"
... Are these exactly the same thing you were recommending? The ones in the review seem more expensive..

So I don't think we were talking about the same thing, the 'cheap class D amp' was referring to was the Aiyima a07, a $100 300W amp... Don't think I ever said ALL class D amps are awful... Not the Hypex modules.

Is there Spinorama data for those class D amps? My experience with class D was that they don't hold to a solid class AB design, but these don't appear to be using the same OpAmps so... Are they really as good as good AB class amps? That's the thing, even Schiit who sells very affordable headphone amps sells 100/200W amps (8/4 ohms) for $800. But yeah maybe the above class D amps (Aiyima a07) do the job and wouldn't be differentiable under blind conditions vs those Schiits?

[edit]removed bit about class D amp confusion... So yeah, there appears to be good class D amplification DIY options available, which give more power than receivers at similar cost, links to specific measurements for that particular model pending.. But yeah from what I read, doesn't appear like the Aiyima a07 would be a great idea for the Directivas.. Or maybe an acceptable compromise, depending on exactly how that would play out with the Directivas, probably worth spending a bit more for optimal amplification, whatever that may be...

 

[Mr. Widget]

You keep saying you want ‘cheap’, or some kind of price point project. These days I don’t think that is what DIY is all about. If your true objectives are performance and a pretty attractive price point, you are better off buying some ready-made products, eg a JBL 305P and a string of other options at various price points.

Today, IMHO, DIY is the best choice for one of two reasons:-

1. You simply love DIY
2. You want to do something a bit different to the ready-made options

cheers

Sadly I think you are correct.

I say sadly because DIY is how I and many others got started in this hobby decades ago. It was a blast learning about how these things worked. Most of us started out working blind and only had our ears and a Radio Shack SPL meter to work with. About 20 years ago or so MLSA and FFT computer based measurement gear became almost affordable and for those of us who got into it our world of possibilities exploded and we were able to compete with the manufacturers.

These days, there are so many serious bargains available that as others have said unless you are interested in building something that is different, impractical, or seriously high end, DIY is not really a cost effective option. It is still fun and educational though.

 

[kemmler3D]

unless you are interested in building something that is different, impractical, or seriously high end

This is why I lurk DIYAudio... I'm gradually working my way toward designing an active 3-way with fully 3D printed sealed housing, reinforced with concrete, damped with sand, fully rounded baffle / enclosure, fully active with about 1100W per side. Nothing normal, practical, or affordable about it...


Hurdles to clear before this are making sure the build method actually works, on some cheap 1-ways, and then saving up for all the parts ...

 

[Newman]

Aiyima a07 were given as a potential alternative to drive them.

That’s simply not true. They were suggested if you go more than 2 channels.

And you've recommended DIY class D amps which are twice the cost of the class AB receivers, $1000

Again, not true. I recommended a EU300 set of modules.

There’s nothing to debate here, I feel like you are trying too hard. Simple fact is that Class D amps have matured and your bias against them is not relevant to the discussion. And you don’t have to spend a bunch to get very useful Class D amplification.

I dare you to get anything other than audible transparency from the $70 Aiyima 07 with normal speakers at up to 50W-70W RMS depending on load. Dare you to. Bear in mind that 5W with music is so loud with most speakers that you would turn it down. The difference between it and your 70-100W receiver is what, 1 dB? 2?

I think I will finish here.

 

[GM3]

Alright, bickering aside, (apologies, I'm often too argumentative) that Purity driver (PTT6.5X04-NFA-01) of the Directivas is measured 3.7 ohms, and sensitivity seems to be <86dB... But yeah, reading, thinking, I kinda agree, based on review/measurements, the A7s should do fine with Directivas... Plus you'd be using one per speaker, so that would help a bit too. Not sure why ASR's Directiva sensitivity was so high, but not that it would particularly matter with A7, same for the ~4 ohms...

I'd be curious to pick up an A7, see how it fares vs JH StmtnMntrs.. I don't see exactly from the ASR measurements what would warrant the "For desktop use, these are probably acceptable compromises.", even comparing Schiit vidar measurements side by side, besides power, as you said, I don't see why the A7 should sound different if you're not playing very loud in a large room....

Alas, you are saddled with two boxes and cheap and potentially non-safety compliant parts. For desktop use, these are probably acceptable compromises.

Maybe he meant the two boxes (amp + PS; lack of utility) & non-safety compliant parts are acceptable compromises, and not anything performance related, because looking at the review more diligently, I don't see anything wrong with them either! Especially for $100..!

 

[Momomo67890]

I'm about to build a fun little speaker purifi 8 + 34b in 8 inch waveguide going to ripoff kii 3 and cancel freq from (150 to 600ish TBD) using 10 hivi 8'' per l/R winisd is giving me 130db from 30 hz up I get room gain around 20hz so I should be flat to 20 hz in room. Active controlled by motu8a + ao24 2in x 14 out fir for xo and eq above 150hz.

For the boxs I was thinking a 1.5 inch torsion box made with 1/8 inch hdf with 3/4 inch braces filled with lead shot and sand mix line the inside of the box in 2 ''magic eraser foam and natural wool stuffing. Or I'll just be lazy and build it with some Baltic birch I got from pre Russian genocide.

 

[kemmler3D]

purifi 8 + 34b in 8 inch waveguide

This is pretty damn close to my plan, but I was probably going to use the T34A instead (save a couple $$) and add some 10" L26ROY per side to get a bit closer to 20hz before distortion kicks in. Otherwise similar thoughts. Will follow your project if you post here.

I would say this is a good example of the "high send SOTA drivers with impractical features" end of DIY, esp. once you get to the lead shot, sand, etc.

 

[Momomo67890]

This is pretty damn close to my plan

Slept on it and decided against the shot now I'm thinking magic eraser foam in-between the braces for the torsion box sides then triple layer of 9mm Baltic birch for front and back. The hivis will weight 50lb alone thats more then enough box will weight around 100 when built. Should extremely ridgid and light weight . Now need to figure out how to isolate the tweeter and mids from the cabinet thinking shelf then place box with woofer with Sorbothane feet or sheet and using a magnet on the back of the box to hold it in place without actually touching anything then do same for tweeter so they are completely isolated from the speaker box and them selfs kinda box in a box but isolated plus it makes the speaker modular to upgrades in the future. I'm a hobby furniture maker / woodworker so all this seems like fun to make a beautiful speaker bc my wife ain't going to love this speaker unless I do in a nice walnut venner.

 

[Bach]

Why don't you use even stronger magnets to let the cabinets completly " float" free from each other? A kind of maglev speaker caninets!