[richidoo]

Does this never end?

Yes! It most certainly does never end!

DIY is a mobius strip of reality, where polarity is inverted on every lap.

She didn't say no.....

NO is always implied.  

[rajacat]

Lenahan speakers out of Australia once/still ships their small ML1 speakers overseas in heavy duty plastic travel cases as you propose. It worked well.

Maple Burl will be beautiful on a small speaker. I like simpler wood grain patterns for larger cabinets, but a small speaker is like a jewelry box so doll it up! My kairos are still raw BB ply,

The Lenehan ML1 looks very interesting. I don't know what the tariff would be on importing them from Aus. to Taiwan. However, you could have them shipped directly to your place in Taiwan in their bulletproof travel case. They seem to be extremely well built and the few reviews I've read in the past have been very positive. If I was in the market for a high quality small monitor, they'd be high on the list. If 3 grand your budget, I suspect that that would be sufficient. Not a kit but very, very nice speakers.

http://www.lenehanaudio.com.au/ml1.html

[Rocket]

Hi Michael,

I have no experience to inform you of the quality of the SEAS speaker kits, except to mention that the Thor and Odin speakers are highly rated in the diy community.

I had a negative experience building a pair of Zalytron Phenomenal floor standing speaker kits as the speaker never sound good.  The top end was too pronounced and the bass was very limited. I know how good the raven tweeter and  Phl drivers are so I know it was the components.

I think your current speakers are by Jeff Bagby? who has a very good diy speaker reputation.  Another company to consider would be Selah Audio or Dennis Murphy designs.  Although Dennis seems to have concentrated on more affordable designs.  I do know he designed the crossover of the Ellis Audio 1801b which Salk Sound now builds.  I'm not sure whether Dave sells this speaker kit anymore but its worth a consideration  http://www.ellisaudio.com

Good luck with your decision.

Cheers Rod

[mresseguie]

Import duty on all audio gear is 21%. It hurts. It's intended to help protect the domestic manufacturers, but the vast majority of audiophiles I have met look down on most domestic manufacturers and willingly plop down the extra cash to get the imports.

Interestingly, they also tend to look down on Taiwanese performers who have 'made it' outside of Taiwan. Each time I told a Taiwanese audiophile that I like listening to Yo Yo Ma, the response was identical - "He's not very good." Now, I'm no musician, but I really enjoy listening to his music. 

[Folsom]

They like something a bit more exotic huh? That's not a huge surprise.

It's awfully ironic to have import taxes on super specialized things that may not have a local counterpart. Otherwise I think it's healthy to a degree, on certain things. It's very odd in this case given the fact Taiwan couldn't possibly have too many things that are cheaper coming in, since they're one of the world's largest manufacturers goods exporter.

[mresseguie]

They like something a bit more exotic huh? That's not a huge surprise.

It's awfully ironic to have import taxes on super specialized things that may not have a local counterpart. Otherwise I think it's healthy to a degree, on certain things. It's very odd in this case given the fact Taiwan couldn't possibly have too many things that are cheaper coming in, since they're one of the world's largest manufacturers goods exporter.

Yupper. Exotic wins out. Based on my observations, the top speaker brands in Taiwan are B&W, Focal, Dynaudio. These companies got in early, maintain robust advertising, and their speakers can be purchased in nearly every city that has a dealer. Additionally, there are several German audio companies represented there that I just don't see for sale here. When's the last time you saw Odeon Speakers? They sound fantastic.

A lot of the Taiwanese audio manufacturers are a lot like what we see here on AC. They are very small (boutique) operations. Some of their products are very polished and high quality. Others are clearly newly designed and are still rough around the edges. The guys who manufacture their own tube amps and preamps tend to be better organized. Their products look good, sound good, and are reasonably priced.

One man, who I saw at all three audio shows I attended, produces and sells standmount speakers which use Audio Technology midwoofers and Transducer Labs tweeters (both very high quality drivers, right?). Well, he sticks them in cheap, thin, vinyl covered MDF cabinets, uses steel screws/binding posts, cheap thin wiring inside, Bennic caps, little or no stuffing inside and they look no better than cheap speakers you might find in KMart or a white van. His sales technique is straight out of a carnival barker's technique. Loudly call out to anyone in earshot in the hope of drawing them in, play local music that is sure to attract a certain % of the population, and pretend to be their best buddy. His entry level monitors (5" midwoofers) cost about $2400 USD equivalent and sound uninteresting.

Well, let's see. China, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Pakistan, and myriad African countries can easily import cheap goods into Taiwan. It's very easy for a Chinese company (for example) establish a manufacturing (or assembly) plant in one of those countries, bribe various officials (shock!), and have their products labeled "Made in XXXXXX". Taiwan is still a very large world manufacturer, but many of its factories left the island over the last 30 years. Taiwan's textile manufacturing used to be famous, but 95% of it is now found in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, even Cambodia because of cheaper labor costs.   

[mcgsxr]

Personally there are a lot of Usher speakers IN Taiwan that I regret not buying when I was there.

And their large Class AB amps are something to behold and hear.

I assume that is not in the cards for you?

[mresseguie]

Howdy!

Off the top of my head I can't recall the model, but there are a couple models that sound like what I'm looking for. Unfortunately, both are too large for my listening room. WAF considerations and walking traffic are huge considerations as well.

[dr_skoobie]

I wouldn't shell out for the Bifrost unless I could hear it first.

I've read your posts in lots of forums over the years, you may wish to consider what you will do without the thrill of the chase to occupy your discretionary time  .

Were I in your shoes-- based on designs I've heard-- I would take a close look at Philharmonic Audio's latest Philharmonitors.  Ticks a lot of your boxes.  You could ask Jim Salk to build you an enclosure if needs to be prettier (I think the PE boxes look pretty good, myself), and you just have to spend a little more $.   

[Bemopti123]

I wouldn't shell out for the Bifrost unless I could hear it first.

If this statement is followed to the letter, there would not be many manufacturers afloat.  The reality now is that many of the more interesting and perhaps value driven products do not have dealers and people where to go hear them.  If you think about it, most of the speakers and even amplification products move because of 2 reasons now:  1-a decent review in a well known publication or 2-they are affordable enough, to build a customer base from the limited group of audiophiles available. 

I do not know, most of the products I have purchased as of the past 15 years have been from a online dealer or advertisement and have done so because of #1 above.

It is incredibly hard to figure out what will float people's audio boat.  And, to make matters worse, when you account for WAF and logistics of purchasing overseas and taking it on suite cases, I do not know.   

PS:  I remember getting a visit from an audiophile who saw my post on this site, and came to listen to my FTA-2000s with 8" alnico drivers.  This person came and from what I surmised, he had a system with not so great pair of speakers and also middle range amplification.  He heard the speakers, which cost around $2000 with the cabinets and some upgraded crossover components.  Afterwards, the audiophile proceeded to a boutique salon in NYC to hear a pair of 15" Alnico Coaxial Tannoy speakers that ran into small brand new compact car territory in price, and said, "your speakers sounded just okay in comparison to the Tannoys."  I had to scratch my head.    These are the expectations that people have in terms of stereos these days.