If you're a SET amp lover like me you may have been frustrated by the absence of affordable high sensitivity speakers that sound good. I've built a few high sensitivity speakers, and most were either line arrays or Fostex-based single drivers. Line arrays are a good choice, but even if you use inexpensive drivers they're pricey because of the number of drivers needed. Fostex-based single driver speakers can be built economically and are a good choice for some, but they have too many compromises to suit my taste (weak bass, shouty treble, and too little cone excursion to play very loud without distortion).
A couple of months ago Danny brought a standmount speaker using an Eminence Alpha 8 woofer and a GR-T6 tweeter to a Dallas Audio Club meeting. The sound was very impressive, especially the tweeter, but they had too much baffle step compensation to be suitable for use with 3 watt SET amps. After hearing these speakers I decided to build a pair using a larger floorstanding enclosure, 1st order crossover, and no bsc to take full advantage of the Alpha 8's 95dB sensitivity. They're front-ported to permit close to the wall placement. The enclosures are 36"H, 9-1/4"W, 12-3/4"D.
I took them to last week's Dallas Audio Club meeting and their reception by other members was very positive, especially considering their $200-$300/pr construction cost. I believe the Eminence/GR driver combination would be a good choice for anybody else looking for an affordable high sensitivity speaker. This veneered pair cost about $300 to build. The actual parts cost (excluding the enclosures) ranges from about $90 per speaker if you use inexpensive crossover parts (Jantzen air core inductors, Solen cap, Dayton resistors) to about $110 if you substitute Alpha Core inductors, Sonicaps, and Mills resistors (these speakers are good enough to justify the upgrade, especially the Sonicaps). Picture at this link:
http://fredt300b.smugmug.com/gallery/132721/1/66687024
