Charles,
Thanks!
... the way I look at it is hopefully more is going in to the components than the cabinet.
Not to boast, but if you were to really do your research into speaker design, you'd find that there is more solid engineering and original electro-acoustic design (that's truly worthwhile and makes a valuable difference) in even the little Spirits, than there is in the majority of systems out there - and often regardless of price.
Not intending to slam others, but I'm just not into "me too" design. Slapping a woofer and a tweeter (regardless of quality/cost) into a pretty box is boring and only produces "me too" results (but it does look nice, if that's the main goal). Tweaking crossovers only gets you so far as well. Exotic enclosure design & materials, crossover parts and wire can and do make a difference, but the cost/performance ratio just isn't there if there's nothing but typical driver implimentation behind it.
In the end it's a lot more fun to build a lower cost product based on what we would call more "common" materials, and that kicks the pants off other more expensive products. You can always throw money at a problem, but true innovation is more challanging and fun in the end. If you want "fancy" with all the nice finishes, exotic veneers, high-end crossover parts and wire, etc., we can do that too. In fact, I've never had the chance to build the "monsters in my head," but if I ever do... Magico, Wilson and the rest had better duck!
Have fun,
-Bob
