Many years ago I partnered with an acoustic engineer and an bespoke medical electronics engineer with the intention of designing and manufacturing a loudspeaker and a single ended class A amplifier. The amplifier never made it past the simulation stage, but the speakers went through quite a few prototypes, but when it came to translating the prototype into a commercial product we couldn't make the maths work. We were trying to sell a small bookshelf speaker in 1988 that would have cost about £650. No one would buy it. The Acoustic Energy came along with the AE1 - and that didn't even have integrated decoupled stands!!! So, if you can make, or get made, decent cabinets, DIY speakers are the bargain of hifi. My Kitchen speakers are Moldovan LS3/5a boxes with Monacor drivers, B&O icepower amplifiers and MiniDSP active digital x-overs. Not as good as the ML Summits in the room next door, but sound stunning considering their less than ideal positioning and size. As we limit the volume, the bass is quite something!!