I have 5 speaker models in my house right now, so I guess I'll talk about them in order of least fav, to fav.

1) Axiom M3Ti's...bought these from a friend on a whim...don't buy all the review hype that compares these to Paradigm Studio 20's, because on their greatest day on steroids, they just don't come close (I use to own the 20's)...that being said these are very good speakers for the $215 or so I paid...the bass is a littly shy below 60 Hz, but it is accurate and tight, and midrange is rather pleasing...these really would do well in a complete Axiom home theater I think and are a good alternative for people looking for good sound on a budget...I'd rank these right up there with the Paradigm Mini Monitors I use to own...I dislike the fussiness these things seem to have with respect to toe-in and placement...

2) Paradigm Studio 40 v.2 - Although they've been replaced I just couldn't part with these...they're sitting in a closet right now waiting for me to make up my mind about where I want to put them...Enough's been said about these speakers so I won't get into great detail, but for me it came down to B&W, Energy, PMC, and the Studio's...price became a factor, and these offered the greatest value to my ears (though I purchased a complete 5.1 system, for 2-channel only, I'd have to re-evaluate). Good staging and imaging, solid bass, and nice, detailed, bright sound that I tend to prefer...

3) DIY - Peerless woofer/North Creek tweeter - Cleverly named the "PeeCreek" after the drivers, this was the first non-kit DIY speaker I ever made without help...very easy to build because the cabinets can be bought pre-finished at Parts Express, the crossover has a mere 9 elements, despite employing 4th order LR rolloffs for both drivers... (and the design is readily available at www.speakerbuilder.net
Many thanks to "The Reverend" Wayne Jaeschke.
These have a wider, deeper soundstage, amazing imaging, and more pleasant midrange than the Studio 40's, though don't have as much bass....I'd say the bass is equal in quality....the tweeter is rather neutral, perhaps not as detailed or bright as the Studio 40's, but tends to have a bump at the very high frequencies...this gives the impression of sibilance at the highest end of the spectrum and can be slightly annoying on rock music with a lot of cymbals, but they sound great with classical or acoustic music...The North Creek tweeter IMO is the weak link, and many DIY-ers have substituted it with higher-end tweeters from Morel or Usher, but this puts the price up considerably. All in all, I like these a bit more than the Studio 40's, because of the strong midrange and larger soundstage, though you probably wouldn't want to use these in critical, stand alone 2-channel system without a sub...at about $280 in parts (including excellent finished cabinets) or $200 if you build your own cabinets, these are great for small rooms, HT, or 2-channel without serious heavy bass...I find the imaging is, well, "too accurate" for my tastes in music, but I haven't heard a speaker under $1500 that does it better.

4) Audioreview.com's own, (EFE Technology)Ar.com DIY's - These use the same quality Peerless woofer as the PeeCreek, and are in the same price-range, but that's where the similarities end. These use a higher quality, better sounding driver IMO, a Peerless, 1" soft-dome tweeter. These have amazing off-axis response, an even wider and deeper soundstage than the PeeCreek and a few other perks. The bass response is lower and more defined than the PeeCreek or my Studio 20's...and 99% as low as my Studio 40's...not quite there...but that's fine...the midrange is and smooth, detailed highs are a good step up on the Paradigms. My favorite aspect of these speakers is the wide soundstage they produce, and how much "give" the center image has...it's not as sharply focused as the PeeCreek, but you can sit off-axis more and still maintain good imaging! The higher crossover really lets the Peerless woofer shine - awesome midrange performance for the money!
I made 6 of these at an average cost of about $215 a pair...They'd be about $340 with pre-made cabinets, but I made my own...much cheaper. These replaced my four Studio 20's and Studio 40's in my home theater...just in time for my jump into multi-channel audio.

Ed Frias of EFE Technologies makes this design a real treat to build. Despite making no money off the hundreds of sales Madisound and SpeakerCity make every year, he graciously answers every stupid question you throw at him, and usually inside of a day.

5) Vifa/Scan-Speak - towers...+/- 2 dB from 36-20,000 Hz and -9 dB at 28 Hz, these are mated to my Rotel integrated in my basement studio, where I do my most serious musical listening...This was my first venture into speaker building and I had a lot of help from an experienced friend designing and building these...they use a 7" Vifa wood/fiber cone woofer, and a Scan-Speak 1" Soft dome tweeter...I love these speakers, but since they're in my studio with my all my guitars, amps, etc, we finished them in an ugly carpet finish...I was told at the time this would soften the sound as well, but someday I might refinish the cabinets to make them look as good as they sound...they're the best speakers I've ever owned. They cost me a little over $500 in parts, so much more expensive than the AR.com DIY's, maybe not as good a value, but I'd put them up against any $2000-$3000 speakers I've heard. A lot of $2000-$4000 speakers use the same drivers so it's not surprising. I don't think I'll ever move these to home theater...building matching speakers would get too expensive and even for multi-channel audio, I just couldn't justify the diminishing returns on investment....maybe someday I'll build a better speaker for cheaper...

15" Dayton subwoofer project is next, then probably my first ever transmission line speaker...we'lll see how goes.

I'd love build an electrostat or planar speaker kit, but I'm still way too much a newbie to jump into that.

Great thread!!!