So I've been building a set of kit speakers for awhile: the Tritrix from Parts Express. They had a crazy sale for the parts -- less than $250 for the drivers, crossover parts, and pre-cut mdf for the enclosures, which is a transmission-line design.
Of course that doesn't include the money I spent on tools or the $80 I spent on the koa-wood veneer. What I've learned: veneering stuff is hard. This picture doesn't show the ripples I can't get out or the badly-matched seams. I got raw veneer (as opposed to paper-backed) and I can understand why people might want to use the paper-backed stuff; but nothing is going to beat the grain on this koa.
Update: actually you can kinda see how crappy the seam is.