How do you save money when buying a good set of standmounters – aka bookshelf speakers? Why, you read our reviews, consult our buying guides, then scour our best speaker deals page for bargains, right? Right. Or, you could save on labour and have a go at making them yourself. Falcon, the largest UK supplier of drive units, has just the proposition.
The IMF100 is the first of six models in Falcon Acoustics' Complete@Home range of loudspeaker systems for home assembly. The standmount speaker set includes Falcon drive units, Italian birch ply cabinets and Falcon factory-assembled pre-wired crossovers. No soldering is required, all tools are provided, and Falcon promises you'll be able to do it yourself in just 30 minutes.
Oh, and the build is supported by a YouTube video, too.
What is it you'll be assembling, exactly? The IMF100 boasts a two-way 1/8th wave transmission line system, featuring matched pairs of Falcon B110 and T27 drive units (as used in the 1974 BBC prototype Falcon LS3/5a), CNC-engineered B110 retaining rings, precision-matched Falcon crossovers, full production-grade 12mm and 9mm birch ply cabinets made in Italy from natural walnut or rosewood veneers, and a magnetically attached cloth grille.
The parts – most notably the Falcon B110 (5”) Bextrene Cone bass unit and 19mm (¾”) Falcon T27 Mylar dome tweeter – are created in the same factory as the renowned Falcon Acoustics BBC LS3/5a and the firm claims that the IMF100 shares similar voicing with the model, but with extra bass extension.
"Easy home assembly" is the initial promise. The second promise is "a fully specified high-quality Falcon speaker at less than half the price of any pre-built commercially available counterpart, all for a mere 30 minutes of your time".
If you think you're up for the challenge, (they'll weigh 12.5kg each when you're done), you can order a Create@Home IMF100 pair now. Typical UK pricing, including all tools and VAT, is £1495.
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