Unfortunately, business scheduling and COVID goofiness have kept me from getting too deep into my build. I’ve got the crossovers de-populated and re-populated, but I’m still trying to secure a cabinet builder (I am space and tool-constrained where I am atm). I knew that this may turn into a long term project when I undertook it, so I am in no rush.
I’m in a similar situation, but went ahead and ordered my first flat pack from Hivi/Swan. So In theory, I am short on large cabinet clamps, wood glue and what ever I decide for the exterior finish. If it goes well, I wanted to try a flat pack from GR Research. Then the never ending journey of pairing with that “perfect” combination of source, DAC, Amp and room treatment.
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Good luck on your build! If you end up going with a GR Research kit and want a flatpack, I know that there are numerous options for the X-LS Encores. I’m probably going to end up trying to commission complete cabinets from Mike Lundy if I can’t get them built locally, and then I’ll finish lining them and doing the final dampening, fitting and wiring.
Well so far I’m pretty disappointed I placed the order Dec 12 and it said it took 2 days for it to ship out. I have not heard back from anyone at Swan. I’ve sent several emails asking for information and nothing back. They certainly did not have any trouble processing the charge on my credit card though. 
I’m about to cancel the order and try just doing as you said. After checking out the website and various reviews I’m curious about Danny’s new line of open baffle speakers. Mu problem might be that I do not have a room large enough for proper placement of them.
Room on the sides is not as critical with open baffle speakers as it is with cabinets. You do want generous space to the back wall though. But that shouldn’t be too much of an issue - you can pull them out for listening and push them against the wall when not in use.
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I ordered and built the same pair. I altered the design and added a second woofer, just because,lol. I like them a lot. Not going to impress my serious audiophile friends, but excellent for the money. I thought mine were a bit too bright on the top end, but found a site where a guy measured, and offered several crossover mods. I ended up adding a resistor across the tweeter and that really toned that down. Fun project, and mine play louder than hell. I’m pushing them with a Musical Fidelity 5.5 w 200+ watts/ channel and I never turn it pass 9. Could probably get great sound with as little as 35 watts . Again ,not Focal,lol, but decent bang for the buck.
Just joined this site, so I know this is late, but I’m listening to mine right now. I built them last summer. LOVE them. Could use a larger room, as mine are not quite 3 ft from the back wall but they still sound great! I went with the full crossover upgrade, and have no regrets. My buddy has Vandersteen Treos, ,$5k.,and I wouldn’t trade.
Update on the Swans HIVI I ordered. I posted a complaint on their Facebook page and I finally got a response. I received the flatpack a week later. No communications or apologies other than I noticed they never processed the order and I was not charged for it. So 5 stars for free speaker kit! I’m moving to a new house and plan to build the kit as my first project after I settle down. I should have enough room to justify ordering the X-Static and placing them properly in the new listening area. I made a huge mistake of getting rid of a pair of Anthem amps “to make room” while I downsized so I will be in the hunt to find new amplifiers to drive me speakers. I current setup isn’t terrible as I get by with an older pair of KEF driven by a Denon integrated AV unit. I’m scared but I know tubes are definitely going to be in my future after experimenting with some tube headphone amps though.
Thanks for posting Anton23. So are you saying you upgraded the already upgraded crossovers from GR-Research? I thought that dude was known to exactly that. He takes other speakers and upgrades their internals.
He tunes everything to be flat. Flat may be too bright for some, too dark for others 
Also new here to this forum, but this thread got my attention since I own an original pair of AV123 X-Statik’s from 13+ years ago when they were first released. I called and spoke with Danny Richie several times over the years about various open baffles designs and such, as well as about these X-Statik’s. About four or five years ago, I fully upgraded everything on the crossovers except for the inductors. All the caps and resistors were upgraded to Danny’s recommendations. I also removed all of the original felt/wool damping material in the sealed bass enclosure and replaced it all with Danny’s No-Rez material.
Over the years, I have powered these speakers with a bunch of different amps, from a modified Baldwin Organ tube amplifier putting out 23 watts from a quad of 6L6’s, a Cary Audio SLi 80, to a McIntosh MC250 and MC7200, Adcom GFA-555 MkII, Audio Research D200, Monarchy Audio SM-70 Pro (25 watt Class A), Odyssey Audio custom built Khartago Kismet, PS Audio M700 monoblocks, Schiit Audio Aegir monoblocks, and my current Emotive XPA-2 Gen 2.
I know I left out about a dozen other amps in there somewhere. I can’t remember them all.
Point being, the X-Statik’s are rather efficient, are easy to drive, can get pretty loud and stay clean with just about any amp you throw at them. They are very natural sounding, and in the few rooms that I had them in, they extended down to mid-30’s with good useable output at those frequencies.
I have a pair of NHT 2.9’s, a pair of Martin Logan SL3’s, a couple pairs of Monitor Audio and Triangle tower speakers, and over time, I always tend to come back to the X-Statik’s because they are THAT good, especially after the crossover upgrades and addition of No-Rez.
I also have the original, un-modified X-Voce center channel, which is the absolute best sounding center channel I have ever heard at any price. But I no longer do home theater, so it just sits, safely stored in the spare room.
Just for fun, here’s a few of the latest pics from several months ago, as well as a couple pics of the upgraded crossovers and No-Rez…
Stock
Upgraded (two caps on right are for bass drivers which would have little effect with upgraded caps)
Stock felt/wool damping material
No-Rez damping material
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Alright, after…several years of delays, we are back on the wagon! Cabinets built out and Duratex’d by Killian Smith out at Denton Woodoworkers!
Added some additional holes for routing the mid/high wiring:
I will try to update as I continue finishing the build, hopefully I’ll be close to (if not finished) by the end of the weekend!
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Managed to desolder and repopulate the other crossover this morning:
Next on the agenda is to prep the cabinet integior and measure/cut/apply NoRez for reflection dampening!
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I am curious to see how these turn out. Great project! 
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Currently measuring/cutting/installing the NoRez into the cabinets. Tools that I recommend to make your life infinitely easier:
- a ruler and a yardstick OR tape measure, depending on how long and large your cuts need to be for the panels. As the old adage goes, “measure twice and cut once”. Maybe make that measure THRICE depending on your accuracy and level of concentration. You can get your baseline measurements off of any plans that you have, but make sure to do your final measurements based on the finished cabinet itself. If you use a material like NoRez, the backng is so solid and stiff that you can’t really “jimmy” or force it into place; you need to be accurate or cut slightly short.
- A fine felt-tip marker or Sharpie for marking the backing prior to cutting. Normal pen does not stick to the backing, just see what works best for you.
- A utility knife or razor if you want to life dangerously, as well as a sharp knife with a long blade (preferably a thin profile and a deep belly are ideal). Use the utility knife or razor to “score” your markings and create a channel to cut through the adhesive & rubberized backing first, then use the long knife to part the foam layer. Both cutting tools with get adhesive on them as you cut, so be sure to clean them every so often or you’ll wear your arm out making the cuts (if you want to be lazy with the razor, just buy a pack and swap them every couple of pieces).
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It’s recommended to cut the foam layer back about 1.5 inches from the drivers and leave the vinyl layer.
Like this:
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Sound advice, I’ll have to do that now that I have all of the paneling installed!
Is that a pair of N-Xoticas? They’re lovely, even from the back!
That they are. I should make a build thread in here some time. I’m lazy though.
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Woooooah, we’re halfway there! WoooOOOAH, mismatched channels for a day or two!
So, I probably took way longer than necessary to finish the first one and many lessons were learned (which will be detailed with more breakdown/pics as I do up the other unit). Here’s some shots of the drivers once soldered and attached to the front baffle:
PS even though it’s just a single unit mis-matched with a bookshelf speaker, it sounds great!
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Alright, so I’ve had some ups and downs given that I had to troubleshoot the second unit with several teardowns and rebuilds, but the moral of the story is that you should learn how to and test your crossover before sealing anything up, as I had a cap that was only partially seated (and soldered) into the PCB circuit which was causing a “leak” that prevented the tweeter circuit from being complete. It is worth noting that my build involved the old “X-Statik 1.0” pre-assembled crossover which is no longer offered, so building a crossover from scratch (and point-to-point) should be both easier to troubleshoot and finish correctly.
So…how do they sound? They are fantastic, and have the best vocals and highs that I have ever heard from a speaker! I don’t know if it’s the open-baffle section, the design of the build, or both but they are worth all of the pain, toil and cost that I put into them. I would probably NOT recommend them for a first build project…but I absolutely recommend them.
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