Eric, I decided to jump in here because I built the Linus 2 and the XT-8. The Linus 2 uses Vifa TC series woofers and Silver Flute planar tweeters. The Linus 3 uses Parts Express reference series woofers and Fountek ribbon tweeters. The XT-8 uses Vifa XT series woofers and Fountek ribbons. I can't comment on the difference between the Vifa TC woofers and the PE reference woofers, but I wound expect the PE's to sound significantly better, especially in the critical midrange. I can comment on the difference between the Silver Flute planars and the Fountek ribbons: The Silver Flutes are $30 tweeters that sound about as good as most $30 tweeters - not the last word in resolution. The Founteks are as good as it gets - clearly better than the $80 Scan Speak 9500 domes I used in another project. If your budget doesn't permit you to get the ten woofer Linus 3, you might consider building the nine woofer Day Tek as an interim step. It's very much like the Linus 3 (same PE reference series woofers, just using nine instead of ten) with a single Fountek ribbon per side instead of the Linus 3's eight. I believe you could build the enclosure from the start with the intent of adding the other ribbons, and Rick would provide the additional ribbons and a revised crossover when you do the upgrade. You can see pictures of the Linus 2, Linus 3, and Day Tek at the Selah Audio picture gallery linked below.
I'm suggesting this approach because I believe if you build the Linus 2 you'll proably be looking at upgrading to the Linus 3 in a year or so, which means starting from scratch. If you build the Day Tek (and subsequently upgrade) or the Linus 3, like my XT-8, this one will probably be the "keeper" that doesn't leave your system because you will not be able to find anything that sounds better for under $20K.
Jim or Rick, what's your take on this?
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