I certainly wanted to find out if these speakers were "for me" before I spent a few $K on them. If you've read the reviews of this system you know what others are saying about it.
It's all true.
The sound stage is 3D. It makes box speakers sound 2D by comparison. Good stereo recordings (I listened to Chesky 2K) extend behind the speakers to far beyond the back wall. When playing good recordings, the speakers disappear. You can stare at the exposed drivers and you can't convince yourself that you hear
anything coming from the drivers. These speakers can thump. I expected dipole bass to be a little wimpy, but it is not. Of course the tone is completely natural.
Most recordings today including surround sound are "pan-potted mono". It is immediately evident when a recording of this type is played that the sound stage has collapsed into a plane. It's like someone took your 3D glasses off. I would say that for these types of recordings, my existing box speakers (DALI IKON 6) will do fine.
But for 3D stereo recordings, only the ORION system will do.
Personally I would build Plutos first, to hone my skills and to see if those kind of speakers are for me without spending a fortune.
The thought of building the PLUTO crossed my mind, but $1800 is an expensive experiment/training exercise.
So, which flavor did you go with? I.e., are you going to do the crossover project yourself? or will you have someone else do it? Are you going to buy the boards pre-cut, or did you just buy the plans?
I'll buy the crossover assembled and tested. I wouldn't mind soldering the board, and I've done that kind of thing before, but troubleshooting it would be beyond my ability and would not be my idea of a good time. I'd rather pay the $240 difference for the working crossover.
But I'll definitely build the speaker cabinets either by myself or with the help of a woodworking friend.