Madisound Solist DIY Speaker Kit

From my DIY article on the Dynaudio design, referred to as Cirrus RK's hence forward, I have received numerous emails asking for details on the design. I know some people don't read articles in depth but it explained that Dynaudio drivers are no longer available to the public. In an attempt to match the Dynaudio drivers for the rest of my home theater speakers I have built a set of speakers completely available to the public. It is the Solist kit available from Madisound Speaker Components. The reason I chose the Solist was based on the use of Scan Speak drivers which I previously audition next to the more costly Cirrus RK's. During that audition, I found the Scan Speak Drivers performed very close to the Cirrus and were more affordable. In this article it is hoped that some of the risk factors of building speakers is removed (i.e. investing time, effort, and money without ever knowing how the speakers will turn out.)

The Solist kit is basically available four designs and prices. There are two different driver compliments and each are available with or without cabinets. Both driver compliments use the same mid/woofer in an MTM configuration therefore the cabinet size doesn't change.

Option 1 $840/pair

• Qty two - 7" Carbon fiber paper Mid/Woofers - Scan Speak Model 18W/8545K
• Qty one - 1" textile dome tweeter - D2905/9500
• Qty one - Low pass crossover, 1 - high pass crossover, including Sidewinder 16 AWG coils, Solen polypropylene capacitors and Eagle metal oxide film resistors

Option 2 $1140/pair

• Qty two - 7" Carbon fiber paper Mid/Woofers - Scan Speak Model 18W/8545K
• Qty one - 1" textile dome tweeter - D2905/9500
• Qty one - Low pass crossover, 1 - high pass crossover, including Sidewinder 16 AWG coils, Solen polypropylene capacitors and Eagle metal oxide film resistors
• Qty two - Oak veneer (natural or black) finished cabinets

Option 3 $1110/pair

• Qty two - 7" Carbon fiber paper Mid/Woofers - Scan Speak Model 18W/8545K
• Qty one - 1" textile dome tweeter - D2905/9700
• Qty one - Low pass crossover, 1 - high pass crossover, upgraded with Goertz copper foil 14 AWG inductors, Solen capacitors, Hovland Musicaps and Eagle metal oxide film resistors.

Option 4 $1420/pair

• Qty two - 7" Carbon fiber paper Mid/Woofers - Scan Speak Model 18W/8545K
• Qty one - 1" textile dome tweeter - D2905/9700
• Qty one- Low pass crossover, 1 - high pass crossover, upgraded with Goertz copper foil 14 AWG inductors, Solen capacitors, Hovland Musicaps and Eagle metal oxide film resistors.
• Qty two - Oak finished (natural or black) cabinets

I decided not to use the upgraded option since they were only to be used as center and surround speakers and I felt it wasn't necessary to get the more expensive drivers and crossovers. Being a handyman, I also decided to build the cabinets myself thereby reducing my overal expense to $840/pair thereby selecting option one.