Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Madisound Cygnet Mk II Speakers by Merle

Model:	Cygnet Mk II
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$450.00
Description:	DIY Kit
Manufacturer URL:	Madisound
Manufacturer URL:	Madisound

Review by Merle ( A ) on January 02, 2003 at 17:02:06
IP Address: 152.163.189.131

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Lately I've become more and more interested in finding the maximum bang for the buck when it comes to audio gear. This has led me to explore DIY kits. A few years back I built a Bottlehead Parasex/Foreplay combo that, while looking pretty bad, shocked me with the level of performance it offered. I have built the Parts Express BR-1 kit, and again, I was floored by what $139 will get you if you don't mind a little solder and glue. I wanted to try something that would offer pretty much full range sound, be easy to build, and not cost a fortune. After looking around at all the various kit's offered on the internet, I decided to build the Madisound Cygnet Mk II. This is a rather large [for a bookshelf speaker] model which features SEAS drivers. An 8" woofer [P21RF/P] and a 1" textile dome tweeter [27TFFC]. The Madisound website lists bass response down to 40hz. Putting the kit together was quite easy. The cabinets and crossovers both come assembled. Assembly time was roughly 2 hours. I'd have to say the Cygnet is not much to look at, just a BIG black box. However, I was more interested in the sound, and it's here where this big bookshelf excels. For the first two weeks, I kept thinking something was wrong with the bass. It was present, but seemed to be rather shelved down from the rest of the sound. The midrange and treble were sweet right away but I kept thinking the bass should be a lot stronger than what I was getting. A post on the Madisound forum took care of the problem. Someone told me to recheck my wiring and, sure enough, I had one woofer wired out of phase. Easy fix and now, damm do they do bass! This is the type of bass response I was looking for. Tight, deep and punchy. Big drums and bass guitars really massage your chest now. The bass is very natural and musical. Where the Cygnet really shines is the midrange. Vocals and acoustic instruments sound very real, with tons of body and presence. The SEAS tweeter is no slouch either. The high's are sweet and show very good detail. The Cygnet has had me breaking out lot's of rock cd's. The full bottom end and ability to energize a room make the Cygnet an excellent speaker for rock. Drum whacks in Arron Copeland's music make me jump. The Cygnet is detailed and has enough refinment for classical music. However, if rock is your thing, I think they would tough to beat for under $500.

Product Weakness: Big, ugly black box.
Product Strengths: Price. Punchy, tight bass. Very high quality drivers. Extream value. Easy to drive.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Adcom GFA5300
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Adcom GFP565
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Adcom GCD700
Speakers:	Madisound Cygnet Mk II kit
Cables/Interconnects:	MIT Terminator 2 / Mapleshade Golden Helix
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical. Rock. Blues. Folk.
Room Size (LxWxH):	24 x 16 x 8
Time Period/Length of Audition:	One month.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Big, ugly black box.
Product Strengths:	Price. Punchy, tight bass. Very high quality drivers. Extream value. Easy to drive.