Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Madisound Cygnet Mk II Speakers by sixgallonpie@yahoo.com

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

Review by sixgallonpie@yahoo.com ( A ) on September 25, 2003 at 12:59:53
IP Address: 130.214.9.243

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for the Cygnet Mk II

My thoughts on the Madisound Cygnet Mk2...
Using a pair of B&W 603 DM's as a reference speaker, I was very impressed with the Cygnet's mids and highs but the bass just didn't compare to the B&W's. The Cygnet's bass seemed muddy and distant unlike the tight, punchy bass on the B&W's. On the other hand, I did hear some musical details on the Cygnet's that I had never noticed before on the B&W's!
Now I'm far from an expert on speakers nor speaker building, but I figured that there must be a way to tweak these to get the type of bass I was hoping for. I know it is possible from a cabinet this size because I've heard some old Paradigm Phantoms that have a similar sized cabinet as well as an 8" driver and they produce incredible bass! The first thing I tried was stuffing the whole box with extra polyfil. If this made any difference, it was negligible. I then decided to take a look inside the B&W's to see what they looked like...every wall inside the cabinet is covered in foam, and no polyfil. I figured this would be my next tweak so I went to the nearest fabric store and bought some 1" flame retardant, open-cell polyurethane foam. I used the foam that Madisound shipped with the kit to line the sides and back (opposite the woofer) of the top half of the cabinet (above the brace). I then used the new foam to line the top, the two lower sides (below the brace), and the lower front baffle (I cut a hole in the foam so that the tweeter wasn't covered). I cut the lower back side pieces on an angle so they wouldn't interfere with the port. This essentially gave me coverage on at least one side of each opposing wall. Finally, I put the Polyfil that Madisound included with the kit as instructed. I wasn't expecting that this would make much of a difference, but it did! The bass is exactly what I was looking for...tight and warm! A big improvement. Who knows what I have done to the response curve...but who really cares! Speaker tastes are subjective and as far as I'm concerned they now sound better now than they did before!

Product Weakness: see above
Product Strengths: see above

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Yamaha RX-V530
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	n/a
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	n/a
Speakers:	Madisound Cygnet Mk2
Cables/Interconnects:	n/a
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Rock/Blues/Reggae
Room Size (LxWxH):	20 x 13 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	n/a
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3 months
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	n/a
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner
Your System (if other than home audition):	home

Product Weakness:	see above
Product Strengths:	see above