Hi, has anyone built or auditioned the Solstice MLTL kit from Parts Express? I'm really interested in purchasing these as my first DIY speaker project. There's only one review on the site, and my googling hasn't turned up any real hands-on reviews of the finished product. That makes me a little hesitant to pull the trigger, considering the price ($500 per speaker).
Hi,
you don't need any more reviews to believe this is a good sounding
speaker kit other than the fact that it was designed and fine tuned
by Jeff Bagby.
you don't need any more reviews to believe this is a good sounding
speaker kit other than the fact that it was designed and fine tuned
by Jeff Bagby.
Those are really nice drivers and Bagby is one of the best multiway speaker designers. I bet it sounds great. If you want a ready to build kit this looks good but is pricey compared to what you could build all on your own. The Morel drivers are on the higher end so price is accordingly higher.
Jeff Bagby is a very well regarded speaker designer -- a quick Internet search will turn up this info. He has also developed software for use in designing speakers. However I think cfaftw is still asking a legit question, it would be good to have an independent detailed review of the product before spending the $500 per speaker and the time to put it together and finish it.
One great plus is the value of the kit right now. The cost of the Morel drivers alone is more than the cost of the entire kit.
One great plus is the value of the kit right now. The cost of the Morel drivers alone is more than the cost of the entire kit.
Thanks for the replies. I did some research before posting, and I gathered that Jeff Bagby appears to be a guru in the speaker design world, which is one of the reasons why I'm interested in these. But like holdent said, it would be nice to know how they sound before jumping in. For example, the TriTrix kit has tons of reviews and feedback, so I could buy them and pretty much know what to expect. And at 1/4 the price of the Solstice, it wouldn't be too big of a dent in my wallet if I ended up not being totally in love with them.
That being said, I want something higher end than TriTrix, while still being DIY, and these Solstice seem to fit the bill. I'm just a bit turned off by the fact that actual first-hand impressions (from someone other than the speaker designer) are lacking, despite being available since early this year. I have found some first-hand impressions on the parts-express forums, but they don't amount to much more than "they sound great!". Maybe that's enough!
All of that being said, I'm very much leaning toward pulling the trigger on the Solstice MLTL 🙂
That being said, I want something higher end than TriTrix, while still being DIY, and these Solstice seem to fit the bill. I'm just a bit turned off by the fact that actual first-hand impressions (from someone other than the speaker designer) are lacking, despite being available since early this year. I have found some first-hand impressions on the parts-express forums, but they don't amount to much more than "they sound great!". Maybe that's enough!
All of that being said, I'm very much leaning toward pulling the trigger on the Solstice MLTL 🙂
Jeff is a good designer, and the Morel drivers are well respected. The MDF cabinet flat-pak would nix the deal for me.
dave
dave
Dave, did you mean the MDF cabinet flat-pack would seal the deal for you? Or do you actually mean would you not buy the kit because of the flat-pack?
No. I would not buy a flat-pak if the cabinet was MDF. If, as has been said, the drivers are less expensive to buy in the kit, i might buy the kit and have them not ship the wood (and try to negotiate a better deal).
dave
dave
Gotcha. They don't sell just the components (sans cabinet) as a kit. Can you explain what's not to like about the MDF cabinet? I'm new to DIY so a pre-fabricated cabinet design is appealing to me.
I'd call and negotiate.
I gave up building cabinets from MDF a long time ago. I'll get lots of argument, but as far as i'm concerned it is not a suitable cabinet material. Too heavy, not stiff enuff, questionable damping, and noxious dust are a few of its issues (althou i am only one part and my partner builds the cabs).
dave
I gave up building cabinets from MDF a long time ago. I'll get lots of argument, but as far as i'm concerned it is not a suitable cabinet material. Too heavy, not stiff enuff, questionable damping, and noxious dust are a few of its issues (althou i am only one part and my partner builds the cabs).
dave
I have built the Solstice speakers as well as the one who reviewed them on Parts Express. They are really nice speaker and to me worth the money. I also have his quarks & sopranos which are also very nice sounding speakers.
To describe the sound better, I think the mid range is just perfect and they play deep enough for 2 channel listening that an sub-woofer is not required. The highs are great. They are very enjoyable to listen to, I have spending more time to just listening to music in years. I do not regret buying them in fact I am thinking of buying another one for Center channel use.
The kit is very easy to build, I changed the baffle on mine so that I could put an grille on them for the wife's approval.
To describe the sound better, I think the mid range is just perfect and they play deep enough for 2 channel listening that an sub-woofer is not required. The highs are great. They are very enjoyable to listen to, I have spending more time to just listening to music in years. I do not regret buying them in fact I am thinking of buying another one for Center channel use.
The kit is very easy to build, I changed the baffle on mine so that I could put an grille on them for the wife's approval.
Hi,
No doubt JB has done a good job with those drivers, given his remit from PE.
However the attention to the box is a bit underwhelming, just some BAF
stuffing supplied and a vague suggestion to evenly stuff the box. There
is also allusion to using stuff like "Blackhole" but no real advice given.
And there is no real advice at all about finishing the MDF cabinets.
Though clearly much better value than the raw drivers, one
has to ask how much value does a $235 6" actually offer ?
rgds, sreten.
I doubt it holds a candle to the ZDT3.5 for VFM.
No doubt JB has done a good job with those drivers, given his remit from PE.
However the attention to the box is a bit underwhelming, just some BAF
stuffing supplied and a vague suggestion to evenly stuff the box. There
is also allusion to using stuff like "Blackhole" but no real advice given.
And there is no real advice at all about finishing the MDF cabinets.
Though clearly much better value than the raw drivers, one
has to ask how much value does a $235 6" actually offer ?
rgds, sreten.
I doubt it holds a candle to the ZDT3.5 for VFM.
Hello,
The box appears to be very solid, thought out in its construction. Went together very nicely. The polyfill is just evenly distributed through out the opening per the instructions.
As far as finishing the MDF there is many options one can choose from. There is also all kinds of videos one can look at. In my case I finished the cabinets in an maple veneer with and espresso stain followed up with an Arm-R-Seal Urethane. Turned out real nice.
But isn't that part of the fun of DYI! Learning something new! The designing of the speaker is so out of my league that kits are the only way to go for me! When I was a kid I worked in an cabinet shop so I know my way around the tools and have done similar things before so building of an cabinet is not an big deal.
As far value of the drivers I get what you are saying when I listening to my little quarks I am just amazed that these cheap drivers can sound so good together. I still have to say even that the drivers my be overpriced the complete kit I feel is an fair price. I really do like them. I love the way Jeff makes his speakers sound.
As far VFM comparing the Solstice to the ZDT3.5 isn't that like comparing and Lexus to and Acura they both are good but which does one like better?
The box appears to be very solid, thought out in its construction. Went together very nicely. The polyfill is just evenly distributed through out the opening per the instructions.
As far as finishing the MDF there is many options one can choose from. There is also all kinds of videos one can look at. In my case I finished the cabinets in an maple veneer with and espresso stain followed up with an Arm-R-Seal Urethane. Turned out real nice.
But isn't that part of the fun of DYI! Learning something new! The designing of the speaker is so out of my league that kits are the only way to go for me! When I was a kid I worked in an cabinet shop so I know my way around the tools and have done similar things before so building of an cabinet is not an big deal.
As far value of the drivers I get what you are saying when I listening to my little quarks I am just amazed that these cheap drivers can sound so good together. I still have to say even that the drivers my be overpriced the complete kit I feel is an fair price. I really do like them. I love the way Jeff makes his speakers sound.
As far VFM comparing the Solstice to the ZDT3.5 isn't that like comparing and Lexus to and Acura they both are good but which does one like better?
Thanks for the replies everyone, it's given me a lot to think about.
Do you have any advice on speaker placement? That is, how far away from the walls do they need to be? (I'm also asking this on the product page.) How is the sound stage and speaker transparency?
Do you have any advice on speaker placement? That is, how far away from the walls do they need to be? (I'm also asking this on the product page.) How is the sound stage and speaker transparency?
He's not a fan of over stuffing cabs, like most people do. I think the idea is to support builders through Tech Talk Forums. Most of the purchasers will ask questions there, if they need to.
I have the speakers positioned 2 1/2 - 3 feet from the wall they are angled towards the corner and along side of my TV stand. I am sorry I cannot describe the sound any better then they are nicer sounding then anything I have ever heard before. Though I am really an newbie my best speakers I owned previously were some old KEFF Carina's thought I bought new in the 80's.
I spent a little time at ABT listening to speakers before I decided to pull the trigger on the Solstice. They had different models from B&W & Definitive & Polk and Klipsch. I have no regrets they sound real good to me. He also has another kits that my be worth looking at as well is his Testorossa (SP) or his Kairos now that he had an sub base for it.
I spent a little time at ABT listening to speakers before I decided to pull the trigger on the Solstice. They had different models from B&W & Definitive & Polk and Klipsch. I have no regrets they sound real good to me. He also has another kits that my be worth looking at as well is his Testorossa (SP) or his Kairos now that he had an sub base for it.
Well I went ahead and bought two of the speakers. Figured I would just dive right on in. Can't wait!
I recently bought and built a pair of solstices. The end product looks great and they sound fantastic. Here is a link to the making of the speakers
YouTube
It took over a month to finish this project, part time involvement. They look awesome and they sound better than anything that I have heard so far. Very happy...
YouTube
It took over a month to finish this project, part time involvement. They look awesome and they sound better than anything that I have heard so far. Very happy...
Solstice Review with Original Passive XO and upgraded Active XO
Hello everyone:
I have the Solstice MLTL built 2 years ago.
The speaker pack offered on Parts Express comes with everything you require for the Build, however the pricing of USD 499 when I purchased it 2 years ago is for ONE SPEAKER ONLY. You would need to buy 2 for a complete set.
Parts Express has moved the price up to USD 539 now.
The Solstice DIY Pack consists of Morel Tweeters and Morel Titanium Series of Woofers, the Cabinet is MDF and the Baffle is Very Thick. The whole built took me less than a week to complete. "John Rip's" comments about the Soltice's sound is correct. The Solstice sounds very good. My setup for driving the Solstice was AKITIKA's GT-101 Amplifier and AKITIKA's PR-101 Preamp.
I was very happy with the setup for about 1 and half years. However, the "Audiophile Upgrade" Bug in me was looking for ways to upgrade my setup.
The Solstice as it is, is able to play frequencies of down to 25hz and a subwoofer is not necessary. Logically, the only way to upgrade my setup was to convert the Passive Crossover of the Solstice into an Active Crossover Setup.
I therefore wrote an email to Dan Joffe of AKITIKA to ask if it was possible to have an Active Crossover PCB Board inserted into the AKITIKA PR-101 Preamplifer.
Dan is a prince, he wrote to Jeff Bagby the original designer of the Solstice, and a Prototype of a Customised Active Crossover based on the Solstice's Passive Crossover's Transfer Function was thus created by Dan Joffe with consent from Jeff Bagby.
My current setup of the Solstice, is an Active Crossover Setup. The improvement to the sound quality is tremendous. I am not saying that the Original Solstice based on Passive Crossover sounds bad, infact I highly recommend the Solstice as a very good speaker and I am sure that anyone whom buys the Solstice will not regret.
With the conversion of the Solstice upgraded to an Active Crossover, I reckon is a very good option of an upgrade. I am very happy with my setup now and I see no reason for any upgrade. I highly recommend Solstice Owners whom are looking for an upgrade option to look into AKITIKA's PR-101 Preamp with the Specific Customised Active Crossover Board Circuits Designed Specifically for the Solstice.
Hello everyone:
I have the Solstice MLTL built 2 years ago.
The speaker pack offered on Parts Express comes with everything you require for the Build, however the pricing of USD 499 when I purchased it 2 years ago is for ONE SPEAKER ONLY. You would need to buy 2 for a complete set.
Parts Express has moved the price up to USD 539 now.
The Solstice DIY Pack consists of Morel Tweeters and Morel Titanium Series of Woofers, the Cabinet is MDF and the Baffle is Very Thick. The whole built took me less than a week to complete. "John Rip's" comments about the Soltice's sound is correct. The Solstice sounds very good. My setup for driving the Solstice was AKITIKA's GT-101 Amplifier and AKITIKA's PR-101 Preamp.
I was very happy with the setup for about 1 and half years. However, the "Audiophile Upgrade" Bug in me was looking for ways to upgrade my setup.
The Solstice as it is, is able to play frequencies of down to 25hz and a subwoofer is not necessary. Logically, the only way to upgrade my setup was to convert the Passive Crossover of the Solstice into an Active Crossover Setup.
I therefore wrote an email to Dan Joffe of AKITIKA to ask if it was possible to have an Active Crossover PCB Board inserted into the AKITIKA PR-101 Preamplifer.
Dan is a prince, he wrote to Jeff Bagby the original designer of the Solstice, and a Prototype of a Customised Active Crossover based on the Solstice's Passive Crossover's Transfer Function was thus created by Dan Joffe with consent from Jeff Bagby.
My current setup of the Solstice, is an Active Crossover Setup. The improvement to the sound quality is tremendous. I am not saying that the Original Solstice based on Passive Crossover sounds bad, infact I highly recommend the Solstice as a very good speaker and I am sure that anyone whom buys the Solstice will not regret.
With the conversion of the Solstice upgraded to an Active Crossover, I reckon is a very good option of an upgrade. I am very happy with my setup now and I see no reason for any upgrade. I highly recommend Solstice Owners whom are looking for an upgrade option to look into AKITIKA's PR-101 Preamp with the Specific Customised Active Crossover Board Circuits Designed Specifically for the Solstice.