Fostex P1000-BH 4" Full Range Back-loaded Horn Kit - PAIR

First of all this is not much of a kit, takes ten minutes to put together but it’s a good way to understand single driver speakers, the sound, the cabinets etc.
at first my son and I were like “they suck’. But after about ten hours they lost that box sound and tightened up. Let’s face it, they are tiny but I decided to add in an REL tx7 sub and that changed everything. They produce a huge soundstage and are actually very detailed which surprised me. On certain tracks I thoroughly enjoyed them. I find them a bit warm with no fatigue at all. I’m used to brighter speakers, KEF Klipsch, B&W etc but these are soft on the brain but still detailed.
All in all they are a cheap fun way to try something new and interesting. I plan on getting some better drivers and building some boxes of my own. Madisound was top notch in the customer service department!!

I bought these since it took me a while to build me bk16's (see bk16-kit on this website).

Thoughts:
- They do need a break-in period to increase reproduction at the low end.
- Very easy to listen to at both low and high volume and very loud if you want them to be. Definitely sufficient to make your eardrums ring in a smaller room.
- As to be expected from small diameter cones - limited bass. The bk16-kit (I took it with the Sigma driver upgrade) is better for larger rooms if you want to include a decent amount of bass.
- Definitely make for excellent sounding and nice looking computer speakers!
- Only drawback of these boxes is the limited bass, otherwise I would rate them 5/5!

You are interested in buying this because it is a full-range speaker - and you are interested in a full-range driver for its strengths (and knowing its weaknesses). I am happy to report these speakers are going to confirm what you are hoping and expecting. Quick, light, transparent, detailed, etc. - sometimes startlingly so.

I first used these in a huge room (sitting about 10 feet away). Everything from 100Hz. and above was brilliant (especially the mids). However, in a large room, there is no bass, period. Don't buy these for a big room and expect bass. With a sub, they would be fine (even in a bigger room at moderate levels).

I then moved them to computer speaker use, sitting on a large desk. These really get into their element in a smaller room. You all of a sudden get more bass (guessing sitting on a desk helps the bass, possibly by coupling with the front horn opening?), and they are actually usable as full-range speakers (enough bass to keep it interesting).

Break-in is a controversial topic, and one I generally don't believe in (especially for things like...cables). However, it seems these speakers are totally and utterly bass-shy when new, and after 10 or so hours of moderate to heavy use, they start to open up. As such, give them time before passing judgement (mainly in the bass department, they sounded great from 100Hz. and above out of the box).

These speakers are also more sensitive than I expected, and play louder than I expected. However, the drivers look fragile, and I don't think they would take kindly to abuse (where a beefy 4" woofer could).

Conclusion - cheap, fun, and seriously good. Probably one of the more interesting speakers for the money.