I haven't found a lot written about the Hiddenite speakers, so I thought that since I recently purchased a kit, I would pass along my thoughts about these, the least expensive of Rick's kits.
My brother in-law built the cabinets and we decided to build them in the sealed configuration. They are a gift to my mother-in-law so she can listen to music and DVD's with these, rather than using the TV speakers which is what she is doing currently.
My main impression of the speakers is that they are quite detailed for the money. They are a bit lightweight in the bass as you would expect with a sealed enclosure, but the bass is quite well defined. Voices sound pretty good, and the timber of the speakers seems to be pretty neutral, but leaning towards the bright side. I was playing Michael Bubble at our Christmas gathering and people were swaying along with the music. It sounded really good.
To explain my brightness comment you need to consider that my main speakers are a pair of Martin Logan Vista's and my secondary speakers are Vandersteen 1C's. Both of these speakers tend to be on the laid back side of the sound spectrum, especially the Vantersteens. Although they are quite different in price, I found the Hiddenites to make an interesting comparison. First of all, the Hiddenites are brighter, and appear to be more detailed. Again, someone who thinks the Vantersteen's are laid back would say conversely that the Vandersteen's are dull in comparison, but I hear the same things in both speakers, they just are easier to pick out with the Hiddenites. Where the main differences lay is in the bass (the Vantersteen's go lower), no real surprise there, and imaging. The "open" architecture of the Vandersteen's gives a larger sound stage. And given my proclivity to like planar speakers (Magnepan owner before Logan's) I chose the Vandersteen's specifically for their lack of a boxy image for a location where I could not give planars enough room to breathe.
But the detail of the Hiddenites is quite impressive for the money, and if I wasn't already set with my speakers, I would love to hear what some of Rick's more expensive designs sound like.
I may set up my son with a pair for his dorm room next year. With a cheap integrated amp, and a laptop or MP3 player, they would make a killer dorm system.
Regards,
Chuck
