This turned out to be a much better loudspeaker than I initially expected. I’ve worked with aluminum cone loudspeakers before but always found them to add a certain harshness to the sound, a sharp edge so to speak. The character of the Silverado however is best described as neutral and very accurate, it reveals a recording down to the minute details without any sharpness. With the risk of sounding like a hifi-magazine reporter I can say that I’ve listened to a few of my favorite CDs and discovered some new details on some of them.



The finished loudspeaker on a stand, pictured here as a rear channel in a 5.1 home theatre setup.
So how much will this loudspeaker cost to construct? The drivers will cost you around $140 per loudspeaker, about double that in Europe unfortunately, due to pricing policies. Crossover components and panels for the enclosure will set you back by another $75, add to that the cost of the felt, damping and paint and you’re looking at about $300 per loudspeaker. All in all that’s not expensive given the good performance of the Silverado but not exactly dirt cheap either. If you’re looking for a compact, accurate and neutral sounding loudspeaker then this is your ticket, don’t expect to find anything that compares to it commercially, not even at twice the price.

Sander Sassen.

Note: This design is strictly for the do-it-yourself enthusiast and not to be used commercially without my explicit written permission.