The NHT 1259 is a can't miss for the subwoofer. You need a very stiff 3 to 3.5 box to put it in. Madisound will sell you a great box made for it. I recommend the Marchand cross-over, or DBX or Audio Source Richter scale. (I have all 3 in various systems) For top end the MDY-4 kit they offer looks good and were I to do it over, I'd pick that one. Speaker City has some excellent kits. Madisound will design a cross-over using LEAP software and the one I have came out OK but I recommend all electronic cross-overs for the best sound. Read Speaker Builder magazine for lots of good advice. Join the Bass list for great specific advice and check out many different Web sites. It has never been better for the amateur speaker builder. Two caveats: 1) don't expect to sell your creations for any return--you can't, and 2) when every room in your house has speakers in it, start throwing some of them out!
Good choices for first time DIY speaker?
I have been looking over the Madisound catalog and thinking about trying one their speaker kits. They have kits for many top quality drivers that look easy enough to build. Is it as simple as it looks? What info can you offer on this subject ( tips, websites, books, kits, etc...). Thanks, this really sounds like a great way to better understand how speakers work