CSS Criton 1TD-X Kit Speaker Review

[maty]

The US competition (DIY):

GR Research X-LS Encore Kit Speaker Review

GR Research X-LS Encore Kit Speaker Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the GR Research X-LS Encore DIY Kit speaker. It was kindly put together by member @Rick Sykora. You can see his build thread here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/build-of-gr-research-x-ls-encore.14312/ The bare kit...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[gr-e]

Do the sharp edges of the box account for some of the directivity errors?

Yes, the sharp edges and a tweeter with no waveguide result in significant edge diffraction, you can easily see it on @MZKM's directivity plots:

The other part of the problem is the suck-out on the vertical axis at the crossover frequency that is typical for most 2-way speakers. It is responsible for the peak in directivity graph at around 1500Hz. It may seem worse than usual because it is followed by the dip caused by the diffraction.
The aforementioned driver directivity mismatch is most likely also there, but I think it would be obscured by these other two issues.

 

[DanielT]

I do the same but also for low sensitivity

Speaking of low sensitivity BUT good FR. Plus really good drivers. Tip this DIY:

Revel M105 Copy DIY build

After seeing the success of Directiva, But knowing the price, I wanted a nice small pair of passive bookshelf speakers for use in the second living room. I didn't need massive SPLs (if you need more SPLs the Directiva is much better - however that build is DSP XO + Multi Channel amplified). The...

audiosciencereview.com

I think McFly in that thread also describes the construction in more detail, so it is possible to copy the copy so to speak.
Access to a 3d printer for the waveguide is needed.

I think McFly should continue with his project and make a DIY three-way speaker with those elements. See attached image for examples of such, with the same drivers as mid and tweeter. Not my DIYs but I have heard them. They sounded really good!

 

[dasdoing]

The 2-4 kHz relative boost due to driectivity error is problematic IMO. It will appear bight on certain prrogam material in stereo and in normal rooms.

the widening there is what probably causes the loss of energy on the on-axis?
however, I have a hard time believing that a neutral reverb (which is what off-axis response is) is more important than a neutral direct sound.
also note that Amir brought 1000Hz down, which is probably a result of the hole in 2-4Khz. and that's why boosting upper bass was problematic in consequence.
It's just the way I would aprouch it. boost 2-4Khz; than filling that upper bass hole; the treble problem than probably screams for solution

 

[Thomas_A]

the widening there is what probably causes the loss of energy on the on-axis?
however, I have a hard time believing that a neutral reverb (which is what off-axis response is) is more important than a neutral direct sound.
also note that Amir brought 1000Hz down, which is probably a result of the hole in 2-4Khz. and that's why boosting upper bass was problematic in consequence.
It's just the way I would aprouch it. boost 2-4Khz; than filling that upper bass hole; the treble problem than probably screams for solution

I've been doing the listening regarding the 1-5 kHz region for more than 20 years and find that for stereo listening and in smaller rooms,, there is a hardness to the sound if boosed either on or off-axis in the 3 kHz region. It gets quite much smoother and natural with a slight dip there. Cf. Revel M106; it has quite some similarities but still sound smoother out of the box - the off-axis room response is more controlled:

 

[ROOSKIE]

Surprised by the cabinet resonance given that it's such a heavy speaker, but it doesn't seem to be affecting frequency response and distortion measurements - unless it's possible it might not show up in those.

Weight has only a little to do with resonances. Thicker and more rigid material does usually drive box/cabinet vibrations up higher in frequency. Good bracing does the same.

But I don't think those are cabinet resonances.
Ports have leak zones called port resonances. Then the woofer is breaking up as it tries to reproduce frequencies that it can't. Ideally the crossover would have kept the woofer break up a bit more in check. I don't see obvious evidence that cabinet is at fault.

Usually strong cabinet resonances do show up in the HD plots, there will be a peak that usually includes some 4th&5th harmonics as an indicator of the panel noise.

Back to weight, keep in mind the CSS/Wavecore woofer is very robust and pretty heavy. That is also adding weight.

 

[EdW]

I do the same but also for low sensitivity

Agree - the sensitivity is too low. But the minimum impedance is high by present day standards and most recent amplifiers can drive below 3.5 ohms now. If the impedance were halved we could potentially see an extra 3dB of sensitivity.

 

[ROOSKIE]

That's why I had the comment about the narrower listening window in that the waveguides are doing pretty much most of the work, and was just provided as a quick example of what the contribution of the diffraction is. Amir has used several different formats over the years for the reviews so not all of the directivity plots are presented in the same way so some that are "apples to apples" are presented differently and not as easy to visually compare. Basically "Sorry, it's not to scale or painted" sort of deal to keep it short and simple.

I was talking Price Wise $10,400 vs less than $1k(+amp)

 

[ROOSKIE]

the widening there is what probably causes the loss of energy on the on-axis?
however, I have a hard time believing that a neutral reverb (which is what off-axis response is) is more important than a neutral direct sound.
also note that Amir brought 1000Hz down, which is probably a result of the hole in 2-4Khz. and that's why boosting upper bass was problematic in consequence.
It's just the way I would aprouch it. boost 2-4Khz; than filling that upper bass hole; the treble problem than probably screams for solution

Howdy, there is no 'reverb', reverb is an echo effect.
The reflected off axis sound in the context of this data is not reverb.
It adds to the direct sound so quickly that it can not be considered an echo effect.(you would need a huge, huge living space to get reverb)

As Mr. Toole says, flatish direct sound is the 1st requirement of highly rated speakers.
Smooth off axis response(to allow for the 1st reflections to more 'match' the direct) with smooth directivity is a 2nd level factor, though entirely consequential. It is a strong consideration in a design along with several other traits.

So off axis is not more important - it is less important than direct sound, however it is very important. A speaker could and should have both.

As far as boosting 2000-4000hrz that area is pretty strong in total in room SPL, boosting that is not going to go well IMHO. The in room prediction even shows a tonal peak there with no boost. Obviously you could experiment and find out what you prefer.
You will be boosting the enitire horizontal spread there and the reflections will be boosted. Those stong in level refections already fill the tone there as mentioned. Yes, the direct sound will be slightly flatter but the off axis will be peaking and as it is very wide there refecting a lot of that energy right to your ears.

The listening window also already shows that dip being mostly filled in, another indicator that things might be just fine tonally.

CSS did alright withing the constrainst of a passive two way with no waveguide and a large woofer in a box cabinet.
Though it should get beaten in a blind test against a similar quality speaker that has smoother direct sound and more smoothly tracking and falling off axis.

It should be noted humans with two working ears aimed strongly at an angle from front to side never hear only the very direct sound that a single microphone does. There is always a listening window. The brain/mind also process the sound and some things have been shown to be consistent in terms of what happens there and what aspects are more and what are less consequential. Even horizontal dispersion is considered by many to be very desireable to human minds.

 

[PeteL]

Howdy, there is no 'reverb', reverb is an echo effect.
The reflected off axis sound in the context of this data is not reverb.
It adds to the direct sound so quickly that it can not be considered an echo effect.(you would need a huge, huge living space to get reverb)

As Mr. Toole says, flatish direct sound is the 1st requirement of highly rated speakers.
Smooth off axis response(to allow for the reflected sound to more 'match' the direct) with smooth directivity is a 2nd level factor, though entirely consequential. It is a strong consideration in a design along with several other traits.

So off axis is not more important - it is less important than direct sound, however it is very important. A speaker could and should have both.

As far as boosting 2000-4000hrz that area is pretty strong in total in room SPL, boosting that is not going to go well IMHO. The in room prediction even shows a tonal peak there with no boost. Obviously you could experiment and find out what you prefer.
You will be boosting the enitire horizontal spread there and the reflections will be boosted. Those stong in level refections already fill the tone there as mentioned. Yes, the direct sound will be slightly flatter but the off axis will be peaking and as it is very wide there refecting a lot of that energy right to your ears.

The listening window also already shows that dip being mostly filled in, another indicator that things might be just fine tonally.

CSS did alright withing the constrainst of a passive two way with no waveguide and a large woofer in a box cabinet.
Though it should get beaten in a blind test against a similar quality speaker that has smoother direct sound and more smoothly tracking and falling off axis.

It should be noted humans with two working ears aimed strongly at an angle from front to side never hear only the very direct sound that a single microphone does. There is always a listening window. The brain/mind also process the sound and some things have been shown to be consistent in terms of what happens there and what aspects are more and what are less consequential. Even horizontal dispersion is considered by many to be very desireable to human minds.

You don't need an echo effect to have "reverb", that said the reflected off axis sound is not what defines reverb neither but it's related. Sure we can talk about reverberations FX as a creative tool, but in term of what we are talking here, which is in room response, all rooms have some reverberation, just that some are very short but the only room without reverb would be an anechoic chamber, that's the idea, to kill all reverb, there is not a reverb time treshold that say ok this room is now reverberant because we clearly have an echo when a percussive sound is played back. The sound don't die instantly, it means reverb. For exemple, bathrooms are more reverberant than most living rooms because surfaces are more reflective, the sound keep bouncing for longer, but you'll never hear repeated echo, because the size is very small.

 

[lewdish]

At 80 deg horizontal dispersion was the soundstage very wide sounding?

 

[ROOSKIE]

You don't need an echo effect to have "reverb", that said the reflected off axis sound is not what defines reverb neither but it's related. Sure we can talk about reverberations FX as a creative tool, but in term of what we are talking here, which is in room response, all rooms have some reverberation, just that some are very short but the only room without reverb would be an anechoic chamber, that's the idea, to kill all reverb, there is not a reverb time treshold that say ok this room is now reverberant because we clearly have an echo when a percussive sound is played back. The sound don't die instantly, it means reverb. For exemple, bathrooms are more reverberant than most living rooms because surfaces are more reflective, the sound keep bouncing for longer, but you'll never hear repeated echo, because the size is very small.

Yes, I do realize that the room is reverberant. I guess I was indeed thinking of reverb as not being short for reverberant but rather a notable effect like in creation as you mention or a large space.

the 1st reflections are very quickly summed in the brain with the direct sound. That was the main point I was hoping to make. I will have to look into Toole's book to see what terms he uses to describe this as I believe I am confusing the terms a bit reguarding echo, reverberation, reverb and 1st reflections.

 

[Mario Sanchez]

TBH, between the razor-sharp cabinet edges (exaggerating here) and the generic looking port tube, I'm a little surprised by how this speaker measure up. A mostly smooth DI with just a small kink around the port/cabinet resonance, I guess solid construction and quality drivers do pay their dividends.

 

[Robbo99999]

It is $775 without the cabinet, $935 with the MDF flat-pack.

For that reason I think it is actually poor value. A pair of Revel M16 is $1000, and have regularly dropped to $700. I feel if CSS had included a waveguide on the tweeter it would elevate this kit enough to justify the price.

That's way too much!

 

[D!sco]

Oof, I can't remember if the price went up or not, but I remember these being a better deal a while ago. Maybe they were $500? Why wouldn't you just get a revel at that point?

 

[Toni Mas]

Even if built like german tanks, It is well known that a 7' woofer and a 25mm tweeter are a hopeless match... At any price point!

 

[PeteL]

Even if built like german tanks, It is well known that a 7' woofer and a 25mm tweeter are a hopeless match... At any price point!

What do you mean well known? Please elaborate, based on what? Not everybody thinks that.Proacs Studio 100 have been a reference for Studio Engineers for decades, not only that, every brands in the world have some sort of variations of this simple desigm… If it’s well known from the start that it will be crap, you don’t think they would have stopped by now? plus, it’s not the first of this kind to get positive impressions on this site. Are you just throwing this blanket statements just to provoke or is there a rationale in your thinking?

 

[dasdoing]

Howdy, there is no 'reverb', reverb is an echo effect.
The reflected off axis sound in the context of this data is not reverb.
It adds to the direct sound so quickly that it can not be considered an echo effect.(you would need a huge, huge living space to get reverb)

reverb is not echo.
you know this one?

or take any in room recording of speakers.
it's clearly reverb to me.

 

[Timcognito]

View attachment 264108Totally biased opinion here (as I own a pair) but I think this is a pretty good deal.

While there are speakers that measure better, this seems to be a very reasonable result (ie better than many speakers we have seen here). Subjectively I very much enjoy my pair.

As to the value, I think that this kit is great.

First, you have to understand that to do DIY correctly takes time, but that time should bring enjoyment. I don’t count the time cost of my hobbies, because they bring me happiness and that has significant value. If you dislike the idea of building a speaker, skip it, use that time to work and then buy something pre-made using the proceeds. If you enjoy working with your hands and need a distraction from work, then maybe you DIY. Second, this kit is exceptionally friendly for the casual DIYer. Excellent instructions, very cool 3d printed crossover board, and a flat pack that is hard to mess up. I’ve built kits from several other sources and I would absolutely recommend this kit (or another from the same company) to a beginner as a great way to get started in the hobby. Third, with DIY you have the opportunity to make something unique and that has value. When I see my speakers I feel pride. They are frequently praised by people who see them (before they know I made them). This would not happen if they were the generic black or white boxes that most manufacturers put out.

Echo on the physic values of DIY and connecting ones mind with ones hands as a means to a attractive, useful and lasting object.
@mtmpenn What is your source for veneer?

 

[tomtoo]

Thanks Amir for your test. Loudspeakers remain the most interesting tests to read, I think.

Looks fine/ok , maybe a little expensive.

The raise at 10kHz can probably be fixed by most amps with treble tone control as it is usually is set at 10kHz (in many cases, not all).Maybe not the most optimal way to do it but if you have tone controls on your amplifier you might as well try it.


Agree with you on that point LTig.

Edit:
Attached image is an example of tone controls on a NAD amp.

Nothing realy to care about its not even 5db up at 15 khz and only if they point direct on you. Toe them 5 degree in or out its gone, at least for them that realy can hear it. From my point of view there is maybe a littel more air, depending on room this can be nice. No need for eq.