CSS Criton 3TD-X Kit Speaker Review

[musicisair]

No CAD at the moment as we haven't started CNC'ing anything. We prototype on the table saw first. What we are looking at first is a 30 degree angle with the cut being 2.5" in from the top corner and 11.5" down the side for the side edges and another 30 degree cut the width of the top starting at 2-2.5" down from the top edge. The center will be very hard to do facets on because the tweeter is very close to the top edge. You can hit all the corners of the cabinet with a chamfer around the woofers to make a better visual match though. I'd love to see your results when you finish!

How thick should the front baffle be in order to make these chamfers work? I mocked it up using 30 degrees looks like it will cut so deep into the baffle the insides will be showing

 

[Kerry Armes]

How thick should the front baffle be in order to make these chamfers work? I mocked it up using 30 degrees looks like it will cut so deep into the baffle the insides will be showing

View attachment 417687

I can’t remember if we were looking at only 1.5” or needed 2.25”

 

[musicisair]

I can’t remember if we were looking at only 1.5” or needed 2.25”

Here is the side view and measurements for the tower with a 1.5" baffle and a 30 degree chamfer place 2.5" down from the top edge. It results in a minimum wall thickness of 0.42 inches (about 10mm), which does seem a bit thin, but only in a very small area.

And it looks cool, too!

 

[Kerry Armes]

Here is the side view and measurements for the tower with a 1.5" baffle and a 30 degree chamfer place 2.5" down from the top edge. It results in a minimum wall thickness of 0.42 inches (about 10mm), which does seem a bit thin, but only in a very small area.

View attachment 417730

And it looks cool, too!

View attachment 417725

Make sure you chamfer out the back side of the woofer and midrange cutouts to avoid compression/distortion at higher outputs. You could always go with 1" thick MDF (which might have been what we were planning for) instead of a second 3/4" layer.

 

[musicisair]

Make sure you chamfer out the back side of the woofer and midrange cutouts to avoid compression/distortion at higher outputs. You could always go with 1" thick MDF (which might have been what we were planning for) instead of a second 3/4" layer.

Good to know. I actually chamfered it in a later render, but only because others on YouTube did it, but I didn't know the reasons why. Thanks!

It looks like a 1" front baffle might make it very thin near the top. I guess I could chamfer the top edge to 2" inches, instead of 2.5", or maybe just glue in a small strip of MDF on the top/front inside edge to give it some additional thickness in only that area.

 

[Kerry Armes]

Good to know. I actually chamfered it in a later render, but only because others on YouTube did it, but I didn't know the reasons why. Thanks!

It looks like a 1" front baffle might make it very thin near the top. I guess I could chamfer the top edge to 2" inches, instead of 2.5", or maybe just glue in a small strip of MDF on the top/front inside edge to give it some additional thickness in only that area.

I meant 1” + 3/4” for 1.75” total vs double 3/4”.

 

[Chanur]

This is a review, listening tests and detailed measurements of the CSS Criton 3TD-X Kit tower speaker. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $2499 with a flatpack (pair). I received a fully built one which naturally costs a lot more:
View attachment 405979
Fit and finish is excellent, rivalling commercial speakers at this or higher costs. This is a 3-way configuration. The dual woofers should provide low distortion compared to bookshelf speakers with one.

Let's put it on the Klippel Near-field Scanner and see how it performs objectively.

CSS Audio Criton 3TD-X Speaker Measurements
Let's start with our family of anechoic frequency response measurements:
View attachment 405980
High level alignment of on-axis response is good. Zooming in we see some disturbances in midrange area and some boosting of treble above 10 kHz. We can figure out the sources of these in near-field measurements:
View attachment 405981

The resonances are tamed but still contribute slightly to on-axis response. Fortunately, off-axis is smoother:
View attachment 405982
As a result, predicted in-room response looks quite reasonable:
View attachment 405983
Speaker likely has a bit more "zing" which some folks may like. That is countered by deep bass reproduction (for its size) so in balance, it may sound fine.

Beamwidth is 20 degrees wider than average speakers I test so should project a wider, more diffused image (assuming you don't absorb side reflections):
View attachment 405984
View attachment 405985

Vertical directivity as usual is not as good but still allows some movement above tweeter axis:
View attachment 405986

The narrowing of the high frequency directivity likely counters some of the on-axis resonant peaking we saw earlier.

For distortion tests, I added a new range at 101 dBSPL:
View attachment 405987View attachment 405988
View attachment 405989

As you see, response is quite good until we get to 101 dBSPL. Listening to that sweep, it still sounded pretty good. I initially tried 106 dBSPL and then there were some howls of discomfort from the speaker so the limit is somewhere between 101 and 106 dBSPL.

Impedance drops quite low so best to have a decent amplifier to drive it:
View attachment 405990

Waterfall display naturally shows the resonances we have seen:
View attachment 405991

Here is the step response for fans of that graph:
View attachment 405992

CSS Criton 3TD-X Speaker Listening Tests and EQ
In my large and reflective space, the 3TD-X filled the space with comfort producing deep bass and an "exciting" sound for lack of a better word. That extra excitement as I had predicted from measurements, came from slight boost in higher frequencies. I dialed those down and got to a more neutral stance:
View attachment 405993
I also dialed out a bit of that bass boost initially based on on-axis response. That was a mistake as speaker lost some of that excitement. So I followed the predicted-in-room response and got nicer results. That said, I am not sure in a blind AB test, whether someone would prefer the EQ or the stock sound.

I was impressed with the ability of the speaker to produce deep sub-bass. It attenuated it a bit and had a touch of distortion but perfectly serviceable and hugely better than any bookshelf speaker.

I then listened to my long list of reference tracks. There was not a single one that did not sound good! The sound was gorgeous, with clean bass and treble response. Spatial aspects were impressive, making you forget I was listening to just one speaker!

Conclusions
Objectively, the 3TD-X comes close to our target for frequency response and aces distortion measurements. A touch of EQ corrects former errors although some may not need it as out of box performance is still excellent. Subjective listening tests impressed me more than objective data, putting a smile on my face on track after track. I can easily say that this is the best KIT speaker I have tested.

I am happy to recommend the CSS Criton 3TD-X speaker.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Would you consider this a suitable end game speakers for this pre built price range? If not would you recommend something else?

I've had some cheap 500 dollar a pair Klipsch for the last 10 years and can't take it anymore haha.

 

[RickS]

Would you consider this a suitable end game speakers for this pre built price range? If not would you recommend something else?

I've had some cheap 500 dollar a pair Klipsch for the last 10 years and can't take it anymore haha.

What do you consider end game for a speaker? A recommendation without knowing your preferences and budget is not very useful.

 

[MarcT]

How close does the CSS Typhon come to the performance of the Criton 3TD-X? I see the Typhon can now be had for under $3k with free shipping.

 

[Chanur]

What do you consider end game for a speaker? A recommendation without knowing your preferences and budget is not very useful.

I'm looking to spend 5-10K USD for a speaker that is good for 2 channel music and and will do fine in home theater. Room is open on one side but is 15 x 15 x 8.

The most important thing is that they are not very bright. My Klipsch Reference Premiere hurt my wife's ears. I want to avoid that with the next set.