CSS Audio 1TD Kit: www.css-audio.com/online-store/CSS-Criton-1TD-Kit-Pair-p109862382 Few things to note: 1. For the Port (it comes in two parts to adjust the length), you want to aim for 9". This is what CSS audio recommends as a starting point. Shorter ports give a little more bass (subtle changes) but I had mine at 6.5'' for this video impression 2. For the Binding post, CSS Audio recommends putting them after if you plan on putting a finish on your speakers. Either way, it is not a problem and you will be able to put on those binding posts. 3. I do not advise you to do this on your Carpet. I just used the Carpet for the video because it is black and shows what I am doing better than my light wood floor. Try to do it on a flat surface
Jay, Appreciate this diy build. Feel free to do more. Diy audio website is great as well with nelson pass class a amps like class a monos 1.6. Many first watt amps there, a new Kong nutube preamp kit pre-order just opened, Waynes (Nelsons pass right hand at pass responsible for preamp designs) whammy class a headphone (also makes a terrifc preamp) complete kit minus the chassis (still waiting for them to release a proper chassis) and many other builds worth checking out along with some good build guides 😀
Just ordered a full kit with all upgraded components and I threw in a subwoofer to mount in a footlocker which is built into the wall right in back of my viewing / listening chair.. So I'm looking forward to this. I am a master woodworker and will finish the cabinets right and proper. Thanks for saving me $$$. Based on what you said, you saved me over 3 grand, as that is what I was just about ready to pull the trigger on. Thanks for saving me $$$...!
I built the DIY 3.1 Swans about a year ago and they are some of the best speakers I've ever owned. DIY kits are super rewarding and I'd love to do more.
When you solder the wires you should try to keep them as flat to the board as possible and neat and tidy. Loops of wire start acting like inductors when current runs through them.
DIY a great option, and as Thomas restates it, many times its more like 'Self-Assembled'. I 'assembled' a Dynaudio kit by Madisound over 20 years ago, still sounds great, and while I'm NOT a critical listening expert I'd guesstimate I have 90% of the Dynaudio sound, 65% of the Dynaudio retail look, at 30% of the price. But YMMV. Thanks for bringing attention to DIY Jay
Fun stuff. Good job! I've built the HiVi Swan 2ways and 3 ways... 2ways are jam👍. 3ways can hurt you, just needs an x-over tweeking.. bright ... I love building speakers and soldering up x-over boards... Great inexpensive hobby and your rewards are amazing... ☑️✌️
@@Jayiyagi That would be a really good comparison, BUT, GR X-LS encore does not come with a flat pack direct from Danny, now, there are a few builders out there who can provide one. I have looking to this CSS kit for quite some time wondering how good can it be, I am glad you took the time, I'll be waiting for your review
It's important to keep distance between the coils and the magnets on the driver's. Rule of thumb is in my opinion 10-15 cm. So it could be better to have the crossover mounted on the back. And construct the crossovers coils exactly behind the magnets of the driver's. With a gap between measuring 10-15 cm. That's because it will be best place. No interference. A 2,2 mH coil will indicate 2,2 mH , not something else.
Nice. And a superbly presented vid as usual. Personally the first 3 pieces I would glue would be the brace, a side, and a back (or front), so all the 90deg angles will be locked in - and a bit more glue and some clamps!
In my opinion, DIY IS the way to go if money is a factor in your life (in true HiFi). Yes, ones opinion is a little clouded because you can get attached to them due to the effort one puts into them but one of the benefits of DIY audio is much deeper than that. Your knowledge of what your system is (the components used, the design, etc) as well as it is easily fixed or modified if you do it yourself. Another tip is - if you end up veneering (which I recommend), is use a burl wood. Although this is generally the opposite advice you will get online I strongly believe it is way more forgiving and in the end cost effective.
Great video for those who are stuck in the house looking for things to do. I've done experimenting with sourdough for a while and am looking for something else to keep busy. Was checking out the Nelson Pass Korg Nutube kit but these speakers might be an interesting alternative. One thing though...I noticed Solen caps on those crossovers. I've never been a fan of Solen caps, always found they sound too thick for my tastes. I would be tempted to swap them for something else but you never know.
Thank you for filming your process step by step. Most illuminating. I would love to have you conduct a blind test with your DIY's vs a known high end brand
Nice! Been looking at these for a while, but didn't find many reviews so I've been idling. Looking forward to the more in-depth review, hoping it's a good one.
I’m gonna watch this video, but I’ve been building speaker enclosures since the early 80’s, I’ve never built one on my living room floor on a shaggy carpet. There’s this thing called a workbench, they work pretty good.! 🤣😂
Hey Jay, nice video and I liked how you actually demonstrated the speaker being built. It would be REALLY interesting if you did a comparison between these speakers and the Triangle Borea BR03 since they cost the same.
I am sorry to say that the triangles do not even come close to these boys. And this is coming from a guy who loves triangle speakers. These have more more textured bass, more refined mids and highs. This is especially true with the upgraded crossover. Triangles may have more robust bass but that is about it.
Hey Jay, me and some audiophile friends have our own theory that DIY made speakers with a good project/design and carefully selected parts will beat most of commercially available speakers, just because so much of a speakers' cost goes into labor and other expenses such as marketing, overhead expenses, etc. Your reply just further confirmed this theory. There might be a "formula" or sweet spot to this, but here we have a $550 speaker that you said will compete with a $1800 speaker (Buchardt S400) and I believe it.
@@carloschean1308 Indeed. But the price is not $550, it's $1074 with flatpack MDF and upgraded crossover which was tested here. It's still cheaper and can probably easily compete with S400 which everyone thinks is the best speaker on the planet. The S400 is after all made out of MDF, with cheaper drivers and crossover parts. I'm considering buying the 1TD even if it's more expensive when you add shipping and import tax in Sweden.
With self assembly projects you have the opportunity to locate the crossover externally, which improves things a lot. It’s not getting vibrated by the bass/mid which is very close and away from the magnetic field. You can try tweaks with component values very easily.
Alpha Beta Ah, right, I can’t think of a single source or book. It’s knowledge and experimentation, over years of making speakers myself and reading a lot of different articles. A friend of mine who was an electronics engineer helped a lot with the ‘theory’.
@@russellbaston974 Ah, I see. Yea, we all need that friend who knows shit. I'm too lazy to read a manual. Perhaps a well written wiki might be encouraging. Hence the question. :)
looks good. only the binding posts are not fully mounted how they should, just put a block of wood on the end and tap in with a hammer untill the grooves disappear in the wood.
I said in my mind that your going to assemble the speaker enclosure somewhere else than your rug. A table, a bare floor a piece of card board maybe. I was wrong 😏🖖
Hi Jay. I applaud you for doing these videos and inspiring me! You mentioned that the premium crossover was worth the upgrade based on looks and weight. Did you mention how the sound of it compared with the basic version?
can you try doing a budget buiid?? maybe using an IWISTAO bamboo 3 inch case? that would be great! and the video would appeal to more people because of the budget nature of the build
It's an audiophile orgasm, to watch you put the speaker together. I'm definitely definitely going to follow your footsteps and build one for myself. Thank you so much for showing us the way. Especially on the higher quality crossovers. Do you have the link on where to get the better crossovers? Thanks Jay!!!
yeap ! The link it in the pinned comment or in the description of this video. Just select to superior crossover option on their website ! It is extra $400 but well worth it in my opinon
can't wait for your review on this speaker Jay. I wonder how is the upper ranges, soundstage, instrument separation and center imaging... I assume the bass has authority?
All capacitors in a crossover network in a speaker are non polarized (bi polar if you are using a cheaper electrolytic type, those should not be used in a good speaker anyway it will degrade the sound quality) . The reason for this is that the signal from the amplifier is strictly alternating current. The notion that there is a positive and negative input is a misnomer and what is actually be referred to is the phase of the speaker. All of the drivers in the speaker need to be in phase ( going in and out at the same time frame) or the will cause a canceling effect in the wave form. So all the components in the crossover network need to be non polarized. The inductors are non polar due to the nature of their construction. These components work in a crossover network due to their behavior in alternating current. Depending on the placement in the circuit (in series or parallel to the speaker) the will either conduct current or become more resistive as the frequencies change and effectively block the current from flowing into the individual drivers.
@@stevengagnon4777Even the base kits contain film caps and air core inductors. The LF inductors are quite expensive. I understand that being AC, the caps will work either way.
If you seal the port of this kit, buy 2x woofers per side and put them in a large box, and use them as subs crossed at 200Hz, you'll be able to get comparative sound to this other speaker that uses the same drivers for less, it just won't look quite as nice, ... oh wait a minute....
thank you for including how they sound in the video, it's a sonic i like, it sounds transparent and goes significantly behind the front plane of the speakers. Makes me wonder about some of the Seas Kits available
dude we are all in the Pandemia together I’m almost at the point of shaving my head altogether everytime I cut it I use a shorter guide on my clippers btw I’m a retired Woodworker and for temporary clamps for gluing up your speakers a roll of blue painters tape works really well that tape doesn’t stretch very much so you can pull joints very tightly thanks for reviewing this kit good job Rebecca oh where did you get the crossover ? Make and model or link ?
You going to put Adrian out of business😉😉😇🤔🤔🤫🤫😬😬😳 very smart concept by the way both the company that you're doing with and the video that you are making! Not that you're doing this tomorrow but I'd be very interested in a $30,000 speaker that only cost five grand to build that's the sweet spot for me at least!🤑🤑🤗😉😇 that's because I would never pay $30,000 for a pair of speakers but I definitely pay five easily if I knew they really compare with the $40,000 ones! The more I watch this video because I did comment halfway through, the more impressed I am becoming!😬😬 I mean look at that crossover compared to the mass Market Klipsch crap!🤪🤯🤯🤯🤯
While this kit is an excellent product I am sure, there is another kit speaker out there that I would like to comment about that is very comparable but is a lot less costly although it requires more work to build because you have to build the cabinet and crossover yourself. Being a big DIYer myself and there are others out there that can build their own cabinets and crossovers, this is a much lower cost alternative as the basic kit is $249 a pair versus $549 a pair for the CSS 1TD and for the fully upgraded crossovers in both cases the cost is $372 versus $949 for the CSS 1TD. The speaker that I am talking about is the X-LS Encore from GR Research. GR Research has many different designs from the X-LS Encore up to the NX Series Open Baffle kit designs which are the epitome of loudspeaker design and sound quality. I highly recommend that people with the skills an desire to have the best available sound for the least amount of money look at GR Research. gr-research.com/index.aspx
@Judgmental Semi hot Hippie I had several encounters with Solen metalized caps. They simply muddy the sound. Dayton makes excellent foil caps up to 0.47uF and reasonably decent metalized caps, based on listening tests. In one case, a manufacturer insisted on using expensive Solen Teflon cap and I swapped a foil Dayton cap at 1/60 the cost and it still sounded better. Unless there was a major change (French revolution?!) at Solen I won't bother trying. It may just be that the company caters to budget manufacturers and is not bothered by luke warm sound. Obviously this is a subjective opinion ... YMMV...
Ok ok, how does it compare to the new s400 mk11? I’ve narrowed my speaker choice down to these two speakers, in the £ there’s £700.00 difference between them.
This kit ships from USA to Canada right? This makes it overpriced big time. CSS used to be in Canada. If this was priced in Canadian dollars I might have a go. Looks like a nice kit. I built a speaker using CSS full range speakers when it was located in Abbots ford.
I would love to see you do a budget version of this speaker - using speakers and crossovers that cost under $200 for both speakers (not including cost of cabinets). The crossovers in the Sony ss-cs5 work extremely well and can't be more than $10 each at Sony manufacturing cost. I just believe the budget version would sound 98% as good as this if you choose the components wisely.
I am currently building a speaker kit. It is the SB Acoustics Bromo 2-Way Speaker Kit with all ceramic drivers. I chose it over this kit because I thought it would be more balanced between the highs and mid range and I also have the equipment to build the cabinets from scratch (the Bromos don't come with a cabinet). I believe the tweeter is better than this one. I can't say for sure either way because I have not heard either kit. I am basing my decision on the specs and reviews. I am purchasing the kit from Madisound, www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/speaker-kits/. Look a the specs and judge for yourself. Either kit is probably 10x better than paying retail for any comparable speaker. This is not my first build. If you don't have a lot of equipment or wood working experience I recommend this kit!
Interesting last comment about relation to the Buchardt 400SE. On a more price relevant comparison, I am curious about the contrast with the Lore Reference at $750 (beyond size and crossover options) you recently reviewed.
Was going to ask you what they compare to retail pricing and you mentioned they compare well to Buchard 400 = good value to DIY. Its got me thinking....I think they would look good in a painted white finish all the automotive painters will tell you its a forgiving color...subbed and liked.
Ok, so that’s $549 for the basic kit, $125 extra for the flat pack option (where the slots and edges are cut to fit together), $400 for the upgraded crossover, = $1074 USD/1514 or so Canadian with free shipping, unfinished. Is that how you configured your kit?
Do you know of any reason not to place a midrange below a woofer with the tweeter above the woofer? Im looking at modifying some 2 way store bought speakers into 3 ways and can only place the mid under the woofer. Thoughts?
quite the opposite. I would imagine you can get almost the full value out of it as you should, considering the parts cost + your labor to build them. Especially considering that some will not want to build it themselves. Just link the buyer my build/ (soon review).
Hey Jay, How’s you kinki studios integrated amp holding up? After re viewing your review I’m getting ready to pull the trigger and make the purchase...
How would you compare these to dynaudio S40? I followed your advice and got the Willsenton R8 integrated amp and thinking of getting these DIY but when i looked into the time and tool it take to apply veneer properly, it may not be worth it only if the sound is better. Is the sound better than Dyn S40?
For a very long time I was obsessed in my youth about getting bald. In the end when I became so tired of this I finally shaved it all of and shaved it's since then. Big difference in lockdown, you know, not to mention that now, when I wash my face I practically wash my head too😂
Just one comment here Jay, why oh why did you glue the front of the cabinet on before you installed all the electrical connections? The woofer hole is large but its definitely easier when you can put both your hands in the cabinet. You did a great job anyways. Hope you do a review once you've broken them in.
I did that because I have no intentions of mounting the crossover. Again, the order I did in is just a general guideline, there's multiple ways to do it and it is easy enough that you can't really screw it up
Hi! Jay...following GR Research and company, have noted the latest vids regarding reviewers etc and your latest vid responding to this. I have a question ( not really relating to this but ) In recent times NRD has revied GR loudspekers and of course speaks highly of them. I appreciate that they do to some extent work closely together. This brings me to a concern as The GR Research " X-Statik " DIY is on my short list and have communicated with NRD ( Ron ) about doing a review on this model, nil response. I have now found out that in fact has done a review on this model but rejected it for posting, he did not like the performance in his room. Theses more to this but its now becoming a book so Can I just ask straight out would you be interested in reviewing the X-Statik ? ( X AV123 model ) It may not be your cup of tea to review but it would be interesting as it does represent excellent value if it is any good ( about $1057 us + shipping for the kit. Many thanks Alain
I didn't. It was mostly done through wedging it against the foam but that's cuz I need to switch back and fourth to compare between standard and superior crossover easily. You should be mounting yours onto the board with screws provided.
