Is DIY really the right option? CSS Criton 1TD-X Review!
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- Опубликовано: 10 ноя 2023
- / discord
CSS 1TDX Kit: www.css-audio.com/online-stor...
Contact: www.css-audio.com/contact-5
Original CSS Criton 1TD Review: • Worth The Hype? CSS Cr...
Test Equipment:
Preamp & Power Amplifiers:
Kinki Studio EX-P7: www.kinki-studio.com/ex-p7
Kinki Studio EX-B7 mono blocks: www.kinki-studio.com/ex-b7
Hegel H190: www.hegel.com/en/products/int...
CHoco Sound EMEI: www.kinki-studio.com/product-...
Emotiva TA2: emotiva.com/products/basx-ta2...
Source: Bluesound Node 2i or Cambridge MXN10 Streamer
www.cambridgeaudio.com/usa/en...
(all music is hi-res streamed from Tidal)
DAC: Denafrips Ares II or Ares 12th-1
www.vinshineaudio.com/product...
Speaker & Power Cables: Maze Audio Ref4
www.mazeaudio.com/speaker-cabl...
(rest in peace Kent)
Interconnect Cables:
Analysis Plus Oval One RCA
Oyaide Tunami Terzo XX V2 XLR
analysis.plus/product/oval-on...
Your results may vary based on your ears, room, and associated equipment. 
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I've built the TD and TDX as well as a smaller version no longer marketed.Fantastic speakers for the money. Assembly is a no brainer. I would not recommend a dark sounding amp. Something reasonable with some life might be the Yamaha 801 and down line or Audiolab. As Nemo pointed out finishing is the issue. I watched some of the RUclips videos on veneering and managed to do a good job myself, but then I'm good at this stuff and enjoy it. If you are not I have two suggestions First, I believe they make this speaker with a Baltic Birch flat pack. This wood is so nice you only have to give it a light finish sand, spray, brush or rub on finish and you are done. Second option is to paint them. You could probably hand these over to most auto body shops and the painters would put a nice automotive grade finish on that would be cool. Pick any one of thousands of auto colors. You can also do that easily yourself. Just get some rattle cans with thick covering automotive primer and sand the cabinets to smooth out the MDF irregularities and then spray on your finish. If you get a good quality automotive finish you can even color sand it for a high gloss or get a matte finish. Again any color you wish.
My thoughts exactly but I think it needs a smooth surface to adhere to. So that means priming and sanding. Just getting the BalticBirch might be a better option.
@@johnm3544
Drinking my coffee and watching a Nemo review makes for a great Saturday morning! Thanks!
I'm happy to be apart of your routine :)
"Spread their legs!!" 😂😂😂 such a way with words.....
ahahahahaha, yeah I caught that in post, meant to say wings of course but maybe my mind was somewhere else aye! :)
Thanks Nemo for this review, hope you feeling well soon.
I love CSS Audio. I have the Torri in my living room with the Emotiva TA1 and they sound amazing. I actually have the 1TDX flat pack that needs to be assembled. Hopefully ordering the speaker kit next month. I can’t wait to hear the things!
Nice! I'm guessing you can happily confirm that Emo/CSS is a great combo! The Emotiva amps have no problem driving them and control the bass nicely.
Yet another great review 👍
thank you!
Been wondering where you been, was just looking at their kits last week, maybe someday still trying to get the house done and if I were to get distracted I'm pretty sure I'd get an earful. But I'm confident finish and assembly would be doable. Get well, content can wait.
Feel better soon. I remember that video. Affordable is the way to go.
Lets go!!.... :) Great review bro!! Get better soon! :)
thank you bro!
Thanks. I believe you!
Get better soon!
As I get older I love tweeters. Most store bought tweeters do not sounds crisp like I like. I hope these do a good job.
Excellent review. Just wanted to let you know I used that HDMI to RCA piece you recommended and it works like a charm. Well, the HDMI piece didn't work but it worked with the optical connection. So I'm listening to my 41-year-old Yamaha connected to my LG TV! Thanks!
Hell yeah brother! Glad it mostly worked!!! If you're in the mood to try the HDMI again make sure its on the ARC hdmi output but for how inexpensive that thing is you could have just gotten one with a bad chip inside or doa HDMI input. Such is the case with inexpensive goods.
@@NemoPropaganda That's a good idea. I thought I did that when I originally installed it. But, when I gave it another go a few days ago, I didn't recheck that. No harm in trying!
Now for the icing on the cake please review the 2TDX model with upgraded crossover
towers are a little hard for me to deal with so I generally stay away.
Hey bro I respect you for cranking out this review despite feeling under the weather. I've been trying to push myself to be consistently productive even at times when I am less motivated.... it can be challenging lol. I wish you a speedy recovery to full health and keep up the great reviews.
Yes sir! Such is the duty of man, to do the things that need to be done regardless of how we feel :)
I built the 1TDX with all the upgrades first and then a set of the Torii. My thoughts are they are both well worth the money but the price difference means some big changes between the two. My wife could care less about audio and still comments on how good the 1TDX sounds. I paid for the birch upgrade on the 1TDX but would not do that again. The tolerances on the MDF are tighter and unlike the birch, I didn't have to sand the MDF to get the boxes to fit. But unlike the Torii, the 1TDX front and rear baffles are rabbeted to properly slot into the sides, top, and bottom. The baffles on the Torii just sit flat on the rest of the box. My 1TDX sounds good with a higher-end Yamaha AVR but when I paired them with Bel Canto monoblocs they really, really sing. These were entry Bel Cantos when they were new so we're not talking 5K in amps.
that makes sense to me, AVR's rarely have the current driving capabilities that harder to drive speaker would need. Even the S400 MK2 which isn't too hard to drive doesn't sound its best with a mid level AVR.
My question is..... If you did go into a real coughing frenzy, would you have edited it out. 😂 I love how you're able to pull off your videos in one take. Keep em coming man.
You're asking the important questions! I think I'd probably leave it in lol
The TDX went neck to neck with a 4K Dyna Audio and did well for 1/4 the price!
DIY offers huge value in this hobby. Just don't forget to factor in the tools you will need to buy. Don't cheap out and try to build without the proper tools unless you like the pain. I'm building DYI monoblocks from unpopulated pcbs and there are a lot of hidden costs that I didn't plan for. It's been fun and a lot easier than I thought. Just have to take your time and make sure you do it right. There is also a huge value in modding decent equipment and making it, almost, high-end.
I solder like a gorilla with cerebral palsy so my hats off to you sir! I wish I could do something like that but I'd just throw in the towel.
You should REALLY try to get a review sample of the X-LS Encore. It is an EXCELLENT DIY Bookshelf kit, with many custom options. Others have reviewed them very favorably. I think you will like them.
Danny is not interested in me or my reviews and I am not interested in him or his videos.
Nemo, grear review with excellent detail.
I own these as well. I do really like them but sometimes find the wzrmth and richness of the mids not so engaging when im listening to various styles of metal or hard rock. They really sound great to me with jazz, blues and pop.
The other day i was watching your review of the Arendal 1725 bookshelves and i felt foolish but it really dawned on me how warm and rich the mids are on this speaker. Also the treble with the upgraded tweeter is definitely very articulate and detailed.
Still I find myself looking for a second speaker to switch off with , something with neutrality and a bit more bite.
Its like looking for a unicorn, its gotta exist somewhere.
I understand your desire deeply my bro, I'm the same way, usually I rock the Buckardt S400 MK2 but sometimes I want more snap & clarity which is why I was dual weidling the S400 MK2 and Focal Aria 906 for a long time, I've since moved on to the Platimon & S400 MK2 as my 2 main speakers. As far as what's right for you do keep in mind a lot of those more open, calrity, type speakers will not have the bass performance of something like the 1TDX. With that said the Heco Celan Rev 3 is great, much more clarity & open up top, mids & bass are still warm though not as warm as the 1TDX, even more on the clarity side would be the Focal Aria 906, a bit of a ripoff at full price but I'm seeing used sets go for $900 and at that price it'd be a great speaker to have as a contrast to the 1TDX, the Aria 906 is all the way on the side of being detailed & analytical, even cool in the midrange.
yes because you can carefully selected all of the body all parts to achieve a high quality sound
I built and am enjoying these with the same superior crossover powered by a Schiit Vidar 2 fed by a Node X. Did you find they needed some time to open up? I found after several hours of play they really opened up. First power up was disappointing as they were strained and weak but after a few hours they really began to show up as I can only assume the drivers as well as amp had to break in a bit. Your thoughts? At present I’m high passing at 40hz with the Node X and they appear to appreciate that and will definitely go well with a subwoofer for extreme low frequencies.
Mine was a used pair so no break in was needed but generally harder to drive speakers will need some break in because the suspension is fairly stiff on the driver.
Man I love a speaker that isn't fussy with whatever music you throw at them. How would you say these compare to the HECO Celan Revolution 3? And also the much cheaper HECO Aurora 300's? Awesome video as always.
celan has better treble, 1TDX has better bass, midrange is equal. Both speakers are extremely good. Overall the 1TDX will sound a little more relaxed & powerful than the Celan. Aurora 300 is more comparible to 1TD but 1TD is better overall so the Aurora 300 is kind of like a poor mans 1TD.
I liked to 1TDx better than the S400. Both are great but the CSS to me sounded better in my room. Also liked it more than the 1723 THX. Great valued speaker for sure.
nothing wrong with that, personal taste is a big factor. The 1723 THX is a great speaker but more clarity/neutrality focused so its a very different sound.
Get well soon
I will be pairing these (Superior Crossover) with a Hegel H95, the speakers are nearly finished - hopefully they sound good! You mentioned the H190, that is out of my price range. Do you think the H95's are sufficient to power the 1TDX?
I don't have any experience with the H95 so I can't really say. The Emotiva TA1 is just fine with an honest 50w RMS per channel so I'd imagine it would be okay.
First. Literally popped into my feed 😂
aye! thank you!
I'm looking at picking up my first set of "good" speakers and I'm very tempted to pick up one of CSS' kits as U love the value of the DIY kits. I'm only 43, but have decent hearing loss and can't hear over 8000Hz. Do you have an opinion on which would be better for me? I know it's a matter of taste, but I'm not sure if the hearing loss would sway your opinion either way.
Sooo, I love CSS a lot, but based on your hearing loss I think you will prefer something like the Heco Celan Revolution 3, it's treble is not too bright but its extremely well defined and if you need more it has a +2dB tap on the back which you might appreciate. I reviewed them here: ruclips.net/video/ATs-PbpVaGI/видео.htmlsi=dLGkpo3vGUyCGwMy
the hi end x over would clean up the top end no doubt.
Hey Nemo, While its still fresh in your mind, how do these speakers sound against the Platimon's? being the huge difference in cost, id be interested to know your thoughts.
very different sound my man, the Platimon are far more neutral and resolving while the 1TDX is more flavorful with a much warmer presentation overall. Their performance against eachother doesn't even matter as the sound and price are so different nobody would ever cross shop them.
Hand assembly for noobies is doable! The trick is patience. Do it over a few evenings and weekends. You'll never get X-overs like these in typical affordable speakers. Love my 2-tdx (and the Typhons)
I'll add that I bought mine on Black Friday of 2021. I think the deal was 10% off.
I really like my 1TDX which I bought with the birch flat pack.
Nice! If I was building these for myself I'd def go for the birch option, its a bit costly but I'm a sucker for nicer wood.
@@NemoPropaganda yeah I went Birch as well. About the only concern is nice smooth edges so if veneering or painting, some filler and proper sanding required. Such is DIY.. I ended up using high build primer, a small round over bit all around and Valspar cabinet black with turned out pretty cool.
@@bsbabcock throw up a pic in the discord if you're in there.
Hey Nemo! Thanks for the review!What about comparison to the Heco Celan Revolution 3?
celan has better treble, 1TDX has better bass, midrange is equal. Both speakers are extremely good. Overall the 1TDX will sound a little more relaxed & powerful than the Celan.
@@NemoPropaganda thanks! I’m loving my Heco’s!
@@mhester99 me too :) I bought the review sample.
I would like to see a measurement between the two speakers. I suspect the X version is a little louder in the treble
I'd imagine they measure different, CSS themselves say the X version offers up a bit more clarity and it uses a different tweeter and xover.
Great review, thanks! I am admittedly a CSS fan. I've built, 2TD MTM, then converted to the X, then did the 2TDX TMM all with superior covers. I now have the 1TDX with superior and the Bass Modules also with superior. Each iteration has been amazing. I drive them with Rogue mono blocks I've been an audiophile for over 40 years and have owned a crap load of high end speakers. I currently have Magnepan 3.7i's as my "reference". The CSS !TDX's give them a run for their money. What really needs to be said, as you said on the review, is how well these do with everyday recordings. I find myself just listening to these and listening to the MUSIC, not the equipment. Zero listening fatigue. I also want to put in a plug for the bass modules, holy shit! These thing go deep with slam, articulation and awesome impact. They are visceral. I also want to compliment the company. As I have built so many of their products I have had numerous questions. Each question has always been addressed quickly and thoroughly. They really do care about their customers. With all of that said, I have been hugely tempted to buy a pair of S400 MkII's. Their company and products really interests me and I would love to do a comparison. If I have any criticism of your review I wish that you would have used the superior crossovers and did a more thorough comparison to the 400's. Thanks again Nemo! I've watched most all of your reviews and find your style and approach refreshing.
Hey thank's Tim! Yeah I hear ya on the crossover options but theres no right choice there. If I had the superiors some people would want to know about the standards so I just went for the cheaper one :)
@@NemoPropagandaWould you consider asking them to send you a pair of 1TDX with superior crossover and give your opinions on those as well? I understand $400 is a lot, but it may be a bargain compared to buying another speaker or a new audio component. I suspect the main difference is going to be more precision (bass and imaging) given my past experience with using expensive crossover parts.
@@mrenlightened maybe in the future but other people have covered the superiors and really enjoyed them so I they're probably worth the upgrade for those with deeper pockets :)
I agree. I built the 1TDX with superior crossovers. I also upgraded to much better binding posts. These speakers are everything I've always wanted in a speaker. I'm currently driving them with Emotiva mono blocs.
@@jameslester6785 that's a great amp pairing!
I'm looking to buy these and power them with a Decware Zen Triodoe tube amp rated 2 watts. You mention that a 2-3 watt tube amp might not be best. These speakers are rated at 87dB at 1 watt. I do most of my listing under 70dB in a small but heavily treated room. What are you thoughts on this? At 70dB I'd be running 1/6 watt, a.k.a. 160 milliwatt to power these for 70dB
I respect anyone who wants to try something and have their own experience even if it's something I don't recommend. With that said consider that you will not have the same experience that all the reviewers have with such little power and such low volumes. The speakers greatness does not happen at 70dB in a small room at 1-2 watts. This is a bass heavy speaker and bass soaks up wattage quickly. Test tones used to measure sensitivity are not music. I do not recommend this pairing at all but it's not that expensive of a speaker so if you want to have your own experience that's also valuable and a big part of the hobby. For what it's worth I'm not guessing any of this, I did use these speakers with a 2 watt amp. They didn't sound bad but the bass was not even close to what it should have been, same with the dynamics.
HI. Thanks for the honest reply. I guess if I buy these I'll be "forced" to buy a matching amp!! @@NemoPropaganda
@@Atheistic007 ahahaha, possibly. But I'd still say the real greatness of this speaker just doesn't happen at 70dB. There are speakers that do sound great that low like the Triangle BR03 but that's the opposite, it's amazing at low volumes but can become schrill at louder volumes.
Nemo, could you name a few tracks that you think are recorded really badly?
Captivate by Demigodz, Cherub Rock by Smashing Pumpkins, Europa by Globus, Never Freestyle by Coast Contra, Reach for the Sky by Social Distortion, Royalty by Egzod
Dude it would be awesome if you could find the time to review the 1tdx with the upgraded crossovers. As it stands now you feel the Buchardt s400 mkII are better than the stock version. The prebuilt 1 tdx with the upgraded crossovers go for $2,300, so about what the s400's go for. I'm more than willing to spend the extra cash if need be but if I can get an easy to put together CSS kit for $1,300 and have it sound better than the s400, I would much rather do that. If in fact they are better than the s400 that would be a huge price to performance difference when bought as a kit.
I feel it would be redundant at this point, I think most people who have heard both think they're both excellent and on par with eachother. I think the S400 MK2 may take the slight edge in terms of treble quality and the 1TDX would take a slight edge in bass quality but we're really splitting hairs here either way. Even the standard 1TD isn't too far away from the S400 MK2 in the grand scheme of things.
@@NemoPropaganda wow, thanks for responding so quickly! I wasn’t expecting that. I appreciate the way you describe how a speaker is and who it’s for, beyond helpful. But I understand not wanting to repeat yourself in another video. That said from what you just said here I think getting the kit and using the thousand saved towards an amp upgrade is the way to go. Thanks man!
A good amplifier is the fez audio 300b I'd say that's better than the Galleon, Black Ice F22 what is cheaper than the Galleon I would say is better that's more of an educator I guess, the solid stay amplify fez their make is really good as well got one the 5060, in America I think it's about 2,000$
fantastic amplifier drive anything.
I think you're pricing of speakers 1,000 is a little bit misleading you really need to price that with other DIY kits not factory built. There is a lot of good DIY speakers out there for a thousand $
but yeah definitely I think they're not a bad speaker if buying them as a kid.
hopefully I'll get to check them out one day.
Wait did I hear that right? This is the 1tdx with the standard cross over??? Bro we need to know your thoughts on the upgraded crossover. This loses so much value without that info. I’m disappointed, I been waiting on YOUR review to pull the trigger on a used pair in my area built masterfully. Your review with the upgraded crossover😢
No one gives a shit about you buying a pair of used speakers. Everything is not about you.
If I did the superiors there would be a ton of guys bummed that I didn't do the standard versions so I just picked the more affordable option but based on what I'm hearing from css going up the chain seems to be a logical progression that builds on the previous product. If there is a local pair for sale maybe see if you can demo them? That's way better than watching a review brother, you'll get first hand experience :)
@@NemoPropagandayou’re right, Ty for all the cool info n entertainment!
Thanks Nemo,, 💖🙏💖
BIG! money to be saved by building speakers yourself and bypass 1, 2 or 3 middlemen,, 💵😎✌
A bottle of whiskey and a hot sauna,, every bugs worst nightmare,, 🥃🤪👍
Cheers and get well soon my friend,, ☕😋🍰
I just vape a lot and ate a lot of spicy noodles lol, I think the nicotine and spicy killed all the bugs lol
@@NemoPropaganda Give em hell,, 🌩😅🌩,, 💖
Will a Sony STR 800 AV Power it???
I'm not famliiar with that amp but if its an inexpensive AVR under $500 it will probably be just alright but not great.