The Back Story:
I've had budget HiFi gear since leaving school. Mostly Cambridge Audio stuff from a shop owned by Mr Richer, and budget speakers that weren't paired well with what I had. They played music, not brilliantly, but they did the job for me, for many years.
I turned the big five-oh this year, and I promised myself some 'decent' (for me) equipment. I'd saved up a bit of cash, and had a budget of £4k-ish for a new solid state amp (know nothing about tube equipment), CD transport / player & speakers.
So, fairly quickly, in came a Music Fidelity M5si & Rotel CD11 Tribute, followed by a SMSL DAC & Wiim MIni hooked up to my existing Monitor Audio Bronze 3 speakers.
I was impressed with what the new kit did for the sound. I was quite impressed with what was coming out of the Bronze 3's. They were making sounds I'd never heard before from music I know well. All good, then.
But I still had budget left for new speakers.
So, after much research, I was torn between a pair of Sonus Faber Sonnetto ii's or the Criton's.
Enter the Critons:
So, after much Youtube watching I thought the Sonnetto's might be a tad warm for my taste, I decided to give the Critons a go. Obviously no audition beforehand, so was a bit of a gamble.
The guys at CSS were extremely helpful, replying to my emails (it would have been 4 in the morning over there) almost immediately. They're does appear to be a German supplier of the kits, but they appear expensive compared to the manufacturers in the US - the guys in the States were happy to ship to me, even with a European supplier available, VAT is payable on import from either destination, anyway. I plumbed for the upgraded crossover - in for a penny....etc.
A week later a vey heavy box arrived:
Extremely well packed. Everything appears intact. I was impressed with the flatpack cabinets. They are machined really well & slotted together beautifully. All corners are nice & sharp.
Glued & clamped, 1 day later ( I was excited)
Some further research, I had discovered, local to me, a veneering company, run by a chap who used to veneer for Bentley cars. Price & timeframe agreed (3 week turnaround) I dropped them around to his workshop.
4 months later they were ready. Much to my frustration. However, I didn't want him to rush them out the door - so I had to be patient.
They came back looking like this:
Time to start soldering crossovers! Basically, very easy with this kit - its the equivalent of painting by numbers. This was my first build, so took my time with everything, checked & double checked - but was very do-able. Build time from with the cabinets completed was a day & a half.
Crossover fills the bottom of the cabinet
Rear port, terminals fitted.
Drivers fitted and screwed in very carefully. Not the time for a screwdriver to be slipping & piecing a cone!.
Finished
Thats just great, Dave. But how do they sound?
I dont have much to compare them to, having had few other pairs beforehand.
I'm about 10 hours of listening in, at this point, & I'm in love with them
The much talked about bass is there & its as good as the Youtube reviewers suggest. They are clear, but not fatiguing. Male & female voices are just lovely. I now understand what is implied when reviewers talk about speakers 'getting out of the way' of the sound. Imaging is great.
The kit I bought with the upgraded crossovers & cabinet flatpack including shipping & VAT cost £1,400. Obviously the veneering cost extra, but could be finished much cheaper. I think you would be hard pressed to better them for the money.
Let me know if you have any questions - I am more than happy to help if I can.
I've had budget HiFi gear since leaving school. Mostly Cambridge Audio stuff from a shop owned by Mr Richer, and budget speakers that weren't paired well with what I had. They played music, not brilliantly, but they did the job for me, for many years.
I turned the big five-oh this year, and I promised myself some 'decent' (for me) equipment. I'd saved up a bit of cash, and had a budget of £4k-ish for a new solid state amp (know nothing about tube equipment), CD transport / player & speakers.
So, fairly quickly, in came a Music Fidelity M5si & Rotel CD11 Tribute, followed by a SMSL DAC & Wiim MIni hooked up to my existing Monitor Audio Bronze 3 speakers.
I was impressed with what the new kit did for the sound. I was quite impressed with what was coming out of the Bronze 3's. They were making sounds I'd never heard before from music I know well. All good, then.
But I still had budget left for new speakers.
So, after much research, I was torn between a pair of Sonus Faber Sonnetto ii's or the Criton's.
Enter the Critons:
So, after much Youtube watching I thought the Sonnetto's might be a tad warm for my taste, I decided to give the Critons a go. Obviously no audition beforehand, so was a bit of a gamble.
The guys at CSS were extremely helpful, replying to my emails (it would have been 4 in the morning over there) almost immediately. They're does appear to be a German supplier of the kits, but they appear expensive compared to the manufacturers in the US - the guys in the States were happy to ship to me, even with a European supplier available, VAT is payable on import from either destination, anyway. I plumbed for the upgraded crossover - in for a penny....etc.
A week later a vey heavy box arrived:
Extremely well packed. Everything appears intact. I was impressed with the flatpack cabinets. They are machined really well & slotted together beautifully. All corners are nice & sharp.
Glued & clamped, 1 day later ( I was excited)
Some further research, I had discovered, local to me, a veneering company, run by a chap who used to veneer for Bentley cars. Price & timeframe agreed (3 week turnaround) I dropped them around to his workshop.
4 months later they were ready. Much to my frustration. However, I didn't want him to rush them out the door - so I had to be patient.
They came back looking like this:
Time to start soldering crossovers! Basically, very easy with this kit - its the equivalent of painting by numbers. This was my first build, so took my time with everything, checked & double checked - but was very do-able. Build time from with the cabinets completed was a day & a half.
Crossover fills the bottom of the cabinet
Rear port, terminals fitted.
Drivers fitted and screwed in very carefully. Not the time for a screwdriver to be slipping & piecing a cone!.
Finished
Thats just great, Dave. But how do they sound?
I dont have much to compare them to, having had few other pairs beforehand.
I'm about 10 hours of listening in, at this point, & I'm in love with them
The much talked about bass is there & its as good as the Youtube reviewers suggest. They are clear, but not fatiguing. Male & female voices are just lovely. I now understand what is implied when reviewers talk about speakers 'getting out of the way' of the sound. Imaging is great.
The kit I bought with the upgraded crossovers & cabinet flatpack including shipping & VAT cost £1,400. Obviously the veneering cost extra, but could be finished much cheaper. I think you would be hard pressed to better them for the money.
Let me know if you have any questions - I am more than happy to help if I can.