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I thought I would just update the first post with the general process and listening impressions so people wouldn't have to scroll through all the posts they don't care about, like what grit sandpaper I should use.
Everything came packaged great, no damage, and shipping was prompt. I purchased the kit with the flat packs, but not the superior crossovers. Customer service was great and they were quick to answer my questions. I had actually posted in a group on Facebook that I was thinking about building them and one of the owners chimed in and was very helpful.
I dry fitted the boxes and everything lined up great. I tried gluing the first box together in stages because I didn't think I had enough clamps. Unfortunately things must have shifted a little when I clamped down and I wasn't able to fit the other panels into place. I had to do some sanding to make it work. On the second box I just put it altogether at once, it worked out much better and the CNC cuts lined up so well that not having as many clamps as I would have liked wasn't an issue. I tried bondo and wood glue/sawdust mixed and neither prevented the seems from showing... oh well. Crossover boards look nice and are easy to follow, just solder the matching letters.This kit really is about as easy as you're going to get with DIY.
I don't think my mid-tier Denon AVR is doing these justice, but here are my listening impressions. My source of music is Amazon HD, which I can tell a difference over Spotify, but I haven't A/B tested compared to a cd. I had the Fusion 8s by Jeff B before so my impressions will generally be a comparison to those. Unfortunately I'm not listening to a variety of great speakers all the time so I can't really make statements on how these sound compared to the rest of the speaker population. The Fusions were a great speaker, and in my room I found them to be clearer and smoother than the Critons. I did always find them a little too laid back and the Critons are more forward sounding which was one of my goals. I don't know if I'm using these adjectives correctly and by no means do I have a sophisticated ear. The Critons top end has a little more sparkle, are airy with a little bit of texture. They add a little more detail without being bright or harsh. The bass is ample and I find that these could easily be enjoyed without a subwoofer for most music. If you're wanting to enjoy something bass heavy then I would venture to say a sub is needed. My bass situation can get exaggerated quickly (1 18" and 4 12"s) so it is nice to have the option to turn them off and still get good low-end response. The midrange is very enjoyable, vocals, guitar, piano, all sound great. I really enjoy the midrange's tone. The center image is spot on and fun imaging songs like Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa are just that, fun. I do want to try them out on a better amp, but I've never tried DIY amps before. I think it might be time to dip my toe in.
My rooms is dark so a good photo is hard to get. When I try it with a flash things just look worse, but here they are in their home.
Original Post
Kit comes in a couple of days and I'll have some questions along the way that I can hopefully get answered here. I have some Zinsser BIN shellac based primer that I intend to use, will I still need to seal the edges with the wood glue mixture or will the shellac take care of that?
I'm hoping for a satin finish.. I have some leftover paint from another project that I would like to use, but it's matte. If I put on satin polyureyhane will that work or should I really just go buy a satin paint as well? Thanks! I'll post pictures along the way. Thanks in advance.
Everything came packaged great, no damage, and shipping was prompt. I purchased the kit with the flat packs, but not the superior crossovers. Customer service was great and they were quick to answer my questions. I had actually posted in a group on Facebook that I was thinking about building them and one of the owners chimed in and was very helpful.
I dry fitted the boxes and everything lined up great. I tried gluing the first box together in stages because I didn't think I had enough clamps. Unfortunately things must have shifted a little when I clamped down and I wasn't able to fit the other panels into place. I had to do some sanding to make it work. On the second box I just put it altogether at once, it worked out much better and the CNC cuts lined up so well that not having as many clamps as I would have liked wasn't an issue. I tried bondo and wood glue/sawdust mixed and neither prevented the seems from showing... oh well. Crossover boards look nice and are easy to follow, just solder the matching letters.This kit really is about as easy as you're going to get with DIY.
I don't think my mid-tier Denon AVR is doing these justice, but here are my listening impressions. My source of music is Amazon HD, which I can tell a difference over Spotify, but I haven't A/B tested compared to a cd. I had the Fusion 8s by Jeff B before so my impressions will generally be a comparison to those. Unfortunately I'm not listening to a variety of great speakers all the time so I can't really make statements on how these sound compared to the rest of the speaker population. The Fusions were a great speaker, and in my room I found them to be clearer and smoother than the Critons. I did always find them a little too laid back and the Critons are more forward sounding which was one of my goals. I don't know if I'm using these adjectives correctly and by no means do I have a sophisticated ear. The Critons top end has a little more sparkle, are airy with a little bit of texture. They add a little more detail without being bright or harsh. The bass is ample and I find that these could easily be enjoyed without a subwoofer for most music. If you're wanting to enjoy something bass heavy then I would venture to say a sub is needed. My bass situation can get exaggerated quickly (1 18" and 4 12"s) so it is nice to have the option to turn them off and still get good low-end response. The midrange is very enjoyable, vocals, guitar, piano, all sound great. I really enjoy the midrange's tone. The center image is spot on and fun imaging songs like Bubbles by Yosi Horikawa are just that, fun. I do want to try them out on a better amp, but I've never tried DIY amps before. I think it might be time to dip my toe in.
My rooms is dark so a good photo is hard to get. When I try it with a flash things just look worse, but here they are in their home.
Original Post
Kit comes in a couple of days and I'll have some questions along the way that I can hopefully get answered here. I have some Zinsser BIN shellac based primer that I intend to use, will I still need to seal the edges with the wood glue mixture or will the shellac take care of that?
I'm hoping for a satin finish.. I have some leftover paint from another project that I would like to use, but it's matte. If I put on satin polyureyhane will that work or should I really just go buy a satin paint as well? Thanks! I'll post pictures along the way. Thanks in advance.
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