The BEST Dressed Speaker, Piano Black Finish On A Budget

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The BEST Dressed Speaker, Piano Black Finish On A Budget - CSS 1TDX Part 2

Рет қаралды 3,291

Matt Coykendall

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 72

@mabehall7667 Ай бұрын

Beautiful build. I built the CSS Audio 2Tdx and love them. I must say I’m disappointed with my finish but not the sound. I attached the baffle at the same time I glued everything up. This, I believe, made the assembly very ridge, but made the crossover installation a magnitude more difficult-especially since each speaker required 2 crossover boards. I used the sound deadening material sold by Danny Richie and really covered every surface including the surfaces of the cross supports. I now sit and listen to my music for hours! I had Yamaha NS1000Ms before and while very good, they tended to be fatiguing.

@mikecampbell5856 Ай бұрын

You are an awesome craftsman Matt! Great soldering tips too. I was an electronics tech for 6 years in the Navy and I repaired copiers for 40 years. I did a lot of soldering and your tips were excellent! As usual your wood working skills are superb. I like to restore old shotgun stocks. It takes a week. Sand, stain, dry. Next day 0000 steel wool, stain, dry. Do that for three or four days and the next three days, Tru oil, 0000 steel wool, dry. After a week I have a gun stock finish that looks an inch deep. It is super easy compared to what you just did. I did my first maple stock ever awhile back and it turned out so badly that I sanded everything off and started all over. LOL

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

I certainly made some mistakes along the way but thankfully with woodworking there is almost always a way to fix it haha. Thanks for sharing your past projects as well, finishing projects can be such a pain but also so rewarding.

@johnstump2433 Ай бұрын

They look outstanding Matt 🤩 The fruits of your labor were well worth it 👏🏼

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Took a bit to finish but finally paid off, now onto sound testing.

@OldGuyHifi Ай бұрын

I am also a belt & braces kind of guy as well. Hot glue, zip ties, super glue, I go for it all if needed. Great video. Thx.

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Right on, a little of this, a little of that

@Evolved_ue7 Ай бұрын

Terrific job Matt, you're a patient man . They look fab mate ..

@rareearthfab5511 Ай бұрын

Looks great! I built the 2TD-X towers a year ago with the premium crossovers and I ended up selling my KEF R7 Metas because the CSS speakers just sounded clearly better to me. I built them for the project, but I kept them for the sound. CSS put together a really good, well engineered product. I did a cherry veneer on mine, which was the first time I ever veneered anything and I got real lucky. They came out absolutely gorgeous! I look forward to your update on how they sound!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

That’s really interesting to hear in comparison to the KEF, I look forward to testing and comparing these.

@timball4892 Ай бұрын

I've owned 4 different CSS speakers, including 2TDX towers. I also own a pair of KEF R3 Metas. May I ask, in what ways did the CSS sound better than the R7's? I am soon to build the 3TDX with superior crossovers.

@rareearthfab5511 Ай бұрын

@@timball4892 I just ordered the 3TD-X upgrade kit. I look forward to getting these built. The upgrade I purchased just has the upgraded crossover instead of the new amber caps. I spoke with one of the owners of CSS and he said even they could barely hear any difference but they wanted to offer the upgrade since customers were asking about them. For me, they had better reproduction of female voices. Especially someone like Etta James. There was just more body and realism to them. The CSS really gave her voice soulful richness. The KEF were definitely thinner in the sound. I also found that the KEF were a little sibilent with snare and cymbals. Anything a little bit more busy and they would start to sound like a box of snakes rather than individual pieces with a natural decay. The CSS speakers for me had a very natural cymbol sound that would decay naturally maybe that’s part of the crossover upgrade? I’m not sure but my feelings on the CSS speakers over my KEF speakers was immediately mirrored by my wife and she’s usually pretty reserved with her thoughts on my audio equipment. I also had a set of R3 Metas that I let go of. Great bookshelf but again, just overshadowed by the R7s and the CSS. No surprise there though….

@timball4892 Ай бұрын

@@rareearthfab5511 Thanks for the thorough response. I would agree with your thoughts on the R3's, I have them for sale but not any action on them and they are brand new, with stands, black and am selling for $1800 but that is beside the point. My other speakers are Magnepan 3.7i's and they are awesome in many ways but contrast from dynamic speakers in impact and dynamics. I supplement with a pair of REL T7X's. I live fairly close to CSS and have visited them once and am going to pick up my 3TDX kits either this week or next. Awesome guys and super service oriented.

@bpalpha Ай бұрын

I've been shopping for a second pair of speakers, but I'm on an ultra-tight budget. These are so nice and my ideal speakers as I want a simple 2-way bookshelver. Excellent build on these. Thanks for the vid. Finding great inexpensive speakers is HARD!

@tedroybal5231 Ай бұрын

I built the CSS MTM. Your finish looks absolutely beautiful! Well done.

@AggMeisTer28 Ай бұрын

What a fantastic build! Thank you for sharing!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Sure thing, thanks for watching as well.

@michaelwright1602 Ай бұрын

Those look gorgeous Matt!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Thanks so much! This build was a lot of fun.

@michaelwright1602 Ай бұрын

@@MattCoykendall1 So how do they sound? CSS is literally right around the corner from me up in town, I need to visit those guys one day.

@ryanchappell5962 Ай бұрын

They really look amazing

@ryanstevens2769 Ай бұрын

Incredible result!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Thank you!

@adsph Ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing. Those look amazing. Great job. Very informative.

@TheRealKaner 8 сағат бұрын

Superb looking end product.

@hondaphan4172 Ай бұрын

What a great two-part series and the final results look spectacular. You should be proud of yourself because your time and patience really paid off when it was finished. Kudos!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Thank you so much! Finishing is one of those things that can be frustrating at the moment but I’m already looking forward to the next one.

@timball4892 Ай бұрын

I've built the 2TD, MTM bookshelf, 2TDX TMM tower, the 1TDX with the bass module and will soon start a pair of the 3TDX. All with superior crossovers, First pair were walnut, second black quarter sawn ash and 1tD. and bass modules were rosewood. Not sure what veneer I WILL DO ON THE 3'S. Thinking flat cut ash with a transparent gray or charcoal stain. I love the look of the quilts but would like more contrast in the grain. The CSS products, all of them, are each outstanding and represent amazing sound quality. Building them , for me, is so much fun. Can't wait to hear your listening impressions .

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

The 3TDX will be a really nice addition. What do you think of the bass modules?

@timball4892 Ай бұрын

@@MattCoykendall1 I actually preferred the bass on the 2TDX towers. Not a powerful and maybe just a touch lighter, less extended, but more articulate. I no longer own any of the models so the 3 will not be an addition. I have either given them away to children/friends or sold them. I love building them and trying new speakers. Some would say it is a hobby and others might say an addiction...ha! Again, great review and anxious to hear your opinion on how they sound

@yourchildrensghost9736 Ай бұрын

They look Great. Looking forward to the sound review as I'm quite interested in these. Thanks as always.

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Yes I will get started on the sound review soon, I am expecting good things so far.

@PhillioDoede Ай бұрын

I really want to do gloss black on one of my builds and this pretty much confirms I'm going to outsource that part, lol. This is a great guide though, and I would certainly reference it if I were to try on my own. Also that black died veneer (which I wasn't sure about at first) looks great now with that extra sheen , nice work.

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Yeah, the extra sheen gave it what it needed, I knew it needed something more so I kept playing around with it. If you dont want to mess with the gloss black...try an autobody shop, I might even do that next time.

@00penguin Ай бұрын

Good job. A possible suggestion might be to just nib sand your clear coats and then keep adding until you have more than enough to sand and polish without fear of cutting through. Other than that you might have gotten an auto body shop involved and saved trouble for $?

@MikkelMarienlund Ай бұрын

Those are absolutely stunning, Matt. Chapeau and thanks for the inspiration!

@Douglas_Blake_579 Ай бұрын

DAYMN! Nicely done!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@carloscolon5434 Ай бұрын

Turned out great Matt!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@tonymolina7744 Ай бұрын

Dying to hear your review of them. This looked fun … and labor intensive. You have patience that I wish I had. 😊

@tmdillon1969 Ай бұрын

I love my 1TDX pair but they are probably my worst finish job. One of these days I'll take them apart and redo the exterior with veneer or gloss finish. But they sound...wow. I will say I find their measurements regarding sensitivity are a bit ambitious. Mine didn't really come alive until I put a pair of Bel Canto monoblocs on them. That was after running a Marantz NR1200 and Fosi V3 through them. IMO they are somewhat thirsty and really, really benefit from at least 100W a side.

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

I noticed that right away as well, these really benefit from a good power source.

@4thewinir344 Ай бұрын

Yes I can attest the superior x-over need as much power and capacitance as you can afford. 100w A/B minimum.

@Iamtommy69 Ай бұрын

Im getting these, had my eye on them for a while i would keep the cable ties loose and feed the jumpers under them would keep them tidy.

@FunFiEmpire Ай бұрын

Great video and fantastic work!

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Appreciate the watch!

@nickburklow5212 Ай бұрын

what a great video, thanks for keeping it real.

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

You bet! Thanks for tuning in too

@4thewinir344 Ай бұрын

Wow, great job Matt! The piano black looks outstanding! All of a sudden I now feel the need to refinish my Critons. IMO The upgraded x over is worth the added $$. You will enjoy these speakers, but I found they need some juice and some break-in. I use an Emotiva A2/PT1 combo (with no sub) and experience bliss from my Critons. I am looking forward to your review! Cheers!👍

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

It was certainly a fun build, finishing can be so frustrating at times but also rewarding...when it all works out!

@Fred-ck1gh Ай бұрын

Sweet!👍👍

@theoriginalbamboorollingtip Ай бұрын

Matt, you should give a look at the XOVER-3B active crossover kit from Xkitz, same designer/manufacturer as Sublime Acoustic's K231 and K235. Hands down the best way to integrate a subwoofer into a system. Baffle step correction may be the XOVER-3B's best feature...

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

I will certainly do that.

@theoriginalbamboorollingtip Ай бұрын

@@MattCoykendall1 Use true 110ohm AES/EBU interconnects from DAC to Xovers (2) to Amps. I had to retune the XOVERs, there was such a difference after the switch.

@billmcginley Ай бұрын

I need to write a work instruction for reloading an x-ray tube. I think a video by Matt would be a better approach. What do you say, Matt??😉

@MattCoykendall1 Ай бұрын

Sign me up haha

@timball4892 5 күн бұрын

When we will see your review? I just finished my 3TDX's and they are absolutely amazing. They honestly give my Magnepan's a run for their money. I'd love to hear your thoughts.