Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions

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Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #20 on: 11 Jan 2018, 08:55 pm »
Flat packs for our P215 have just been released. These are incredibly easy to assemble with all rabbitted edges and panels that only fit together one way. Flat packs for the SDX10, SDX12 and Criton 1TD will be here by the end of the month!

https://www.css-audio.com/product-page/css-model-p215







mresseguie

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #21 on: 11 Jan 2018, 09:58 pm »
Thank you for the update. I have a couple questions for you.

What is the sensitivity of this speaker (I'm assuming it's 87-ish).

How heavy is the flat pack?

Regards,

Michael


Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #22 on: 12 Jan 2018, 12:51 am »
Thank you for the update. I have a couple questions for you.

What is the sensitivity of this speaker (I'm assuming it's 87-ish).

How heavy is the flat pack?

Regards,

Michael

Yes, approximately.

The flat pack is about 5 kg each or around 10 kg per pair.

JLM

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #23 on: 12 Jan 2018, 11:21 am »
Great pics/flat packs.  Any suggestions (links) for finishing the cabinets (from veneering, to automotive paint, to roughened texture)? 

I'm not one who wants to spend more on finish than the working parts, but if there's good advice out there I'm sure we'd all like to have  it.
« Last Edit: 12 Jan 2018, 12:55 pm by JLM »

Bob2

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #24 on: 12 Jan 2018, 01:51 pm »
Are you doing the flat packs in house?
Do you have a show room where your products can be heard?
Thanks,
Bob

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #25 on: 12 Jan 2018, 01:53 pm »
Great pics/flat packs.  Any suggestions (links) for finishing the cabinets (from veneering, to automotive paint, to roughened texture)? 

I'm not one who wants to spend more on finish than the working parts, but if there's good advice out there I'm sure we'd all like to have  it.

These cabinets would be very easy to veneer. In my earlier days when I was still in an apartment, I used to do it on my kitchen table and cut with a razor blade since I couldn't run a router in the house or really even find storage for one. But a lot of it might come down to how comfortable you feel with different finish options. I would say that in order of what is easiest, it would be:

Duratex: https://www.parts-express.com/brand/acry-tech-coatings/608
-   This can be rolled on very easily and they even make a white version that you can tint with other colors. The finish is tough and you can go from very rough with a high nap roller, to a fine texture with a foam pad. However, this is my least favorite visually.

Veneer: www.veneersupplies.com
-   I would say veneer is the easiest to get a good looking finish with. Paper backed veneer is the easiest to work with but your options for figured veneer are more limited if that’s what you are looking for. I like using Heat Lock glue from the linked website for paper-backed. You can find some decent options on eBay for the veneer itself if you want something a little more unique. However, the quality can be a bit spotty. Again, you can use an Exacto knife to trim by going slow and steady, but it’s definitely better to use a spriral up-cut flush trim bit and router. The up-cut helps prevent tearout. The driver cutouts can problematic because there is not enough depth for the bearing so a lot of people use a laminate trim flush trim bit (https://www.infinitytools.com/routing/router-bits/carbide/flush-trim-router-bits/solid-carbide-flush-trim-router-bits-for-laminates) in those spots. Don’t use it on the regular panels though. The lack of a bearing will cause it to scorch your veneer where it rides on the side. You can finish with standard brush-on or wipe-on poly for an easy finish or you can get fancier. There are a number of woodworking sites out there with finishing tips.

Paint:
-   Paint is by far the hardest finishing option, especially if you want to go for high gloss. Every little imperfection will show in the finish. The other issue you have is that the cabinet material expands and contracts with temperature and humidity changes. What tends to happen is you get ghosting of the seams at the joints. The only ways I’ve seen to prevent this are to either cover the cabinet with a thin laminate (or something like melamine) first to put all the seams at the corners, route out the joint and fill with body filler, or use mitered cabinet edges. After that, you still have to make sure your cabinet is perfectly prepped or you will end up with flaws in the finish.
-   The other issue with paint is spraying the finish. You can do it with a rattle can, but the paint in these is much thinner and it usually takes more coats and doesn’t go on as well as a gun. There are some online tutorials if you Google it demonstrating how to do this. I’ve done it a few times and it is really difficult to not sand through somewhere, even with a lot of coats of clear. Dupli-Color has the best spray tips to spray evenly, but it goes on very thin. Rustoleum’s spray tips kind of suck but it’s easier to get a thicker coat. Rustoleum is a different kind of paint though, and can take longer to cure. Whatever you do, don’t mix the two or you will end up with something that looks like crocodile skin. If you’ve got a spray gun, it can be much easier. You can usually pick up automotive paint at your local auto parts store for use in a gun.

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #26 on: 12 Jan 2018, 01:55 pm »
Are you doing the flat packs in house?
Do you have a show room where your products can be heard?
Thanks,
Bob

Hi Bob,

we are using a local CNC shop to produce them for us. We don't have a show room, but I can make arrangements to demo them for you. PM me and we can discuss. We are located in the Ann Arbor, MI area.

occmetal

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #27 on: 18 Jan 2018, 12:58 am »
Welcome, a vibrant company.

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #28 on: 26 Jan 2018, 06:04 pm »
If you don't feel up to finishing your own cabinet, our first finished speaker arrived this week. Beautifully hand-crafted in the U.S.A. Contact us to get yours built or come by for a listen at AXPONA, where we will be exhibiting April 13-15 in room 578.










neekomax

Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #29 on: 26 Jan 2018, 10:21 pm »
Wow, those are REALLY beautifully finished. What is the price for a set like that?

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #30 on: 27 Jan 2018, 12:42 am »
Wow, those are REALLY beautifully finished. What is the price for a set like that?

We don't have a final build price yet from our cabinet maker but it looks like it's going to be somewhere around $1500-$1700 for a completely finished and assembled pair.
« Last Edit: 27 Jan 2018, 02:16 am by Creative Sound Solutions »

JLM

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #31 on: 4 Feb 2018, 02:25 pm »
On February 3rd three of my friends and I from one of my audio clubs visited Kerry Armes (new co-owner of CSS) at his nice home to audition some CSS offerings.  His living room is roughly 16ft x 24ft with 9ft ceilings with connecting kitchen/dining room and a double door opening to a front office (in total about 7,000 cubic feet).  The space is untreated.  Speakers were centered on the long wall and placed on the corners of his A/V credenza.  Associated gear included MacBook Pro equipped with iTunes, wirelessly fed to a Marantz SR5003 receiver.

We first listened to his P215 speakers (the white ones pictured above in replies #9 and 28 with raised wood veneer side panels and aluminum trim).  They use in-house LD22 soft dome tweeter and Satori MW 13P-8 (5 inch) woofers in a 0.3 cubic foot ported cabinet.  This pair had the standard crossover.  Performance specifications are: 87 dB/w/m, 8 ohms (reportedly benign), F3 = 52 Hz, crossover roughly at 2,100 Hz (different order crossovers used for each driver to improve integration).

Overall impression was a detailed presentation with very good depth of soundstage, but output was limited in that large space.  Note that these speakers were estimated to 30 hours of use on them.  Based on modest cabinet size and woofer size I’d recommend them for small rooms or desktop use.  Obviously a subwoofer would help.  Pricing shown on the website is per pair for drivers and crossover.  CNC flat packs add $100.  Plan on $40 more for stuffing and binding posts. 

Next we listened to the Criton 1TD, another 2-way monitor that uses the same tweeter but with an in house 7 inch LDW7 woofer in a 0.5 cubic foot ported cabinet.  This pair had an upgraded crossover.  Specifications: 87 dB/w/m, 8 ohms (again benign), F3=39Hz, crossing over around 1,600 Hz (again different order crossovers for each driver).  This pair were deemed to be fully broken in.  These speakers were much more comfortable at filling the large space (felt more at ease), were much more musical, more mid-bass body, of course more/deeper bass, and again wonderful soundstage depth. 

Kerry then pulled out examples of CNC flat packs and crossover back plate.  Pre-rabbited, holes cut for binding posts/drivers, perfect workmanship in HDF panels (see reply #20 above).  The back plate (pictured in reply #19 above) was a wonderful example of “why didn’t we think of this before”, made of heavy inert plastic, pre-formed/drilled (including zip tie holes), all wiring holes and component positions labeled. 

He also brought out a massive 46 pound in-house SDX12 (XBL^2) 12-inch subwoofer driver before we listened to a sci-fi movie with a sub using this driver with (2) in-house APR12 passive radiators.  The sub delivered lots of clean, deep bass.  Note that Dan Wiggins owns the royalty to the XBL^2 technology which basically is a mechanical servo (deemed superior to electrical servo found in many subwoofer amps).  I happen to own the 10-inch version with matching plate amp in a 14-inch cubic sealed cabinet and love it in my audio system.

In summary CSS caters to high-end audio/HT customers with their current offerings, and especially the timid DIYer who seek quality components and high value content.  Thanks so much to Kerry for inviting us into his home and hope to see CSS around for years to come.

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #32 on: 5 Feb 2018, 05:13 pm »
On February 3rd three of my friends and I from one of my audio clubs visited Kerry Armes (new co-owner of CSS) at his nice home to audition some CSS offerings.  His living room is roughly 16ft x 24ft with 9ft ceilings with connecting kitchen/dining room and a double door opening to a front office (in total about 7,000 cubic feet).  The space is untreated.  Speakers were centered on the long wall and placed on the corners of his A/V credenza.  Associated gear included MacBook Pro equipped with iTunes, wirelessly fed to a Marantz SR5003 receiver.

We first listened to his P215 speakers (the white ones pictured above in replies #9 and 28 with raised wood veneer side panels and aluminum trim).  They use in-house LD22 soft dome tweeter and Satori MW 13P-8 (5 inch) woofers in a 0.3 cubic foot ported cabinet.  This pair had the standard crossover.  Performance specifications are: 87 dB/w/m, 8 ohms (reportedly benign), F3 = 52 Hz, crossover roughly at 2,100 Hz (different order crossovers used for each driver to improve integration).

Overall impression was a detailed presentation with very good depth of soundstage, but output was limited in that large space.  Note that these speakers were estimated to 30 hours of use on them.  Based on modest cabinet size and woofer size I’d recommend them for small rooms or desktop use.  Obviously a subwoofer would help.  Pricing shown on the website is per pair for drivers and crossover.  CNC flat packs add $100.  Plan on $40 more for stuffing and binding posts. 

Next we listened to the Criton 1TD, another 2-way monitor that uses the same tweeter but with an in house 7 inch LDW7 woofer in a 0.5 cubic foot ported cabinet.  This pair had an upgraded crossover.  Specifications: 87 dB/w/m, 8 ohms (again benign), F3=39Hz, crossing over around 1,600 Hz (again different order crossovers for each driver).  This pair were deemed to be fully broken in.  These speakers were much more comfortable at filling the large space (felt more at ease), were much more musical, more mid-bass body, of course more/deeper bass, and again wonderful soundstage depth. 

Kerry then pulled out examples of CNC flat packs and crossover back plate.  Pre-rabbited, holes cut for binding posts/drivers, perfect workmanship in HDF panels (see reply #20 above).  The back plate (pictured in reply #19 above) was a wonderful example of “why didn’t we think of this before”, made of heavy inert plastic, pre-formed/drilled (including zip tie holes), all wiring holes and component positions labeled. 

He also brought out a massive 46 pound in-house SDX12 (XBL^2) 12-inch subwoofer driver before we listened to a sci-fi movie with a sub using this driver with (2) in-house APR12 passive radiators.  The sub delivered lots of clean, deep bass.  Note that Dan Wiggins owns the royalty to the XBL^2 technology which basically is a mechanical servo (deemed superior to electrical servo found in many subwoofer amps).  I happen to own the 10-inch version with matching plate amp in a 14-inch cubic sealed cabinet and love it in my audio system.

In summary CSS caters to high-end audio/HT customers with their current offerings, and especially the timid DIYer who seek quality components and high value content.  Thanks so much to Kerry for inviting us into his home and hope to see CSS around for years to come.

Glad you guys could make it out. It’s always a fun day for me when I get to sit around and talk speakers and listen to music with people who are as excited about audio as I am.

I just wanted to clarify a couple things. First, the XBL^2 motor isn’t really a mechanical servo. We’ve got a description of the technology on our website here https://www.css-audio.com/technology, but in short, it is a motor structure that flattens and extends the Bl curve to allow the driver to produce lower distortion at higher excursion.

Second, just so everyone knows what is in the upgraded crossover, it uses the same values as the standard, but has 14 gauge Erse Perfect Lay on the woofer and tweeter coils and Jantzen Superior caps on the tweeter circuit. The upgrade would cost about $180 for the parts and if anyone wanted it, they would need to contact us directly.

mcgsxr

Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #33 on: 5 Feb 2018, 07:03 pm »
I bought a number of things from the prior iteration of CSS when it was (like me) in Canada.

I am still using the LDW7 woofers in a DIY speaker.  I had purchased a 1TR kit (in house developed ribbon tweet based off Aurum Cantus I believe) and enjoyed it, but ultimately went DIY for a 2nd set of speakers.

In my experience, all the products from CSS were always excellent!

Glad to see the new US owners up and running around here.  Best of luck with the venture.

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #34 on: 5 Feb 2018, 11:45 pm »
I bought a number of things from the prior iteration of CSS when it was (like me) in Canada.

I am still using the LDW7 woofers in a DIY speaker.  I had purchased a 1TR kit (in house developed ribbon tweet based off Aurum Cantus I believe) and enjoyed it, but ultimately went DIY for a 2nd set of speakers.

In my experience, all the products from CSS were always excellent!

Glad to see the new US owners up and running around here.  Best of luck with the venture.

Thanks!

Creative Sound Solutions

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #35 on: 12 Feb 2018, 05:12 pm »
Flat packs are now available for the Criton 1TD (0.5 cu ft ported), SDX12 (1 cu ft sealed), and SDX10 (1 cu ft sealed) on our website. Check out www.css-audio.com for more info.







planet10

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #36 on: 13 Feb 2018, 11:12 pm »
MDF?

dave

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #37 on: 14 Feb 2018, 12:28 am »
Yes

planet10

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #38 on: 14 Feb 2018, 12:34 am »
Any plans to provide them in quality plywood -- particularily for subwoofers it is so much better.

dave

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Re: Introducing the NEW Creative Sound Solutions
« Reply #39 on: 14 Feb 2018, 12:50 am »
Are SDX10 shipping? I have a client in Ontario i am encouraging to buy 4.

dave