This review is of the GR-Research Criterion speakers which I auditioned recently, in my home. The reason I decided to check out the Criterions is that I have identified a few areas in my current speakers that I would like to improve such as overall resolution, soundstage imaging and bass articulation. My associated equipment is as follows.
Pioneer DV-440 with Modwright level 2 and Bybee mods
TacT RCS 2.0
Bel Canto Dac2
Symphonic Line Die Erleuchtung PreAmp
Odyssey Extreme MonoBlocks
Vienna Acoustics Mozarts
Rel Strata III sub
Bolder Cable Nitro Bybee ICs
Zu Cable Ibis or Kimber Kable Monocle XL speaker cables
Stock PCs
16x14 room with a ceiling peaked at 10 ft parallel to the long wall
My favorite speaker position is along the long wall, speakers equidistant from the side walls about 7 ft apart and nearly 6 ft from the front wall. The listening position would be close to the back wall, which is a pair of french doors which can be covered by heavy drapes. This placement provides the best soundstage that I have heard in this room with great depth and width. The speakers well out into the room also helps to reduce the problem bass nodes. However, in deference to my 2 1/2 year old daughter, I have moved the speakers to a diagonal corner placement with the listening position also diagonally placed in the room. While this setup retains the depth of soundstage, it sacrifices a bit of width.
In fairness to the VA Mozarts, I believe they would benefit from a larger room. Hence my audition of the Criterion monitor. I used a pair of small but heavy 28 in speakers for stands beneath the Criterions with a thin sheet of minicell foam between the two. At first, I listened to the Crits without the aid of the TacT room correction, but quickly ran some correction curves for the remainder of the listening sessions. After a few days I settled on a moderate degree of toe-in, not quite pointing at the listening position. These speakers really shine in a nearfield listening environment. Over the period I had the Criterions in my system, several differences from the Mozarts became apparent. The Criterions overall displayed a greater level of resolution than the Mozarts. The brush strokes on the drums in many of the Diana Krall or Nora Jones tracks I listened to were more discernable, less like background static and much more like the real thing. The Criterions were not as laid-back as the Mozarts, with the image beginning at the speaker plane. Tracks from Avril Lavigne's Let Go retained there aggressive nature with the Criterions more so than the Mozarts. However, with rock or hip-hop I definitely would prefer the addition of a sub. I was able to blend the Rel quite effectively, even though the TacT 2.0 does not make provisions for a sub. One surprising aspect of the Criterions is the quality of the bass. With the TacT, in my room, I measured usable bass to 30 Hz! Now this is not bass of the earthshaking type but a tight, accurate bass which is quite adequate for most Jazz and smaller Classical recordings. I would like for these speakers to push a bit more air, to have a punchier component. Perhaps the MTM version will address this issue.
The main issue I have had with the Mozarts is with imaging. I have never found the position than just locks in the image, and these speakers are known to be difficult to place. No such problems with the Criterions. After some initial adjustments, the Criterions just disappeared in the room with a tightly focused image. So much did they disappear, that several friends were certain that the speakers used for the stands were the ones playing, mostly because they were larger and that bass just couldn't come from those little speakers. They were mesmerized, and after my audition, so was I. I really liked these speakers. They have a very relaxed presentation (not to be confused with being laid-back) that is just so easy to listen to well into the night. I am seriously considering the purchase of the MTM version.
Andy
