[audiojerry]

Jackman delivered the Criterion to me yesterday. Jack was able to spend a little time with me to listen to them, but his amazingly beautiful wife, Michelle, placed a time limit on his visit, so unfortunately, we did not have enough time to accomplish all that we had hoped. Jack may make a return visit if he gets a chance (without Michelle).

Jack was accomodating enough to bring his Ellis 1801 along because I had always wanted to hear them in my home with my system. The 1801's are beautiful looking speakers, and I was very impressed when I heard them at Jack's. This is not a review of the Ellis, so I will not get into detail about them other than to say that they were not ideally suited to my room or my equipment. My room is very acoustically dead and absorbs a lot of bass energy. Also, speakers are placed well into the room about 4' from the wall behind the speakers so there is no bass augmentation available for the rear port. I think Jack would agree that the Ellis was too light from the midrange down causing the higher frequencies to be too prominent. The Ellis just didn't work in my system. Remember how often we talk about synergy?  

We had two forms of amplification available to use for our listening: an Audio Research VT200 200wpc tube amp, and a pair of Odyssey Stratos Monoblocks with the latest Super upgrade to caps and Plitron transformer. This also is not the place for a review of the Stratos upgrade, which I will submit in the future, but for now I will just comment that the results of the upgrade are stunning. However, with the Ellis and the Criterion, both speakers sounded more pleasing to our ears with the ARC. As such, my review of the Criterion is based on listening with the ARC tube amp.

My other equipment includes an Audio Valve tubed linestage from Germany tweaked with vintage Telefunkens ( I hope these tubes last forever), a Classe CDP .5 cd player used as a transport for a Level 2 Modwright P-3A with Monolithic power supply and Jenna Labs cyrogenic digital cable,  a Rega Planar 25 turntable with Dynavector cartridge,  a Lehman Black Cube with upgraded power supply, Zucable Varial Interconnects, Zucable Wax speaker cable, Zucable Mother powercords, a pair of generic isolation transformers for my digital and linestage/phonostage, a PS Audio Ultimate Outlet for my ARC amp, Shakti Onlines on my interconnects, a Shakti Stone on my cdp, Aurios Media Isolation Bearings under my cdp and linestage, and several pieces of Tritium Triphazers (my secret weapon). I am not trying to boast, but every visitor who has listened to my system has commented rather emphatically on how great my system sounds. Maybe they are all liars and are just being polite. I have changed out many different components, but the one constant has been the Triphazers. I am convinced that much of the credit has to go to the Triphazers.

Sorry for all the preamble. Now on to the Criterion.

I love these speakers!

Thank You.

Ok, if you want to read more?

This may be my all time favorite speaker. For those who recall my background, I have owned a few speakers. Over the last two years, I have probably owned at least 10 pairs and auditioned at least 20. In fact, I am taking delivery on a pair of B&W Matrix 801 Series 3, and a pair of B&W 802 Series 80. I currently have in my home a pair of Monitor Audio Gold Reference 60?s, and I just sold a pair of Vienna Acoustics Mahlers, which were definitely the finest speakers I?d owned. The fact that I had them for almost 8 months is testimony to that.

After Jack had to leave late yesterday afternoon, I spent the remainder of my evening enjoying the Criterion. I could not get enough of them. I think Jack felt they were too rolled off on top. I would agree to that when compared to the Ellis, and to just about every other speaker I?ve heard, they may sound rolled off, but they were not cut off. In relation to what I hear at a live performance they were just right. The Criterion is rich, lush, warm, a bit dark, and immensely satisfying. As a tube person, I think these qualities go hand in hand with what tube lovers tend to enjoy. The midrange just simply blooms. I was never slapped in the face with harsh or etchy high frequencies. The ribbon tweeter was surprisingly smooth and provided definition and resolution without sounding hot in the upper registers. There was a seemless blending with the midbass driver. And that tiny midbass driver is amazing. It is fast, detailed, smooth, and perfectly suited to female vocals and piano. Dianna Krall never sounded better.

Using a frequency test cd, the Criterion played high quality and useful bass all the way down to 40hz, although there was some chuffing from the rear port at this frequency. I think Danny only rates these at 55 hz, which I think is way too conservative. I listened to a number of tracks that really challenge the bottom end, and though I never felt the room tremble, neither did I feel like the music suffered because of missing bass.  

Some would consider the qualities I described relating to richness and warmth as negative characteristics. So be it. In fact the next ten guys to review this speaker might feel totally different about the Criterion than me. I don?t care. Some folks may not want to own a speaker if they thought others might not think well of it.  The satisfaction that I have already gotten from these speakers would make me want to say the heck with what anyone else thinks. I absolutely love these speakers! If I could I would take them to bed with me.

I forgot to mention the build quality. The drivers and internal components are obviously of the highest quality. The cabinet is unbelievably solid. Rap your knuckle on the side of this tiny little speaker and you will think you are striking a piece of solid granite. These little babies are the most solid and dense speakers I?ve ever encountered. With obviously very thick cabinet walls and apparent little internal volume, I don?t know how these speakers produce such great bass. Plus they play quite loudly without congesting or compressing.

Of the many speakers I?ve owned, I?ve had some damn good monitors: ProAc, Red Rose, Merlin, and Tyler, among others. For me I?ll take Criterion. I love this speaker. Would the Criterion be my only speaker? No. There are times when I would miss the extreme low frequency extension and greater spl that a full size floor stander can provide, but if I had to have only one speaker, the Criterion would be it. Danny, I want this speaker!  

Postscript: For those of you reading this, please remember that I have not purchased these speakers, Danny has not given me anything, and I?m just one of several people who are on the audition list. I have nothing to gain or lose by writing this review.

Did I mention that I love this speaker?

[Tyson]

Great review!  Quality posts like this are exactly why we need a review section.

What are some other types of music that you listened to?  You mentioned female jazz/vocals, which is great.  But how do they should on classical or pop/rock?

Sounds like you might be buying a pair (and actually keeping them for a while ), any thoughts on how they might integrate with a sub?

[audiojerry]

PS: I forgot to mention that since I get to hold on to these for a few days, if anyone in my neck of the woods, Brookfield, Wisconsin, would like to hear the Criterions with eiither the Odyssey mono's or the VT200, you are welcome to come over, and bring along your own speakers if you can. Or, I could maybe bring the Criterions over to you. Just let me know.

[jackman]

Great review!  I agree with you on your assessment of the strengths of the Criterions.  They are very well designed and implimented speakers.  The Ellis did not work well on your setup, however they appeared to be more dynamic on the dynamic track whose name escapes me at the moment.  In my setup, the Ellis are about three feet from the rear wall and really benefit from the reflection.  I noticed this at Marbles house but never put two and two together.  They sounded very light in the bass and midbass departments on your system.  

The Criterions sounded very smooth and the workmanship on the cabinets was excellent.  The finish was okay, however, they were as solid as any cabinet I have ever seen.  The knuckle test was a joke.  You could shoot these cabinets with a large caliber gun and NOT do any damage.  The midwoofers were very articulate, however I did notice a bit of chuffing and port turbulence on my home system when playing Sade's Lover's Rock.  I also found the Criterions to be slightly rolled off for my liking on several tracks.  Please note that I only had them for a week and have grown very acoustomed to the sound of my current speakers, the Ellis, which have a more detailed and "energetic" top end.  

Bottom line:  if you are in the market for monitor style speakers, you should try to get on the list for the Criterions.  Those tweeters are very good.  I did not notice ANY vertical dispersion limitations that I have noticed on other ribbon style speakers in the past (including VMPS).  A MTM version of this design would seem to be a very interesting prospect, although MTM's have vertical dispersion issues.   They sounded very good with the Odyssey monos and REALLY good with the Audio Research amps.  Unfortunately, the lack of a digital output on Jerry's Classe CDP (very nice!) prevented us from doing a direct comparison between the Smart DIO from Bolder and the P3A from Modwright.  Looks like it will have to wait for another day!

The comparison between the supercharged Odyssey Mono's and the LARGE Audio Research VT200 amp was much easier than the speaker evaluation.  I thought the Ellis sounded better on some tracks and the Criterions (although slightly rolled off on the top end, imo) sounded better on other tracks in Jerry's system.  THe AR amplifier sounded better than the Odyssey's on EVERY track.  Yesterday was my first exposure to the large VT200, but it made a very lasting impression.  Everything just sounded right.  Not the artificial "warmth" that many associate with tubes, just beautiful, natural sound.  I have to get my hands on one of these (or the model below it due to financial reasons...).   The AR was absolutely magical in its presentation of any musical content that it was asked to amplify.  The only downside of this amp is that it weighs as much as a small person!  It is a total tank!

I appreciate Jerry's hospitality and look forward to future get-togethers.  Jerry has a very nice place and a wonderful family (including the cats!).  It was a pleasure meeting everyone and spending time listening to music.  Jerry's comments and observations are always dead-on and I have total respect for his opinions.

Have a happy New Year!
 
Jman

[Bwanagreg]

Nice review Jerry. I found out about Jack's listening session after it happened. Sounds like I missed out!

Could you elaborate a little more on your experience with the Triphazers? I remember being impressed with them at Jack's house. Specifically, do you have an opinion on the relative merits of using them in different locations - amp-preamp, source-preamp, speakers, power conditioning, etc. I must admit I find their website incomprehensible.

Thanks again for an interesting review.

[audiojerry]

Thanks, Tyson,

I listened primarily to jazz vocals and jazz instrumental trios and quartets, because that is my favorite and the Criterions were so well suited for this. But I also listened to some music from the Nutcracker, and some Mahler and movie soundtracks, just to test the extremes. They faired quite nicely, in my opinion, but again, no room trembling bass.  I still have a few more days to listen to lots more forms of music, and I plan on enjoying them as much as I can before passing them along.

The soundstage is deep, very deep and wide. I should have mentioned that the imaging is sensational and the speakers disappear like nothing I've experienced before. I guess I was so taken by the musicality of the Criterions that I completely forgot to mention the audiophile aspects of imaging and soundstaging.

I found the speakers so satisfying that I didn't even consider a subwoofer. I do have a pair of Bag Ends and a pair of Earthquake subs to use, but I doubt I will get around to hooking them up.

I should also mention that I listened in the very near field, like 6-7' away from the speakers. I really like this intimate kind of setup.

[Ernest]

Great review!  Based on what you've said I don't think I would like it, but I'm glad that you did.  I have to ask though:  what is a Tritium Triphazer?

[audiojerry]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I really enjoy being able to share on this website.  

Jack, I also forgot to ask, but my 20 year old son wanted to know if your marriage was on solid ground. If not he wanted to know if Michelle would be available anytime soon?
 
I am a big fan of Triphazers, but they are not cheap, and they take a long time to break into your system. I started with them on the speaker outputs of my amp, then got a pair of interconnect Triphazers, and then a couple of powerecord Triphazers. Jack, I also had them installed in the feedback loop of my ARC, so I guess I'm cheating a bit with the amp as well.
The fastest and most easily recognizable difference was with the power cord Triphazer on the cdp or dac, so I would start there. The company, Tritium, offered a 90 return policy. They still might offer it. I believe the website was www.triphazer.com

[jackman]

Jerry,
Dave Ellis confirmed today that the 1801's were designed to be played with the front baffles 2.5-3 feet from the rear walls.  They were designed with this in mind.  They sounded much different in my setup, however I will make changes to allow for them to sound better in a setup that places them about 6 feet from the rear walls by installing a resistor across the tweeter terminals.  Ordering the resistor today and will keep you posted on the results.

Thanks,
J

[doug s.]

hi all,

thanks for the info.  i'm on the list - danny said mid/end of january; i'm lookiong forward to this!  

for those interested in how these will work w/subs, that's how i will be trying them.  my present system (listed under the audio asylum's inmates systems, for those interested), includes a pair of vmps larger subs, crossed over to meret re monitors w/a marchand deluxe xm9.  i doubt i will even try running them full-range, as my room, at ~26x38x8.5, isn't really conducive to running speakers like this full-range...

regards,

doug s.

[Ferdi]

Audiojerry, Great review!

Being a Stratos Stereo owner, I am interested to hear if you spent any time at all listening to the Stratos + Criterion combo or just enough to know that it wasn't as good as the VT200 + Criterion?
I am looking around for a good quality monitor speaker to build. I already own a pair of Mission 751f (nice!) and have considered the AV-1 so far. Sounds like the Criterion is interesting but maybe not my cup of tea.

Would you like your review moved to the new "Critics Circle"? Just post a reply or send me PM.

Ferdi

[audiojerry]

Hi Ferdi,
Please invoke your powers and move to the Critics Circle. I didn't know it was there.
I have not spent more than an hour listening with the Stratos. I will try to do that before giving the Criterions up.

[Danny Richie]

Sounds like you guys liked the Criterions.

The high prise is very appreciated.

Sounds like I need to get some more demo pairs assembled too. The list of auditioners is getting long.

Jerry, If I can get some more demo pairs out there in circulation I might be able to let that pair find there way back to you for keeps.

Just to touch on a few things said:

The seamless driver blend mentioned is due largely to the series network design used in this speaker. Our A/V-1 also uses a series network design and receives those same comments on a regular basis as well.

Speaking of which, I have a pair of A/V-1's in the Chicago area too. Would anyone else in that area like to audition a pair of them before they are off to a new area?

The great imaging and sound stage Jerry raved about in his follow up is partially due to very little shift in phase. This is a function of the network design also.

I am glad also the Jerry noticed that even at high power levels the speaker did not sound compressed or congested.

I originally built a version of one of these speakers using our M-130 woofer. Not to sound like an advertisement, but our M-130 woofer sounds really good and is really hard to beat for the money.  So for me to choose a more expensive woofer for this design it had to not only out perform our M-130 but do so in a way that made me feel it was worth the additional cost.

Our M-130 held its own with the Eton in many ways, but in higher power levels that cause longer exertions the Eton really excelled. The super stiff cone just does not deform and the distortion level is really, really low. To me it was that characteristic that really set it apart not only from our M-130 woofer, but from other woofers too.

As for the tweeter level. I really wanted this speaker to be very neutral and natural. The speed, detail, and dynamics of the ribbon are as good as it gets so I wanted to make sure the level matching was just right so it would not appear to hot.

Hey Jack,

One of the best things about building a kit is doing it your way.

If you like the way a speaker sounds but you want the highs to be a little more prominent you can simply change the resistor values slightly to elevate the response to your liking.

See the measurements of the Criterions on our web site. Those measurements were made on the actual pair of speakers you were listening to. The highs are smooth and extended, but not rolled off.

Jerry made another really good point in his review not to be over looked. Synergy is a key word. Some speakers match well with certain electronics and room combo's while other good speakers may not.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[jackman]

Hey Jack,

One of the best things about building a kit is doing it your way.

If you like the way a speaker sounds but you want the highs to be a little more prominent you can simply change the resistor values slightly to elevate the response to your liking.

See the measurements of the Criterions on our web site. Those measurements were made on the actual pair of speakers you were listening to. The highs are smooth and extended, but not rolled off.

Jerry made another really good point in his review not to be over looked. Synergy is a key word. Some speakers match well with certain electronics and room combo's while other good speakers may not.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Danny,
I appreciate the feedback.  The speakers sounded very good, I hope my comments did not come off as negative.  These are world class speakers in every way.  I guess I'm used to a certain sound and it's difficult to listen to speakers for a couple of days (hours) and get a great feel for them.  Having said that, it is obvious your intention was introduce a no-holds-barred statement with these speakers.  IMO, your efforts have been successful.  Thanks for giving me the opportunity to listen to them.

Jack

[jackman]

Jack, I also forgot to ask, but my 20 year old son wanted to know if your marriage was on solid ground. If not he wanted to know if Michelle would be available anytime soon?  

I'm thankful that she didn't wear the leather mini-skirt she had on later when we went to dinner.  His head would have exploded.  Thanks for the comments, I told Michelle and she is very flattered.

J

[lonewolfny42]

Excellent review Jerry! Question,were these speakers mounted on stands? And at what height stand and type of stand?Also,two thumbs up for Danny putting his speakers out for this review-more companys should follow his lead.A big plus,and hopefully good for everyone!!

[jonwb]

PS: I forgot to mention that since I get to hold on to these for a few days, if anyone in my neck of the woods, Brookfield, Wisconsin, would like to hear the Criterions with eiither the Odyssey mono's or the VT200, you are welcome to come over, and bring along your own speakers if you can. Or, I could maybe bring the Criterions over to you. Just let me know.

Hey Jerry, do you still have custody of those Criterion's?  I'd love to give them a listen!  I'm a fellow Brookfield'er (Just SE of Calhoun & Capitol).  Not to be rude, but it'd probably be best for me to hear 'em on your gear.  I don't think my current line-up would do them much justice.  All I'd have to offer at the moment is one very vintage Hafler DH-500 (beast of an amp), and a nearly as vintage pair of Canton Karat 200 speakers that I still just love the sound of.  

The Alpha's are under re-construction, but that's another story (Danny, no laughing).  Must finish kitchen re-modeling...  

Let me know when you have to send the Criterion's on their way and what time you might have open.  E-mail me if you wish (jonwb@yahoo.com).

Thanks

[jonwb]

All I'd have to offer at the moment is one very vintage Hafler DH-500 (beast of an amp), and a nearly as vintage pair of Canton Karat 200 speakers that I still just love the sound of.  

My 10 year old son is using Canton Karat 20's as monitors in his bedroom with a vintage Onkyo MK II 4500 receiver.  His Karats sound very good for a bedroom system.

Yeah, I bought these things back in '88.  I recently came across the receipt.  They were used when I purchased them.  They were actually on consignment at a local audio store (Sound Investments, for those in the Milwaukee area).  I was looking for $300ish speakers and the guy was trying to get me to consider some new speakers they were selling.  The Karat 200's just plain sounded better and the rest is history.  They've provided me w/ plenty of mileage and deserve a more secondary role in my audio line-up (thus the Alpha's)...

I guess I'm just not as afraid of commitment as Jerry     Or maybe I'm just too poor!  

In spite of the fact that my Karat 200's have two domes a piece, I've always loved ribbon tweeters, they sound so effortless.  Remeber the old Infinity's?  I suspect the Criterions will sound beautiful.

[Rob Babcock]

Damn, the Criterion sounds pretty interesting.  I'd love to get the chance to check 'em out myself.  Hopefully '03 will bring a few upgrades, maybe including a pair of those beauties.

[audiojerry]

lonewolfny42, I am using 4 pillar sand filled 24" stands from Sudio Tech. Rock solid and acoustically inert.

Ferdi, I've been listening to the Criterions with the Odyssey Mono's the past couple of days. They sound terrific with the Odyssey's, imo.

Another point about the Criterions. They are not real sensitive, and I think they need lots of juice to sound their best. They are tiny speakers, but I think they do require a bit of high quality power.  

Odyssey review is forthcoming.