Hi Troels.
As you know, i have built a pair of your CNO4 speakers. I finished a few
weeks ago and have been dialling in the treble level and the bass. I
wanted to get them setup properly before commenting.
I cannot stress enough to any builders out there that adjusting the
treble can make such a difference and if you haven’t tried it then you
must! If you don’t try then you will never know. This is one of the
great things about building your own speakers, you can get it just right
for your room and ears.
I have settled on a little extra resistance than what was supplied in
the kit (probably due to having hard floors) 5 ohm for R1 at the moment.
This may change as the speaker clocks up the hours and runs in. Time
will tell.
The Hypex plate amp is using the high level input and is currently set
to +10db. What a great feature! The ability to adjust the bass is very
useful. It is great to have the option to just knock the level down a db
or two instead of lugging the speakers in/out from the wall! This fact i
am very grateful for, because boy they are heavy! I do not know how you
lift all these big speakers around! I need a new back after just
building these.
As for the sound… Wow. Incredibly dynamic, ultra Low distortion,
extremely transparent, smooth mids, natural uncoloured sound, deep fast
and punchy bass! The list goes on. And man can they play loud and hold
it together. They seem to be comfortable playing any kind of music. I
have found myself digging into music that I haven’t listened to for
years and it sounds good. I get the impression that these speakers will
improve with any upgrade in electronics that i wish to throw at them.
The construction was easier than expected and i absolutely love the
shape and final finished design. I am very happy with this construction.
Everything went to plan. The veneer is maple, and i used a water based
polyurethane to prevent darkening (requested by wife).
Thank you greatly for allowing people such as myself to appreciate this
level of hifi at a fraction of the cost. You are a very talented
gentleman!
I have been listening to your speakers since i was 18 and probably still
will be when I’m 70! (If i make it that far)
05-11-2021
Hi Troels, thanks for the reply. I think I’ll
give the fully passive version a miss. I am really satisfied with the
performance of the CNO4 using the high level to the hypex amp. I have
decided that I will upgrade to a Naim uniti Nova and stop worrying which
setup might sound better. The setup as it is goes louder than I ever
need anyway. Not sure if you have heard any, but Naim gear seems to have
a very nice synergy with your speakers. These all in one units by Naim
are really something, and so simple. Although I understand it’s not what
most want.
In the last few days I have adjusted our lounge room layout and moved
the kitchen island bench (the things we do for our hifi) which has
allowed a new location for the system. The speakers are now over 3
meters from sidewalls and this has made an amazing difference. Turns out
I had mot really heard their capability yet! It is amazing how breathing
room can make such a difference to the sound of these speakers. It is
really like a source upgrade. I have attached a few pictures.
I think my next project might just be the Faital 10” to pair with my
Atom once i get the new amp.
Enjoy your CNO4!
Thanks again.
Mark.
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