Received my Carnegie CSB1's today, a lot of people wanted to know what I thought...

[ImcLoud]

Well Jgarcia schooled me on a sale for Carnegie bookshelf speakers and of course I love listening to speakers and love good deals so I jumper on them and bought a set... They were $399 plus shipping, I ordered them directly over the phone I called danny at 940-592-3400, who I had a good conversation with about audio and components {smart and nice guy to talk to}, they arrived 5 days later, double boxed and in perfect condition with all parts in tact...

Now to the good stuff,
first aesthetics- The finish and fit look flawless, the piano is a deep black laquer that you can see your self in, they come with some nice black velour covers with the company logo embroidered into them, the grills are held on by magnets which I love, the terminals are the flat plugs, and they come with some connectors, the cabinet faces are sloped to the rear and is a nice touch of different, overall I can not say a bad thing about the looks of these speakers, they look great on my glass wharfedale stands, and they are about the perfect size for what I wanted them for... Not as big as my evo2-10s but not as small as my 200se's... I did have to remove the dirvers and move around some of the fill, I just roved what was in there and replaced it with polyfill {the stuff from PE, I have plenty off, lined the cabinet, I kind of wish I tested them first to see if there was a difference, but I didn't}...

So I plug these into one of my amp setups, I chose my parasound 2100 preamp with dual Outlaw 2200 200w mono blocks... I unplugged my subs and ran these full range. This is how I always test out the new comers... The room that setup is in is long and narrow 12ft x 26ft, listening position is about 16ft from the speakers, no acoustic treatments, really the only thing in this room is a tv, the speaker setup and a couch...

I started with a low volume and some easy stuff, Joe Satriani blue dream, lol... After a few placement adjustments I got them just about as good as that room will get, and the first thing I noticed about them is placement isn't that bad, a couple feet off the rear wall, one almost in a corner and pointed almost straight forward towards the listener worked well...

The sound stage was surprising considering the small drivers, I started off impressed, they passed the guitar test with flying colors, onto piano jump rite to Mozart Rondo for piano no 1 in d major, the upper registers were clean and uncolored, I would have to say you are not going to get much better for under $2000...

After about 25 minutes of listening I moved to "everyday" music, my music test playlist, I went rite though all 46 minutes of it, before my wife asked if I was ever coming up stairs.. The speakers are void of anything unmusical, every sound they made did the job, they are warm, throw a really good sound stage, I imagine with the matching center these would make a great HT set and handle a medium room with no trouble... They seem to like power and that wasn't a problem since I had 400w on tap, but in a few days I will try them with the avr and see how they behave...

The low end is on line with what I expect from a bookshelf, I will compare the low end to the cbm170s giving the csb1's the win not because they go lower {I dont think they do} but because what they do, do the do better... but against the sierra 1's the csbs can not compare to the bass the sierras make... Although that is the only place I can say I prefer the sierras, the mids and highs sound better with the csb'1... It a close race, but I think for the msrp I would go with the sierras, BUT for the $399 there is no thought required the csb'1 are well worth the price, the sierras are not worth twice the csb's sale price, not even close..

in closing I will spend some more time with them, and definitely going to plug the subs back in tomorrow and see how that goes, Im sure it will be great since the mids and highs are excellent..

So if anyone is in the market for a $400 bookshelf in piano black you can not go wrong, I will be ordering a center they are on sale for $250 each, and they have the tower versions on sale for $1000 a pair... I can honestly say this may be one of the best deals I have gotten in a while, I would expect to pay around $750 for these, maybe even $850-900 if I consider that they come with some cool covers, magnetic grilles, and the flat rear plugs...

I like em' and I will soon know how well they sound with a pair of svs sb12 nsd's since my office manager is waiting on her setup rite now...

 

[JonnyFive23517]

These were designed by Danny Ritchie of GR Research, I believe. I have the N3S monitors from him with the BG Neo tweeter (similar/identical to the one in the CSB 1's). The N3S monitors are outstanding, so I'd expect the CSB-1 to be a great speaker as well. I believe the CSB-1 digs even deeper than my sealed N3S's, due to the CSB-1's ported design.

 

[ImcLoud]

that is who I ordered them from...

 

[Swerd]

Thanks for the impressions of the CSB-1. They seem like a good speaker at a great price.

Got any pictures?

 

[j_garcia]

I spent a few days dialing mine in and found they like VERY different placement from my A/V speakers. The A/V-2s liked to be further apart with some toe-in to get their width. These like to be basically pointed straight out and closer together and yet still throw a wider spatial image than the A/V-2s. Despite a big difference in sensitivity, they still easily fill my room. I previously posted plenty of pics. I'll be ordering the center shortly.

The tweeter is the exact same BG tweeter as the N-series from Danny, but the midbass is of different manufacture (copy of his M130). X-over is his design and he says they used quality components, so it that should be fine as well. For what they're selling for, nothing at that price point can touch them. I said this before, but I'll say it again: I was going to build a full set of N-series from Danny myself, but these are fully built at the same price as his kits without cabinets.

These are tuned to 55Hz, which seems optimal for the midbass since that's what all Danny's vented designs are tuned to. They have decent bass, but like having a sub much better. My A/V-2s have more bass than them even with the same tuning, since they have dual midbass drivers.

I still don't have grilles. I will have to talk to Danny about that

 

[ImcLoud]

I noticed the same thing, my jades like to be pointed in a little and spread out wide, my sierras in that room need to be at the outside corner pointed in a tiny bit, these csb1's work out perfect for this room, because I would rather have them close together pointed straight down the room since it is so long and narrow, as you probably know a long narrow room is hard to get speakers rite, since most need to be pointed in and by the time you get that rite they need to be further apart than the room dimensions allow... I am listening to them now and I don't know why but the bass seems better than yesterday, I think my tone button was in and the bass was turned down while the treble was dead center...

I can't get over how nice of a sound stage they project, very full and it seems like they can fill a large room... I obviously agree with you J the sound is way past the cost, I feel the same way about the Ascend SE stuff, but their fit and finish leaves much to be desired, where these are VERY nice and well thought out... Im surprised about the tilted cabinet not making the speakers need to be pointed down or mounted low, that was a fear of mine, they project straight and far.. I am still listening with no subs, I can easliy flip the switches on the amps and turn them on but I feel like I got cheated yesterday with the tone button, so I will enjoy them like this for now...

If anyone is on the fence about buying these, jump now, Im not sure how long this sale lasts, but I want another set...

 

[afterlife2]

Man I only wish I had the dough. They are stunning and I bet they would make those Fiona CD's sound like she was singing in front me type speakers(Would consider them that type guys?) Still waiting on your pics cloud.

 

[ImcLoud]

Oh man, I just got back up stairs, Ill go back down and take pics, geezzzz.. they look just like j's....

 

[j_garcia]

Man I only wish I had the dough. They are stunning and I bet they would make those Fiona CD's sound like she was singing in front me type speakers(Would consider them that type guys?) Still waiting on your pics cloud.

One of the reasons I've always loved Danny's speakers, because they really shine with vocals, and these are no different. My A/V-1s and 2s are pretty identical midrange wise, but the BG tweeter takes the speaker as a whole to a different level. They are an evolution from his old Paradox-1 which I heard when it first came out, using a Focal inverted dome tweeter. Those were amazing but the tweeter was discontinued and eventually these are what he found to replace it...an improvement to boot.

 

[ImcLoud]

OK here are your pics afterlife

Here they are, with the covers on, these are going to be handy, I actually just moved them around, 20 minutes ago they were sitting where the Jades are about a foot further apart with the jades pulled out of there, but I put it all back so nothing gets knocked over, don't mind the mess, this is our guest suites parlor and we just had it painted, they didn't put the moldings back up yet because my wife picked new ones that need to be cut and painted yet... That floor is tile not wood, so the down firing subs leave a little to be desired, I think I am going to swap them out with a pair of sb12 nsd's after I listen to my office managers set...

The electronics are outlaw 2200's and a parasound 2100 {for $1350 with the amp stand them 3 components make rock solid music} , the 2 carver mono blocks aren't hooked in, and off to the left is the Sherbourn stereo preamp pre1... This room is where I do my testing, I don't listen here often, we use it most in the summer since if you go 2 feet to the left of that photo there is a 10x15 hallway that goes out to double doors that goes out to the in ground pool/jucuzzi.. This system is only 2.2 for movies and music, I have an avr {dual hdmi output yammy, that feeds both this parlor and one of the guest bedrooms}, no surround sound down here... I need to rework a few things down here, still trying to find the perfect combo, I like the jades, but they are one of the only speakers I bought with out really demoing, but I like my evo'2s upstairs much better....

grilles and covers off, very sexy speakers...

heres a shot with the cbm170se's to compare size...

To answer your question about fiona, these speakers were made for her!!! She sounds great on them, I played criminal and it made my eyes snap shut when the intro surprised me, lol... and her voice was so sultry and smooth.... but thats her much more than the speakers they just do a great job of reproducing it...

 

[afterlife2]

Don't you know I love pics by now? Man you guys are lucky I hope you guys enjoy them. Are they close to the best you've both heard? Oh Fiona Really? I may pop over to CT to check them out since you're closer to me!

 

[ImcLoud]

Not the best bookshelf I ever heard, but the best that I would buy.. Don't forget listening to speakers is a hobby of mine, the Sonus Guarneri evos and the Electra 1000Be2's are some of the most powerful bookshelfs I have ever heard... Also the Sonus momentos were soooo impressive, granted they are all way overpriced {IMO of course} but I will admit the evos were fan f#kin tastic, they had a HUGE amp pushing them and I swear you could have put them on stage at the Garden and fill that entire place with sound, but they were also stupid expensive, like go buy a ford taurus {one with moonroof and leather seats} or them bookshelfs with no stands!!!!

So not the best ever, but the best for the money for sure, I prefer them over the sierra 1's... and them used to be my pick for under $1000 budget, I would love to compare these to the philharmonitors, I haven't heard as of yet...

 

[afterlife2]

I bet O'conners Silent Night sounds nice of them. Well if it weren't for hard times I would get them. Here is the info. If anyone wants to get them: Another crazy too good to be true sale.

 

[ImcLoud]

I bet O'conners Silent Night sounds nice of them. Well if it weren't for hard times I would get them. Here is the info. If anyone wants to get them: Another crazy too good to be true sale.

Did you get a chance to try that song out? I have already played it through them and it was nice for sure... I am starting to really fall in love with bookshelfs, since we have subs there is no reason for all that cabinet, you can buy more speaker for much less money, they can be swapped and moved around with ease, and the near nill cabinet resonance is much better for sq.. Plus when you want to swap them, you can ship them easily or store them in less space... I think the days of towers for me are coming to a close, I don't see a benefit when crossing them at 60, 70, 80+hz anyway.... Especially when they are capable of output like these, if you have a larger room just buy a bookshelf that has higher power handling...

 

[afterlife2]

Yep played it last weekend you were right just beautiful, thanks. Yeah I see no floor standing anymore for myself after the Pioneers 52's, which I really liked. I like the space although the 52's really weren't that big. I really like my NXG 4.1 Pros. Have I said that lately? They will be my version of your CSB1's for awhile and that's ok with me. Play the heck out em' and don't put them in storage.

 

[Jimz711]

Has anyone listened to the tower version of these? At $1,000 a pair seems like a great deal.

 

[ImcLoud]

I spoke with a gentleman from washington state that is running a pair of towers, the center and a pair of csb1's as surrounds, he went from an entire PSB alpha set up with t1 towers and he said it is night and day, the entire range improved from top to bottom. The t1s arent bad speakers so to be leaps and bounds better is a good way to see the towers sound good...

 

[afterlife2]

Oh oh I see Imcloud getting those towers, see what you did JimZ.

 

[j_garcia]

Danny tried to upsell me on the towers also , and I even considered it, but the plan was to put these up at the other house. Now they are staying here...so perhaps the CSB1s will become surrounds

 

[afterlife2]

so perhaps the CSB1s will become surrounds

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo