More elusive than a G-Spot are those "non-Hi Fi" products that surprise the listener with their degree of Hi Hi-ness.
So, I read the reviews by REG and Soundstage and decided that for 800 bucks a pair, it was time to stick my toes into the waters of the speakers of red surrounds and guaranteed loudness and see what the Hell - is this a savant speaker priced as a lease breaker, or a genuine Hi Fi product.
Hooked 'em up. No break-in, screw it, how do they sound?
Alot like my La Scala's, so far. Then, less.
I'm also on a Bruce Cockburn quest at the moment, so only Bruce music, so far.
From "Nothing But a Burning Light"...
Soul of a Man has better bass than the Klipsch...and it is not bloated. Very lean, but deeper, with those twisty sensations you get from bass notes very well rendered.
I expected more bloat, so...so, far, so good.
Back-up/harmony voices draw attention to themselves. More so than with the Klipsch.
The bass has notes - you can sit and imagine some guy (or sexy girl, or whatever you care to imagine) playing and actual instrument.
The treble is not as open as the Klipsch (modded crossovers) less air around the performance....but all I've done is put them 3 1/2 inches in front of the front wall with no toe in.
Moving around the room, I can hear some directionality from the horn mid and tweeter.
Rvance, if you're there, ya wanna go see Bruce Cockburn in Arcata Friday? If you can get us cocktail reception tickets, I'm buying for both of us.
Back to the speakers...nice dynamics, but the woofers don't seem all there yet.
Violins sound sweet.
Excellent layer of depth and information.
Mandolin not that airy.
Images from speaker to speaker with good fill, images more forward, the Klipsch are more laid back imagers - and I admit this is my custom, but this isn't so bad...more like moving up a few rows.
Going out on a limb - the tweeters seem to have metal dome tweeters (or sound like it.) They aren't.
Bass decay is quick - excellent. No overhang.
I was going to opine a guitar sounded more like a dobro, but it's a dobro. Is that a compliment or a criticism?
I flew today, with a longish drive, so I do have some ear fatigue to start the night.
Vocals - my favorite feature is here - absolutely no chestiness.
Woofer to mid integration seems to have some emphasis.
Excellent on vocals - floating within the soundstage. Clearly well done with Bruce's voice.
Now further into the disc, violins improving.
Shockingly, these babies are known for their gargantuan oomph, but the Klipsh did this better. These speakers would make me think the recording was more compressed, but I now better. ("Dream Like Mine" makes me pine for the Klipsch.)
However, some vocals have that indeterminant sound of not knowing where to sound like they are coming from, so I know I will get better results when I move them around.
Guitar and the clanky sticks on "Kit Carson" kill, as does the very harmonic bass being played. Drum rolls and then the kick drum kicker are OK, but the kick drum sounds rounded off.
For this song, the woofers are interferring wth the speed and melody of the song.
Night one, poorly positioned...they are giving me ear fatigue. Instremuents are not quite each uniquely delineated and there's a bass hump at about 80 Hz that does go one note for a small bit and don't like it.
I've been though this with woofers before, they need to stretch - they're still shy.
Brush on drum sounds like brush on drum.
Lots of room for improvement.
First 40 minutes - "OK, but I've got issues to deal with."
Using them with a Crown XLS 802 amp, Superhphon Revelation II preamp, Marantz DV7001 so far.
OK, you were there, from birth and out of position. I'll evolve the reports as I go the next few weeks/months/years.
More elusive than a G-Spot are those "non-Hi Fi" products that surprise the listener with their degree of Hi Hi-ness.
So, I read the reviews by REG and Soundstage and decided that for 800 bucks a pair, it was time to stick my toes into the waters of the speakers of red surrounds and guaranteed loudness and see what the Hell - is this a savant speaker priced as a lease breaker, or a genuine Hi Fi product.
Hooked 'em up. No break-in, screw it, how do they sound?
Alot like my La Scala's, so far. Then, less.
I'm also on a Bruce Cockburn quest at the moment, so only Bruce music, so far.
From "Nothing But a Burning Light"...
Soul of a Man has better bass than the Klipsch...and it is not bloated. Very lean, but deeper, with those twisty sensations you get from bass notes very well rendered.
I expected more bloat, so...so, far, so good.
Back-up/harmony voices draw attention to themselves. More so than with the Klipsch.
The bass has notes - you can sit and imagine some guy (or sexy girl, or whatever you care to imagine) playing and actual instrument.
The treble is not as open as the Klipsch (modded crossovers) less air around the performance....but all I've done is put them 3 1/2 inches in front of the front wall with no toe in.
Moving around the room, I can hear some directionality from the horn mid and tweeter.
Rvance, if you're there, ya wanna go see Bruce Cockburn in Arcata Friday? If you can get us cocktail reception tickets, I'm buying for both of us.
Back to the speakers...nice dynamics, but the woofers don't seem all there yet.
Violins sound sweet.
Excellent layer of depth and information.
Mandolin not that airy.
Images from speaker to speaker with good fill, images more forward, the Klipsch are more laid back imagers - and I admit this is my custom, but this isn't so bad...more like moving up a few rows.
Going out on a limb - the tweeters seem to have metal dome tweeters (or sound like it.) They aren't.
Bass decay is quick - excellent. No overhang.
I was going to opine a guitar sounded more like a dobro, but it's a dobro. Is that a compliment or a criticism?
I flew today, with a longish drive, so I do have some ear fatigue to start the night.
Vocals - my favorite feature is here - absolutely no chestiness.
Woofer to mid integration seems to have some emphasis.
Excellent on vocals - floating within the soundstage. Clearly well done with Bruce's voice.
Now further into the disc, violins improving.
Shockingly, these babies are known for their gargantuan oomph, but the Klipsh did this better. These speakers would make me think the recording was more compressed, but I now better. ("Dream Like Mine" makes me pine for the Klipsch.)
However, some vocals have that indeterminant sound of not knowing where to sound like they are coming from, so I know I will get better results when I move them around.
Guitar and the clanky sticks on "Kit Carson" kill, as does the very harmonic bass being played. Drum rolls and then the kick drum kicker are OK, but the kick drum sounds rounded off.
For this song, the woofers are interferring wth the speed and melody of the song.
Night one, poorly positioned...they are giving me ear fatigue. Instremuents are not quite each uniquely delineated and there's a bass hump at about 80 Hz that does go one note for a small bit and don't like it.
I've been though this with woofers before, they need to stretch - they're still shy.
Brush on drum sounds like brush on drum.
Lots of room for improvement.
First 40 minutes - "OK, but I've got issues to deal with."
Using them with a Crown XLS 802 amp, Superhphon Revelation II preamp, Marantz DV7001 so far.
OK, you were there, from birth and out of position. I'll evolve the reports as I go the next few weeks/months/years.