he has made over 10 videos of westlake speakers a few are hand made and he speaks i think they are real. look for it
Best contemporary speaker under $100k for Lamm ML2.x type amplifiers?
- Thread starter tima
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I really like Westlake Speakers. I had a pair for years. But: To make them sound good, you need a powerful amplifier that can deliver a signal with very good sound quality even well below 2 ohms.Sounds amazing with set amps exsample, but i don't know with 18 watt enough for party
To compensate for this deficit, Westlakes are often operated either in bi-amping mode (1x for bass, 1x together for midrange and treble) or even in quad-amping mode. There are, of course, 2-way crossovers and 4-way Westlake crossovers for this.
Even without these options, i.e. only operated with one amp, the Westlakes are consistently extremely expensive. The BBSM-15 VNF shown is probably around € 90,000. The studio version (landscape format) is not much below that. (I had received offers last year or the year before and despite a high discount as an old Westlake user, the prices were breathtakingly high. I don't remember the exact figures, but around 90k is right).
I find it - with all understanding for the enthusiasm - not very reasonable to simply link such pictures or videos when you haven't tried anything with these speakers yourself yet. The effort to make them work first class is gigantic. On the web you can find some systems with Westlake speakers and 4 pairs of amplifiers ....
18 watts is by no means enough, unless you have a pair of separate amps for the bass. With my speakers (a comparable model, but 2 sizes smaller, officially 95 db efficiency), for example, I did not get a satisfactory sound with the 80 watts of an Air Tight ATM-2. But it's not just about a lot of watts, but about power delivery. In the bass, the impedance minimum is around 1.6 ohms. With PS Audio BHK 300, for example, the sound was somewhat audible, but on these speakers nowhere near good enough for their purchase price. An amplifier that can do that and also sounds superb is not to be found in every hi-fi shop ...
Westlake itself, but also many Westlake users, operate these speakers with Boulder amps.
By the way, here is a thread on Westlake:
what do we think of Westlake Audio speakers? (specifically the SM1) | What's Best Audio and Video Forum. The Best High End Audio Forum on the planet! (whatsbestforum.com)
But now something positive:
These loudspeakers are available second-hand (at least in relation to the purchase price) quite cheaply. They don't go down too low in the bass, but they have a very good (full) midrange (voices are great) and a very full-bodied presentation. In any case, they are very good for listening to music for a long time, even loud. 8 hours of listening are no problem.
In my experience, however, they are not speakers to "see" into every corner of a studio and perceive every little subtlety. They resolve well, but there are certainly some speakers that do even better. But if you don't want to be stressed and want to have fun, these are great speakers - if you have enough money available for amps ... you will certainly have to try a little.
you are probably right, in later videos you can see four GU set amps around 80 watts. from the technical side it was tempting high efficiency as a recommendation. thank you for your contributionI really like Westlake Speakers. I had a pair for years. But: To make them sound good, you need a powerful amplifier that can deliver a signal with very good sound quality even well below 2 ohms.
To compensate for this deficit, Westlakes are often operated either in bi-amping mode (1x for bass, 1x together for midrange and treble) or even in quad-amping mode. There are, of course, 2-way crossovers and 4-way Westlake crossovers for this.
Even without these options, i.e. only operated with one amp, the Westlakes are consistently extremely expensive. The BBSM-15 VNF shown is probably around € 90,000. The studio version (landscape format) is not much below that. (I had received offers last year or the year before and despite a high discount as an old Westlake user, the prices were breathtakingly high. I don't remember the exact figures, but around 90k is right).
I find it - with all understanding for the enthusiasm - not very reasonable to simply link such pictures or videos when you haven't tried anything with these speakers yourself yet. The effort to make them work first class is gigantic. On the web you can find some systems with Westlake speakers and 4 pairs of amplifiers ....
18 watts is by no means enough, unless you have a pair of separate amps for the bass. With my speakers (a comparable model, but 2 sizes smaller, officially 95 db efficiency), for example, I did not get a satisfactory sound with the 80 watts of an Air Tight ATM-2. But it's not just about a lot of watts, but about power delivery. In the bass, the impedance minimum is around 1.6 ohms. With PS Audio BHK 300, for example, the sound was somewhat audible, but on these speakers nowhere near good enough for their purchase price. An amplifier that can do that and also sounds superb is not to be found in every hi-fi shop ...
Westlake itself, but also many Westlake users, operate these speakers with Boulder amps.
By the way, here is a thread on Westlake:
what do we think of Westlake Audio speakers? (specifically the SM1) | What's Best Audio and Video Forum. The Best High End Audio Forum on the planet! (whatsbestforum.com)
But now something positive:
These loudspeakers are available second-hand (at least in relation to the purchase price) quite cheaply. They don't go down too low in the bass, but they have a very good (full) midrange (voices are great) and a very full-bodied presentation. In any case, they are very good for listening to music for a long time, even loud. 8 hours of listening are no problem.
In my experience, however, they are not speakers to "see" into every corner of a studio and perceive every little subtlety. They resolve well, but there are certainly some speakers that do even better. But if you don't want to be stressed and want to have fun, these are great speakers - if you have enough money available for amps ... you will certainly have to try a little.
I mentioned it because I suspect Jeffrey's goals for sound reproduction align with your own. And time and time again, I've talked to folks from the SET and horn contingent who have come away bowled over by what they heard at his studio.
Jeffrey is known for his bespoke SET amplifiers. Very unique, beautiful, handcrafted works of art, imho.
Best wishes,
Don
Absolutely. It doesn't hurt one bit that both his amplifiers and speakers are impeccable.
The best $50-60k speaker on the planet for your amplifiers, IMO, is Destination Audio Nikas from Poland. Of all the big hardware at Munich 2024, the Nikas were my favorite room, period! Sam Wisnewski, Destinations owner, is as dedicated to excellence and as good a man as you will find. This review should give you some insights into this remarkable product.
hifiknights.com
Destination Audio NiKA – HiFi Knights
Destination Audio NiKA is a low power SET lovers' dream. Read about it @HiFiKnights.com by Marek Dyba
hifiknights.com
This is how it can happen: A friend had raved to me about Destination Audio and I was delighted when I discovered them at Hifi Deluxe in Munich. However, the joy quickly gave way to disillusionment.
In my opinion, the sound was unfortunately not right at all. It may have been set up too quickly. The room was probably also a little too small. In any case, some of the mid/high frequencies stung my ears, although the overall sound was not even outstandingly transparent. I couldn't do anything with the sound at all. A few rooms away, FM Acoustic, Ubiq/Wilson and especially JMF sounded much better.
However, the concept is interesting. You should hear it in a well-made installation. But the installation at the Hifi Deluxe was certainly not one of them. At least not to my ears, not to my taste.
The best $50-60k speaker on the planet for your amplifiers, IMO, is Destination Audio Nikas from Poland. Of all the big hardware at Munich 2024, the Nikas were my favorite room, period! Sam Wisnewski, Destinations owner, is as dedicated to excellence and as good a man as you will find. This review should give you some insights into this remarkable product.
Destination Audio NiKA – HiFi Knights
Destination Audio NiKA is a low power SET lovers' dream. Read about it @HiFiKnights.com by Marek Dyba
View attachment 143589
These look nicely finished. Thanks for your suggestion. Happily satisfied with my JBL M9500s, I'm out of the hunt for now.
The best $50-60k speaker on the planet for your amplifiers, IMO, is Destination Audio Nikas from Poland. Of all the big hardware at Munich 2024, the Nikas were my favorite room, period! Sam Wisnewski, Destinations owner, is as dedicated to excellence and as good a man as you will find. This review should give you some insights into this remarkable product.
Destination Audio NiKA – HiFi Knights
Destination Audio NiKA is a low power SET lovers' dream. Read about it @HiFiKnights.com by Marek Dyba
View attachment 143589
Need some good videos of these playing good music
I think a soundkaos liberation is good match for lamm
Raal ribbon tweeter 2 x enviee widebander 8" and 18"inch beyma bass 98db/1watt
Raal ribbon tweeter 2 x enviee widebander 8" and 18"inch beyma bass 98db/1watt
The field-coil woofer/dipole AMT tweeter combo of the Wolf von Langa SON (8 Ohm, 95dB) worked fine with the Lamm ML2.2.
The Son is a remarkable speaker, regardless of the cost. $30k in special edition "Ultima" version and some $10k less for the standard model. I own a pair and use them to demo our Trafomatic Rhapsody quad 300b integrated amplifier.
Verdier, your observations are undoubtedly sincere and well articulated. Which day were you there?
I worked in the Von Schweikert at the big show daily and went to HiFi Deluxe to visit Sam and Lukas Fikus in the Destination room on Saturday at around 6:00 pm. We sat for two hours playing some great tracks Sam had on his server. Magical!
So, WBF members, how do two listeners with experience in high-end audio and live music have such wildly varied opinions? Having done dozens of audio shows professionally, my best guess is that the system often sounds terrible the first day or two and settles on the third. It was not the room size since it was sufficient for the Nikas.
Bonzo, I'll contact Sam or Darrin, Destinations US importer, and see if I can obtain a well-executed recording. Darrin has all the elements, including the DA-GM 70 amplifier and Lampizator Posidean DAC, the same bits driving the Nikas in Munich.
Such are the mysteries and differing views of the high-end
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