Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

In the years since its introduction, some, while acknowledging its matchless specs in terms of low noise and distortion combined with remarkable power output given its small and light form factor, have criticized the Benchmark AHB2's sonics by saying it is lacking in macro dynamic swings. I hear this, but I hear it differently and hear it as a plus for the Benchmark. The Benchmarks lack the overblown-sounding midbass of some other amps which can provide a sense of greater dynamic power. It also lacks the ultimate degree of "splash" on large transients which some interpret as a dynamic limitation. I think this "splash" is actually caused by a blast of slightly distorted sound in the higher frequencies. The Benchmark is ever precise, controlled, and clean, clean, clean, which amounts to "beautiful" sound in my book. Likewise, the Benchmark midbass is fully ample and certainly not lean in any way, just more controlled and defined/less distorted. This "uncovers" the Benchmark's lower bass, revealing more detail, definition, and power in the bottom two octaves.
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One very useful tweak of the Benchmark AHB2 Amp sound, which I think can ameliorate any objections to its sonic presentation is the use of AV Room Service Electronic Vibration Protectors ('EVPs) in place of the amp's stock feet. Why this simple change has a more profound effect on the Benchmark's sonics in my system than on other electronics, I do not know, but there it is. I suggest trying this if you have any reservations about the sound of the Benchmark amp (in my case, a pair of them, run in bridged mono mode).

Remove the two stock rear feet using a #2 Phillips or Pozidriv screwdriver. Replace them with 2-inch square HD (High Density) EVPs. Place them in the rear corners just inboard of the black casing--at the rear corners of and on the silvery bottom plate, in other words. Then center a third 2-inch square HD EVP along the front edge of the silvery bottom plate, just inboard of the front panel. There is no need to remove the two front stock feet of the amp.

That's it. Now see what you think of the sound. Many aspects of the sonic presentation seem yet better in my system, including dynamic headroom and dynamic swings. This is despite the fact that I was already using separate Bright Star Audio Little Rock isolating platforms beneath each amp.

The amps actually seem to be yet more unlimited in their power reserves with this tweak. Using the amps without this tweak with the Watkins Generation 4 speakers (as opposed to the Graham LS8/1s) I was occasionally aware of a bit of high-frequency transient crunch at high SPLs. When I heard this, I would just turn down the volume a notch and this problem would vanish. At first I thought this was just due to dynamic limitations of these rather-small Watkins speakers. But with this tweak, this problem vanished and the speakers play as loud as I want on any material without any apparent "crunch." The apparent frequency response with the Watkins speakers further smooths out when supported by EVPs, the stage expands in all directions, images are yet more focused, the bass further extends and warms a bit.

Unfortunately, this tweak is not as inexpensive as it used to be. When I purchased my EVPs, they were only $40 each. Now they are $119 each. Still, for owners of one or two of these amps, I regard using the EVPs as capable of producing a significant sonic improvement.

Following up on my above finding, I experimented with the number and placement of EVPs under my other audio electronics. It turns out that in my current Watkins-based system (as opposed to my original findings in my prior thread dealing with EVPs) the tripod arrangement of these very helpful devices works sonically best under most of my other electronics as well. Before, I usually was placing four of them in a rectangle under the component, usually under the chassis corners, but so as to avoid any non-removable stock feet of the component, placing the EVPs directly against the chassis.

The placement directly against the bottom of the chassis still seems sonically best, but my sonically preferred arrangement is now two at the back edge of the component as near the back corners as I can get them and still avoid non-removable stock feet (I remove stock feet when easily possible). The back of components is usually the heavier end, or at least it exerts more torque on the EVPs since all the wires connect there. I center the third EVP along the front edge of the component chassis.

This change necessitated using different versions of the EVPs than before in some cases, given the weight of each component, the reduced number of EVPs, and the rated load range for each EVP. See the EVP Selection Chart on this page. Where the load rating of the EVPs would allow more than one version, I am now tending the use the higher-load-rated version. These are easier to move into place under the component chassis and have less vulnerable "bellows" so that such movement does not tend to damage the bellows. I prefer the EVPs with rubber tops and bottoms to the felt versions. While the felt version is very easy to more around underneath components on rack shelves, this ease makes it more difficult to position each EVP exactly where I want it and allows the position of the component on the shelf to unintentionally shift with even slight lateral force. Things stay where I want them with the rubber EVPs.

The only electronic component now not supported by a triad of EVPs is my small and very light TrendNet ethernet switch. It is so light that even with the low density (LD) EVPs, the supported weight is only within the rated load range if a single EVP is used. Thus, for that component, I use only a single Low Density EVP carefully placed beneath the small chassis of the switch so that the bellows are equally compressed left to right and front to back.

Sonically, there is subtle further "cleaning up" of the sound--even less "edge" and perceived distortion--plus firming up and clarifying of bass lines, more resolute imaging, and further three-dimensionality added to images and the soundstaging so that the sense of envelopment in the acoustics captured by the recording or added through processing is enhanced.

The Watkins Generation 4 speakers continue to amaze me by the combination of positive attributes they bring to the table at such a modest price. Their transparency allows subtle tweaks like this to be quickly evaluated as "better," "worse," or "just different." Yet that transparency does not manifest itself as egregious high frequency excess or edge. The sound is hugely engaging without any such tweaks, but just gets better yet when the system is further dialed in through such tweaks.

One page of the Watkins website is quite frustrating for some and I think it turns some people off since they think the product can't possibly be any good if the website is so terrible they can't read it. It has come to that in our world, I'm afraid.

While most of the pages of the Watkins website are perfectly readible, the one with customer comments about the Generation 4 speakers, which I think is very important to potential buyers to read, seems difficult for many to view. I have not been able to read it on my iPhone or iPad. It is viewable and readable on my Mac computer, however, IF I operate in full-page mode. Below I have captured these comments in full and pasted them in.

I started to highlight particular comments--ones I find to particularly match my own experience with the Generation 4 speakers and my own insights as to their performance. But then I realized that I was highlighting most everything. The more I continue to use the Watkins, the more each of these comments seems "right on!" to me. Take them seriously, please! There is no hyperbole here!

TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR CUSTOMERS:​

"Best thing to come out of Tennessee since Jack Daniels. Great sound, and look good too."
"D.M.

"I've had about twelve pairs of speakers in the last sixteen months...I'll be keeping these for years to come."
Thomas P.

"Thank you so much for these wonderful speakers, sound and finish far exceeded my auditory and visual expectations!"
Tom B.

"These sound so clear and three dimensional. An added bonus, my wife likes them. I am pleased with their sound."
Bill K.

"This is my second pair of Gen Fours. Loved the first pair so much that I bought a second pair for
my office. Best speakers I have ever owned!"
Ron W.

"Great sound quality."
Frank W.

"Great speakers, I love them."
David C.

"Clear, excellent separation, excellent detail, good bass."
Ken B.

"Easy to drive, very dynamic, sounds real from me!"
Harbert R.

"Quite noticeable improvement over the Wharfdale and that’s with only ten hours’ time in break-in period."
Carlton P.

"An enjoyable buying experience from start to finish, also the speakers are great and fit my application perfect."
Terry M.

"Beautiful speakers, I've had WSC10,1A,&1B, you guys are genius. Thanks!"
Dennis G.

"They balance out the room, Thank you! "
Desmond K.

"The best speakers that I have ever listened to. There are not enough words to describe how good the speakers are."
Scott B.

"I love my Watkins speakers. The range is incredible. The true test of a speaker is the sound experience it creates in your living room. They have provided the only listening experience I've ever heard where I forget they were there."
Tony H.

"A joy to listen to for all my musical tastes, I'm proud to own them!"
Wm. P.

"I am very pleased with these speakers. This includes the sound and the very high quality black finish.
They are absolutely fantastic. Paired w/ Rel9."
Ronan G.
David G.

"My Generation Four speakers are everything and more than I thought could be delivered from a speaker. The den where I play them is 320 sq. ft. and they are able to deliver with awesome power. These speakers deliver "classic" stereo sound whether it is vinyl, CD, or audio files, better that any speaker I have ever heard."
Don D.

"In the early 1950s my parents bought me a little square phono box to play 45s. In the late 50s they bought me a Westinghouse portable stereo, which I loved. I kept the Westinghouse through high school, college, and early marriage. Around 1969, I was introduced to hi-fi by Bill Watkins Sr. That changed everything. On a limited budget, I purchased a Fisher compact stereo unit, with two-way Fisher speakers. I was in heaven. At night, I would lay on the floor, only about three feet from the speakers, volume low. The only light being from the glow of the receiver. I would listen to my favorite LPS and FM. It was quiet, soothing, joyful, intimate. Around 1980, I decided it was time to upgrade. I bought components from Yamaha, Dual and Advent. I really liked the Advents, and kept them for many years, however, I never quite got the feeling that I got from the Fisher. There was a large improvement from my portable Westinghouse to the Fisher. I guess I was looking for that jump and Improvement. Over the years I have tried many speakers looking for the wow factor. I have tried vintage large Advents, JBLs, Pioneer, RS, KLH, EPI, Epicure. And others. I have listened to a number of today's speakers ranging in price from $300 to $2,000. They were good, some very good, but I could not hear that jump in improvement. Then came the Watkins Generation Four speaker. A speaker Bill Watkins as I was told has been designing and working on for 20 to 30 years. I saw Mr. Watkins one day at his store and I asked if he had another speaker in his future. He answered "this is the best I can do until somebody figures out how to push more air within a box". I gathered some LPS and CDs and went to listen to the Generation Four. I went into their spacious listing room to experience the music. They sounded great, they were extremely good, as good as or better than any I had heard. Yet, after I left, I just was not sure. I wanted to be sure. Weeks past, I would go by and listen. I read the specs, I read the reviews. I decided to take a pair of home to try out. That was a good decision. You never really know until you take them home. My listing area small. I was concerned about placement. In my experience these speakers sound good anywhere. They fill the room with music. You can sit on top of them or 15 feet back, you can sit front and center or 5 to 6 ft. to the left or right and still enjoy the dynamics, staging, and imagery. I placed the speaker's about 5 to 6 feet apart. I started listening about 10 feet away, and continue to move forward until I was about 5 feet away and there it was, The Sweet Spot. It was the jump I was looking for. It was like being at a small venue, close to the Musicians soaking up every note, hearing every detail. Warm, cozy, intimate, an immersing experience. Each instrument has its own lane to express its musical performance. Your eyes follow. The base is tight, clean, round and solid. You would not believe the speakers are ported. The highs are Crisp, decisive. You can hear the drum brush move across the skin. You can hear the air escape from Miles Davis's trumpet, the pedals from the Dukes piano, bass strings hitting the bridge. The vocals, you hear the different shading and nuances. The generation for timing and rhythm is spot-on. The speaker's dance and sing it. Bill Watkins loved specs and measurements. Most of all he loved music. He loved listening to music. His passion was to design and craft speakers that produced music pleasing to the ear, and as close to the original recording as possible. He did well. Bill Watkins always chose musicality over specs. "No one listens to specs". The Generation Four speakers can be described in one word WOW."
John H.

"Terrific!"
C.D.

"Fantastic!"
R.W.

"Sounds better than any speaker I have ever heard."
B.T.

"Excellent bass response, fantastic yet pleasant sound, great looks, excellent quality overall in a day and age when it is the exception rather than the expected thing."
W.D.

"I am well pleased. These are the most accurate speakers that I have ever heard."
B.H.

"Great natural sound - lends dimension to music that is terrific."
D.M.

"What you put in comes out! The next best thing to being there. Have no desire to hear any other speakers, because I have the best."
E.M.

"An amazing speaker. It really does a great job of reproducing the full band sound. We use them for teaching."
SHHS

"Lay back and let Watkins take control."
J.W.

"The speakers have great bass response. They are perfect all around speakers."
D.L.

"Clarity and realism unheard of in a speaker in this price range. Next best thing to a live performance."
K.C.

"Unbelievable! The most perfect sound I have ever heard."
A.E.

"Best speaker on the market for the price."
D.B.

"Wow."
P.M.

"Love 'em!"
E.H.

"We have really enjoyed the fine quality of sound these speakers have given us!"
J.L.

"Incredibly easy to listen to. Seem to improve with age. Wonderful reproduction of orchestral material."
A.M.

"Nice balance of dynamics, accuracy, detail, transparency."
M.W.

"Glorius! I think they are speakers musical enough to last a lifetime. A wonderfully pleasing and accurate speaker."
P.S.

"Combines the best qualities of considered speakers into one magnificent musical experience."
P.N.

"Most musical and non-fatiguing speakers I've ever heard - Do everything right."
G.C.

"Superb top to bottom sound, very accurate esp. w/voice, violin, & chorus. I am very satisfied - Good Job!"
B.D.

"Relaxed, smooth, big sound stage, clean and a PLEASURE to listen to. I am more than happy to release control of my living room to your wonderful speakers."
G.P.

"The more I listen, the more I like them. Very smooth. Old records that I haven't listened to in years sound good again."
"Great engineering accomplishment."
D.S.

"Best speakers that I have ever heard."
V.S.

"Just wonderful."
J.H.

"During my many years as a music professor I constantly searched for a pair of speakers that would satisfy me. I am now delighted."
M.T.

"Wow! Best speaker I have heard. Reveals differences in other equipment better than any other speaker."
J.M.

"Very smooth and coherent throughout. A joy to listen to."
G.B.

"Wow! They sound "real". Have depth and feel of actual performance. Listenable."
J.T.

"They perform extremely well in a difficult room. I like the large stage presentation. Clarity is outstanding."
W.T.

"Absolutely superb! Sound as fast as electrostats, except with all the harmonics intact. Excellent imaging and ambience reproduction. Highs are perfect."
S.M.

I freely admit that I change components rather frequently, especially speakers. But I usually only change components or tweak things further when I think I hear something wrong, however subtle or slight. Right now, I don't hear anything wrong, but instead get great excitement and hear wonderful sonic and musical beauty from my system. So, for the moment, I'm as content with the sound as any audiophile can be.

There were two major recent upgrades which, to my mind and ears, crossed over some threshold and allowed me to stop hearing things at least very subtly "wrong." One was the incorporation of the L2 with the Lumin-recommended fiber optical networking of it and the Lumin X1.

The other was finding two speaker systems, the Graham Audio LS8/1 and the Watkins Generation 4, both of which provide not only a clearer window on what's upstream, but also eliminate so many distortions and resonances present at least to some minor extent with all previous speakers I've owned. The Graham goes deeper and may be more satisfyingly weighty for large-scale classical music, so I may go back to it at some point, but the Watkins is, at least for now, the most bewitchingly beautiful and exciting.

A third important factor was discovering that with my current system configuration, the EVPs I'm uses for vibration isolation sonically seem to work best in a tripod arrangement, rather than in groups of four.

Getting better system sound from here will be more difficult since I will not be trying to eliminate audible problems but actually to improve further on what already sounds truly excellent to me. Distinguishing better from just different is more challenging than eliminating sonic annoyances.

I only wish that it had not taken so many years and such expense to get here. While my current system costs under $50,000 total (including both sets of speakers), over the course of my audiophile career (about 1966 to the present) I recently calculated that I have spent at least $700,000 on audio equipment, recouping only a small fraction of that amount in sales.

My current system configuration is here.

I do remember reading your comments about owning the WE-1As and auditioning the Gen 4s on the Audiogon discussion forum. Sorry for your frustration. I was not aware that there is apparently another production delay due to new supply chain issues.

For those who may be curious about the "4 checkmark" or "Series 2" business about the WE-1A's, see the November 1986 follow-up to J. Gordon Holt's Stereophile review of the older/larger Watkins speakers at this link.

Also, from your world map comments, it sounds like Watkins at least used to export the speakers to countries beyond the USA. Is that still the case with the Gen 4s? I could ask Bill Jr., I suppose, but since you are going to talk with him soon, please ask and report back. Thanks.

Another comment about the Watkins Generation 4's tonal accuracy:

The Watkins are matchless in my experience for distinguishing the tonal balance differences between various streaming versions of recordings. For example, it is so easy to hear how the equalization or other processing applied to recordings by various internet radio stations affects the tonal balance compared with the "standard" FLAC issues from Tidal and Qobuz. While some of these readily apparent differences could stem from the down resolution of the original Redbook or better versions done by most internet radio stations, this is easily heard even on stations which stream FLAC at full Redbook or better resolution. Usually, as you might guess, the tonal changes make the recordings sound brighter, more trebly, and with less bass heft.

Such differences among streaming sources are not confined to apparent tonal balance. Radio stations typically further compress dynamic range, even though dynamic range compression is already overdone in many original versions these days, especially outside the realm of classical and other acoustic music.

This sort of comparison is most easily done when listening via Roon. Roon often links directly from the radio station playback to the Tidal or Qobuz version so the comparison can often be made with only a few seconds gap.

The Watkins speakers are also champions for hearing the differences between Tidal and Qobuz versions, even those versions which are streaming at the same bit rate and bit depth. This is now an easier apples-to-apples comparison since Tidal has dropped most MQA versions and instead provide straight PCM versions at Redbook or higher resolutions as does Qobuz. While the differences are quite a bit more subtle that comparing the radio versions with the "standard" Tidal and Qobuz versions, the differences are there and are heard more easily via these Watkins speakers than any others in my experience.

As always, the Watkins speakers merely report these differences without adding annoying brightness, edge, cloudiness, or other aberrations of their own. The program differences shine through but the programs are most usually eminently listenable on their own merits. The Watkins Gen 4 are always a joy to listen to. But to paraphrase George Orwell's Animal Farm, all streaming versions are equal, but some are more equal than others.

Another testament to the transparency of the Watkins Generation 4 speakers:

For at least the past 20 years I've been using the Absolute Power Cord Mk II, once imported and sold by Bill Parish of GTT Audio. These power cords are bright blue in color, eight feet long, of three-wire 14 gauge construction, and are hospital grade. They don't look like anything special, other than for the color and the clear-ish round plug end. These were manufactured in China by Ching Cheng, one of the largest OEM specialty power cord manufactures in the world at the time. They originally sold for about $50 each. Since I've used them I've always felt that they were quite neutral in terms of tonal balance and detail retrieval.

Many years ago I went through a long period of experimenting with high-dollar interconnects, speaker cables, digital links, etc. In the end, I found that the fairly low priced Blue Jeans and Benchmark cables were at least as good if not better sounding. They seem uncolored tonally with no faults to speak of, whereas most of the high-dollar stuff was obviously tonally colored.

I did replace my power cords at one point with Triode Wire Labs versions, upon recommendation from Dave at P.I. Audio, the maker of my UberBuss power conditioners. But, despite my initial very enthusiastic reactions to those cords, in the end, I found them a bit too rolled off/soft at the top end. They probably work great with the Klipsch/Volti and other horn speakers favored by Dave and Pete the guy who runs TWL. And I did find the USB link jointly developed by those two guys to be my long-term favorite USB connector to get rid of digital harshness.

In recent years Bill Parish of GTT Audio regularly has one of the best sounding rooms at AXPONA. Indeed, this year's exhibit was probably one of the top five sounding audio systems I've ever heard.

Bill had a few more of the Absolute Power Cord Mk IIs in storage a few years back when I contacted him about them, so I bought most of what he had left and now have plenty for my current systems. Besides the audio room, I use them for my desktop computer audio system and my Farad power supply which powers my Poor Man's Roon Nucleus Plus in a downstairs room.

Recently, well after my Watkins speakers had fully broken in, I had replaced all seven of my power cords in the main system with very inexpensive 14-gauge hospital grade versions from Cable Leader. I did this since that company offered short length, 3 and 6 foot cords which seemed to fit my compact system's needs much better than the 8-foot Absolute Power Cord Mk II. Other than color, they also looked very similar to the old cords, right down to the clear-ish round plug end.

While I have been using the Absolutes for the last 20 years, since I moved to my current audio room in 2015 it has always been a hassle to hide those long cords and get them behind the foam pads which stand on the floor near my equipment rack without creating a rat's nest behind that rack. With the Cable Leader cords (three 3-footers for the Lumin equipment and ethernet switch's power supply, and four 6-footers for the UberBuss power filters and the amps), everything looked very neat and tidy.

But since I substituted the Cable Leader power cords, I'd noticed a reduction in bass amount, punch, heft, definition, etc. I'd also noticed less startling macro-dynamic swings and less amazing soundstage envelopment. There also seemed to be a narrow region in the upper mids/lower highs which brightly "stuck out" a bit tonally on certain music. Further, the stick sound on struck cymbals seemed more buried and less distinctly preceding the shimmer in time, more like most speakers had portrayed it before the Watkins. It seemed the timing of cymbal strikes was messed up, in other words.

In short, the speakers seemed less involving and fun to listen to than they had been at first. Initially I thought I was imagining all these changes. Then I thought perhaps I was just getting over the honeymoon phase with the Watkins speakers and hearing things more as they really were. But I eventually decided that I had to find out.

So after thinking for days about how best to organize the older longer Absolute Power Cord Mk IIs behind the rack, I undertook the project of removing the Cable Leader cords and putting the old cords back. I had to power down everything, reapply Deoxit Gold to all cable ends, and work in extremely close quarters to do it, replacing each cord in the order I'd determined would best organize the longer cords. The project took a few hours of work to complete. Things don't look as neat and tidy as they did with the Cable Leader cords, but they do look considerably better now than they did before--no visible rat's nest. I also reinserted the Absolute Power Cord Mk IIs in a way which did not involve moving any of the equipment, so I was mostly working in the narrow confines behind the equipment on the rack and between the equipment and the wall just behind the rack.

I knew from the first few moments of listening that I hadn't been imagining the changes that I'd heard from the Cable Leader cords. Even though I know from experience with such changes that the equipment and connections need days of time to warm up and "settle in" to get the full effect, I knew from the first few moments of listening that the Watkins' sonic magic was back in full force--and at no cost other than the toll on my body from the physical contortions involved.

Given my limited experience with power cord substitutions, I have little idea where the Absolute Power Cord MkIIs stand in the sonic pantheon of currently available after-market power cords. All I know is that throughout all the sonic changes in my systems over the last two decades, these seemingly have gotten out of the way and let the equipment and the music shine through. And I think it's a tribute to the Watkins Generation 4 speakers that they so clearly reveal the sonic changes wrought by a power cord swap, even where the power cords involved are, as here, from all appearances, quite similar in construction and both quite reasonably priced--well, the Cable Leaders are inexpensive while the Absolute Power Cord Mk IIs are at this late date basically Unobtainium.

In my days of experimenting with finding the "best sounding" reasonably priced interconnects, I did try the Mogami Gold Studio balanced interconnects made with Mogami Neglex 2534 four-wire twisted cable. While better than most and certainly quite "musical" in their colorations--very easy to listen to, in other words--I eventually found the star-quad cables made with Canare L-4E6S cable to be yet more neutral in their presentation. That is why I have used them (Blue Jeans and Benchmark are well-known purveyors of such cable in the USA) ever since. For a no-nonsense technical explanation of why this might be so, see the Benchmark Media discussion at this link.

Since the beginning, I've used the Watkins Generation 4 speakers with their factory grills on. This stemmed from three factors. First, Bill Watkins Jr said the grills did not affect the sound much. Second, I prefer the mostly-black appearance of the speakers with the grills on. Not seeing the drivers avoids calling attention to their physical position during eyes-open listening, and I listen with eyes open at least half the time. Third, during the early stages of my time with the Gen 4s, I felt that the presence of the grills removed just a bit of the high-frequency excess I heard from the speakers.

Now that the speakers are fully broken in and the rest of my system is in a yet-better-tweaked state due to the remarkable ability of these speakers to reveal teeny-tiny sonic differences and help me categorize those differences in terms of better or worse sonics, I decided to remove the grills and compare the sound with and without grills.

First let me say that these grills are probably the most transparent grills I've had on speakers. The sonic difference between with and without grills is truly very minor. The grill cloth seems quite transparent both visually and sonically. I suspect that at least part of the difference I hear is due to the presence of the wood frame and its embedded magnets within just a few inches of the drivers in all directions, but that's just a guess.

Bottom line: I encourage owners of the speakers to experiment with the speakers both ways. The differences truly are small, but real, I think.

With the grills in place, the speakers seem to have a teeny tiny bit less high frequency output which is helpful for overall frequency balance on some brighter sources and, of course, there are a lot of sources which are inherently balanced too bright. The amount of apparent tonal balance shift is really small, however. It is much less obvious than applying Muse EQ via Roon with a parametric shelf filter at 2 kHz, Q = 0.5, and magnitude minus 1 dB.

The negatives listening without the grills: Without the grills, with eyes-open listening, I see the drivers. This tends to work against the ability of any speakers to enable the listener to suspend disbelief that musicians are playing in the hall in which they were recorded or (in the case of studio-manufactured recordings) that what you are hearing is true to the intended spatial creation. Also, the speakers seem ever so slightly brighter in overall tonal balance. To my ears, this tonal balance shift is not a good thing. However, I was able to basically eliminate this apparent tonal balance shift, at least as heard from the sweet spot, by further tweaking the position of the floor-mounted acoustic foam pads I'm using.

The positives of listening without the grills: Without the grills, the speakers seem yet more open, the staging is yet more three dimensional and enveloping, and the imaging is yet firmer, especially for centered sources like many solo voices. Moving my head from side to side, the imaging and staging is yet less "jumpy" and more continuous; this is already a strong point of the speakers with their grills on. Also, another very thin veil of distortion seems wiped away. In conjunction with this lessened apparent distortion, the macro dynamics also seem a bit improved and the speakers seem to play more cleanly at higher volumes. And any remaining resonances from drivers or enclosure seems slightly lessened, the speakers now more closely matching this strongest point of the Graham LS8/1 speakers. Significantly, I hear these positives despite being able to see the drivers.

I also notice that the speakers sound yet better from my computer desk outside the audio room and down the hall a few feet. I'm not sure why this should be, given that the spatial presentation and frequency response are both wrecked by such a listening position heard through the open door of a nearby room, but I noticed this right away. Many audiophiles have noticed that speakers vary in their ability to convey this "live from the next room" impression.

Again I should stress that these sonic differences are very small indeed and might not be audible (even to me) in other set ups. But I know this set up so well and the speakers are so revealing (yet always without being annoyingly revealing in the least), that I'm fairly confident of the subjective results, at least in this system and acoustically treated room.

Thus, for now, at least, I will use the Gen 4s without their grills. I will report back if I change my mind and revert to using the grills.

The Watkins Generation 4 speakers continue to thrill and amaze me in terms of the musical enjoyment and absolute sonic excellence they provide, together with the incredible value they represent for just $3,000 a pair.

I'm cross-posting two posts from another thread to this discussion of the Watkins Generation 4.

A Further Simplified System

Consider this a preliminary report. I have further simplified my main audio system by replacing the Lumin X1 streamer/DAC, Lumin L2 Music Library & Network Switch, and bridged pair of Benchmark AHB2 amplifiers with a Lyngdorf TDAI 3400. This reconfiguration allows me to keep all the electronics on my small rack and eliminate the amps sitting on the floor in front of the rack. It also eliminates four power cords, cleaning up the nest of cables behind the rack. Each of my PI Audio UberBusses now drives only a single component and each of these are driven by a separate dedicated circuit on the same phase of my electrical service. The TDAI 3400 is driven by one dedicated circuit/UberBuss and the GigaFOILv4 Inline ethernet filter, powered by 5V output of Farad Super3 linear power supply is driven by the other dedicated circuit/UberBuss.

The complete new current system configuration is linked to from my signature on this post.

This is the third time I've used Lyngdorf equipment. I used a TDAI 2170 to power my Stirling Broadcast LS3/6 speakers and feed my Audio Kinesis Swarm subwoofer arrays. I also at one point used a Lyngdorf SDA 2400 amp to power my Harbeth M40.1 speakers in another room. Both of those experiences were highly positive with the exception of Room Perfect in the TDAI 2170. I always found Room Perfect to create an unneeded and sonically objectionable peak in the response in the 4 kHz range.

At this point I am exceptionally pleased with my purchase of the Lyngdorf TDAI 3400. It sounds fabulous and all the functions I need seem to work in a glitch-free manner. Since it retails for $7,500, replaces Lumin and Benchmark equipment retailing for about $26,000, and sounds even better than that equipment, I'd say it is a bargain for me.

I will need to wait another week or so for my UberBuss power treatment units to warm up/settle in after being disconnected from power for an extended period as I did when I dissembled things and inserted the Lyngdorf. It also takes about that long or longer for the Deoxit Gold-treated connections to fully "cure," so I'm not yet getting the "full effect." But even at this point, I'm very pleased indeed.

Some details and observations:

I received my TDAI 3400 early last Friday. I spent the day dismantling my system, photographing and packing up the Lumin and Benchmark items, and moving them to our basement. I did manage to get the 3400 mostly set up late Friday evening and finished the job early Saturday morning. I did not employ Room Perfect until Sunday.

A comment on the packaging of the Lyngdorf: Not since some PS Audio equipment I once owed have I seen packaging this simple yet bombproof. The double-boxed container primarily uses cardboard and thick clear plastic membranes above and below the chassis to form a springy, air-surrounded environment for the electronics inside the box. Very safe and very easy to unbox.

Before I implemented Room Perfect I didn't really expect the bass to be both stronger and yet better defined. But that is what I heard right from the first few notes. There was more meat on the bone. And there was yet more dynamic contrast. Roon programming sounded yet better this way. High frequencies seemed about the same--very nice indeed with no increase in nasties or other artifacts. I had the sense of great reserve power, at least as much of the "Hoover Dam" sensation as before.

Another great way to play Qobuz streaming, through the Lyngdorf, besides using Roon, is via the Mconnect app. That way sounds at least as excellent as via Roon. You can play Qobuz and Tidal sources via Mconnect using the UPnP input function of the TDAI 3400. Tidal Connect is also a great alternative to Roon when streaming from that service with sonics at least as good as Roon. The Lyngdorf allows Tidal Connect.

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Then I implemented Room Perfect. Whoa! Full stop.

The sonic changes from implementing Room Perfect in Focus mode were all to the good. VERY GOOD! This is a VERY significant improvement to what was already truly excellent sound except for what Room Perfect found to correct and corrected.

There is now much more meat on the bone. It apparently at least partially filled in a dip I had in the upper bass/lower midrange so that the sound is more fulsome, making the frequency balance of the Watkins Generation 4 speakers I'm currently using much more like the balance of the Graham Audio LS8/1s without Room Perfect but positioned at the same distances from the walls. Lower voices, cellos, piano left hand and most any music with significant low end benefits from presenting the "power range" (say 100 to 300 Hz) and lower midrange at proper relative levels. All music sounds fuller, more powerful, more weighty and larger. Bass definition is also further improved with the tune of note-to-note walking bass becoming yet easier to follow. All this correction was made without adding any undue midbass bloat or thump. Low bass is not much affected--the Watkins speakers still roll off below 40 Hz, in other words, but the overall impression of bass weight is greatly enhanced.

Unlike my experience with the TDAI 2170 years ago, I hear no excess high frequencies injected by Room Perfect. Besides the magic in the lower frequencies, imaging is firmed and staging is considerably more 3-D. That's going some since the Watkins presentation was already by far the most 3-D I've heard from any speakers in this room.There's also a general sense that the sound is more "present" without any audible peaks in the mids. Altogether using Room Perfect in the TDAI 3400 is a great success for my system!

I use a Cardas-style set up and have for years because this maximizes realism of imaging and staging from most speakers in my room. Those sonic aspects are the most important to me. I'm not so sensitive to bass balance as long as there is no midbass boom, which there wasn't. The Watkins speakers are on 30-inch stands. In my room that puts the woofer about the same distance above the floor as it is from the side wall. Perhaps that causes a null or dip in the upper bass/lower midrange, but that's just speculation. I know putting the Graham speakers on the 20 inch Skylan stands I first used and the same distance from the walls caused a bit of the same kind of dip/null, but not to the same extent. Moving the Grahams to the shorter Graham stands made the Grahams nice and full sounding.

If you have used Room Perfect in the past and have not achieved altogether positive Room Perfect results, check your software version. The current one, and the one I'm using in the TDAI 3400, is version 3.3.0. I also strongly suggest that you try the following "trick" set up for Room Perfect if in the past Room Perfect was emphasizing the highs or in some other way producing less than totally satisfying results.

Lyngdorf's instructions for setting up Room Perfect, which I have followed in the past call for placing the microphone at "random" room positions and orientations with respect to the speakers after the initial measurement at the listening position. That is NOT the way I set it up this time. I should note that Lyngdorf admits these days that if you have an acoustically treated room (as I do), you can avoid having the Room Perfect correction end up with excess highs by always aiming the microphone between the speakers regardless of the "random" positions of the microphone within the room.

For my current Room Perfect set up, I put the front tip of the microphone where the center of my head is between my ears when I'm in the listening chair. I pointed the mic level and straight forward to the point on the wall behind the speakers, midway between the two speakers. I did not move the microphone for any of the measurements. I started out with the volume set at minus 30, but Room Perfect said that was too low and to set the volume at minus 12 dB. That was quite loud, but seemingly safe for the speakers. I was running the measurement from my computer desk outside the listening room, so the room was empty of people and with the door to the listening room shut (my usual way to listen when I'm in that room) it was not loud at all outside the room. Room Perfect told me it had 100% room knowledge after the Focus measurement and one room measurement, but I ran two more room measurements anyway, again not moving the mike. After the third room measurement (a total of four measurements including Focus), Room Perfect said I was done and should exit. The entire Room Perfect measurement process, including setting up the mike, which is the most time and detail intensive part, only took about half an hour.

In walking around the room, I hear not much variation in bass level with Room Perfect set on Focus. I worried that it might sound too bassy outside the listening postion, but that is not the case.

So I guess my effort to "fool" Room Perfect about how to adjust the response worked. I love it when a plan comes together! I will not be going back to the Lumin/Benchmark equipment!

Let me add that before purchase I was aware of the less-than-stellar measurements of the TDAI 3400 reported by Audio Science Review (ASR) and some others. I was also aware of the stellar subjective reviews from other sources. I also note that ASR at least partially recanted once the author heard the results of Room Perfect on his own home system, then giving the 3400 his recommendation.

Before purchasing my Lyngdorf TDAI 3400 I also heard a friend's TDAI 3400 set up with the Graham Audio LS8/1 speakers and was quite impressed. Now, having heard the 3400 in my own room, all I can say is that whatever objective flaws the electronics may reveal on the test bench, the Lyngdorf TDAI 3400 yields subjectively amazing results in my listening room.

A picture of my newly further simplified system is attached. Note that this system is much closer in configuration and price to the type of system Bill Watkins uses to demonstrate the Watkins speakers at his retail store. I estimate the total cost of this newly simplified system at about $15,000, including all the acoustical treatment and electrical tweaks.