A visit to Philip O'Hanlon and the Vivid G1 loudspeaker

[Philip O Hanlon]

I'm still not sold on the design, but it looks a whole lot better in that white satin finish. Takes some of the bulbousness out of the form that darker colors seem to accentuate.
Is the G1 a speaker that can be reasonably driven by 75W/ch 211 SETs?

Any of the Giyas would thrive on 75 watts of tube power, of course the size of the room & genre of music will play a part. The current G1 is 1dB more efficient than the 2008 model G1 that John Atkinson measured many years ago. The internal bracing has been increased, the shape of the woofer apertures has changed, new midrange woofer & matching crossover.

 

[Bruce B]

I was surprised at how light they are. The G1 is "only" 80kg and only 67" tall. I thought they were much bigger than that. The G1 should fit in even a smaller room.

 

[Steve williams]

I was surprised at how light they are. The G1 is "only" 80kg and only 67" tall. I thought they were much bigger than that. The G1 should fit in even a smaller room.

I made the same comment when I first heard them at his house. IIRC he said that the skin for the speaker probably weighs no more than 20 lbs

 

[DaveyF]

I was surprised at how light they are. The G1 is "only" 80kg and only 67" tall. I thought they were much bigger than that. The G1 should fit in even a smaller room.

Bruce, I have heard the G1's and the G3's. I'm pretty certain the G1's will NOT work well in a smaller room ( they may "fit", BUT they won't be giving you the goods). Smaller being anything less than say 15X25. Here's the thing, I also think the smaller models give away the amazing bass articulation and bottom end control that the G1 brings to the table, which I think is by FAR its strongest attribute. The G3's were IMO nowhere near as articulate in the bass as the G1's....or for that matter into the mids. OTOH, I'm sure the G3's will play ok in far more typical rooms ( like MOST a'philes are going to be using them in) than the G1's. Personally, i can think of few other speakers that I would rather have than the G1's....( looks aside and highly room dependent). However, I cannot say that about the other speakers that I have heard in the line.

 

[Al M.]

Bruce, I have heard the G1's and the G3's. I'm pretty certain the G1's will NOT work well in a smaller room ( they may "fit", BUT they won't be giving you the goods). Smaller being anything less than say 15X25. Here's the thing, I also think the smaller models give away the amazing bass articulation and bottom end control that the G1 brings to the table, which I think is by FAR its strongest attribute. The G3's were IMO nowhere near as articulate in the bass as the G1's....or for that matter into the mids. OTOH, I'm sure the G3's will play ok in far more typical rooms ( like MOST a'philes are going to be using them in) than the G1's. Personally, i can think of few other speakers that I would rather have than the G1's....( looks aside and highly room dependent). However, I cannot say that about the other speakers that I have heard in the line.

How certain are you that you heard the G3 under optimal circumstances? Have you heard them side by side with the G1? I am not saying that to defend the G3 which I haven't heard, but from my experience with other speakers that were supposed to be fantastic but didn't sound like that at all when I heard them at dealerships. I have become cautious in my judgment because of those experiences.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Check out the G3s in this video. We did not record a listening session but the video illustrates the size and shape of the speakers. The sound was remarkable. It was alive, warm and very lifelike. These were the exact speakers that John Atkinson reviewed earlier last year.

 

[das]

The lightness of Vivid's cabinets is not well understood by many. We produced a video a few months with Laurence Dickie, the chief designer, where he talks specifically about the reasons for it. Hope this helps...

Doug Schneider

 

[DaveyF]

How certain are you that you heard the G3 under optimal circumstances? Have you heard them side by side with the G1? I am not saying that to defend the G3 which I haven't heard, but from my experience with other speakers that were supposed to be fantastic but didn't sound like that at all when I heard them at dealerships. I have become cautious in my judgment because of those experiences.

I have heard the G3's on three occasions. My impressions were the same after each session. I have not heard them side by side with the G1'S. Could they be the equal of the G1's...NOT likely- and in my experience in fact not even close. To be clear, I am NOT saying the G3's are a bad speaker, just IMO NOT in the league of the G1's.

 

[caesar]

Any of the Giyas would thrive on 75 watts of tube power, of course the size of the room & genre of music will play a part. The current G1 is 1dB more efficient than the 2008 model G1 that John Atkinson measured many years ago. The internal bracing has been increased, the shape of the woofer apertures has changed, new midrange woofer & matching crossover.

Philip, I couldn't imagine anything less than a large CAT or the big VTLs, unless guys are only listening to Norah Jones or Air Supply. Out of curiosity, what tube amp(s) have you heard these speakers sound their very best?

 

[caesar]

View attachment 19208
G2, G3 & G4
The G4 @ US$33.5k, G3 @ $40k, G2 @ $50k and the G1 @ $68k. There is also the Oval series: V1 wall or desktop model @ $7k, V1.5 (floorstanding) @ $8k, B1 @ $17k, K1 @ $26k. There are a couple of center channels as well.
All the speakers use the same tweeters, and a 6" woofer, which is used in some models as a lower midrange and in others as an actual woofer, though there are motor differences between the two - they look identical. The Giyas are made from a cabinet that is a stressed skin composite sandwich, quadraxial glass skins with a balsa wood core, shaped in a mold with vacuum infusion of resin & fiber. The advantage of the light & super stiff cabinet is that the resonance node of the cabinet itself is quite high and far out of band as possible. The oval series are made from a plastic cement, similar to what another high end loudspeaker manufacturer uses. Both series make use of the matrix bracing front to back and side to side, that Laurence Dickie developed while he was at B&W during the previous century.

View attachment 19209

Philip,

Congratulations again on some of the recognition this speaker is getting. Truly one of the best in the world.

Do you know how the designer was able to make it "musically transparent" vs. "transparent to source"/ analytic/ clinical/ resolving any and every detail except the musical whole, that is so in vogue with many audiophiles and worshiped by the media elites?

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Philip, I couldn't imagine anything less than a large CAT or the big VTLs, unless guys are only listening to Norah Jones or Air Supply. Out of curiosity, what tube amp(s) have you heard these speakers sound their very best?

I have heard the G1 with the CAT stereo & monoblcks as well as the Siegfried at Luke & Bea Manley's home - they have a piano black pair of Giya G1. Both the CAT & VTL worked really well, quite different from each other.
In 2009 we did a Live versus Recorded event in Maryland, John Atkinson recorded George Vatchnadze playing a Steinway D - Rachmaninov, Mussorgsky; the CAT amps had the best bass I have ever heard from a tube amp.
Been to Like & Bea's home to show them how to set up the G1; they have a wonderful system: dCS & SME 30 for sources and then the top of the line VTL gear. Bea has a grand piano nearby for easy comparison. I have not heard the MK II Siegfrieds but the previous models were very enjoyable, musical , though not syrupy. They can play loud, which is great as you will need the head-room for the crescendos of the large orchestral works.

Surprisingly enough, I played the Einstein 60 watt OTL on the G1 and on most music there was sufficient power, but not enough for me to play my 115dB extravaganzas once & a while. BTW, TED DENNY (Synergistic Research) LOVED THE TONAL TEXTURE OF THE EINSTIENS ON THE G1 - said it was his cup of tea. I'm sure many music lovers here don't stretch the system as hard as I do from time to time. Nor do they have a room large enough that allows them to let the system run full tilt. In most systems the room will overload before the speakers start to distort. Funny thing about the G1 is that you can really drive the &*(% out of them and they don't complain or distort. It doesn't feel as loud as other reference speaker systems because of the lack of distortion.

I have a pair of VAC monoblocks that I should hook up on the G1....

 

[Philip O Hanlon]

Philip,

Congratulations again on some of the recognition this speaker is getting. Truly one of the best in the world.

Do you know how the designer was able to make it "musically transparent" vs. "transparent to source"/ analytic/ clinical/ resolving any and every detail except the musical whole, that is so

in vogue with many audiophiles and worshiped by the media elites?

I do not feel comfortable writing on behalf of Vivid, so I forwarded your query on to S Africa. This is the reply I received from Vivid Audio:
"Thorough engineering not curtailed by financial or marketing constraints.
People don't realise there is no magic formula. It is simply hard work & really knowing what is important and engineering abilities. "

 

[cjfrbw]

I would have to agree that the Vivid displays at the audio shows are the most consistently fine sounding. Doesn't seem to matter if they are stuck in a corner or in a great room, solid state or tube, vinyl or digital, they always make me want to stay and hear more.

 

[MadFloyd]

I would have to agree that the Vivid displays at the audio shows are the most consistently fine sounding. Doesn't seem to matter if they are stuck in a corner or in a great room, solid state or tube, vinyl or digital, they always want to make me stay and hear more.

Same here.

 

[caesar]

Philip,

If this is politically sensitive, please ignore. However, I am astounded this speaker has not been reviewed by TAS. Yes, magazines prefer to constantly review and award blockbuster brands, as it draws readers and makes guys feel good about their purchases, but there is always an up and coming brand that will be the next blockbuster. For guys who are not really into Magico or Wilson, I can't imagine too many speakers out there that are better speaker than the Giyas.

 

[Bruce B]

Philip,

If this is politically sensitive, please ignore. However, I am astounded this speaker has not been reviewed by TAS. Yes, magazines prefer to constantly review and award blockbuster brands, as it draws readers and makes guys feel good about their purchases, but there is always an up and coming brand that will be the next blockbuster. For guys who are not really into Magico or Wilson, I can't imagine too many speakers out there that are better speaker than the Giyas.

I thought this speaker was awarded Product of the Year?

 

[Steve williams]

I thought this speaker was awarded Product of the Year?

'

It was

 

[caesar]

I thought this speaker was awarded Product of the Year?

They shared speaker of the year with alexia in stereophile. However, I do not recall them being reviewed in TAS.

 

[LL21]

TAS coverage of Vivid from a quick check...there may be more:

Vivid G2: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/vivid-giya-g2-loudspeaker/

Vivid G3: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/vivids-giya-g3/

Vivid Considered 'Best of the Best' by TAS: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/best-of-the-best-vivid/

 

[caesar]

TAS coverage of Vivid from a quick check...there may be more:

Vivid G2: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/vivid-giya-g2-loudspeaker/

Vivid G3: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/vivids-giya-g3/

Vivid Considered 'Best of the Best' by TAS: http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/best-of-the-best-vivid/

Thanks, LL. Great links. They are all from what seems like a British dude, Jason Kennedy, writing for Hi FI +. Hi fi + and TAS are sister publications. He's not listed on TAS roster of writers, but does an excellent job of sharing his experiences with the Giyas.