I seriously don't see myself buying any box speakers in my life... it's just not the experience I am interested in having. Nothing personal here - some people like skiing while others enjoy golf or water sports...
Now I am excluding Zu audio, which are technically "box speakers" but are single driver. Compared to the single driver Zu, I can hear the separate drivers in the latest $40K Wilson Watt Puppy (although set up by trained Wilson staff) and I also heard the drivers operating separately in the Magico M2 at Axpona, while others are raving about them... So I probably would upgrade my Zus sometimes along the way...
Of the box speakers I have heard, the best are the over $100K Von Schweikerts, YGs, and Zellatons. I was actually surprised I liked the Zellatons, but they were truly impressive... gotta read up on them and hear them again ... Also like the Vivids a lot, but because of their odd shape, they don't sound boxy to me...
So Zellatons and Vivids could be exceptions to the rule...
Also, want to add that I will be adding to the collection along the way, not replacing...
Hi Caesar,
Obviously I don’t know what you hear or how you hear things, but i thought you may be interested in observations based on what I hear.
Let’s take a good recording; something like Jeff Golub’s The Vault or Jan Garbarek’s Legend of the Seven Dreams.
The listening room disappears and is filled with the recording’s acoustic, a kind of atmosphere that fills the entire space with a kind of aural ‘texture’. Within this space instruments have a defined presence and life. Notes starts with a pinpoint ‘percussion’ and blossom out into their defined acoustic space....some notes decaying sideways and other notes decaying upwards. The notes have shape, sounding like they originate from a guitar string or from a saxaphone. Voices sound like they come from a mouth, with breaths, lip sounds, swallows and wet tongue noises. Each instrument has an individual identity with timbre, shape, note dynamics and decay. The sound sends shivers down your spine. The instruments all have their individual acoustic space, defined in all 3 dimensions. If the recording captured venue acoustics, they define the size of the listening environment, stronger notes having more clearly defined reflections. Brass instruments have attack, with tremendous note dynamics that start with an initial brashness and brightness, followed by mellow decay, the music punctuated by controlled breathy sounds of air passing over reeds. All instruments in the mix can be heard individually but together weave a glorious tapestry of rhythmic interplay, giving the music tremendous impetus, forward motion and drive. The music is highly involving, pulling the listener in, blotting out conscious thought and stimulating emotions and feelings....Garbarek having the feel of cold, lonely Northern Fjords, pine forests and glaciers, while Golub has more of a bustling city feeling, fast moving pace about it.
So what about the speakers? The what? Speakers? There’s not the slightest inkling that all this wonderful music is artificially created...the thought simply doesn’t occur as your mind is simply basking in all wonderful music. On reflection, does it sound lifelike? You betcha. Does it sound like the original sounded? No idea as I have absolutely no clue what the original sounded like for comparison and frankly I couln’t give a damn. All I know is that if the original sounded anything like as good as this it must have been pretty special (assuming of course that there ever was an original since these are studio albums)
So getting back to your point Caesar, I’m amazed that when you’re listening to something similar to what I’ve described you can actually pick out each driver’s contribution, when I can’t even pick out that there’s a pair of loudspeakers involved. What’s the music not doing that you’re able to listen through all the above to hear a driver’s contribution?
