I haven't seen any threads on Constellation's Inspiration series, so I thought I'd write down some thoughts from my listening. I acquired Constellation Audio's "inexpensive combo" and got to listen to them for 4 months, awaiting the arrival of some audio equipment I have on order. I have sold them recently in anticipation of the arrival of new components. I really enjoyed the Constellation Inspiration series. I can only compare them to my outgoing Spectral 15ss pre and 260 series 1 power amp, but they offer a valid option.
Let me put into context the room and system I listened within, as YMMV. Room is 18 x 15 x 8, heavily treated with tube traps and Curve diffusers, as well as absorption on the back wall. Listening was within reasonable levels- 65-85 dB, though some peaks were hitting occasionally 95dB. I did find my listening levels unknowingly increased due to Constellation's very low distortion levels, but dialed them back purposefully under the direction of my wife.
Music was blues, jazz, electronic, alternative, all vocals, pop-country, but no classical. System was MacBook Pro running latest Audirvana, Ayre QB9 DSD dac, Magico S5 speakers, with MIT HD90 cables. I tried using MIT Matrix 50 interconnects but due to being RCA, non-balanced, I quit using them after a week. The Constellation sounded pretty unimpressive with unbalanced cabling (which they tell you upfront, but I had to learn for myself).
If you value transparency, you really owe it to yourself to hear these components. They are remarkable in many ways, but that's the first thing you notice when you hear them. You can hear WAY back into the soundstage, and they have an unforced, effortless detail about them that really grabs you.
I love Spectral and what they do for the music, but I feel they fall short on things such as cymbals. The sheen and shimmer that a ride cymbal has, or the distinct opening and closing of a high hat is lost in their soundstage. Not so with the Constellation. You can follow the distinct sounds throughout any musical passage, not because it is highlighted, but because it is reproduced as "there", just as in a real concert or recording. The same detail is found throughout the musical field, and its not a "hey look at me" detail, but a real presence that is just there and easy to follow.
Soundstage depth is excellent, and as I said, you can hear way back into the stage with individual instruments and voices easily delineated. Soundstage width is SPOOKY wide. I mean, you can be startled with some of the sounds coming from way beyond and in front of the speakers. I've never heard a soundstage this wide, and that's with past experiences with Spectral, Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Classe, Melos, and CRJ. This didn't happen all the time, but there were some recordings I am very familiar with, and the sound emanating from beyond the speaker's sound field really floored me. Speaking of soundstage, seating perspective is upfront, say row e-f. That took a while to get used to as my old system was mid hall, row m.
Problems? Well, of course, there are no perfect components out there, and Constellation falls short on some areas. First, even with the upfront row e perspective, macrodynamics were underwhelming. Microdynamics were good, and you get a great idea of the fine nuances of the performance. Large dynamic swings were not reproduced as well, and this took me a while to get used to, as I should have been hit with these swings with the upfront seating perspective. It wasn't enough to make it feel Hi Fi, but as great as the other attributes were, macro dynamics were average at best.
Bass, however was the real letdown. While the bass was there, it was "not in attendance " so to speak. I had to listen and sure enough, it was there, and you could follow it throughout the music, but it really left the music ungrounded IMHO. I'm not a bass freak, but the Magico S5s can really play the bass, and I've been listening to this system for 3 years now. Removing the bass to the degree the Constellation did really took some getting used to. After a while, I became accustomed to the Constellation sound, and this didn't bother me as much. I could really appreciate what Constellation brings to the music, but bass lovers with full range speakers - just don't buy without a long audition. The lack of bass moved the entire musical performance up an octave so to speak. This was nice in certain areas, as you could really follow lyrics easily- I heard some missing lyrics for the first time on many songs.
I had some misgivings about selling the Constellation gear. What they do well, they are spectacular in that. Their shortcomings will be minor for some I'm sure, especially those who do not have full range speakers or who don't care about the bass. I love my bass, and hope Spectral's latest addresses the cymbal shortcomings of their past gear. If not, I may have to try the Constellation monos- I hear they produce more bass, and hopefully the monos would help in the macrodynamic department. Another option would be to run the Constellations with a sub, but for me, I've got too many hobbies, and integrating a sub in my small room would be one of those challenges I'd most likely never get around to.
I hope I've piqued some interest in those who are considering the Constellation Inspiration series. They are really remarkable in what they do, and I enjoyed my short time with them. BTW, my wife liked them better than any other gear I've had, and she has a great ear. She just doesn't love that bass
Let me put into context the room and system I listened within, as YMMV. Room is 18 x 15 x 8, heavily treated with tube traps and Curve diffusers, as well as absorption on the back wall. Listening was within reasonable levels- 65-85 dB, though some peaks were hitting occasionally 95dB. I did find my listening levels unknowingly increased due to Constellation's very low distortion levels, but dialed them back purposefully under the direction of my wife.
Music was blues, jazz, electronic, alternative, all vocals, pop-country, but no classical. System was MacBook Pro running latest Audirvana, Ayre QB9 DSD dac, Magico S5 speakers, with MIT HD90 cables. I tried using MIT Matrix 50 interconnects but due to being RCA, non-balanced, I quit using them after a week. The Constellation sounded pretty unimpressive with unbalanced cabling (which they tell you upfront, but I had to learn for myself).If you value transparency, you really owe it to yourself to hear these components. They are remarkable in many ways, but that's the first thing you notice when you hear them. You can hear WAY back into the soundstage, and they have an unforced, effortless detail about them that really grabs you.
I love Spectral and what they do for the music, but I feel they fall short on things such as cymbals. The sheen and shimmer that a ride cymbal has, or the distinct opening and closing of a high hat is lost in their soundstage. Not so with the Constellation. You can follow the distinct sounds throughout any musical passage, not because it is highlighted, but because it is reproduced as "there", just as in a real concert or recording. The same detail is found throughout the musical field, and its not a "hey look at me" detail, but a real presence that is just there and easy to follow.
Soundstage depth is excellent, and as I said, you can hear way back into the stage with individual instruments and voices easily delineated. Soundstage width is SPOOKY wide. I mean, you can be startled with some of the sounds coming from way beyond and in front of the speakers. I've never heard a soundstage this wide, and that's with past experiences with Spectral, Audio Research, Mark Levinson, Classe, Melos, and CRJ. This didn't happen all the time, but there were some recordings I am very familiar with, and the sound emanating from beyond the speaker's sound field really floored me. Speaking of soundstage, seating perspective is upfront, say row e-f. That took a while to get used to as my old system was mid hall, row m.
Problems? Well, of course, there are no perfect components out there, and Constellation falls short on some areas. First, even with the upfront row e perspective, macrodynamics were underwhelming. Microdynamics were good, and you get a great idea of the fine nuances of the performance. Large dynamic swings were not reproduced as well, and this took me a while to get used to, as I should have been hit with these swings with the upfront seating perspective. It wasn't enough to make it feel Hi Fi, but as great as the other attributes were, macro dynamics were average at best.
Bass, however was the real letdown. While the bass was there, it was "not in attendance " so to speak. I had to listen and sure enough, it was there, and you could follow it throughout the music, but it really left the music ungrounded IMHO. I'm not a bass freak, but the Magico S5s can really play the bass, and I've been listening to this system for 3 years now. Removing the bass to the degree the Constellation did really took some getting used to. After a while, I became accustomed to the Constellation sound, and this didn't bother me as much. I could really appreciate what Constellation brings to the music, but bass lovers with full range speakers - just don't buy without a long audition. The lack of bass moved the entire musical performance up an octave so to speak. This was nice in certain areas, as you could really follow lyrics easily- I heard some missing lyrics for the first time on many songs.
I had some misgivings about selling the Constellation gear. What they do well, they are spectacular in that. Their shortcomings will be minor for some I'm sure, especially those who do not have full range speakers or who don't care about the bass. I love my bass, and hope Spectral's latest addresses the cymbal shortcomings of their past gear. If not, I may have to try the Constellation monos- I hear they produce more bass, and hopefully the monos would help in the macrodynamic department. Another option would be to run the Constellations with a sub, but for me, I've got too many hobbies, and integrating a sub in my small room would be one of those challenges I'd most likely never get around to.
I hope I've piqued some interest in those who are considering the Constellation Inspiration series. They are really remarkable in what they do, and I enjoyed my short time with them. BTW, my wife liked them better than any other gear I've had, and she has a great ear. She just doesn't love that bass
Last edited:
