GT Audio Works Hybrid Planar Speakers Listening Session.

merrillaudio

Well-Known Member
Greg Takesh of GT Audio Works build some very nice Hybrid Planar and are very competitively priced. Developed over many years, he provides some strong bass and strong mids with highs.

In trying to set a date and time, Greg was very accommodating and did all the heavy lifting to bring speakers to my place. Each weighs approximately
70 pounds or so. The built in plate amp power an 8 inch driver. There are 3 Planar panels and 1 ribbon panel which is long and spans the height of the 3 mid panels. Two 8 inch passive drivers add to the power sub which crossover around 70-80 Hz.

The 2 planar brought over were the lab models so were not pretty however it work very well and had the latest in it. Hauling them down to the basement was Greg's job which he took on very willingly. Prepared for the move, he had the right boards, hand truck and 2 planar which fit nicely into his midsized car.

We set this up in a room 15 by 20 by 8 approximately. The ceiling had sound absorbing tiles, the walls normal sheet rock and 2 windows on the long side of the room. For the Source we had computer music running of a NAS, decoded by Jriver on windows 7, buffering 4 seconds in memory and sent over USB DoP
1.0 style DSD bitstreaming to a Meitner MA-1 DAC. This fed the Rowland Synergy I pre to the VERITAS Monoblocks. Interconnects were Merrill Audio Interconnects, terminated with Cardas XLR on all ends. The whole system ran balanced.

Power cords to the VERITAS, MA-1 and Synergy were Triode Wire Labs MA-10, custom made for the VERITAS Monoblocks.

The power subs used GT Audio supplied cables. The first play was tried with Silver Symphony 48 pure silver speaker cables. Between the room and the cables, we it was very bright and brittle with reflections coming from the room. 2" absorbers, 44" square were put on the back wall behind the GT Audio Speakers which were about 4 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the side wall, playing into the length of the room. 2 more absorbers were put on the side walls. The silver Symphony 48 was replaced with Merrill Audio Cold Welded Speaker Cables. This calmed the room down. The music was now fully detailed and crystal clear, with full excitement coming through although still hot at the top. Greg started to tweak the response and massaged the bass, complaining it was a little weak. We moved the chair back, realigned the speakers to chair.

We ran through Sarah Brightman, Sara K, Japanese Drums, Rachmaninoff, Aaron Neville, Dave Brubeck, Marimba When, Patricia Barber, Steve Struss, Vivaldi from 2L and then some. What ever the GT Audio Planars were thrown, it play as though it was built for that. No issues. The Marimba music has a tendency to rattle the speakers if anything is loose and nothing rattled or buzzed.
It played as loud as you wanted to and hit the bass notes with vigor, keeping the excitement of the mids and highs.

For kicks, I suggest we change the powered bass to Triode Wire Labs MA-10 power cords. Wow, that tightened and lifted up the low end.

We started at 11am and I unfortunately had to leave for my daughters award ceremony so had to reluctantly ask Greg to leave at 6:30pm. A great listening session with wonderfully priced and sounding speakers. The VERITAS Monoblocks on the speakers were concise, clear, controlled and gave power to the speaker that had no trouble taking it. However the GT Audio Planars are best served with a Tube in the pre or the power.

The good news is that the speakers are very competitively prices, sound much better than the Magnepans and have bass that the Maggies cannot even imagine. On top of that Greg will make sure to tune your pair to your liking. The bad news is the good news - sell your Maggies and get yourself some GT Audio Planars with Triode Wire Labs MA-10 or 10+ cords. Make sure the boss has approved the trade, perhaps a dinner and flowers to seal the deal with the boss?

A bit of disclosure. I personally have Electrostatics, model 10C from Sanders Sound, and I like the Electrostatic sound. Although I have to say the Sanders Sound Electrostatics are not as brittle sounding (my impressions only) as the Martin Logans and lower end Maggies.
 

Peter Breuninger

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
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MylesBAstor

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Apr 20, 2010
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Greg Takesh of GT Audio Works build some very nice Hybrid Planar and are very competitively priced. Developed over many years, he provides some strong bass and strong mids with highs.

In trying to set a date and time, Greg was very accommodating and did all the heavy lifting to bring speakers to my place. Each weighs approximately
70 pounds or so. The built in plate amp power an 8 inch driver. There are 3 Planar panels and 1 ribbon panel which is long and spans the height of the 3 mid panels. Two 8 inch passive drivers add to the power sub which crossover around 70-80 Hz.

The 2 planar brought over were the lab models so were not pretty however it work very well and had the latest in it. Hauling them down to the basement was Greg's job which he took on very willingly. Prepared for the move, he had the right boards, hand truck and 2 planar which fit nicely into his midsized car.

We set this up in a room 15 by 20 by 8 approximately. The ceiling had sound absorbing tiles, the walls normal sheet rock and 2 windows on the long side of the room. For the Source we had computer music running of a NAS, decoded by Jriver on windows 7, buffering 4 seconds in memory and sent over USB DoP
1.0 style DSD bitstreaming to a Meitner MA-1 DAC. This fed the Rowland Synergy I pre to the VERITAS Monoblocks. Interconnects were Merrill Audio Interconnects, terminated with Cardas XLR on all ends. The whole system ran balanced.

Power cords to the VERITAS, MA-1 and Synergy were Triode Wire Labs MA-10, custom made for the VERITAS Monoblocks.

The power subs used GT Audio supplied cables. The first play was tried with Silver Symphony 48 pure silver speaker cables. Between the room and the cables, we it was very bright and brittle with reflections coming from the room. 2" absorbers, 44" square were put on the back wall behind the GT Audio Speakers which were about 4 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the side wall, playing into the length of the room. 2 more absorbers were put on the side walls. The silver Symphony 48 was replaced with Merrill Audio Cold Welded Speaker Cables. This calmed the room down. The music was now fully detailed and crystal clear, with full excitement coming through although still hot at the top. Greg started to tweak the response and massaged the bass, complaining it was a little weak. We moved the chair back, realigned the speakers to chair.

We ran through Sarah Brightman, Sara K, Japanese Drums, Rachmaninoff, Aaron Neville, Dave Brubeck, Marimba When, Patricia Barber, Steve Struss, Vivaldi from 2L and then some. What ever the GT Audio Planars were thrown, it play as though it was built for that. No issues. The Marimba music has a tendency to rattle the speakers if anything is loose and nothing rattled or buzzed.
It played as loud as you wanted to and hit the bass notes with vigor, keeping the excitement of the mids and highs.

For kicks, I suggest we change the powered bass to Triode Wire Labs MA-10 power cords. Wow, that tightened and lifted up the low end.

We started at 11am and I unfortunately had to leave for my daughters award ceremony so had to reluctantly ask Greg to leave at 6:30pm. A great listening session with wonderfully priced and sounding speakers. The VERITAS Monoblocks on the speakers were concise, clear, controlled and gave power to the speaker that had no trouble taking it. However the GT Audio Planars are best served with a Tube in the pre or the power.

The good news is that the speakers are very competitively prices, sound much better than the Magnepans and have bass that the Maggies cannot even imagine. On top of that Greg will make sure to tune your pair to your liking. The bad news is the good news - sell your Maggies and get yourself some GT Audio Planars with Triode Wire Labs MA-10 or 10+ cords. Make sure the boss has approved the trade, perhaps a dinner and flowers to seal the deal with the boss?

A bit of disclosure. I personally have Electrostatics, model 10C from Sanders Sound, and I like the Electrostatic sound. Although I have to say the Sanders Sound Electrostatics are not as brittle sounding (my impressions only) as the Martin Logans and lower end Maggies.

I'm not sure which Martin-Logans you're referring to but you probably haven't heard them set up properly. M-Ls are far from brittle.
 

colina

New Member
May 22, 2013
2
0
1
Greg Takesh of GT Audio Works build some very nice Hybrid Planar and are very competitively priced. Developed over many years, he provides some strong bass and strong mids with highs.

In trying to set a date and time, Greg was very accommodating and did all the heavy lifting to bring speakers to my place. Each weighs approximately
70 pounds or so. The built in plate amp power an 8 inch driver. There are 3 Planar panels and 1 ribbon panel which is long and spans the height of the 3 mid panels. Two 8 inch passive drivers add to the power sub which crossover around 70-80 Hz.

The 2 planar brought over were the lab models so were not pretty however it work very well and had the latest in it. Hauling them down to the basement was Greg's job which he took on very willingly. Prepared for the move, he had the right boards, hand truck and 2 planar which fit nicely into his midsized car.

We set this up in a room 15 by 20 by 8 approximately. The ceiling had sound absorbing tiles, the walls normal sheet rock and 2 windows on the long side of the room. For the Source we had computer music running of a NAS, decoded by Jriver on windows 7, buffering 4 seconds in memory and sent over USB DoP
1.0 style DSD bitstreaming to a Meitner MA-1 DAC. This fed the Rowland Synergy I pre to the VERITAS Monoblocks. Interconnects were Merrill Audio Interconnects, terminated with Cardas XLR on all ends. The whole system ran balanced.

Power cords to the VERITAS, MA-1 and Synergy were Triode Wire Labs MA-10, custom made for the VERITAS Monoblocks.

The power subs used GT Audio supplied cables. The first play was tried with Silver Symphony 48 pure silver speaker cables. Between the room and the cables, we it was very bright and brittle with reflections coming from the room. 2" absorbers, 44" square were put on the back wall behind the GT Audio Speakers which were about 4 feet from the back wall and 3 feet from the side wall, playing into the length of the room. 2 more absorbers were put on the side walls. The silver Symphony 48 was replaced with Merrill Audio Cold Welded Speaker Cables. This calmed the room down. The music was now fully detailed and crystal clear, with full excitement coming through although still hot at the top. Greg started to tweak the response and massaged the bass, complaining it was a little weak. We moved the chair back, realigned the speakers to chair.

We ran through Sarah Brightman, Sara K, Japanese Drums, Rachmaninoff, Aaron Neville, Dave Brubeck, Marimba When, Patricia Barber, Steve Struss, Vivaldi from 2L and then some. What ever the GT Audio Planars were thrown, it play as though it was built for that. No issues. The Marimba music has a tendency to rattle the speakers if anything is loose and nothing rattled or buzzed.
It played as loud as you wanted to and hit the bass notes with vigor, keeping the excitement of the mids and highs.

For kicks, I suggest we change the powered bass to Triode Wire Labs MA-10 power cords. Wow, that tightened and lifted up the low end.

We started at 11am and I unfortunately had to leave for my daughters award ceremony so had to reluctantly ask Greg to leave at 6:30pm. A great listening session with wonderfully priced and sounding speakers. The VERITAS Monoblocks on the speakers were concise, clear, controlled and gave power to the speaker that had no trouble taking it. However the GT Audio Planars are best served with a Tube in the pre or the power.

The good news is that the speakers are very competitively prices, sound much better than the Magnepans and have bass that the Maggies cannot even imagine. On top of that Greg will make sure to tune your pair to your liking. The bad news is the good news - sell your Maggies and get yourself some GT Audio Planars with Triode Wire Labs MA-10 or 10+ cords. Make sure the boss has approved the trade, perhaps a dinner and flowers to seal the deal with the boss?

A bit of disclosure. I personally have Electrostatics, model 10C from Sanders Sound, and I like the Electrostatic sound. Although I have to say the Sanders Sound Electrostatics are not as brittle sounding (my impressions only) as the Martin Logans and lower end Maggies.

do you think the Gta 2 is better than Magnepan 20.7?
 

merrillaudio

Well-Known Member
GT Audio Works GTA2 versus Magnempan 20.7

do you think the Gta 2 is better than Magnepan 20.7?


The Magnepan 20.7 was not specifically quoted.

"The good news is that the speakers are very competitively prices, sound much better than the Magnepans and have bass that the Maggies cannot even imagine. "

I would refer you to the absolute sound on what you won't get from the Magnepan 20.7. These are the 3 things you will get from the GT Audio Works Speakers.

There are features of the GTA2 that you won't like, perhaps the interaction with the room and so on. There are features of the Maggie 20.7 that you will like also.

Note that the Maggies are 3 times the cost of the GTA2. Saving $10k can make a lot of people very happy with the sound of the GTA2.

Closer to the same price range would be the Magnepan 3.7. The GTA2 has better low end and a slightly smaller size, along with a brighter top end. There is still compression on the Magenpans 3.7.

At the end of the day, it will be what you like and can live with.

This is IMHO.
 

colina

New Member
May 22, 2013
2
0
1
The Magnepan 20.7 was not specifically quoted.

"The good news is that the speakers are very competitively prices, sound much better than the Magnepans and have bass that the Maggies cannot even imagine. "

I would refer you to the absolute sound on what you won't get from the Magnepan 20.7. These are the 3 things you will get from the GT Audio Works Speakers.

There are features of the GTA2 that you won't like, perhaps the interaction with the room and so on. There are features of the Maggie 20.7 that you will like also.

Note that the Maggies are 3 times the cost of the GTA2. Saving $10k can make a lot of people very happy with the sound of the GTA2.

Closer to the same price range would be the Magnepan 3.7. The GTA2 has better low end and a slightly smaller size, along with a brighter top end. There is still compression on the Magenpans 3.7.

At the end of the day, it will be what you like and can live with.

This is IMHO.

I'm extremely happy with my speakers,Mirage OMD-28 and Magnepan 20.7 .
Thanks,
Mauricio
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
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London
I recently traveled from London to New York to listen to these. I have owned Martin Logan summits, and have heard Apogees, Quads, Soundlab Ultimates, Analysis Audio, and Maggies (not 20.7).

I found these to be a close second to the Analysis. the Analysis Omega and Amphitryon with their updated Duelund crossovers retail around 30k, this around 6k. It is a hybrid like Logans, but it's ribbon is beautiful and the speaker is extremely dynamic. A Stat can't get to such dynamism, nor can a Maggie. The Analysis is my favorite speaker and will be, but I think it might make more sense for me to the buy these
 

allvinyl

Well-Known Member
Apr 10, 2013
359
80
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Burnsville, MN
GT Audio Works GTA2

I recently traveled from London to New York to listen to these. I have owned Martin Logan summits, and have heard Apogees, Quads, Soundlab Ultimates, Analysis Audio, and Maggies (not 20.7).

I found these to be a close second to the Analysis. the Analysis Omega and Amphitryon with their updated Duelund crossovers retail around 30k, this around 6k. It is a hybrid like Logans, but it's ribbon is beautiful and the speaker is extremely dynamic. A Stat can't get to such dynamism, nor can a Maggie. The Analysis is my favorite speaker and will be, but I think it might make more sense for me to the buy these

In looking at the web site, I read that Greg is changing the speaker's cabinet shape. Are you aware of pictures of the new design?

John
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,434
13,467
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In looking at the web site, I read that Greg is changing the speaker's cabinet shape. Are you aware of pictures of the new design?

John

I don't know what the old one was. The one I saw is the new one, in my pic. The size of the woofer is up from 8 to 10 inches
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,434
13,467
2,710
London

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