KeithR's "Dream Speaker" Search
- Thread starter KeithR
- Start date
so far, I have preferred my WyWires cords to Ching Chengs (performed tests last year) and my PLC to a power strip
Funny That--I switched in a Ching Cheng to try --yes very smooth -but went back to my Hirakawas--I felt more "detail "?
Both excellent though --Vanilla--natural--guess I'm a Chocolate dude
!BruceD
And just HOW much is "TOO much"??
Seriously, I didn't read the preceding posts, just saw the one with the videos and clicked on them. I had no idea what the words "Torus" and "Tripplite" meant in this context, so I don't see how I could have already made up my mind about what *should* sound better.
I heard neither a big difference nor an obvious one, but in my day job sometimes that's what it comes down to.
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Happy holidays guys - off to hear the Voxativ 9.87 system tomorrow in the high desert, east of LA. It will be shown on the KR Audio Kronzilla SX, per my request.
I'm not expecting much tbh, but could be pleasantly surprised. Will see!
I'm not expecting much tbh, but could be pleasantly surprised. Will see!
Keith what do you think about ranking the speakers you've heard, keeping a list going? That way we can quabble and bicker over it
So far it seems as though an everyday ordinary cone driver inside an expanding plastic cone with little to no crossover is the best we can come up with after 100 years of trying. Oh, and powered by an ancient direct-heated triode vacuum tube with almost zero efficiency.
Keith what do you think about ranking the speakers you've heard, keeping a list going? That way we can quabble and bicker over it
how dare you ask
I was rooting for Plasma drivers (remember the Hill Plasmatronic?) but those are over 100 years old too!So far it seems as though an everyday ordinary cone driver inside an expanding plastic cone with little to no crossover is the best we can come up with after 100 years of trying. Oh, and powered by an ancient direct-heated triode vacuum tube with almost zero efficiency.
Voxativ 9.87 system:
This is a 7" full range driver with active bass module system that I heard on Saturday. The speakers were still wrapped in shrink wrap with the exception of the drivers as the pair was for sale - I don't believe too many hours were on them, so the Pis very well could have not been fully broken in. This particular set had the middle of the line Vox drivers which use a wooden surround (not paper like the original ones).
The beauty of a single driver is coherency and immediacy - and this the Vox delivered in spades. I know people think Magicos and Rockports are dynamic, but frankly they pale compared to what I heard from a high efficient, dynamic driver system the other day. These traits are relative and unless you've spent serious time with single driver speakers, you might not know what you're missing. Dynamics and jump factor were astounding through these speakers. They also don't suffer from coherency woes where disparate sounds are coming out of different drivers.
We played mostly digital through a Total Dac into a Audio Valve preamplifier and KR Audio Kronzilla SX amplifier. Source was Qobuz through Roon. I noticed from the get go, that something was off in the upper midrange. In particular, strings on Max Richter's Vivaldi recomposition were wiry and somewhat strident and thin. On some Cecille Savant though, I might have heard the most transparent voice I've ever heard - it really is something to hear the layers peeled back on something so simple. But I kept coming back to "thin" on numerous cuts during my demo higher up in the frequency range. Think strings, saxaphones, etc.
I turned to other genres including my trademark electronica to evaluate the bass - unfortunately part of the plastic was flapping a bit on a few tracks- but I noticed the bass was extremely fast if somewhat dry. One of the things about Devore bass is that it trades resolution for tuneful bass. This was the exact opposite. I also didn't feel on electronica (or large scale classical) that the speaker was at its best as the complexity increased. My friend and I quipped it probably was best just to get the monitors and forget about matching a sub - the Pis go down to a solid 40hz.
Then we went to some male vocals including Jason Isbell, Blake Mills, and Johnny Cash - it was weird that these voices were much fuller and somewhat darker than the upper registers. At this point I became confused. I just didn't feel the speaker was even from top to bottom and perhaps this was a break-in issue. When back home that evening, I played some of the same tracks and felt while my Devores are nowhere near as dynamic or immediate, that they are far more even and involving top to bottom.
As I've said before, *every* speaker is a compromise. I chuckle at people who say their speaker does it all, because I promise you it does not. Unfortunately the Vox didn't really hit my criteria but if simple, vocal oriented music is your thing then its definitely worth an audition.
This is a 7" full range driver with active bass module system that I heard on Saturday. The speakers were still wrapped in shrink wrap with the exception of the drivers as the pair was for sale - I don't believe too many hours were on them, so the Pis very well could have not been fully broken in. This particular set had the middle of the line Vox drivers which use a wooden surround (not paper like the original ones).
The beauty of a single driver is coherency and immediacy - and this the Vox delivered in spades. I know people think Magicos and Rockports are dynamic, but frankly they pale compared to what I heard from a high efficient, dynamic driver system the other day. These traits are relative and unless you've spent serious time with single driver speakers, you might not know what you're missing. Dynamics and jump factor were astounding through these speakers. They also don't suffer from coherency woes where disparate sounds are coming out of different drivers.
We played mostly digital through a Total Dac into a Audio Valve preamplifier and KR Audio Kronzilla SX amplifier. Source was Qobuz through Roon. I noticed from the get go, that something was off in the upper midrange. In particular, strings on Max Richter's Vivaldi recomposition were wiry and somewhat strident and thin. On some Cecille Savant though, I might have heard the most transparent voice I've ever heard - it really is something to hear the layers peeled back on something so simple. But I kept coming back to "thin" on numerous cuts during my demo higher up in the frequency range. Think strings, saxaphones, etc.
I turned to other genres including my trademark electronica to evaluate the bass - unfortunately part of the plastic was flapping a bit on a few tracks- but I noticed the bass was extremely fast if somewhat dry. One of the things about Devore bass is that it trades resolution for tuneful bass. This was the exact opposite. I also didn't feel on electronica (or large scale classical) that the speaker was at its best as the complexity increased. My friend and I quipped it probably was best just to get the monitors and forget about matching a sub - the Pis go down to a solid 40hz.
Then we went to some male vocals including Jason Isbell, Blake Mills, and Johnny Cash - it was weird that these voices were much fuller and somewhat darker than the upper registers. At this point I became confused. I just didn't feel the speaker was even from top to bottom and perhaps this was a break-in issue. When back home that evening, I played some of the same tracks and felt while my Devores are nowhere near as dynamic or immediate, that they are far more even and involving top to bottom.
As I've said before, *every* speaker is a compromise. I chuckle at people who say their speaker does it all, because I promise you it does not. Unfortunately the Vox didn't really hit my criteria but if simple, vocal oriented music is your thing then its definitely worth an audition.
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Nice report!
If you liked Vox I think Omegas are very close, and the ones with 6.5" Alnico drivers are better in some ways. They have both true single driver and 1.5 way designs.
https://omegaloudspeakers.com/colle...lnico-high-output-monitor?variant=32172424908
If you liked Vox I think Omegas are very close, and the ones with 6.5" Alnico drivers are better in some ways. They have both true single driver and 1.5 way designs.
https://omegaloudspeakers.com/colle...lnico-high-output-monitor?variant=32172424908
If I could build a system solely for girl-with-guitar music, it'd be SET based with Vox Ampeggio X speakers. So I fully agree with you!
Nice feedback Keith! I tend to agree with most of what you have said and now having owned a couple of these types of speakers to play with I have found that I don’t love them as full range drivers. I have found that in appropriate cabinets they can make really good bass and mids are immediate and fast. I also find the upper ranges problematic and prefer a proper tweeter...even on single drivers, like the Cube speakers, that measure quite flat...most of these drivers are anything but flat measuring, which is what you likely reacted to negatively.
What I opted for (again in my experimental system) is a “full range” driver without a whizzer and to cross it to a compression driver/horn. This maintains the immediacy to a large degree (some of it might be artificially created by the frequency response imbalance) and gives a far more even tonal balance. My big Odeons are similar to this although technically the mid/bass is not a “full range” driver (it is flat to 5khz though).
This is also why I thought what Horning does with De-whizzing a Lowther and adding tweeter and woofers with almost no crossover very interesting and I am going that direction because single drivers on their own, to me, sound too flawed but I want their strengths and want to minimize their weaknesses.
However, a proper breakin might have also helped somewhat as these driver types take a LONG time to breakin. That said, I haven’t heard a Voxativ I could love on its own.
I'm sure the break in had a LOT to do with it. But they might also sound slightly wimpy forever since I don't they have have any BSC.
Haven’t heard Feastrex (really big bucks) or Omega (quite affordable, no?). AER gets raves here from you, the General, Audiophile Bill etc. but somehow always disappoints at shows...weird...
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