Stenheim Reference Ultime two vs Zellaton Reference

[Alrainbow]

Many people buy just to get forum attention, so this whole decision making process with forum involvement and then the congrats that follows with the social interaction is worth like 200k

When is it your turn and when !!!

 

[AudioHR]

Marty's system is extraordinary over all , he is a person who puts track marks on his rugs to achieve perfection
If you want to be totally honest what ever he picks it becomes world class .

Careful now! Marty from all accounts has an extraordinary system and does his due diligence to set it up but others reality might not be the same.

Room size, appropriate room treatment and proper placement of all components and speakers are hugely important. Then of course there is the appropriate selection and integration into the system which in addition to the above is the reason Marty has a stellar sounding system.

So just because it works for Marty it may not work for the rest of us.

 

[clearsound]

I also own the Stenheim 5se's. Prior to owning these I owned the Zellaton Concerts. I loved my Zellatons but 5se was a major step up. A good friend of mine owns the Ultime 2's- in fact I was very close to buying a pair myself. I just felt like they would overwhelm my room- in his room they are spectacular. The Zellaton Ref's are also a terrific speaker. I don't think you can wrong with either one- if your room can support it. I find the 5se's to have almost an identical sound signature to the Ultime 2's but they seem to be a little more delicate. Jonathan Valin did a review of the Zellaton Ref's about five years ago. He visited Audio Arts in NY. Loved the speakers. The interesting caveat was that he also listened to 5se's and made surprising comparisons to the two speakers at the time. Later, JV reviewed the 5se's and I believe may have "purchased" them as his reference speakers. Again, you shouldn't be disappointed either way- but you also may be better off just keeping what you have.

Hello, how big a listening room do you have for the Stenheim FIVE SE?

 

[John C]

Hello, how big a listening room do you have for the Stenheim FIVE SE?

My room is 17’ w by 20’ d with 10/11’ foot ceilings.

 

[jbrrp1]

Fran Tarkenton! You don't see that everywhere... Looks like a nice sized room for the Stenheims, even the Ultimes.

 

[buzzlulu]

5SE here as well. Not a particularly large room - 17'7" x 11'7". They replaced a pair of Kudos Titan T88 which fronted a Naim 500 system for 20 years. Kudos are a well known UK manufacturer highly considered by Naim owners.

The 5SE's are toed in - 55" between the front inner corners and 60" between the rear inner corners. The front outside corner of the right speaker is 24" off the side wall while the front left outside corner of the left speaker is 40" off the side wall.

@John C what can you tell me about the new bases for the Stenheims? They are interesting and I would consider them however the problem I require my 5SE's to be tilted downward. The rear spikes did not have enough extension and my dealer has them sitting on aluminum pucks to raise the rear even more. The addition of the Stenheim bases would raise the tweeter level even higher - resulting in the need for even more rear height for downward firing. I sit around 8-9' from the speakers so the tweeters need to fire downward to hit the sweet-spot for my ears

 

[John C]

Fran Tarkenton! You don't see that everywhere... Looks like a nice sized room for the Stenheims, even the Ultimes.

Fran was my first football hero!

 

[MarkusBarkus]

The rear spikes did not have enough extension

...you could always cut the front studs a bit. Jam-nuts, vice, hack-saw (or angle grinder) and 15 minutes.

 

[marty]

Careful now! Marty from all accounts has an extraordinary system and does his due diligence to set it up but others reality might not be the same.

Room size, appropriate room treatment and proper placement of all components and speakers are hugely important. Then of course there is the appropriate selection and integration into the system which in addition to the above is the reason Marty has a stellar sounding system.

So just because it works for Marty it may not work for the rest of us.

Just seeing this now and spot on. I have biases, just like any audiophile. What works for me may certainly not work for everyone.

In addition, as almost everyone who knows me can attest, the reason I own most of what I own is that I either skipped the line for the anti-psychotic meds they wanted to give me at the nursing home, or I took twice my recommended dose. That's the true audiophile dilemma, not what gear to buy.

 

[John C]

5SE here as well. Not a particularly large room - 17'7" x 11'7". They replaced a pair of Kudos Titan T88 which fronted a Naim 500 system for 20 years. Kudos are a well known UK manufacturer highly considered by Naim owners.

The 5SE's are toed in - 55" between the front inner corners and 60" between the rear inner corners. The front outside corner of the right speaker is 24" off the side wall while the front left outside corner of the left speaker is 40" off the side wall.

@John C what can you tell me about the new bases for the Stenheims? They are interesting and I would consider them however the problem I require my 5SE's to be tilted downward. The rear spikes did not have enough extension and my dealer has them sitting on aluminum pucks to raise the rear even more. The addition of the Stenheim bases would raise the tweeter level even higher - resulting in the need for even more rear height for downward firing. I sit around 8-9' from the speakers so the tweeters need to fire downward to hit the sweet-spot for my earsView attachment 153423

5SE here as well. Not a particularly large room - 17'7" x 11'7". They replaced a pair of Kudos Titan T88 which fronted a Naim 500 system for 20 years. Kudos are a well known UK manufacturer highly considered by Naim owners.

The 5SE's are toed in - 55" between the front inner corners and 60" between the rear inner corners. The front outside corner of the right speaker is 24" off the side wall while the front left outside corner of the left speaker is 40" off the side wall.

@John C what can you tell me about the new bases for the Stenheims? They are interesting and I would consider them however the problem I require my 5SE's to be tilted downward. The rear spikes did not have enough extension and my dealer has them sitting on aluminum pucks to raise the rear even more. The addition of the Stenheim bases would raise the tweeter level even higher - resulting in the need for even more rear height for downward firing. I sit around 8-9' from the speakers so the tweeters need to fire downward to hit the sweet-spot for my earsView attachment 153423

Buzz- I have been thrilled with the addition of the Stenheim stands. My room is above our garage. I have reinforced the floor with steel beams but the floor itself is not ideal. So, the platforms make a significant difference for me. For starters, I can truly level my speakers- which I prefer. The speakers are truly decoupled from the floor. The efficiency of the bass energy is stunning. "Nothing" is being absorbed into the floor. The speakers have gotten "quieter" and the presentation has opened up even more. For my situation they were worth every penny.

 

[Steve Williams]

@John C

reading the posts it seems that your recommendation is based on a 13 year old set of Zellaton speakers. Just wondering if you had a chance to listen to current versions and then compare to Stenheim. I wonder if your impression would be the same

 

[John C]

Unfortunately, I have only heard my speakers and the Ref's once a number of years ago. I wish I had more opportunities to hear them. I am a big fan of the company. I tried to be pretty careful to point that out. I did not recommend one of the Reference speakers over the other. I thought I was pretty clear on saying that I didn't think the OP could go wrong either way. My opinion is that at a certain point all (certainly most) speakers sound pretty amazing. It comes down to personal preferences, equipment and room synergy that may give an edge to one over another. I don't believe in there being a "best". Then there is dealer networks. Zellaton has chosen to have an exclusive distributor in the US. Gideon apparently does a terrific job but that makes it more difficult to hear their products. It certainly is a little easier to audition a pair of Stenheims. I'm extremely happy with my Stenheims. I'd go as far as to say they are "perfect" for my room and set up. But, I am also confident that I could be ecstatic with a pair of Zellatons as well.