I spoke to Paradigm and they said each driver gets 50W -- true active according to them.
Super Speaker Blog and CES Coverage
- Thread starter Jeff Fritz
- Start date
I spoke to Paradigm and they said each driver gets 50W -- true active according to them.
Hi Jeff,
relating to your comments about The Sonus Faber; from what I understand the primary dealer I purchase from (they sell SF and the top Magico amongst other high end) had similar experience/reservations.
This month HiFiNews got to review the speaker, but what is interesting is in Paul Miller's 1st page editorial it comes out; "it took best part of a week for two engineers to setup", however he did feel this was justified for something as costly as this to ensure the sound was at its best (also in a very well treated listening room).
So I do wonder if the speaker is so complex/fiddly that there just was not enough time to setup at CES, not making excuses for the product as its early days and if this is the cause, then for some this level of expertise requirement and intervention would not be desirable.
Cheers
Orb
The more I've thought about it, the more I think you're right. I've talked to some of my writers who thought the speaker was better sitting farther back than the primary listening position they had set up. That makes me think it wasn't completely sorted out for the room when I heard it.
Ok there were real problems in the room at CES--in addition to what Gary has raised. For some reason, the two 610Ts were on different AC circuits and that was causing them problems; Bill Peugh had a difficult (and not sure he solved it) time biasing the both 610T ARC amplifiers. Second, the speakers were Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. Wouldn't have given you a plumb nickel for them when using the digital front end. With analog THE SF came to life (SME 30/12 and Palos Santos carrtridge) and presented a huge, realistic soundstage, replete with great transparency, low level resolution, air and harmonic textures. Instruments just floated in the air around the stage. And yet, the SF room for me was maybe the second or three best sound at the show for me.
Personally, there were a couple of speakers at the show I would have liked to hear with different electronics or an analog front end since I feel my rxn to them might have changed.
Good questions. I always visit a room multiple times at a show for just the reasons you ask! The equipment breaks in (and even if it is broken, the gear takes time to warm-up; for instance, I find digital gear even broken in takes at least 24 hours to start to sound its best after being shut down/disconnected), the exhibitors fine tune the sound over the show, etc. I find that for some reason, many manufacturers bring "new" and unbroken in cartridges to the show, so they take 50+ hours to loosen up, break in and have their VTA/SRA, VTF and azimuth trimmed.
I try to and get to most rooms of interest on Thurs/Fri and then go back to specific rooms on Sat and Sunday. So for the SF, I heard them Fri-Sat-Sunday. But only saw Bill the first day so don't know what happened with the amplifier problems. I was sitting dead red when listening since I happened into the room it seems at off peak times (though I though the show attendance was way down and had no trouble getting listening time in almost all rooms this year).
So here's the $250,000 question for the reviewers:
As mentioned in this thread, there are so many factors involved with shows - the amps used, the room, the front end, etc. And we all have preferences. Considering all the factors and the setup issues, how are you able to weed out the expensive but poorly designed speakers from what's really good that you would like to get into your home for an extended period of time? How are able to keep an open mind to what could be really good, instead of awarding the same speaker (Magico, Wilson, or whatever is in your reference system these days) the best of show?
As mentioned in this thread, there are so many factors involved with shows - the amps used, the room, the front end, etc. And we all have preferences. Considering all the factors and the setup issues, how are you able to weed out the expensive but poorly designed speakers from what's really good that you would like to get into your home for an extended period of time? How are able to keep an open mind to what could be really good, instead of awarding the same speaker (Magico, Wilson, or whatever is in your reference system these days) the best of show?
If the manufacturer can't get it to sound good with their choice of gear and a bunch of guys on hand to help, what chance does a consumer have at home?
Remember what a show is for: to let you hear the product.
garylkoh
WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
+1
The rooms sound pretty good at The Venetian. This year, I was able to get away with absolutely no room treatment and still get beyond-wall to beyond-wall sound. The trick was to have a loudspeaker that was the appropriate size of the room. The biggest detriment to the sound is IMHO the little blue current-restricting blue box supplied by the hotel. Given the penalties for tripping breakers if you don't use the blue box, the cost of doing the show in the first place, and the value of having a good-sounding system at the show, I thought it worth taking the risk.
Hopefully, not too many of my competitors read the Whats Best Forum. If any of my competitors are reading this, PARTICIPATE!!!
Maybe sometime in the future 
, ive never heard a genesis unfortunately , as it is not represented in holland .
Same for rockport .
And off course i would give the slotmachines a workout in vegas
, ive never heard a genesis unfortunately , as it is not represented in holland .Same for rockport .
And off course i would give the slotmachines a workout in vegas
Thank you. That is what I would tend to think also. But then you hear stories like the system sound changes from day to day from patheric to great, electricity is bad, cables did not jell with the system, no room treatments, "XYZ speakers never show well, but get rave reviews", etc...
And then, of course, you have the source issue. Wilson plays Peter McGrath's high res recordings. Pull out some Quad 57's from a garage - dust, cobwebs, and all - and they will SMOKE most of these high priced speakers with these recordings. Definitely a competitive advantage, but that's what a show is for. Right?
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