The ultimate shoot-out.

[FrantzM]

It is clear that the shoot-out is not meant to be definitive . Enjoy! I for one would like to attend.

I would have liked them to include some "sane"-price speakers. Something like the Magico S7 or the aforementioned Vivid G1.
The Frame of mind of the High -End Audio world remain the more-expensive-the-better-it-must-be, An audition of such speakers would give the attendees something to think about .. and maybe to cast some doubt if not throughly dispel this point-of-view.

@es347

I agree and again I wouldn't go that high .. The VR-9 would be a good data point ...

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I've been a judge in a speaker building contest with our local audio club for over 10 years. we do it about every other year. it's quite the undertaking with score cards and an organized approach. and these are mostly small speakers. trying to get them all to be even somewhat optimal is a big challenge. finding one amplifier that is equally fair to all the speakers is not an easy task to begin with. room interaction and dispersion patterns are so different.

OTOH with very large 'statement type' speakers trying to get them all optimal enough to not favor one over the other will be a challenge. you will learn something, but whether that is which speaker is best is a question. more likely you will learn how to do it better next time.

yet I applaud the effort being made. it should be a fun experience.

the idea that speaker designer's designs don't change is just silly. sure; they don't jump from one type of tools to a whole different set of tools, there are always family resemblances as with any product lineup, but any designer worth his salt is always evolving. better this, better that. the mind of a creative person is not static.

 

[caesar]

This weekend, I am looking forward to a major shoot out between some of the 'supposed' best speakers available. The occasion is hosted by a local a'phile who happens to own a pair of Acapella Excalibur Triolon V's and a pair of the new Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's. Against these we are going to be listening to 'the worlds best speaker' ( according to the manufacturer).... a pair of YG acoustic Sonja 1.3's. The shoot out should be interesting as the combined cost of these three speakers is well over $700K!
We may be also throwing into the mix the older Wilson Alex 2's....??? Nonetheless, the ancillary gear will also be first order.
The local dealer of the YG's is pretty confident that David ( the YG's) will slay all-comers....we shall see.

I will report back after the shoot-out with my thoughts....

Meantime, any one want to speculate on who the winner will be?

Davey,

Have a blast!

I do wonder about the following:
- Marten has always had great tonality. But what about dynamics and resolution? Can it hang with others for those who consider these qualities important?
- How's good is the driver integration of Acapellas? Does one's brain have to work too hard to make it all come together?


Please take some pictures and looking forward to your impressions.

 

[FrantzM]

Davey,

Have a blast!

I do wonder about the following:
- Marten has always had great tonality. But what about dynamics and resolution? Can it hang with others for those who consider these qualities important?
- How's good is the driver integration of Acapellas? Does one's brain have to work too hard to make it all come together?


Please take some pictures and looking forward to your impressions.

Near-field speakers most Acapella aren't . You need a large room, you need some distance but ... my ..oh! My they can be seductive...

@Mike very valid points. Takes a while to mesh a speaker with a given room .. To find the best spot for all those big speakers is an unsurmountable hurdle.

Post again an

 

[Mike Lavigne]

btw; one piece of advice.

if you are going to have more than one set of speakers in the room at one time; I would recommend trying to power/load the speaker not being used. otherwise it will act as a passive trap and really influence the sound. all that flexible driver surface must be damped. it will sound dead.

 

[caesar]

The OP asked for opinions and I gave mine. I've heard all three brands. I owned the YG for almost 4 years. It's a better speaker than the other two. However, I think vivid does give YG a run for it. I just bought a new pair of speakers and ill post about it later on.

Dallas,

Congrats! Did you get the Vivids?

Also, how do you judge how one speaker is better than another?

 

[caesar]

How do you do a meaningful speaker shootout.... its taken me 6 months to optimize mine in a dedicated and treated room...and thats just one pair

Hi Rodney,

Sorry for the naive question - as I am not an "audiophile" - but why 6 months? You have what arguably may be one of the 2 or 3 "best" speakers in the world? Why can't it take a week or so to get it right once you have the right amps?

 

[slowGEEZR]

..comical that VSA seldom makes "best of" lists here. The VR11s would give any of the afore mentioned world beaters a run for their money...sheesh..

Yes, or Rockport Arrakis, or Wilson XLF, but I bet it will be a fun comparison, nevertheless. I predict the winner will be the one positioned the best regarding the room characteristics, best speaker cable impedance match, etc.

 

[caesar]

Near-field speakers most Acapella aren't . You need a large room, you need some distance but ... my ..oh! My they can be seductive...

@Mike very valid points. Takes a while to mesh a speaker with a given room .. To find the best spot for all those big speakers is an unsurmountable hurdle.

Post again an

Hi Frantz,

I may be missing something, but are you suggesting a relationship between perceived driver integration and room size/ listener position?

 

[Al M.]

Hi Frantz,

I may be missing something, but are you suggesting a relationship between perceived driver integration and room size/ listener position?

There's also the size of the speaker. With some speakers you need to sit further away to get perceived drive integration. And even if you get that, for proper imaging you might have to sit at an even greater distance.

 

[DaveyF]

Have fun Davey! Don't let the naysayers discourage you.

Thanks, Johnny....I won't.

As to the actual protocols with this event, I personally won't have much if any say in the way this is going to be presented. ( my audio club is setting this up...without my assistance) I know that the owner of the Martens/ Acapella's/Wilson's much prefers the Acapella's in his room. Whether the rest of us will agree with him remains to be seen. Nonetheless, the dealer for the YG's believes that the insertion of these speakers will cast no doubt that the YG's are superior. (Even though I do not believe that they have been set up in the room in question before).
As to the speakers and brands, well there are obviously numerous others that could be considered as contenders for the title, however, given the time constraints ( about 4+hours ) and the fact that three are already on situs...with the YG's being brought in locally, the possibility is not there.

 

[KeithR]

enjoy, Davey. I was invited, but not sure I can make the drive down from LA on Saturday.

 

[bonzo75]

That's coz those Acapellas are full range horns. I am not surprised, for sure. It's like R2R vs digital

 

[wisnon]

Have fun Davey! Don't let the naysayers discourage you.

Yes, its all about having fun and not being too serious here.

 

[andromedaaudio]

The winner is the one that speaks to your heart

 

[asiufy]

We're the local dealer bringing in the YGs, along with D'Agostino's new 400W monoblocs and MSB SELECT DAC. So it's more of a "system" x "system" thing.

Our system is in disadvantage from the start, since we'll have just a few hours to set it up, while the other systems will be long properly set up. But we're confident our stuff is so far ahead that it'll still perform better.

If any of your want to attend, contact me for directions/info!


cheers,
alex

 

[Rodney Gold]

Hi Rodney,

Sorry for the naive question - as I am not an "audiophile" - but why 6 months? You have what arguably may be one of the 2 or 3 "best" speakers in the world? Why can't it take a week or so to get it right once you have the right amps?

It can probably take a week..if you aren't into the nth degree of speaker potential.

I actually built the room 9x7m around the speakers , took a month..

Then it was a series of moving the speakers and listening chair 360 degrees around the room with a few weeks at every position till I found the best compromise..
Add in searching for the perfect chair and then a few weeks fiddling with extra room treatment like bass traps , absorption, diffraction etc trying various locations and types of stuff..
fiddling with furniture placement

And then a week or 2 with the cherry on the top DRC.

Before I had turned around 6 months was gone..and Im still tweaking.

 

[ack]

This weekend, I am looking forward to a major shoot out between some of the 'supposed' best speakers available. The occasion is hosted by a local a'phile who happens to own a pair of Acapella Excalibur Triolon V's and a pair of the new Marten Coltrane Supreme 2's. Against these we are going to be listening to 'the worlds best speaker' ( according to the manufacturer).... a pair of YG acoustic Sonja 1.3's. The shoot out should be interesting as the combined cost of these three speakers is well over $700K!
We may be also throwing into the mix the older Wilson Alex 2's....??? Nonetheless, the ancillary gear will also be first order.
The local dealer of the YG's is pretty confident that David ( the YG's) will slay all-comers....we shall see.

I will report back after the shoot-out with my thoughts....

Meantime, any one want to speculate on who the winner will be?

Eagerly awaiting your feedback!

 

[FrantzM]

Hi Frantz,

I may be missing something, but are you suggesting a relationship between perceived driver integration and room size/ listener position?

Yes

I heard two models: Spahedron ( a behemoth of a speaker ) and a smaller but still big model whose name I forgot.. in both case i sat very far from them more than 15 ft.

 

[PeterA]

How long is this comparison going to take? You will be comparing 3 or 4 speakers that are going to have to be set up in their optimum position in the room. These are heavy speakers to move in and out and that takes a lot of time and our audio memory isn't that good.

Great question. I also wonder if the unused speakers will be taken out of the room, which would be essential IMO.

Are the various speakers all of similar sensitivity? What will the rest of the system be?