Vivid Giya G1 vs G1 Spirits

[tedtag]

FWIW - This is a slightly edited copy of my post a few days ago, in answer to some questions about Vivid:

...thought I'd mention that I recently voiced a system that included the new G1 Spirits. Maybe the finest speaker - at any price - that I have encountered at any of the substantial number of listening rooms/systems that I have voiced.

Honestly speaking, I didn't expect it, based on the sound of some of Dickie's earlier (non-Vivid) designs.

Interestingly, the speaker even looks different (better to me) after you have listened to it.

Wow! Coming from you Jim, this means a lot!

 

[tedtag]

Here's some pictures of my new room with the Spirits. Please pardon the distortion from the wide angle lens. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer took these when he was here the other day.

 

[DaveyF]

Here's some pictures of my new room with the Spirits. Please pardon the distortion from the wide angle lens. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer took these when he was here the other day.

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Holy schiit---
that's one heck of a system you have there Ted!!

I bet it sounds absolutely amazing! Room and everything are just great. Well done

 

[tedtag]

Holy schiit---
that's one heck of a system you have there Ted!!

I bet it sounds absolutely amazing! Room and everything are just great. Well done

Thanks Davey and I really appreciate your kind comments and support! This has been one hell of an adventure but I could not be more pleased with the outcome. Here are a couple of pictures of the Artesania Tandem Rack, TechDas 3 with air pump, Graham Phantom Elite, TechDas Cartridge, CAT Legend preamp with phono section and outboard power supply, MBL N31 CD/DAC, Stealth Cables.

 

[Rodney Gold]

Ted, I am lost for words..it's just stunning and knowing the spirits as I do and looking at your space..I can only imagine the majesty and grandeur of the system... room filling sound with precise imaging and all the other goodness.

Your dedication to both the space , the system and the system accessories and tuning is legendary .. I wish you well to use it and MYNEBBTYL (May your next eargasm be better than your last)
Keep the impressions coming

 

[NorthStar]

Wow, very very nice!

 

[ashandger]

Ted, simply fabulous room and system. Wishing you years of enjoyment ahead. Happy listening.

 

[tedtag]

Thanks for all your great comments! Rodney you're right; the sound just fills that whole space behind the speakers so the soundstage feels 20' deep. Not to mention wideeeeeeee. I routinely hear things from the sidewalls while the rest of the soundstage behind the speakers stays completely dimensional. Its just really cool. Glad you all like it. Did the decorating myself if you can believe that!

 

[LL21]

Ted,

In the back behind your (awesome) speakers and amps...are those subwoofers? Are they firing backwards away from the front of the system? Most intrigued about how you figured out that set up...most interesting.

 

[RBFC]

Wow, just gorgeous!

Lee

 

[leyenda]

Another Wow! I have auditioned the Spirits and can only imagine how the space behind the speaker can enhance the depth of soundfield in your system. I think the secret to setting up the Vivids is to be able to pull the speaker out far into the room, as the bass do not suffer like other speakers. Is this your experience? I unfortunately do not have much space behind speakers so that keeps me away from the Vivids.

 

[tedtag]

Ted,

In the back behind your (awesome) speakers and amps...are those subwoofers? Are they firing backwards away from the front of the system? Most intrigued about how you figured out that set up...most interesting.

Thanks for your questions LL! Yes those are a pair of REL G2's aimed backwards and crossed over at 26 hz. Jim Smith found that location and set up using an RT Analyzer after everything else was dialed in. He also suggested I try the subs off to the outside of each speaker and compare the sound. I'll try that configuration eventually but it sounds great the way it is now and they are not in the way. There's much more that has been said about that set up including a sketch of the floor plan earlier in this thread (posts #20, 27, & 29 and others.)

 

[tedtag]

Another Wow! I have auditioned the Spirits and can only imagine how the space behind the speaker can enhance the depth of soundfield in your system. I think the secret to setting up the Vivids is to be able to pull the speaker out far into the room, as the bass do not suffer like other speakers. Is this your experience? I unfortunately do not have much space behind speakers so that keeps me away from the Vivids.

Agree completely with your comment about the space behind the speakers; although these speakers might not be as fussy as some about that and would probably sound good in many situations. I spent the last 20 years with planar speakers (Maggies, Quads) except for a pair of Acoustic Zen Crescendos that I loved and just had to have for a while. Planars need space behind them and every time I'd move or set up a room the best locations were always a good distance from the front wall and I'd sit about 7' or even less sometimes, from the front center of each speaker. This really opened up the depth of the soundstage in every situation and I got used to it.

I believe "near field" listening is defined as more like 5' from the speakers. The Spirits are now 115" from my ears or about 9.5', so this is more like "mid field" listening. All of my best sounding set ups have been on the long wall and one of my favorites was a 12'x24' room where I ended up with the speakers 4' from the front wall, 7' from my ears, and 1' behind the listening seat; total 12'. It seems sort of counter intuitive to do this, but with all that space on the sides of the speakers plus away from the front wall, it really lets a speaker breathe and open up. A set up like that might work with the smaller Vivids, but the Spirits seem to need a good volume of space because they put out so much energy. Rodney's room is about 500 sq ft and mine is 460 sq ft.

The AZ Crescendos are "Transmission Line" speakers and have a huge port on the bottom. I'm not sure if the Spirits are officially known as "Transmission Line" and maybe someone else who knows more about that could chime in here. But the Spirits have that big swooping cavity and those large ports behind each woofer. And the signature of the sound of the Spirits does remind me of the Crescendos and as I said, planars in general. So maybe there is a connection here with the sound of ports/ transmission lines/planars as opposed to something like the Magicos that are sealed. Guess I'm from the ported school of thought based on all my rambling comments!

 

[LL21]

Thanks for your questions LL! Yes those are a pair of REL G2's aimed backwards and crossed over at 26 hz. Jim Smith found that location and set up using an RT Analyzer after everything else was dialed in. He also suggested I try the subs off to the outside of each speaker and compare the sound. I'll try that configuration eventually but it sounds great the way it is now and they are not in the way. There's much more that has been said about that set up including a sketch of the floor plan earlier in this thread (posts #20, 27, & 29 and others.)

Very interesting! Thanks for that...great reading!

 

[LL21]

Another Wow! I have auditioned the Spirits and can only imagine how the space behind the speaker can enhance the depth of soundfield in your system...I unfortunately do not have much space behind speakers...

Agree completely with your comment about the space behind the speakers; although these speakers might not be as fussy as some about that and would probably sound good in many situations...

Our experience as well. We also have space behind our speakers since 2 big rooms are essentially open to each other. Overall, we have 41 feet of length and the speakers sit around 17 feet in...so there is 18' x 18' of space behind them and about 23' x 15' in front with 11' ceilings. It has created a true stage behind and around the speakers which is a lot of fun. Good fun.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I cant imagine needing more than a pair of spirits for bass.....In my room I am -2db down at 10hz..from a pretty high level 0
Are you running the RELs in parallel to the spirits or are you highpassing the spirits?
Running in parallel will enable you to use the rels as room smoothers..

They are ported , the woofers roll off at 6 db octave..port resonance in my room is in the low 20's?

Later on this afternoon , Im going to configure the system to biamp them using a 600w Abeltec class D amp for the bass and my 500w Devialets for the rest..lets see how low I can go

I think the speakers need a biggish room and space to breathe .. it then enables a deep and wide soundstage that is free from the speakers .. its sometimes a bit mind blowing to hear instruments coming from places outboard of the speakers.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Lloyd, I can't agree enough w you.
In my new space I have my Zus 9' from front wall, 8' apart, 4' to side walls, 15' from me, and 13' behind me.
The space behind them has really allowed them to breathe, imaging and staging unheard of before, and bass loads the room much more smoothly.
My layout as well as the construction and shape of the room has transformed the Zus from pretty good party spkrs and not much else (I'm a bit embarrassed how I bigged them up before), to truly revealing and powerful performers.
I dread ever going back to a smaller more compromised space if the need becomes telling .

 

[tedtag]

I cant imagine needing more than a pair of spirits for bass.....In my room I am -2db down at 10hz..from a pretty high level 0
Are you running the RELs in parallel to the spirits or are you highpassing the spirits?
Running in parallel will enable you to use the rels as room smoothers..

They are ported , the woofers roll off at 6 db octave..port resonance in my room is in the low 20's?

Later on this afternoon , Im going to configure the system to biamp them using a 600w Abeltec class D amp for the bass and my 500w Devialets for the rest..lets see how low I can go

I think the speakers need a biggish room and space to breathe .. it then enables a deep and wide soundstage that is free from the speakers .. its sometimes a bit mind blowing to hear instruments coming from places outboard of the speakers.

Hi Rodney. I'm using the Neutrik connector of the REL's so the subs are wired directly to the outputs of the amps just like the Vivids; no high passing. They are there to just smooth things out as you mention above. Look forward to hearing the results of your biamping project!

Agree completely with this; "its sometimes a bit mind blowing to hear instruments coming from places outboard of the speakers." The terrific Townes Van Zandt album, Live at the Old Quarter, is recorded in a small club with lots of artifact noise going on. There is obviously somebody above the room he's playing in moving furniture or sliding chairs on a hardwood floor. Its really freaky but the sound is coming from over my head in the listening seat and sometimes behind my head! Then a truck drives by outside and you can hear it pass right through the soundstage. Really cool.

 

[caesar]

Gentlemen, congrats again! 2 of the best systems in the history of the world in 1 thread!

 

[caesar]

Hi Ted, roomwise, do the angled ceilings help or hurt? And how did you deal with the little alcove behind the speakers, which has 2 storage shelves of music and houses the amps?

Obviously you are getting great sound already, but is there more to be done for the room or are you set?