I'm initiating this new thread as a follow-on to the "Standmount speakers: $2K, $4K or $6K" thread I started last month wherein I described my search for standmounts in three price ranges. In this new thread I will be sharing my thoughts on four speakers I've chosen to audition at home after in-dealer trials and receiving much useful feedback from Audioholics Forum members.
The speakers, in order of audition and comment will iinclude:
WaveTouch "Mt. Rainier" (not yet in production)
Salk Sound "Silk"
B&W "CM5"
Totem Element "Fire"
I'll begin with my impressions of the Mt. Rainier, the anticipated follow-on to the WaveTouch Grand Teton.
I'll start with the phrase "And now for something completely different," because that's the best way I can describe my experience with the WaveTouch Mt. Rainier...or at least the crossover parts testing cabinets sent to me by designer Alex Yoon.
Different in just about every way, from how it came to be included in my "short list", to the interactions with Mr. Yoon, to the unpacking, the set-up, to my wife's reaction to the speakers..., I could go on and on. Oh, and did I mention the appearance? (pictures at end of post)
I won't go into every detail because there's just too much going on with this speaker, but I will comment on the appearance. Calling its looks "unconventional" would not do it justice. Indeed quite the opposite could be said in that most of the oddities of its appearance are features designed to enhance the sound and enable customization by the listener. This customization can be done through the addition of various diffusers, rotating mechanisms, ropes around the woofers, etc. Suffice it to say this speaker is a "tweaker's paradise." It's almost as if the speaker is a set of components in and of itself. As strange as some of this may seem, these things actually have a significant effect on the sound. I mentioned my wife's reaction above. She rarely gets involved in this stuff (which I'm sure comes as a complete suprise to you all
), but in the case of this unique looking speaker she actually showed some interest. When we first started to listen to it, I'll just say she wasn't too taken by it. But after working the ropes, angling waveguides, experimenting with diffusers and careful placement, her reaction was "oh, that's better." So enough said about that.
Although it's tempting, I won't dwell on the appearance of this speaker. The final thought I'll leave on this is that it looks less strange in real life than in pictures, and after having it around a while the oddities kind of go away. The longer you look at and hear the speaker, the less noticeable its looks become and the more significant its sound does.
Before I go further I should provide background on my listening perspective coming into these auditions. Predominantly my history has been listening to large speakers from my days as a club DJ to my primary home speakers which are custom 3-ways with Focal drivers and a 13 inch woofer in a large cabinet. So approaching standmounts and not wanting to go with a sub, bass response is a concern for me. Of course the laws of physics are at play and I'm not expecting to get the same bass I'm used to hearing on my customs, so I'm willing to trade that off for the potentially better imaging of a standmount - which is why I got into this standmount hunt in the first place. I just have to determine the extent of the tradeoff that I'm willing to make.
My musical preferences don't vary very widely, mainly rock/pop, mainstream club/dance, '80's R&B, light jazz and femal vocalists, Broadway and classic classical.
My listening room is a 13'x15' carpeted space with 9' ceilings, and I'm currently using a Musical Fidelity M6500i integrated amp as the foundation of my electronics.
So back to the Mt. Rainiers. Again, most everything about this speaker is unique. In his guidelines Mr. Yoon states:
"Your new speakers are different from all your previous speakers. Please be ready to hear the difference. Your ears need some time to get used to a "new sound."
"New sound" indeed.
First off these speakers are very efficient, spec'ing out at 4 ohms and 90 dB SPL, with 40-27kHz frequency response. This is the smallest speaker in my audition plan, measuring 12"h x 7.5"w x 9.5"d.
After some warmup I immediately started to relate to Mr. Yoon's statement about these speakers sounding different. There is a detail to them to an extent I didn't hear in any of the other speakers I auditioned, save perhaps the Joseph Audio Pulsars. I immediately contrasted the Mt. Rainiers to the Sonus Faber Olympica, which I felt were overly smooth (or maybe veiled) to the point where I felt I was missing too much. The WaveTouch tag line on their web site reads: "The veil (in front of speakers) is lifted." This seems an apt despriction. There is an abundance of information coming from these speakers, but not in an overly strident way.
These speakers have a pleasing energy and excitement to them at lower volume levels, the type which I found lacking on several others I auditioned including the Spendor SP1/2R2. At near-in listening distances I found myself wanting to listen to many of my favorite tracks on the WaveTouch just to see how they'd fare through this "different" sounding speaker. Another comparison I can draw is versus the Dynaudio Confidence 1, which also has a great amount of detail and information, perhaps in a more balanced way wherein the detail doesn't stand out as much (but at a lot more money). And by the way, the C1 is not the most conventional looking speaker either, and like the WaveTouch, very much in the service of sound.
For a small speaker these Mt. Rainiers can play quite loud and filled my room very well, albeit not with the same weight as my references. They were able to handle everything I threw at them, from the driving bass of extended remixes of Madonna's "Die another Day" to Andrew Lloyd Weber's organ-heavy "Phantom of the Opera" overture. But I most enjoyed smaller scale music, like ensembles or acoustic soloists on thses Mt. Rainiers. James Taylor's "Sweet Baby Jane" was, in a good way, like I've never heard it before.
Perhaps due to the Scanspeak "Revelator" mid/woofers employed in them, these are indeed revelatory speakers. I tried several combinations of amps, cables and source gear, and all I can say is you better be ready to "face the music" coming out of your componentry leading up to this speaker, becasue you will hear it in spades. I think these speakers would be best paired with tube or warm, tube-like transistor amplification.
One concern i did have, which along with bass content of standmounts is a major issue for me, is the potential for listener fatigue. At first I thought this could be a problem, but after extended listening, optimum placement and several adjustments with diffusers, that concern dissipated. But again, I think this speaker would be best mated to warmer sounding electronics.
Finally I come to the bass, which as I expected, appeared as my pet "bug-a-boo." This is where I felt I was missing something. It's clearly present, but sometimes just not enough. My thinking is I'd need a sub to live with these as my only speakers long term. (But I may come to that conclusion with all of the standmounts in my auditioning plan)
Overall, although it's the first in my line-up for home audition, I think I now understand and can appreciate the claim that this is a "different" sounding speaker. Of course, every speaker is in some sense different, but with the WaveTouch it's just more noticeable. How different I won't be able to judge until I'm throgh the rest of my listening to the others in my plan.
However I can say right now that this is a serious speaker, one to be reckoned with and one that may be just the right choice for those looking to experience intimate listening with an extraordinary level of detail and musical reality (to the extent detail goes hand-in-hand with reality).
Next I'll move on to auditioning the Salk "Silk".
For those of you who'd like to follow my impressions real time I have opened a Twitter account:
"@audioamici"
Estimated specifications for WaveTouch Mt. Rainier:
Frequency response: 40-27kHz
Sensitivity: 90db (4 ohm)
Nordost internal wiring
AMT Heil ribbon tweeter
5.5" Scanspeak "Revelator" woofer
YoonTone (TM) technology
Maple plywood cabinetry
Production model will be trapezoidal: Base 9"w x 9.5"d, Top 6.5"w x 9.5"d, Height 12"
Price: $4,000/pr
