Must listen list when I get the chance
Those speakers are very interesting to me. KEF are a good stable. A coaxial driver has a lot to recommend it, especially for the center channel. See my previous posts.
One of the interesting things about this speaker, is that the two woofers are in separate enclosures with slightly different tuning. I assume this is to spread the area of bass reinforcement. I'm a committed transmission line enthusiast. See my other posts on this. The TLS has broader and greater bass reinforcement than reflex or sealed enclosures.
I really doubt these speakers are bass deficient. As I have previously stated very few people have heard speakers with a really extended AND accurate last octave. People are just used to the horrible problems most speaker create in the bass, that they accept it as "normal." I have found that listeners first impression of a speaker with a really accurate last octave is that it is bass deficient. Also as far as amps go with that speaker, with these two woofers, I bet the impedance drops at the lower end. You need an amp that can supply lots of current to low impedance loads. If you don't have that, I don't consider it a fair listen. Also listen long enough to get used to an an accurate and properly balanced bottom end.
I have a close friend who has just purchased the B & W 800Ds. They are about the same price, but he got the them for $16K. They are very good speakers. Their bottom end was good, but I was aware of the port output cutting in. This gave them a VERY SLIGHTLY heavy footed bottom end compared to my TLS rig, and the owner agrees.
http://mdcarter.smugmug.com/gallery/2424008#127077317
The right and left speakers use three amps to each speaker, one passive and two electronic crossovers. Perhaps hardly a fair comparison. The cost of producing these commercially would be absolutely astronomical.
In terms of cost, have a heart for the manufacturer. The cost of developing a world class design is huge. I bet even with a team it takes a long time. With me working by myself it takes a very long time. I seriously doubt the materials can be provided for that speaker for $1500. I would say that is well under the mark. The labor involved here I would think is prodigious, and we are not talking cheap Chinese labor here. Those speakers I imagine weigh plenty, so the cost of freight must be very significant. The cost does not surprise me at all. Everyone involved in getting a product like this in the hands of the customer has to make a profit, or we won't have sophisticated designs like that. Also this is going to be a pretty low volume speaker at these prices, so there will be fewer units to spread the R & D over. Actually when you look at the history of flagship products, the manufacturer often never turns a profit on them. For instance we now know that Garrard never made a profit on their famous 301 and 401 turntables.
Please keep us posted it you get a chance to hear those speakers with a better amp. Also play some program with some deep bass content, like a big pipe organ with some 32 ft stops pulled!
