First, I'd like to extend a very heartfelt THANK YOU to Dave and Yvette for hosting a great get together yesterday, they did a phenomenal job! People like Dave and Yvette are a huge reason why this is such a great hobby.
Thanks too to Emotiva and jvgillow for bringing so much gear. It was really a treat to see/hear some new products not yet available for sale.
Some highlights:
There were quite a few people listening to the 7.1 and 2.0 Emotiva setups in the living room/dining room areas when I got there, so I headed for the dedicated HT. Dave has done a great job with this room and definitely has quite the collection of toys! I was very excited to hear the two MFW-15's and so I pretty much hung out in there until the MFW's were set up. In the meantime, we listened to some various concerts Dave had saved on his DVR over HD-Net. Dave's Canton setup with dual VTF-3HO's sounded great. I could hang out there all day!
The MFW's were then hooked up and we ran though numerous demo scenes including the U-571 depth charge scene, various scenes from Transformers, and the Darla tapping scene from Finding Nemo. During the Transformers demo scenes I was really impressed with the speed and accuracy of the MFW's, they integrated well with the other speakers and I ended up just enjoying the movie more than thinking about the subwoofers. During the Darla tapping scene, you could really feel the power and depth these guys are capable of. They easily filled the room with that deep pounding bass we all know and love from that scene. It was cool to see the size comparison between the MFW's and the VTF-3HO's as well. They were pretty similar in size, definitely both very LARGE subwoofers.
When I emerged from the dedicated HT, the guys were setting up the x-sls classics and x-ls encores with the new Emotiva gear for an A/B comparison. I sat down to listen to this for a while and it was amazing the difference between the classic and encore x-series speakers. Switching to the encores from the classics really opened up the sound stage. The highs had a new level of detail and airiness. We switched onto the upcoming UPA-2 amp from Emotiva and the pairing was fantastic. The x-ls encores really sounded smooth and well balanced. Needless to say, I was extremely impressed the sound we were getting for the price you can pick up this gear for!
Next, we set up an A/B comparison in the front living room and began with the Status Acoustic Decimos and SVS MBS-01's. We got out the SPL meter and level matched the two sets of speakers and sat down to listen. Right from the beginning, something seemed a bit off. Gene sat down and immediately recognized that the level matching was inaccurate and said the SVS's were about 2 db hot. So, we finally got the house quieted down and restarted the level matching process. How far off were we? 2 db hot on the SVS's.
Gene should be known as the human SPL meter from now on. I suggested we save time in level matching the speakers from that point forward by simply letting Gene do it by ear, but he passed on that idea. Oh well.
Let me preface the comments below to point out that these are my opinions only, and that we were listening in an environment that while enlightening and fun, was not ideal for truly evaluating two sets of speakers in comparison to each other. So then, for the listening impressions after getting the speakers level matched:
Decimos and MBS-01's - Right off the bat, I was really impressed with the detail and balance of the Decimos. These are quite pricey for a set of bookshelf speakers, and I was expecting a lot for the price. They didn't disappoint. These things were throwing a nice big sound stage and really able to resolve the finest details in the music. The midrange was strong and smooth, and the bass was tight and detailed. Very nice set of speakers. The MBS-01's were definitely able to reach lower in the frequency range, and were presenting some nicely detailed highs. In the midrange, I felt like the Decimos really shined in this comparison. When switching from the Decimos, the SVS's sounded a bit constricted and veiled in the midrange by comparison. This was most evident during a trumpet solo on the song we were listening to, and when listening to the female singer's voice. After listening, someone mentioned that SVS is actually sending new crossovers to everyone who bought these speakers, and we were unsure whether the samples we were listening to had the new crossover or not. Our guess was that the set we were listening to had not been updated with the new crossover. In the end I preferred the Decimos, but keep in mind this was hardly a fair comparison between a set of speakers that sells for around $1000 and a set that sells for $2800.
Decimos and AV123 x-ls encores - After being so impressed by the x-ls encore's when hearing them paired with the new Emotiva gear, I was really looking forward to this comparison. It was immediately apparent that these are two speakers with different design goals. The Decimos were more forward, while the encores were more laid back. Gene mentioned that the x-ls classics that he did an earlier review on bottomed out frequently at volume during bass intensive passages, but the encores we had on hand did not exhibit any of this behavior. I found them to be nicely balanced from top to bottom and they were delivering a very nice and detailed bottom end, especially during a drum solo passage. Between the two speakers, the Decimos were presenting a larger sound stage and had more high end detail, but the encores held up very well in the comparison. In fact, I prefer a more laid back sound, and actually found myself wanting to turn the volume down on the decimos toward the end of the song, but I didn't feel that way with the encores. In a different room, I would likely feel differently, but in comparison to the encores, the Decimos had a little too much energy on the top end for me after listening for a while. The x-ls's were not fatiguing at all, and the word that came to mind during the comparison was that the encores were very smooth and easy to listen to. When you consider that Decimos cost nearly 10x as much as the encores, it is truly impressive how well the x-ls encores performed.
Decimos and Emotiva ERM-1's - The ERM-1's are designed with yet another goal in mind. They are sealed and contain two 5.25" woofers, and are designed to integrate with a sub woofer. The ERM-1's roll off quickly after 80hz, so we had to focus on comparing the sound above that frequency while listening to these two sets of speakers together. I was very impressed with how well the ERM's performed here, and they really excelled in the area of midbass punch with their dual woofers. I thought they had a little more energy in the highs than the Decimos, but were able to present details very well, which will be beneficial in the arena where I think these speakers would really shine, which is in a home theater setting. I also felt like the Decimos had a wider sound stage with better separation of the instruments, but if you pair the MBS's with a sub woofer (or preferably two) you would have a very nice package. To me, the most impressive thing about the ERM-1's was that they were designed with maximum flexibility in placement in mind, which should allow them to be integrated into just about any environment.
That was it for the bookshelf comparison, but I did stick around long enough to hear the av123 Strata Minis and Martin Logan Mosaics side by side. We weren't able to level match the two sets of speakers, and the higher sensitivity of the Martin Logans made a true comparison impossible. However, my impression was that the ML's were more energetic in the highs, while the Minis were just a smoother sounding speaker. Both of these speakers were really putting out some beautiful sound and it would be great to do a true comparison of the two.
And that, folks, is it for what I was able to hear yesterday. There was a ton of great stuff and lots of great people to hang out and talk audio with.
Thanks again Dave and Yvette!
