Adagio Zen Adagio not blowing me away.

[Chipbyrd]

OK, this was a surprise. *I picked up a pair of Acoustic Zen Adagios yesterday to replace my Klipsch RF-83's. *I thought the AZA's would blow the 83's away. *Not so much.

Let me begin with a disclaimer. *I spent a lot of time placing the 83's and getting the toed in just right. *Haven't done that with the AZA's yet, neither have I installed the outriggers. *Tonight I will spend time tweaking them. *So my initial reactions are based on the AZA's setting where the Klipsch sat.

Initial reaction: AZA's are pristine in the top end. *They truly sparkle. *The soundstage has deepened over my Klipsch. They definitely provide incredible detail. * The bass is fast and tight, but I find it lacking a bit. *Again, I will have to lay around with placement, but if I keep the AZA's I will likely add a sub or two. *

I think I prefer the AZA's, but I am surprised they didn't knock my socks off. *The*
Klipsch lack the finesse of the AZA's, but seem to fill the room better especially in the lower end. My room 17' x 21' and is treated with bass traps and some absorption. *I was using Cambridge Audio 840w 840e separates.

Tonight I will fiddle with placement toe in, etc. *Any advice from AZA owners about placement? *Will the outriggers make a substantial difference? *So far, only moderately impressed.

Thanks, Chip

 

[Nuance AH]

Spend more time with the Acoustic Zen's, as you might simply be used to what you had and need to time determine if you like the new sound. Also, I wouldn't judge what a speaker does below 200Hz, as the room dominates the sound at that point. Cross both to a subwoofer and compare that way, as it'll be a more apples to apples scenario.

The weekend is almost here, so enjoy it by listening to a bunch of music and watching some movies; keep whichever speaker you prefer after a few weeks of serious listening.

 

[Chipbyrd]

Adagios

Thanks. No, I am not giving up on them. I just honk they are going to be finicky and I need to spend the time. I will put the outriggers on this evening.

 

[DS-21]

I'm not sure why you'd expect them to blow you away. That's just not a well-designed speaker. In fact, I can't think of anything the designer got right: wide driver spacing, sharp edges around the tweeter, no directivity control at the bottom of the tweeter's passband..

The "pristine treble" you're hearing is more likely than not a massive mushroom cloud of midrange energy in the 3-5kHz range, stemming from the speaker's fundamentally poor design.

Such a flawed design is likely to require all sorts of unsightly band-aids around the room to make them listenable.

 

[timoteo]

Ouch!!!