So I've returned from the northern-most western U.S. province (just before you cross the border to where saying "eh" is mandated by law...all Canucks are hard of hearing, I gather). The missus and I travelled to this near-desperate place to aid in the care and feeding of the missus-mom, who just broke her wrist in several places. It turns out the missus-dad, in his 82 years, never learned to cook or clean. They were thusly starving with a jungle of Medievel detritus surrounding the kitchen. Being the missus-cabbie, I was not allowed to skip this journey of help.
Going on Missions Of Mercy (MOM) can bear many ills. First of all, expect your ISP to change 'send/receive' frequencies so that when you get back, nothing on your computer modem connects to anything in the outside world. After several days of trouble-shooting, waiting on HOLD for hours with your cable internet provider's "
tech support", and waiting for 6 days for a repair crew, you
may have resolved your problems enough to at least get past all the other troubles caused by said trouble-shooting and actually use your computer again. And none of this bears upon the actual level of regard experienced by the missus-cabby from the missus-mom.
But back to the reason for this post. Fortunately, the in-laws live tight against the Pug(l)et Sound.
Sound. Get it? (The tie-in...
) I had a bright idea (for a change). As recompense for my personal assistance provided to the in-laws, the missus-herself granted me one 60 minute audition of every speaker being demo'ed at Magnolia HiFi. That would be...a TOTAL of 60 minutes to audition them all.
So, exactly 1/3 the way into our journey, we stopped so I could whet my aged ears and decaying auditory capabilities with Magnolia's (semi)finest!
(Keep in mind that I live in a really rural area and never, I mean NEVER, get to sample speakers or other a/v equipment.)
So here ya go. One 60 second take on a 60 minute tour of Martin-Logan, DefTech, Vienna Acoustics, Sonus Faber, and Monitor Audio mid-level speakers (still mighty pricey). Note that all were driven without mercy by stacks and stacks of McIntosh front-end monoliths! (Oh, I LOVE those blue lights!
) All McAttackStacks were ~$10K per. So these here speaks are nevah gonna sound better.
Martin-Logan Summits.....When I first heard an electrostat, about a hundred years ago, it was filled with just that...static. And lots of it. The seller tried to blame it on 'dirty' electricity (or gas, or something), but I wasn't buying the story. I hated it. So these M-L's had 2.9 strikes against 'em when he first turned them on. No static this time. Just REALLY sharp, dynamic, intense music (Herb Alpert). I wanted to run for mommy with my ears bleeding. These were as accurate as any speaker I've ever heard, but the notes were honed to a razor's edge before they got to my ears. Electrostats...you love 'em or you don't. Compared to my Aerial 7B standard bearers....an 8!
Monitor Audio RS8s.....These sounded most like my current JBL Studio Series S312s. They might be a little brighter with a tiny bit less low-end. Okay speakers and they well represent the price break. Against the 7Bs....a 7.
DefTechs.....Don't remember the model and don't care. They weren't the LSi's and I thought they were a cut below the other mains I was auditioning. Give 'em a 5 on the Aerial 7B scale.
Vienna Acoustics Baby Grand Beethovens.....These were the speakers I actually demo'ed first. Using a couple of my CDs (Joe Satriani & Evangeline), I waited until the high-school-drop-out-turned-sales-guy left for a moment and actually went around behind the little things to verify that a sub wasn't turned on. These babies were full of range. They had the dynamics I want in speakers and I liked everything about them. I was gonna have to buy these the next time I came across 35 large....until... Oh, wait. On the 7B scale, I gave them a 9. (I know. I'm not saying these are better speakers than Martin-Logans in any way....just that I liked them more for me.)
Sonus Faber Grand Piano DOMUS.....Finally, almost at the point I began looking for the snoozing missus-herself to come fetch me for more cabbying (ha, she fell prey to one of the cool theater seats...I was safe for a few more minutes), I tried the Sonus Fabers. All I can say is that my Aerial true-love has been challenged by a sexy newcomer. And I mean SEXY. These are some of the finest looking sweeties (other than the missus, of course
) to have graced these old eyes. And sound? Oh my! They were dynamic like the Viennas (and the 7Bs), but ohhhh soooo silky smoooooth, too. The imaging, especially during some Pink Floyd cuts was nothing short of amazing!! These remind me of a cross between my experiences of the Aerial 7B and the ACI speakers I auditioned, but with the best of both integrated into one gorgeous package. Comp'ed to the Aerial 7B? There's a new girl in town...11!
Post Script: The foregoing in no way represents measured facts. These are the opinions of the author, only. Note that some opinions are more educated than others. I also make no claim to more-or-less in the way of audio education. Good cheer.
EDIT: I was a little tired when writing the above. The Definitive Technology speakers I auditioned was incorrectly referred to as "not the LSi model". LSi is of course a Polk designation.
