Speakers and Sources

[AcuDefTechGuy]

A fellow forum member visited me yesterday morning. I won't mention his name if he prefers to be unnamed.

The speakers he has in his house currently include Magnepan 3.6 and 1.6, Dynaudio S1.4, and Energy Veritas in-wall. His current player is the Esoteric SA-10 SACD. He recently sold his Ayre and Pass Lab components.

He brought a few SACD, and we listened to all nine sets of speakers I own.

He may elaborate...or not.







I believe he thought all speakers were pretty good overall. But his favorite was the Salon2. His second favorite appeared to be the KEF 201/2.

One interesting note. He had a tough time telling the difference between the TAD 2201 (listed as $1900 on Music Direct, paid $1691, original MSRP $3K) vs KEF 201/2 ($6K).

He also had a tough time differentiating the Focal 826V vs Dynaudio X32.

I believe he prefers everything about the Salon2. For example, I believe he thinks the bass on the Salon2 was tighter and more articulate than the Orion. I might agree with his assessment. But I think I actually now prefer the bass on the Orion the best. I don't know. I think the Salon2's bass may be a little "too tight and dampened". In contrast, I think the Orion's bass is a little less dampened/ tight -- a little more "relaxed" and a little more "punchy". Different taste.

After this experience, I believe he is hoping to get the new Revel F208.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I believe he prefers everything about the Salon2. For example, I believe he thinks the bass on the Salon2 was tighter and more articulate than the Orion. I might agree with his assessment. But I think I actually now prefer the bass on the Orion the best. I don't know. I think the Salon2's bass may be a little "too tight and dampened". In contrast, I think the Orion's bass is a little less dampened/ tight -- a little more "relaxed" and a little more "punchy". Different taste.

It's been well over two years since I've heard the Orion, and I've never heard them in the same room as the Salon2 (you might be the only person in the solar system who can do that), but I distinctly remember liking the Orion bass presentation better on recordings I made myself. I thought at the time that the Orion had more realistic bass. In the midrange I thought the Orion and the Revel were about equal, and then in the highs I thought the Revel was clearly superior. I also liked the imaging of the Revel much better.

One other difference in the bass, the Orion runs out of steam below 100Hz far sooner than the Revel, assuming both are unassisted by subs. I don't know what you guys listened to, but if you were really showing off that might have been a factor.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

It's been well over two years since I've heard the Orion, and I've never heard them in the same room as the Salon2 (you might be the only person in the solar system who can do that), but I distinctly remember liking the Orion bass presentation better on recordings I made myself. I thought at the time that the Orion had more realistic bass. In the midrange I thought the Orion and the Revel were about equal, and then in the highs I thought the Revel was clearly superior. I also liked the imaging of the Revel much better.

One other difference in the bass, the Orion runs out of steam below 100Hz far sooner than the Revel, assuming both are unassisted by subs. I don't know what you guys listened to, but if you were really showing off that might have been a factor.

The Orion cannot match the dynamics of the Salon2 for sure - bass, midrange, and treble.

But to me (not to my friend) when the music did not require great dynamics and force in the bass, I also thought the Orion had more likable "natural" bass. I believe my friend thought the Salon2 pretty much did everything better PERIOD from head to toe for every song.

So when taking every factor into consideration, the Salon2 is the better speaker.

He did bring up at least one good point. At moderate and especially low volume, all the speakers were pretty much about equal. It's only when we turned up to serious critical listening volume did they separate.

 

[Irvrobinson]

How did he think the 802D compared?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How did he think the 802D compared?

He did not like the 802D2 as much. He said the diamond tweeter sounded "a little harsh", which I disagree for the record.

I got the impression he was overall undecided among the Phil3 vs Focal 826V vs Dynaudio X32. He did say the RAAL tweeter seemed a little smoother than the tweeters on the Focal and Dynaudio. But he actually said after comparing them that he was contemplating of just adding dual Rythmik FV15HP subs to his current Dynaudio S1.4.

He also said none of the speakers in the family room were as good as the speakers in the HT room.

Although he had a tough time telling the 201/2 vs 2201 apart (darn, even their names sound the same ), he was not as impressed with the made-in-England ATC SCM7, which he thought had a "rather small soundstage".

 

[Irvrobinson]

He did not like the 802D2 as much. He said the diamond tweeter sounded "a little harsh", which I disagree for the record.

I would not use the word harsh, but that's mere semantics. I do think B&W runs that tweeter too hot for my tastes. They either tune their crossovers for rooms more dead than the dealers I've visited, or their designers just like rather forward highs. If you tilt down the highs with an equalizer, as I did once at a dealer, I think the B&W tweeter is revealed to be the equal of any I've heard, including the Revel's.

 

[fmw]

You don't need all those speakers. The B&W 802's should do the job. I wish I still had mine.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You don't need all those speakers. The B+W 802's should do the job. I wish I still had mine.

Everyone is different for sure. My uncle, another audiophile, loves the 802D2. He prefers them over all my speakers.

BTW, Kevin Voecks said the F208 sounds very close to the Salon2.

And my friend who preferred the Revel above all my speakers just texted me that he has placed an order for the $5,000 Revel F208.

 

[fuzz092888]

Any excuse to post pictures of your setups

That being said for some odd reason I don't get tired of seeing them

I still love those giant HTPC's sitting on top.

 

[Irvrobinson]

That being said for some odd reason I don't get tired of seeing them

Me either. I love it when people are nuttier than I am. Like someone who would build a custom 300lb sub with twin LMS5400s in it...

 

[fuzz092888]

Me either. I love it when people are nuttier than I am. Like someone who would build a custom 300lb sub with twin LMS5400s in it...

That last bit sounds so familiar. That guy must be nuts

I guess that means I shouldn't build those TL subwoofers I was planning.......

 

[Irvrobinson]

That last bit sounds so familiar. That guy must be nuts

I guess that means I shouldn't build those TL subwoofers I was planning.......

Au contraire, mon ami. Nous aimons regarder folie.

 

[fuzz092888]

Au contraire, mon ami. Nous aimons regarder folie.

Ah bon. Un peu de folie est bon pour l'âme.

 

[macddmac]

Laissez le bon temps rouler!

À la vôtre, Mac​

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Any excuse to post pictures of your setups

That being said for some odd reason I don't get tired of seeing them

I still love those giant HTPC's sitting on top.

Seems like everyone asks about those big bad silver things. They look like some giant player. And since there are no brand labels on them, it really confuses people.

 

[KEW]

I got the impression he was overall undecided among the Phil3 vs Focal 826V vs Dynaudio X32. He did say the RAAL tweeter seemed a little smoother than the tweeters on the Focal and Dynaudio.

I don't know about the Dynaudio, but in the case of the RAAL vs Focal tweeter, this should be expected. The RAAL is a top tier tweeter, while the Focal 826V uses Focals second tier tweeter. I would love to hear comments on the RAAL vs Focals inverted dome Beryllium tweeters used in their Electra/Utopia series of speakers.

 

[GranteedEV]

He also said none of the speakers in the family room were as good as the speakers in the HT room.

How much of that was the difference between the rooms themselves, do you suppose?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

How much of that was the difference between the rooms themselves, do you suppose?

I think the family room (18x20) has the acoustic advantage because it is bigger and less crowed than the HT room (15x17).

But I would not discount psychological factors - knowing that the HT room costs A LOT more in every single way.

 

[LeoB89]

so of all your speakers which do you think is your a)most listened speaker? B) Best speaker for the money C)one speaker you would part with.

 

[fuzz092888]

Seems like everyone asks about those big bad silver things. They look like some giant player. And since there are no brand labels on them, it really confuses people.

I remember you sending me the link for the cases and just drooling over them

Maybe someday.