EA MM2 is great!!! Quite a Statement themself.
I heard both in the same room for 2 whole days... |
Please list the other 17 spakers you ruled out... |
Matt,
Franco Serblin was the original founder of Sonus Faber:
More chat here, including my opinion:
http://audioshark.org/speakers-10/franco-serblin-ktema-speakers-any-opinion-5258.html |
Matt,
BTW, thanks for the comprehensive summary. Good job.
Your opinion, so no need to agree or disagree. I only need to digest. Its a decent frame of reference.
The Polymer Masters cost a LOT more, but they may have solved the low end issue.
Another interesting speaker is the German Brand Fischer& Fischer. Made of special Granite, the cabinet give new meaning to the term, INERT. Heil tweeter used for the top end.
To go a bit further afield, The Austrian make Trenner&Friedl and the Italian Onda Liguera are 2 other quality contenders, as is the Greek Ypsilon brand. |
Matt, since we are taking statement Loudspeapers, let's not forget: LumenWite Silverflame
Not cheap at £25K retail though
http://lumenwhite.com/silverflame_d_uk.html
" poland´s www.highfidelity.pl, one of europe`s most active high end audio webzines grants lumen white`s muenich high end 2015 show exhibit their "best sound of high end 2015" award.
=====================================================
german high end magazine "hoererlebnis" features a detailed review of the"silver flame" monitors in their december 2007 issue, concluding:
"the lumen white silver flame monitor`s sonic superiority set them instantly apart from all other loudspeakers we know and let them win the hearts of all those, who love music."
key quotes from the review:
"the sound of the lumen white has a captivating, unbelievable ease, purity and airiness.
the music appears instantaneously, as if out of nowhere, in the listening room, free from any kind of colorations and cabinet resonances".
this quality caused instant fascination when the first lumen white speakers appeared years ago and here is the same fascination again. it also may be one of the reasons for the unprecedented success, which the brand has garnered around the globe."
"in smaller listening rooms, the speakers, while significantly smaller in size, deliver low frequency extension close to that of the few significantly bigger loudspeakers in the world which are able to reproduce the lowest of the bass registers with wall shaking realism."
"their capacity to recreate the musical event in a realistic and holographic way in the listening room may indeed represent the very edge of the art at the limits of audio technology"
"their sound breathes true life, offering musical realism of a magnitude which in fact may prove impossible to surpass."
"one could literally "see" the violin player silently nodding her head in the direction of the pianist"
"the silver flames achieve perfect musical homogeneity and do so without any softening of precision or glossing over of fine detail.
details down to the most subtle spacial clue are presented, are present without sticking out, are reproduced as fully integrated parts of the whole gestalt."
"wherein lies the key to the exceptional and unsurpassed transparency, realism, and ease of the lumen white`s`sound?
is it their use of an identical membrane material over the whole frequency band? is it a result of the unique cabinet design with its "damping free" technology? and, what role does their elegantly simple, but uncompomisingly fine, crossover play in this context?
while we are not able to solve this mystery, what we know for certain is that the lumen white silver flame`s sonic superiority set them instantaneously apart from all other loudspeakers we know and let them win the hearts of all those, who love music."
====================================
http://www.hifinews.co.uk/news/article/lumen-white-silver-flame-pound;25000/7582 |
Matt, I see what you mean. I once had a looong chat with a Swiss selling only high end manufacturer called ROWEN. They make enormously powwerful amps and innovative speakers with a 5 octave band dRiver and a hf DRIVER CALLED LMT - which is somewhat similar of the Heil tweeter. Look em up at www.rowen.ch
The 90 min long conversation informed me of how much they hated bass reflex technology and how they designed for Swiss homes that are vault-like with poured concrete being the default building material, as compared to wood and dry wall in the US. Plus Swiss homes are much smaller on average, so ideal speaker placement is more difficuult. This means they designed their speakers to work in sub-optimal locations and demonstrated this to me in the show room by putting obstacle around the speakers that normally would mess of the stero image. in their case, it made little to no difference in the "real world" speaker placements they showed. Impressive.
Lumen White have the Artisan and the Aquila as well. They are pioneers in the use of ceramic drivers, and have won best in show at CES in the past and at other places too. Their turntable is to die for as well - The Mystere $60K.
Check em out as well. |
Matt, what about the Dyson bladeless fans?
Now I see why you fear tube gear...too hot for the musical dungeon? LoL
We are in total agreement about meeting audio buddies. So much fun...at least 50% of the joy in this hobby. |
Matt,
Thanks for the fan story...nice read and I have to agree with the conclusion.
For monitors, why not try a Vapor UberAurora as discussed here:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=133774.0
Their use of RAAL tweets on most models seems to be the Shizzle (sine AGear opened that door...LoL) and in the Uber, they use Beryllium tweets.
Vapor design thoughts here:
http://audioshark.org/vapor-audio-190/ask-ryan-7690.html#post132351 |
Yes, the Trenner&Freidl ART is lovely, as is their ISIS floorstander, but maybe would be too big for Matt's room. I think the Pharoah is a tad smaller.
Andreas Friedl is a nice guy as well who I keep running into at European shows.
For real Cachet value and a truly INERT enclosure: Try Fischer und Fischer...see write up here:
http://theaudiotraveler.com/2014/11/22/high-end-swiss-2014-fischer-fischer-speakers-and-mudra-akustics/
http://www.fischer-fischer.de/start.html
Check out the SN/SL570 AMT,770.1 AMT and the SL1000.
The ones with the AMT are the ones to get and it seems the 770.1 is the new flagship that goes down to 24db and has max SPL of 115db. They weight 160kg each!!! |
Cstooner, did you ever try TBI subs? |
Very fast woofers
Jan Plummer knows his stuff.
http://tbisound.com/dsp_products_subwoofers.asp
http://tbisound.com/dsp_sound.asp
Now with TBI™ Bass Extension Modules you can match the speed of your mains precisely, with the room having a positive - supportive effect on the results. The driver is acoustically shielded from reflections allowing the room to support the bass in a positive way. Low frequency room treatments are typically unnecessary for a properly set-up TBI bass extension system.
The very low mass driver requires little diaphragm travel to produce long wavelength signals in this patent pending design. This combination of attributes provides a platform for fast launching of the low frequency waves. The hybrid alignment combines the best attributes of reflex and transmission line models and is the result of extensive research and development. The resulting products are setting a new precedent in objective bass quality and uniformity for high quality audio systems.
You will find a product compatibility chart at the bottom of each product page that will give you some guidance in choosing the right bass extension setup for your high quality audio system.
TBI and Vinyl |
These Tidal speakers:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?14152-La-Assoluta&p=328472&viewfull=1#post328472 |
So true Geardaddy, so true... |
Matt,
I didnt realize that Audio Consulting made speakers now. i thought they were mainly preamps and phono stages. i have standing invit for a demo and Dinner from Serge (from 2 years ago) and really should take him up on that. He seems to be a great guy.
I think the EA Micros are still available, but are due for a design refresh (IIRC from Herve). Lovely speakers that seem to lack nothing until you hear the MM mini 2s.
You should consider a Heil speaker with bottom ported woofer - The Kithara (with bass plate) - which you may be able to pick up cheaply 2nd hand in the US---perhaps below $5K...the tweeter is divine:
http://www.unitedhomeaudio.com/id101.htm
http://precide.ch/eng/eheil/eheil.htm
The smaller Syrinx is bottom ported and if you dont listen at earthshattering levels, will work great for your small room as well.
Of the speakers in your list, I predict that the Boenicke or the Perfect 8s will win. |
EA Micro review:
http://stereomojo.com/Evoultion%20Acoustics%20MMMicroOne%20review/EvoultionAcousticsMMMicroOnereview.htm |
Guys, You REALLY all need to hear the Golden Gate. It blows the Big7 away...unfortunately for me. The DSD is simply unparalleled. A freaking digital turntable.
Its a Holy Crap dac that has a long break in time. Nothing seems to be beating those DHT -big bottle power amp tubes run under miniscule preamp loading.
The DAVE seems interesting, but really its all about implementation. Many manufacturers are raising the bar on the implementation front, as the basic science itself is well understood.
The good thing is that many roads will lead to Rome. |
George, I see you R2R and it raise it with a chipless bitstream filter.
In my mind, chipless DSD brings us to the realm of digital turntable. |
Chipless PCM is not possible. PCM is really digital, while DSD is quasi analog.
The bigger Trenners like the ISIS will overload Matt's room.
I am thinking that the Boenicke W8s, Rethm speakers, Albedo HL 2.2/Aptica, Kaiser Vivace or even the Klanwerk Ellas would be the right thing for his room. Personally for emotional involvement, he would do well to look at the Heil AMT Kithara with Bassplate, BUT its not a big looker and has low WAF. Thet giant Heil tweeter is bewitching though and goes down to 400hz and crossed at 650hz...28hz bass....and MUCH cheaper than most others in that league. Vince from Tricell in Canada is the contact for that. |
Matt, I expect the Micro Two will be a killer:
http://www.evolutionacoustics.com/loudspeakers/microtwo/
I will ask around for pricing... |
EA Micro Two:
They are hoping to keep them in the $8,000 range/pair. They are going to be approximately 42 inches tall.
This thing is long delkayed though... |
Matt, dunno where you heard that from, but the Amanero USB is superb.IMHO Chipless DSD is ONLY via USB. Go read the raves over at Audioshark, and one guy there (Joe) didnt even try DSD on his Bal B7 until last weekend. AGear here had the B7 before the GG and feels the GG is a significant step up...and he is not one for gushing praise...not by a long shot! So when you see what he says about the GG, its not to be taken lightly.
I mustly use USB on my B7. I have an offRamp4, an OR5 on long term loaner from a pal, a Lindemann DDR and the ifi iLink and never use them.
BTW, please PM me at WBF, audioshark, computeraudiophile or Audiocircle, as PM are a PITA here.
Re: speakers, I meant the bigger Boenicke, so you are right.
The Kithara goes down to 28hz, so kinda full range. The resolution is superb. A pal was selling one a few years back to replace with the Coltrane and was second guessing himself all the way.
However, I dont know the Scaena and the Perfect 8s, so you may be correct there. I ~MAY~ get to hear the Tidal L'Assoluta soon and I expect that they will make my personal top speaker list. So far the Goldmund Annatta is the one to beat, impressing me more than the Apologue. The Franco Serblin Ktemas are another take no prisoners speaker, and cost about the same as Der Musik. Lemme just repeat again, dont let price twist you...the Kitharas are a HELL of a speaker and a stonking bargain to boot. |
Matt, Lampi is the only Chipless DSD I know of. PS Audio is FPGA based like Chord, though he uses Transformers at the end. There are no FPGA is Lampi DSD...and no up conversion to quasi PCM. No additives, no preservatives.
Lampi PCM is Dac chip based though.
As a couple reviewers have said...there in NOTHING in digital that sounds like Lampi DSD.
AS for XMOS vs Amanero, do we argue about what batteries are in iPhones vs Samsung S4's? We dont care because its the overall phgone performance that matters.
I wont be able to answer for a few days as I an in the Costa Brava in Catalunya, Spain for a days. |
Matt, I never heard a 6 and it didnt have the same Amanero implementation ,as B6's didnt have DSD unless Lukasz did a special.
My Amanero experience is limited to B7 and DSD-only L4.
Right now I feed my B7 with a MM and Regen with Corning Cable and its stellar. |
Pharoah or the Ra maybe, but based on his room, Isis is OUT!
I cant recall if I heard the Ra (probably), but certainly the Isis and the Pharoah. Very good designers...Andreas is the one I have met several times. |
Matt, Mattt, Matt.
The Trenner&Freidl Isis is way too much speaker for your room. Its great, but in your small room, the bass will have nowhere to go. It is not a small speaker.
I already told you that the bottom ported Heil Kithara is the way to go for you ust of emotional involvement. Midrange and high to die for and VERY decent bass going down to 28hz and refined by bass plate.
The other contender would be the Granite stone speakers for Fischer und Fischer ( built by Herr Mudra in Deutschland). Talk about cabinet rigidity...also the best ones use a Heil tweet.
For the Lawrence Double Bass, see what it sounds like with the Lite 7...you may be surprised... |
Again, I heard the ISIS in Zurich in a medium sized room. When Andreas saw me in the Warsaw show, he asked me what I thought and didnt seem surprised at my report.
There may be tweaks that could work, bit this was a pretty stylish room with Rowland electronics and other nice gear. |
George,
Mani in the UK sold his PM2 a few months back. Great as a PCM ADC but not so good as a Dac he said. The phasure NOs1A totally thrashed it.
I have heard a few BB1704 Dacs in my time and still dont understand the fuss...
It must be me, I guess. |
The bass was banging hard…Cant recall if they had stands… probably did and they had other speakers on rotation that did not have the bass issue.
Other than that, the ISIS sounded great. |
Phasure Dac Nos1A uses BB1704 (8 in total) and the computer up samples all to 784hz and does all the filtering in the digital domain.
Apparently it beats all the other R2Rs above according to their owners and one of them SOLD his PM2 Dac as the Phasure in his word totally thrashed it.
None of these Dacs play DSD in raw form.
I have also read some credible sources that said the PM2 was a MUCH better ADC than a Dac. Myth and lore aside. |
The bassplate corrects the Low end deficiency and there are no US dealers anymore. United Home stopped carrying them in favour of the far more expensive MSB and TriCell of Toronto is the distributor.
Try to listen for yourself, as I may work in your room as described.
If you read the blurb, $7K is a bargain. Perhaps its not a WISE sale for dealers, as they make more with other brands/models?
It has very little WAF and that restricts sales.
There is a story of a guy here who know his wife would hate it, but he loved the sound and sent her off on an expensive vacation. During that time he bought a pair and when she got back, he told her the return period expired and they wouldn't take it back. LoL
For a dedicated listening room, you dont need much WAF. |
Also, the suspension on the 10inch woofer has been stiffened and the driver itself has been upgraded. Its HARD for any woffer to keep up with the speed of Heils, especially the big Heil.
UHF mag in Montreal does not accept advertising, so are very trustworthy IMHO.
Contact me and I will send the article, even if its just for an informative read. |
Matt, if you do get a chance to listen, make sure its a newer one with the floor Bassplate "Bodenplatten".
I see you are a basshound! LoL
Good thread and I agree with Gear that the segue into other audio areas is well appreciated. |
The ISIS are big and really load the room.
Fischer und Fischer Granite speakers are another one to consider, but not sure if even LauferTecknic carries them. |
Matt since you are willing to shell out some, why not these:
http://lumenwhite.com/silverflame_d_uk.html
I know the designer and he is verrrry talented (brilliant, actually)and is a pioneer. A real perfectionist.
Full range! 20-35K
time coherent, phase coherent, resonance coherent
Pretty efficient too and I knw they have won several best in shows. |
T&F are great speaker builders, but I see the RA is indeed listed at 40hz , f-6db. The Isis is 28. Perhaps as Gear says it could be the room setup. The ISIS loaded the good sized mini-conference room at Zurich show and Andreas was not there and asked me what I thought. When I told him, he seemed genuinely disappointed, so it could have been a setup issue indeed. Andreas is a straight shooter who I trust.
Golden ratio. |
OK Matt,
I am just putting them out there for you. It seems the Rowen speakers would work well for you, but unfortunately they ONLY sell in Switzerland. They are built to be placed anywhere in real homes and bass response is tamed as the Swiss mostly build with concrete and the owner HATES bass reflex design.
If I think of other suggestions, i will let you know.
Gear, i sent a HUGE file with like 6 pictures...Mmmh, i will check and try again. i found 3 with the ISIS room. i will also see if 6Moons took any... |
Rowen speakers here...interesting read if nothing else. Bipolar radiators.
The s10 and all the "A" range up to the topline a20 have the 5 octave LMT driver (unique tech):
http://rowen.ch/en/data/rowen_a20.php
ROWEN Symphony loudspeakers
http://rowen.ch/en/ls_symphony.php
The optimal integration of a loudspeaker into the living room landscape not only requests particularly high demands at its aesthetics, it raises fundamental audio spatial problems with room acoustic issue, which we cope through the full Bipolar technology. With the ROWEN Symphony line we succeeded in getting substantially closer to a concert-like rendition of music under living room conditions. With this circularly radiating sound columns ambiance and performance stage appear so authentically that the atmosphere of the concert hall becomes experience in your living room.
Boxes simply equipped with loudspeakers at the front only partly consider the acoustic conditions in the living room. They act only within the basic tone range as circular emitters. Reflections at walls, ceilings or floors cause overvaluation of the basic tone portions in terms of energy. The frequency linearity for direct sound and ambient three-dimensional sound are therefore not congruent. This problem is taken in account with our Symphony line with the so-called full Bipolar principle. The entire Frequency spectrum is rendered evenly to front and back, giving these loudspeakers circular radiation characteristics.
We are convinced that additional effort of the doubled equipment with high and mid tone is inevitable, if highest standards are to be met at the rendition of sound. With the full Bipolar the frequency linearity of the Direct sound and the ambient three-dimensional sound is almost congruent. This results in open and clearly transparent sound characteristics with fine, natural brilliance and warmth of music rendition. The models of the Symphony Series play each kind of music with large implicitness. Listening to music at home gets a new dimension – the one of a concert hall.
With the Symphony loudspeakers (excepting S2) the belated extension to the ROWEN Bi-Active-technology is possible. The increase of dynamics and detail fidelity delivers musicality and the character of a live performance even more clearly. With an increasing listening experience and the requirements grown accordingly you can let the ROWEN Loudspeakers gradually grow along.
|
Gear, size wise was about the same as the Zurich room. See my link to 6moons.
Better room treatment in Newport though, with curtains, etc. Zurich was more exposed wall, etc. |
In the 6moons shot you see a chair. There is the first row of 3 plus some walking space behind, so the room is quite deep. Bear that in mind, as it was not a small room, more medium sized.
I will see if I can find a shot of the Warsaw room, where there was no overload.
Sarcophogal looks, so does not solve YOUR WAF problem GearD. Matt wants bass banging potential and these can deliver and perhaps too much!
I am starting to think that the Rowen A20/A12 or S10 would likely be perfect for him. The 5 octave LMT has Heil like speed and finesse and the dispersion pattern of the bipolar config would make placement easy. NO Bass reflex allowed! Unfortunately, not sold outside CH unless he could convince them to do a direct sale, but of course no support locally. Prices at dynavox.ch
Rowen amps are sweet. The top power amps will deliver 4K wpc into 0.5 ohms and they use negative output impedance to compensate for line loss and X-over loss. Unbreakable.
Fun thread Matt, let's have some of your well reasoned out comments. I am having fun throwing things at you and seeing of anything will stick. LoL |
Matt,
My pleasure. I see that you do look into everything and that is satisfying to me, as you give a fast and honest assessment against your wants and needs.
Good fun and we all get to see and mull over new discoveries. |
TBG used to own Tidal Contriva Diaceras a few years back and loved them then. I recall his enthusiastic post where he said they were the only speakers he knew that presented no compromises.
A buddy in Holland just got the new Tidal Flagship L'Assoluta and is loving them. They have diamond drivers everywhere and he says they are absolutely transparent. Tidal seems to be one serious speaker company.
Gear, the MM3s are HUGE. They show with Dart gear here in Geneva, so I know them well enough. Beasts.
Matt what about the MM Mini2??? That is super as well and I have heard them in a whole day session last Feb with Dart gear. Much smaller footprint and same house sound and the big and little brothers.
Failing that...Vapor Perfect storm or Derecho? |
Matt, I wish I had your direct contact info. More efficient, but so be it.
Best for AG speakers will be a very fast high bandwidth SS amp like a Goldmund Job225 or Telos. I know becuase of a good Boston pal who hated his AG Duos for years till he accidentally borrowed an amp from a mutual pal. Now for the first time in years he is loving it.
As the bass was powered, it didnt make sense, because for the first time the bass was keeping up with the horns. When I spoke to the AG guy at the Zurich show, he said it made sense as the bass amps ONLY cover up to 150hz and the rest is being done by the main amp.
The Ypsilon speakers sounded exceptional. Look at the pictures on the 6Moons Zurich show coverage link I posted above. Short write up at theaudiotraveler.com as well.
EA has a MM7 which is their new Top of the line. Same as MM3 but with Bass drivers added on top....even more HUGE.
If you can somehow find the Phaeton, grab a listen!
Thanks for the fast feedback. |
My apologies Matt its not the Phaeton (that is the amp) its the Eratos! My bad.
Not only were they showing the brilliant integrated Phaethon 110wpc integrated which had been previewed in Munich and should start to export by November, they also had their very first production speaker called Eratos built from 10-year old aged solid wood.
A docked two-box three-way, the pièce de resistance here is Ypsilon's home-rolled ribbon tweeter obviously tapped off their own transformer. Their designer claimed a colossal 15mm of linear excursion and a 2'900Hz crossover point with a for this driver type shallow filter slope of 12dB/octave. Having petitioned these folks for a review sample of the Phaethon already in Munich, I'll reserve sonic comments for the formal occasion later in the year except to say there's good reason why this exhibit opens my report.
http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/highendsuisse2014/1.html
http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2014/05/29/high-end-2014-ypsilon-audio-introduces-phaethon-integrated-amp/
http://ypsilonaudio.de/lautsprecher/erato-ls-100/ |
Matt, I dont think you are being limited at all. You clearly state that the real problem is nodal issues with the base resulting from the geometry of the room and the config of the speaker bass ports. many of the speakers you say have delicious mids and highs, BUT the bass is consistently and issue with anything but sealed, down or front ported.
So yeah, you can improve your source, but that wont change the laws of speaker physics. No matter what the upstream is, you STILL have to find a livable speaker solution, so keep concentrating on that.
This should be particularly reassuring to you, as I threw more speaker options than most at you. LoL |
First off, sorry for all the typos. I wrote BASE instead of BASS. LoL
My Bad.
GearD, I think Matt is more in the mode of ISIS than Ra, due to the visceral impact of the 15inch woofer.
If absolute MR/HF quality was not the issue, I would tell him to get a pair of FUN Silver Phantoms and call it a day! Heheheh
The Bass there is "WRONG", ie air pushing rather than vibration propagation, BUT they hit hard and are soo much fun. True plug and play with a dose of artificial intelligence as the units talk to each other and automatically adjusts their configutration to the new optimal. Imagine a club with 32 of these suckers hung on the wall and playing in Tandem! Ultimate in cool.
You know I was snobby against the Phantoms till I heard them but I must say I enjoyed the experience. Ultimate nervosa liberation. The only thing close would be the Goldmund Logos tower, but that is $60K a pair and goes down to about 40db while the SPs go down to about 30 in practical terms. The Logos will likely be more refined in mids up, but the price to improvement ratio is not very encouraging. |
GearD, sorry, didnt see that understaood now.
On another note Ensign, belay that last order. I just good some feedback from a close friend about the Prologos Mk2, NOT the Prologos+.
Holy Moley, my pal is selling everything after he went straight for that! It was the most spectacular feedback I have seen from him or anyone for that matter. Talk about a happy camper.
He said it was even MORE spetacular at his home than his demo at Goldmund HQ and at the NYC dealer, as crazy as it sounds. |
Too rich for my blood, but what a feedback I got.
Matt will surely haul himself to Manhatten based on what I relayed to him. I am gonna try to get a local demo myself.
What did my pal say, the future is already here and most dont know it yet…wireless! |
Kii audio review translated from German:
Kii Audio Three
- Audio review September 2015
- nfnc via Google translate
Newcomer Kii Audio has developed a fully digital active speaker with his Three, the boxing scene upside down. The pleasantly compact audio furniture thrilled with unique authenticity and shows also incredibly adaptable.
Drives with enhanced signal fidelity and precise crossovers arise from time to time smaller progress on the speaker sound, but the big breakthrough is in failed recent years. Because
not disinterested is the aversion many users versus active concepts with integrated amplifiers and electronic filters, although their known superiority for years is and we tester at every possible opportunity to point out. No motor vehicle specialist come on the idea of an engine for city vehicles to operate in a truck, but in the hi-fi scene are those rational not always comprehensible combinations widespread. Not infrequently are simply amplifiers and speakers coupled whim, true the motto "The journey is the reward." This poking around in the fog could now go out of fashion, because the enters compact Three of Kii Audio a novel in many ways active.
Your amplifier branches are precisely tailored to the driver. The DSP-controlled crossovers create with selected drivers a unique time and frequency linearity, close to the limit of what is physically feasible. On top of that is the subject area room acoustics highly effective tackled. Much can be said in advance: The living room friendly Kii Three achieved in the
for audiophiles main subareas by far the best test result of compact speaker in more than 30 years AUDIO history and effortlessly outclassed far more expensive boxes Repeater
Combinations. But before we in superlatives revel, whichever concept and to shed light technology.
Kii Audio is an association of five enthusiasts with years of experience in studio technology and high-end Scene. Mastermind, founded in 2014 company with headquarters in the Westphalian Wermelskirchen is none other than Bruno Putzeys, of the Dutch Amplifier and filter specialist for Hypex numerous fundamental developments responsible features. He wrote finally comes the concept the LS1 of Grimm Audio that the test a grandiose in issue 5/2013. Had left an impression. In the Three stuck amplifier modules the latest generation, for the first time a kind impedance feedback feature the highly energy-efficient and space-sufficient module experienced an adaptation to the specific load the driver and their frequency range. In the Three stuck six chassis and as many amplifier units each 250 watts of power. How any decent Aktivbox the Three equalized electronic bass, i.e. transient response
and lower frequency limit are determined by the programming of the filter determined less by the sparse housing volume and the Thiele Small parameters of the chassis. There are the drivers with declining frequency increasingly fed power and so the physically induced acoustic pressure drop compensated.
Compared to a non-equalized box increases the power requirement in bass slightly by a factor of ten, also because in Three in the interests of maximum sound precision on efficiency-promoting reflex tubes has been omitted. The necessary displacement volume provide four extremely hubstarke bass driver. Two sitting sideways and two behind. The data sheet promises 20 Hertz without losses, but after the measurements (see last page) is the lower limit frequency even at 19 Hertz. Alone with their frequency bandwidth leaves the Kii the vast majority passive speakers look old, also significantly larger floorstanding loudspeaker.
But it gets even better: The DSP control operates the woofers like also the midrange in some areas out of phase, resulting in solid angle-dependent level subsidence leads. While ordinary boxes only the middle and radiate heights directed, bass and fundamental range but mostly spherical, achieved the Three directivity to about 40 Hertz down. In the virtual view from the top is made of the usual pie chart a Kidney with a distinct sound pressure minimum behind the pits.
The directional radiation at large wavelengths is a long-awaited stroke of genius, because the sound is so well at low frequencies primarily by the box determined and barely from Space and its diverse fashions. Overemphasized and spongy bass are so old hat.
A rotary potentiometer allows bass amount and angle behavior vary. The maximum position for free-field similar conditions (large rooms and wall distance pit position) thought and leads to the one shown in the measurement laboratory Box, dead straight frequency response. The minimal position is intended for room corners, where three reverberant interfaces
are in the game. The adjustment shall be made in 16 fine steps, thus also mixed forms are covered.
This technique allows the Three adapt to almost any environment and sounds ideally always alike neutral and accurate. A near-wall installation has no disadvantages and acts on the contrary even dynamic promotional, because drivers and amps less must expend energy. It may even be tight, because the recommended Minimum distance between bass and
wall is only eight centimeters. Ordinary spatial filter in conventional boxes reduce the bass level for all solid angle and fight for room acoustics related thickenings only the symptoms, because the space areas sides and rear of the box, only less are encouraged, but not effective out-hidden. The Three grabs this fidele high standard issue at its roots, because the critical zones only are not stimulated great. The bass sounds through the kidney not thin, but well at worlds precise.
Another part of the Kii philosophy the pursuit of perfect timing. A slight delay in central tweeter leveled the mechanical offset between the drivers and lets despite complex filtering
all frequencies at the same time the listener arrive. An accurate step response succeeds as an indication of the time accuracy only very few three-way speakers, but the Kii also completed this exam with flying colors. Read more in the box on the following page.
Because maximum neutrality is not always like needs, there is next to the space adaptation a sixteen-stage also "Taste button" with various frequency response gimmicks. The six drivers apply the startup from renowned manufacturers. The well 16 centimeter woofer work as well as the slightly smaller midrange, with high-strength aluminum membranes. For the highs is a flush taken Kalottensystem responsible. Smaller series are variations in each box equalized via the DSP.
Just 20 cm wide plastic housing consists of two sound from neutral plastic molded half shells, which are often stiffened. Standard color white is combined with dark gray iris. Extra charge is the color selected, as are the fantasy no limits.
It is controlled via XLR and preferably digitally with up to 24 bits and 192 kilohertz. After flipping a small switch to analog signals received. In not distant future will be added two controllers. The small solution that already appear in the coming year, understand with USB or S/PDIF, offers otherwise just a volume control. In the future, angedachte "large" controller to more inputs and provide communicate wirelessly with the Three. But basically extends a notebook with a popular audio player.
We could at the Three with the shortest Klangbeschreibung all time content, for you high-precision nature packs a direct and let go no more. And you can feel inside seconds what the Three of conventional boxes repeater combinations differs.
It sounds a bell, spatially and dynamically exactly to the point and should alone with her grandiose authenticity ensure that many prospective the merchants his vows faster are as selbiger the mandatory counseling coffee can dish up.
Ultimately, it was still a long evening, although the judgment at an early stage it was clear: You can hear this exceptional speaker differences than with any other boxes-amplifier combination and enjoys a sound accuracy, recording weaknesses as mercilessly reveals how they Glücksmomente deepened.
The sound character appeared as varied as full and corporeal, room looked exactly in all three dimensions and was on top of that with a fabulously lifelike bass blessed. Such transparent and assertive to the lowermost layers has the AUDIO listening room no box played. Despite the precision worked the Three quantitatively not shy. Even detached, more away than a meter from all walls, it seemed advisable to Bass on the spatial filter one or two levels back to take.
The acoustic duo Friend 'n Fellow has the Lou Reed classic "Walk On The Wild Side" in 2010 rerecorded. With the Kii Audio Three of the song sounded almost unearthly light and relaxed.
And he gave a timbre variety, where we did not get tired of listening to us want. Triple trouble likely for the competitors of Kii Audio crack, because similarly ingenious concepts
are far and wide in sight.
With the Three more go long cherished wishes come true. The SPL capacity, despite the pleasantly compact form, more sufficient. The ability to space adaptation and the enormous known leave deep bass potential concepts even with massive standing speakers look absolutely old.
For this purpose this perverse transparency and ease, there is no dry eye. The digitally generated bass kidney and on maximum fidelity aligned DSP control no less than a stroke of genius. Why has the previously not been done?
Comments on measurements and caption text
For all types of installation and rooms, maximum dynamics in corners, slightly tilt, listening distance from 1.5m.
Six numbers: Four woofers (two side and rear) are driven, that bass frequencies preferred by radiated forward. For the middle and Heights are installed separate drivers.
Fully active: The symmetrical input accepts analog and digital signals contrary. Requires the wireless option the "big" Kii audio controller available at a later time will be. Are 24-bit and 192 kilohertz Wired accepted, wirelessly 96 kilohertz. The centerpiece is a 40-bit floating-point DSP, the frequency the high-precision timing of the box controls. The final stages of the type Hypex Ncore work with a so-called synthetic impedance (shown as Motion Control), which reduce the THD should. The modules are attached to the respective
adapted frequency range and should sound particularly musical.
Clear: The XLR input on the left takes either digital or analog signals contrary. The boundary rotary potentiometer is used to match the type of speaker positioning. The contour control allows you to collect 16 preset sound settings for taste purposes. The network sockets are used for communication between the boxes.
Waterfall: The precise sound of the Three can be also be explained by the timing. The waterfall chart (left) shows the reaction after switching off. Up behind the frequency response to recognize the timeline covers forward. Above 2 kHz, there after a few milliseconds quiet. Even at lower frequencies carried out the decay unusual quickly. Almost even more perfect shows the step response shown in red. Bass, middle and treble are actually simultaneously radiated.
The Three supplies in the open air setting extremely linear sound pressure curves at larger angles fall textbook-like. The green graph below shows the ratios behind the box. The lower frequency limit is based on -3 dB at sensational 19 Hz. In the open field is the maximum level the bass at 93 dB. In stationary equitable adaptation and higher frequencies are
the headroom is much higher.
Step response: The square-wave signal contains all the pitches. The steep Edge is textbook-like shaped. |
Matt, no need to do an about turn, just go lisetn to see what is possible.
You have so far been wide open in giving everything a chance to better hpne in on what you like... |
Oh, and front ported too! |
