Blue Ridge Sound HR 1


Category: Speakers

Audio equipment is my hobby and I am not a professional reviewer or have any affiliation with Blue Ridge Sound, a direct seller of speakers. Blue Ridge is run by Carl Halling who has an extensive background in engineering and audio design and who is pleasure to deal with.

I was in the market to replace the front channels of my HT system. I currently have KEF 103.2s and a B and W center channel, but all are quite old. The set up was tricky as my wife agreed a HT system in the family room as long as the components were placed either on enclosed racks or in cabinets (which she designed) with the plasma below the center channel.

After doing some research on Audiogon, Audio Circle and Audioasylum, I found very few "true" bookshelf speakers. By happenstance on ebay I located Blue Ridge Sound Engineering on the internet www.blueridgesoundeng.com.

I corresponded with the President of the company via email and his forthright answers and willingness to work with me put me at ease so that I bid on a pair of HR1s on ebay. Carl has an engineering degree and extensive experience in speaker design. The business model of the company is to sell directly and to use ebay and paypal.

On to the important stuff. I have never written an equipment review so bear with me. After winning the ebay auction the speakers arrived as promised. Carl provided the necessary support (placement, acoustic foam treatment etc.) through numerous emails back and forth. He also provided a phone contact,as well.

The speakers are beautiful right out of the box with high quality mahogany cabinets. The tweeter is mounted on top with two woofers and a port in front and on the side. I believe there is a port in the back as well, but the speaker can be placed fairly close to the back wall.

The aesthetics of the speaker are important, but since they will be enclosed in a cabinet, not the most important item. The sound was amazing right out of the box. The speakers produced bass at least an octave lower than the KEFs. (I shut off the center channel so they I could perform a true A vs. B with the KEFs). The clarity and balance of the speaker was also outstanding and I felt that I was really "hearing into the music." The speakers at comparable sound levels on the amp played much louder than the KEFs. There was depth and pinpoint focus. My wife, who enjoys good music, but is not an audio buff, walked into the room and said this is closest to a live performance she had ever heard from one of our speaker systems. The size and finish also met the wife acceptance factor (WAF), although she was curious about the top mounted tweeter.

Carl has suggested that the speakers require only 10-20 hours of break in, but after last nights first taste of the sound, I think these are "keepers." Carl provides a 10 day home try out period.

I cannot say what is the absolute best bookshelf speaker, but I have tried and own some very fine speakers (KEF 101s and 103s, Von Schweikert VR1s, North Acoustic Spirit, Sound Design 3000). I have auditioned many more that I do not own. The Blue Ridge Sound HR1s, at this stage of the audition process and my particular application are the best I have come across. At the current price for these speakers they are an outstanding value ( and I am not given to hyperbole). Finally, I liked them so much I have discussed with Carl building a matching center channel. Delivery is expected sometime in Fall 2006.

Associated equipment Denon 3802 AVR, Sony 900ES DVD, McCormack DNA 225 and preamp, Luxman turntable.
beesymph
Kingairflyboy, I would say you are really a lucky guy, for being able to get such speakers this year. Let me tell you why. I won a pair of BRSE speakers last June (eBay #220120323560). As I was overseas at that time, I asked the seller Carl (anybody mamaged to get his surname?) to hold them till I went back home. He promised so, but still sold those speakers to somebody else without noticing me. I found it when going back home last September and contacting him. Carl said his business went bankrupt and had to sell my speakers to pay some of his bills/whatever. He promised again that I can get my speakers when his factory in China get started, but no time frame given. In this case, I had to ask for refund. Carl kept on giving all sorts of excuses for not refunding. This situation lasted till some time this March, when I found him selling another pair at eBay (most likely they are the ones Kingairflyboy got). I sent Carl an email again claiming for the refund. Carl said he could send the profit of those speakers to me when auction ended. I received USD250 not long later, which I believe is the "profit" of the speakers. Since then, Carl has never come back again, not responding to my emails at all. So, Kingairflyboy, aren't you lucky? Hope Mr. Carl still visit this website and say something corresponding me...
Kingairflyboy, I would say you are really a lucky guy, for being able to get such speakers this year. Let me tell you why. I won a pair of BRSE speakers last June (eBay #220120323560). As I was overseas at that time, I asked the seller Carl (anybody mamaged to get his surname?) to hold them till I went back home. He promised so, but still sold those speakers to somebody else without noticing me. I found it when going back home last September and contacting him. Carl said his business went bankrupt and had to sell my speakers to pay some of his bills/whatever. He promised again that I can get my speakers when his factory in China get started, but no time frame given. In this case, I had to ask for refund. Carl kept on giving all sorts of excuses for not refunding. This situation lasted till some time this March, when I found him selling another pair at eBay (most likely they are the ones Kingairflyboy got). I sent Carl an email again claiming for the refund. Carl said he could send the profit of those speakers to me when auction ended. I received USD250 not long later, which I believe is the "profit" of the speakers. Since then, Carl has never come back again, not responding to my emails at all. So, Kingairflyboy, aren't you lucky? Hope Mr. Carl still visit this website and say something corresponding me...
I'll try to keep this short.

I have no financial interest in Blue Ridge and here are my thoughts:

I was shocked by the range and clairty. I've had mine for well over a year. They are my office speakers driven by a McIntosh 4100. No this isn't giga-blah this and that fancy and expensive - but the set up produces clean, vivid, and full range sound. I shopped around a lot before putting my office system together and NOTHING compared to this set up at under $2K. Will it satisfy someone hell bent on God's greatest $100K system - probably not. BUT I will tell you that I took the chance on a mail order item and am estatic with my choice.

Downside? It took three shipments to me to get both speakers delivered without the tweeter broken - but Carl had very much patience and made sure I got my speakers ASAP. The cabinet is not show quality - at least mine aren't. They look fine from a listening distance but running your hand along the veneer is not the same as a well polished wood speaker. Then again, I'm not into fondeling my audio equipment!

I hope this helps. Summary: most highly recommended.
I have been living with a pair for about a month now and I could not be more pleased. By way of background, I am a classically trained musician although I make my living otherwise; I have made it a serious hobby to compare the sounds of different gear and different rooms. I currently own PSB, Spendor, ProAc, Usher and Harbeth speakers and have done a layman's comparison of all of those in two different rooms/systems with the HR1. I now prefer the HR1's to everything else I own. As we all know, this is a very subjective issue but without a doubt these HR1's do not take a backseat to anything I've experienced. They are very, VERY good. You will hear the music!

David
Northbrook, IL

Hello All,

I've heard of the "white van" scam too. In fact, many years ago between semesters in college I once went to a job interview that I found in the classifieds under "electronics sales" and it turned out to be one of these "white van" scams where they have absolute garbage speakers and they claim to be distressed employees unloading great speakers for nothing out of the back of a white delivery van. Needless to say I walked out of the interview, though they actually had the audacity to try to physically keep me from leaving the group of about 20 or so prospective employees until they saw that I was mad enough to be dangerous if they tried.

Anyway, if anyone ever suspects us of selling great speakers for next to nothing they'd be 100% correct. We DO sell great speakers for next to nothing! Please see our website: WWW.BlueRidgeSoundEng.Com and see our feedback both here and on Ebay for verification. While we've only been selling speakers under the BRSE banner for just over a year, we have many happy customers who all make positive comments like "worth many times the price" and "a solidly audiophile-grade product" and my favorite customer feedback because it's not only the highest praise a speaker manufacturer could ever hope for but also (quite honestly) the most common comment on our speakers "they sound like live music".

So, while our very low prices may spurr "white van" thoughts, our high-quality, very accruate and highly musical audiophile loudspeakers are the real thing, as verified by many happy customers. Please give a pair a try, you will not regret it. We have an auction on Audiogon nearly every weekend (or purchase directly from our website) under username BRSE and we promise a white van price with audiophile grade sound.

Thank You,
Carl Halling,
President, BRSE
President@BlueRidgeSoundEng.Com
'White van' pulls into town, and in a very public space offers $2500 speakers for $399. 'He' has over ordered, and his boss is going to fire him unless he unloads them NOW!

I've heard/seen it twice... Both times the local radio stations picked it up and warned listeners.

.02
http://www.blueridgesoundeng.com/ I tend to agree with ozzy62 in that small speakers do not interest me. That is why I have had the Quad ESL 57 and the Ohms. But the web sight intrigued me. So I bought a pair. I was & am very surprised. The depth of the sound and fullness is very impressive. I do not understand the white van reference.
Where are the specifications, etc ? I tried to link whith the sight off eBay to no avail, so I ask " is the white van included.

I don't have a beef with the manufacturer, or with you. If you are happy with them, then that's great for you. My only contributions to this thread were about the original drive-by poster and your comparison to Bose.

I have the money, just not the interest. Small speakers don't do it for me.

Oz
Ozzy62,I noticed you have been negative about these speakers, the web sight and comments made by other on other threads also. Do you have a beef with the manufacturer? Have you ever heard the speakers? I have 2 high end systems one with tubes and one solid state /digital. I traded out my Quad ESL 57's only becaus my wife wanted to take back the living room. Hence I use the Ohms.I like trying new technology or different types of speakers. The controversy over Blue Ridge started under "forums" made me curious. So I bought a pair. I am more impressed each time I listen. I just picked up the "Ultimate Reference SACD" by isoclean power. The drums and low sounds on "Fanfare for the Common Man" sound very good.So do many other tracts. These speakers handle a wide range of music and at low and high volumes. They have clarity, substance, depth of field. Ozzy62, if you have the money you should listen for yourself.
I didn't say the Polks could outperform the HR-1, I was referring to the Bose. And this would be no contest.

No, the Polks aren't giant killers. I bought them for 30.00 for my stepson a while back. But I was pleasantly surprised at how they sounded when I put them in the big rig. On lesser electronics they are merely good.

Oz
Ozzy62, I do not use the 901s normally with this system. I have a pair of OHM5 Mk11's that are my mains. The presentation to the room is so much different than a monitor or regular box speaker that I find it hard to compare. The only other speaker I could use was the 901's. Unfortunately, I did not want to do a disservice to the HR-1.They are a very good sounding speaker. You may be exagerating the polk monitor 7 ability .
I must say that I am surprised that you are using such ancilliaries with Bose speakers. Quite a mismatch there. But the fact that the BRSE speakers outperformed them is damning them with faint praise. I have a pair of 25 yr. old Polk Monitor 7s that could do this with ease.

Oz
I have been listening to the Blue Ridge HR-1's for over 2 weeks. They are a monitor speaker consisting of a 28mm dome tweeter (mounted on top of the main cabinet), 2-4" inverted midrange drivers and a base port on the front panel, and an 8" woofer on the outside panel. My system consists of:
Shanling t200a sacd player
Bel Canto pre3 preamp
2 Cary Slam 100 tube monoblocks
other speakers used are the ohm 5 mkii's
Bose 901's

I mainly listened to the 901's in comparison because of the different presentation of the Ohm's. First the Oak veneer of the HR-1 has a deep grain that is very nice. The black grills compliment the wood. The HR-1 is well built,solid and it has that appearance. They were set 8' apart, slightly angled inward facing into a 12'x24' room. The wall behind them was 1'away. It has a glass pain center behind the speakers.
The first music track was from Ottmar Liebert's Viva,Morning Arrival in GOA. I was surprised at the depth in the soundstage. The guitar and percussions had a definite placement. Much more than Bose. Throughout this disc the guitar and piano sounded much clearer with the HR-1's than the Bose. The room is symetrical and wherever I moved to I could clearly hear both HR-1's.
Next up was Santana Abraxis. The percussions sounded very clear and the highs were crisp from the HR-1's. The sound was more straight forward than the Bose. It was easier to seperate sounds and the music projected directly at me 10' away. The HR-1's filled the room and the bass was solid.
CelticTrance/dagda has some very low notes. The HR-1's handled them easily and filled the room. The bass sound was well dispersed thoughout. The Bose could not compete in this area.
Listening to acoustic sounds form the Belfast Harp Orchestra all the way to Rock with "Who's next" I found the HR-1's very pleasing. They have clarity, substance, depth of field and are able to produce all types of music well. They totally outperformed the Bose 901's.
At low volumes string instruments still "plucked" piano keys still had feeling. At high volumes the HR-1's produced well. They did not distort. I was very surprised. They are heavy but for a small package I expected them to not be able to produce some of the low bass guitars notes or percussion sounds. They are exceptional and very pleasing to hear. Even with these fine components I have listened to speakers that fatigued me. After 10-15 minutes I would turn the music down or off. Not with the HR-1's. While I am reading I can listen to them as back ground or immerse myself in music for hours. I just did not expect such quality sound from a speaker this size.
The acoustics in my other listening (living) room are difficult. The Ohm5 mkii's do what they do best. No matter which of the 7 seats I am in I get great sound with the Ohms. A conventional box speaker just cannot meet the demands. Although I must say my wife liked the looks of the HR-1's and pushed for them in the living room over the Ohms.
I doubt you will get an answer to this question. Notice that this member has "0" feedback and only 1 active thread. That's it! Draw your own conclusions.

Oz
Beesymph,

Are you still satisfied? Now that you have had the HR 1's for a while, what would you say are the positive and negative points.

Thanks.
Glenn