Calling for opinions on Escalante Fremonts

Arn't those a like Isobaric dual 12 type config? Look good and compact with some serious punch, but unfortunatley the price is extremely serious too at 15 k a pair right?
What did you not like so much about them would be a start? I was interested in them myself, but then looked at the Audiokinesis Stormbringer which is very similar but at only 2800.00 which is suppose to be a real bargain on those with excellent sound.

Despite the use of that topline Revealator tweeter, in the installation i heard, they didn't quite have the HF extension and transparency i had hoped. the bass was a little underdamped and slowish. Perhaps it was the installation and the electonics.

Heard the speakers at RMAF in 2 different rooms and they sounded ENTIRELY different. I like the setup with the Pass Lab gear very much.

I guess the Fremonts are transparent enough to let the upstream equipment through; question is how much one has to invest in upstream equipment to get the best out of them. But this should an issue with all good high end spkrs out there.

Roy

Again take a look at the Audiokinesis, they have a high dispersion Waveguide, almost like a horn on the tweet... very nice, and very similar design, also it is a single 12 that goes pretty deep, without the Damped type dual driver push pull style iso chamber on the ones your talking about.. Mainly the stormbringer has a port system that is fully length adjustable that I understand will totally extend the bass when in a room with a backwall and just pulling the port in and out with many inch increments can really get full deep bass with power and punch.. Only reason I say take a look cause with a pair of real solid stands from like Tyler acoustics this could be truley the same footprint speaker you are looking at with all the capabilities you say were absent with the choice you have already heard, just a suggestion. I have just read a lot on them and seems they are show favorites lately.

Hi Undertow,

Well thanks for the positive comments on my speakers (the Stormbringers). To clarify one thing, the port system is modular - each port consists of an outer flared section, a short straight section, and an inner flared section. Possible configurations include outer flare only, outer flare + straight section, outer flare + inner flare, and outer flare + straight section + inner flare. Each of these will result in a different tuning frequency. My supplier is Precision Ports, www.psp-inc.com. To change the port length, the port must be removed (it's held in place by four screws). I use electrical tape to hold the sections together. So changing the tuning takes a few minutes, and the tuning is not continuously variable.

I'm flattered that my speaker is mentioned in a thread on the Fremonts. Let me just comment that the design of the Fremont is very innovative and advanced. Evidently its bass loading technique has some significant avantages over traditional isobarik boxes as far as efficiency and/or impedance goes, yet it retains excellent bass extension. The Fremont goes a lot deeper than my Stormbringer does. Now the tangent I tend to go off on is radiation pattern, and the Fremont is much better in this respect than you'd think at first glance. You see, in the upper end of its range the woofer's output is primarily radiated by the dome dusctap. So the woofer's radiation pattern characteristics transition from that of a 12" woofer to a 3" dome midrange! This is ingenious, and I tip my hat to Tierry for his innovative approach. The result will be much less radiation pattern discrepancy in the woofer-to-tweeter transition than most speakers have (not even taking into account the felt-treated recess for the tweeter, which will probably help some more).

I've only heard the Fremonts once, and liked them very much. Realistically their competition is other high quality fifteen to twenty grand ballpark loudspeakers, not my 2.8 grand speaker.

Duke