I just got finished reading on the Stereo Times website a review of the Sunny Cable Magistic reference speaker by Clement Perry who is the publisher/founder of this website.
These speakers retail for $90000.00 a pair, they are a horn based speaker design. Mr Clement's reference was the highly regarded Dali Megaliners, untill he tried these in his home system.
I have never anywere read or talked to anyone who has ever heard Sunny Cables wires and speakers, only on the Stereo Times were they are quite impressed by this line of wires and now this reference speaker.
So, my question to you GON members, have any of you ever listened or auditioned Sunny Cable wires or their line of speakers, if so thanks for sharing
Glad to see this thread moving along. A couple thoughts.
I have been reviewing for around thirteen years. I can say without too much after thought that the Sunny speakers are by far the best i have heard any were. I have the Dynaudio Master reference, and good lord, they don't even come close.
Was I happy the Sunny's were that much better? Yes. Was I thrilled about having to sell off speakersI had just bought? Was I thrillled about burning in a new set of speakers and tweeking, running room corection and tiping and toeing in 600lb speakers? No. Not to mention trying to sell my wife on why we needed giant black phone booths in place of the lovely Danish fashion models we had posing in our living room. I simply do not have the energy to go through all of this for an incremental improvement or trading a little of this for a little of that.
Don't cry for me, for sure. But why on earth would I go through all of this if I was not sincerely moved by the musical expereince? Even If Sunny offered me 50,60-70% off retail, why would I go through all of that work and take up with an inferior product? Does not add up.
Sire speedy, please feel free to e-mail me and arrange for another visit. as well as any one else that is in the NY NJ area.I want as many people to hear these as possible. They deserve as wide an audience as possible. Greg
there are both distinctions and differences between the perks provided, dontcha think? book and record reviewers really do critique/review the wares they are provided. reviews are often neither glowing nor positive. in contrast, audio equipment reviewers are hard pressed to write anything other than positive, if not glowing reviews; and this approach is rationalized and valorized by the "reviewers and publishers.
no doubt, without these 'perks' audio "reviews" would be limited to affordable components and "reviewers" reference systems would look a whole lot like those of their reviewers. wouldn't that be a sorry state of affairs? how would us lumpen know what we are missing? we would not devlop raging cases of audio envy or tradeupitis. perhaps, we would listen to the music rather than the equipment.
my point really is: given extraordinary perks to reviewers, can we, trust what is written? this is especially problematic given the incredibly subjective nature of what we hear, what we value, how we communicate what we have heard in a way that a reader can comprehend, and, the interdependency of components in generating sound and, finally, the ongoing close and interdependent relationship between the reviewer and the manufacturer.
if we, as readers, take all the foregoing into account and really enjoy the reviews as entertainment, and employ a reader beware approach, with the burden resting on the reader to take nothing at face value, then, maybe, just maybe the todo over perks and reviews would f-f-f-fade away. LA
Just to fill in a few points to consider I learned hearing Greg's system.
As far as the cost - I think you have to see the speakers in person to realize how enormous they actuallly are - and these were smaller than Clement's.
Surely the huge size and weight of 600 lbs each for Gregs and 800 lbs each for the largest ones has to account for the materials used and complexity of creating such a rigid large modular structure. (each cabinet is 3 section)
I believe the horn driver and supertweeter are custom made - though I could be wrong. The horn itself looks custom and like nothing I have ever seen.
Acapella horns are also quite expensive I believe.
The multiple sets of binding posts are like nothing I have ever seen before. They are jumbo sized and surely custom made.
I was told that that the discount reviewers typically get (if in fact they decide to keep the product) are not nearly as high on the Sunny's as other products.
Whenever people mention - "oh sure, said reviewer got a huge discount on xxxx product" isn't it obvious that the reviewer could most likely get the same discount on whatever item they decided to keep? People ripped Michael Fremmer for this on the Caliburn turntable - but he could have kept any table he wants - and chose and paid for the Caliburn.
Now I think cables often might be a different story. I believe sometimes cable manufacturers want reviewers to keep their cables on permanent loan so they can try them with whatever new gear comes in, and perhaps become a reviewers reference cable.
I don't know much about the audio reviewing business, but I suspect that almost none of them make a real living just from reviewing, and certainly not the web based 'zines. If there weren't some perks involved, why would they do it. Also how would they afford the kind of reference system required to review. There are thousands of products out there and I think a reviewers choice of a small handful of them to actually live with says alot, regardless of the specifics the finances behind the scenes.
Book and music reviewers get everything for free, and no ones shouts foul because a given label gave them thousands of dollars worth of free media that year.
Good comments TVAD, Gawdbless, Johnnyturbo. And Ronc. I think Speaker themselves alone cannot produce life like sound. You will have to have everything else 'work' with speakers. Sure, you know certain speakers caliber, even with less than stellar electronics. You just know what it could do with right source, preamp, amp etc. So in this case, If Ronc and other's audition recital is correct, it would be as much the electronics contribution to make the speakers sign and perform at its best. If indeed they did/do.
I know this from my experience with my lowly old fashioned speakers ;-)
tsk, tsk. the usual discount to the trade, with maybe a substantial supplemental kicker due to the price. let's say 30% retail? then you can also factor in the end of the year tax write-off, as a business expense. nice gig. "...oh what fools we mortals be".
Tvad 'Clement and other reviewers change their systems fairly often'.
I know a hi-fi reviewer that has had his speakers (Impulse H1 horns by the way) since 1989, he has yet to hear speakers that he would buy and replace his beloveds.
Those Sunnys were at the Denver 2007 show and I missed them! hopefully they will be there at the 2008 show. Here's hoping.
Can a speaker really be worth $90,000? thats just made of MDF, some wire and speaker cones? a simplistic viewpoint admittedly, I don't think so personally but as I will never have enough wonga/wedge/sovs to own a pair It doesn't really matter.
I wonder If Clement buys are pair how much he will pay for them? Full price? Being a horn lover It makes me smile when horns get elavated up there with the best of the big (and expensive) big boys. 100% happy with my cheap as chips Oris 150's.
Tab 110s - Sorry I used an incorrect date in my letter, but, I think you get the idea that I really was impressed by this speaker and the associated system. Maybe they won't transport you into the future, but, they will transport you to the recoding space and that's not too shabby!!
I asked this question earlier,without a reply.I'll ask it again...could someone please mention what horn system Mr Perry alluded to,when he claimed it was the finest sounding speaker system he had heard. What's the mystery?I am simply curious,and it would be of interest to many,I presume.No agenda,just curiosity on my part.
Also,I'd like to add that though Greg Petan's system was impressive to me,when I heard it(quite some time ago,so I don't expect Greg to remember),it was not nearly as impressive as the superb restaurants,in his neighborhood-:) Best.
I am just glad somebody else (Ronc) heard what I heard in Clement's listening room. I never doubted my experience, I was only annoyed by all the hotheads putting the speakers down without having the opporunity to listen to them in the right environment.
Just when things seem to be quieting down on this thread, here I come to stir the pot again! I have been involved in this hobby for nearly 40 years and have seen/heard just about every type of loudspeaker on the the planet. Of course, I don't mean ALL dynamic speakers, or ALL ribbon speakers, etc. - just select examples of each and usually those acknowledged to be at the highest levels in their respective designs......which brings us to February 4, 2008.
First of all, I have known Clement Perry for about 2 years and have been to his home and heard his system twice. I heard his setup with the Dali Megalines (a speaker I like VERY much) and then......there was February 8, 2008.
OK, enough with the suspense already, I'm going to go straight to the "bottom line" - on February 8, I heard what I believe to be the best musical experience I have EVER heard in a home (or anywhere else) except for actual live music with real people playing real instruments. Notice I did not say speakers, I said MUSIC - because with Clement's new SYSTEM you really don't hear speakers, cables, amplifiers, etc., you simply hear MUSIC - and that music is so VERY close to that of the real thing (live music) that it is almost scary.
Now, with that out of the way, some other thoughts and observations. First, I have absolutely NO affiliation with Mr. Perry other than having met him though another mutual friend (an audiophile, of course - lol). I find him to be a gracious host and a very down-to-earth "good guy" who simply loves good music of all types, especially jazz. He has never attempted to influence me in my views of what constitutes good sound or in the equipment one uses to attain it. In this regard, I totally agree that, no matter what you read - including this letter - you should never trust anything but your own ears to decide what sounds "best." I do feel, however, that I have a pretty good "ear" for such things and what I heard from Clement's system was shockingly good.
I should also mention that I was fully prepared to tell Clement how his system sounded good - BUT.....and the reason is that I (up till now) had never heard a horn-based speaker that did not have that "horn" sound to it - a coloration that is difficult to describe exactly, but, you know it when you hear it. These speakers do NOT have this coloration - or ANY coloration and I am now forced to understand that there really is another technology - albeit an old one - that is being used to create truly spectacular sound. I also took time to read Clement's review of the speaker and I'll save time by saying that I agree on all the technical point that he points out as to the speakers strengths (dynamic range, nuance, sense of scale, etc.). I also feel that they produced a result that was distinctly an improvement over the sound I heard from his system previously (with The Megalines).
So, there you have it. This thread originally started when someone asked whether anyone else had heard the Majestic speakers. Well, I have and now can state one certainty - if you are seeking the BEST musical experience you can achieve, and you have enough coin to indulge this search - you would be foolish NOT to find a way to hear this speaker in a proper setting. Personally, I haven't heard anything else, to this point, that can touch it - YOU, however, must listen and learn for yourself.
it would be "nice" if opinions could be expressed freely without being criticized for them.
if someone is a dealer, manufacturer, reviewer or owner of a product, one can understand the rationale for an opinion. it is not necessary to criticize the opinion.
the purpose of this and other forums is to elicit opinions and exchange them. if one disagrees, express an opposite opinion, without criticizing the person.
Does anyone around here possess a first hand experience evaluating GOTO and ALE compression drivers in the same audio system?
GOTO are used in Clement's new favorite speakers.
I've heard 6-way ALE based $500K+ stereo system, including a pair of Plasma super tweeters and two bass horns extending 25 feet outside the house with two ALE bass drivers on each.
IÂ’ve also heard Cogent field coil drivers in the above mentioned audio system.
I took Greg (who I never met before) up on his offer to hear his system, since a friend (who's quite critical) heard Clement's system was extremely impressed.
I brought some of my reference CD cuts, and was quite impressed with the speaker's qualities. I have never been a fan of horn designs, but the system really won me over. The speaker was able to reproduce inner vocal and instrumental details and inflections I have not previously heard from these recordings. Vocals were extremely smooth and never shouty (as I have heard before on other systems). Drum skin sounds were abundant, well fleshed out and properly resonant. The dynamics, both micro and macro were outstanding. This was even more evident when I asked Greg to turn the system down low- to almost sub conversation levels, where the music was extremely alive despite the low volume. This I think is the system's strongest attribute.
Greg's system does go through the Behold room correction so obviously the system can be tailored to whatever the owner finds pleasing, which makes it a little harder to judge the speakers purely on thier own.
I did not hear the cupped hands phenomenon which I have heard before in horn/quasi-horn systems, and I found the speaker tends to image forward, rather than behind the speaker. I generally prefer a speaker to image behind itself, but the Sunny's positive attributes severely outweigh this preference.
I absolutely have to hear the smaller models (which would be more appropriate for my space) and I also want to try them on my OTL amps, since I think they would be a perfect match.
In this hobby, there are many roads that lead to Rome, and in my estimation the Sunny speakers are one of them.
Sir Speedy.....You are correct, my room 33X60X14H is a bear to get right. I have gone through a great deal of pain to get to this point. The Sunny is far more effortless and dynamic and transparent than my Dynaudio Evidence Master. They Go deeper and tighter for sure, are more open on top and all through the mid band and play louder with less strain as well.
For those familiar with the Evidence, you will agree, this is no small accomplishment. Greg
It tells you Clement has a great ear and eye for discovering great products overlooked by other publications(Look at Behold electronics and Nova acoustics memory player for instance). Also, as mentioned earlier that We somehow are getting these Sunny products for free for the honor of a review, Sunny Cable has one of the tightest margin for reviewer discount I have ever seen in this biz. Trust me, They are not giving there stuff away.
It may be fun to throw those kind of statements around, perhaps it makes you feel like you are a bit more important and "in the know" than you may actually be. But remember, You may be hurting someone who has dedicated their life and considerable resources to make our lives just a little bit more enjoyable. Sure there are duche bag manufacturers out there. But in 15 years of pressing flesh, the VAST majority I have met have been honest, sincere music loving peers, trying to do the right thing. Your truly, Greg
Since that remark about being some lacky for Clement was directed at me, I feel obliged to respond.
Who ever you are, I suggest you think twice before posting such BS. It makes you sound border line paranoid/schyzo (sp)
You know nothing about me or my rig, Clem is a good friend who demands nothing but honesty from the people around him. He has surounded himself with bright, savy audiophiles who have done a great deal to help him achieve the astonishing result he he enjoys. By following that model, the ability to keep an open mind towards those opinions rendered by people I respect, NOT people that agree with me, I hope I have achieved a measure of success. In the future, unless we meet and you get to know me, AND hear my system, please keep your assumptions to your self. Yours truly, Greg
I simply expressed my opinion on Sunny Majestic speakers after listening to them for about two hours in a dedicated listening room. Is it really so hard to understand that this is just my opinion and not an attempt to sell them or tell anybody what they SHOULD buy? Is it not what this forum is about? To Mrjstark, take a chill pill and enjoy whatever you like. Nobody is TELLING you what to do.
" What are the other 4 of the top five you are referring to, just curious "
In no particular order, others were. I am sure I did not see all the rooms.
- Alon room driven by cj electronics - Sanders audio's new electrostatic - Mac room was a suprise given all those drivers - HSU room using his $200 main, $400 centre and $899 sub. amazing sound for the $$
BTW,a few years ago I had the pleasure of being invited(by a mutual friend,at the time)to Greg Petan's home.It was a very nice experience.That being said,the room is very large,and definitely requires(demands)a pretty large speaker.As I can recall,Greg likes to play his music VERY loud.So,I can see something like the Sunny design keping him happy.Personally,I loved the size of the room and thought Greg had a good handle on the acoustical properties,but I did say to myself that it seemed like the list of satisfying designs could be limited,due to room volume. We should all have this problem...-:) Best.
"I love music and I enjoy listening to it through the best equipment I can"
So do I.....
"You might want to review your own integrity before you post any comments of that sort in the future."
?????????? ITEGRITY........please, give examples. I am an open book.....try to be honest - always.....if that is the crime.........shot me in my heart !!!!!
" if your post implies that because I was invited to Clement's house to listen to his new speakers I had to write something nice, that is pretty irresponsible and outright accusatory. "
...........You think ???
Because, someone thinks or believes in something it doesn't makes it so. Am I entitled to have an opinion base on my short encounter with Majestic Spks ???............to some yes - to some no. According to You, Greg and Clement those speakers are THE ONES and anyone with a different opinion is full of s..t and full of agenda (or just on different level then Alfa and Omega). Well....if that is truth then it apply to 95% of audiophile community. (I know Greg and Clemente might not think that but one of "Tree Musketeers" ....is, guess who)
First off,I see NO reason for anyone to be defensive about something they like!Personal preference is fine by me,and it is very nice to have a "general invite" defending a particular system(I,myself would not be put on such a limb).Yet,and yet,it can backfire,and I have seen this aplenty! I have no doubt as to the potential fine performance of said design. I would like to ask Mr.Perry if he could,please,mention the particular "five way" horn set-up he liked so much,in France.Very curious,am I! I have absolutely NO agenda other than curiosity,but wonder if it could be the five way Magico.Not many five way horns I know of. Very curious! Best.
Mrjstark, if your post implies that because I was invited to Clement's house to listen to his new speakers I had to write something nice, that is pretty irresponsible and outright accusatory. I do not work for Stereotimes in any capacity, I do not review equipment nor do I get any perks for writing nice comments. Just check my threads or answers on Audiogon Forums. I love music and I enjoy listening to it through the best equipment I can, even if I can't afford it. You might want to review your own integrity before you post any comments of that sort in the future.
If I have invited you to my house for a listening session and evaluation of my new speakers etc. .........YOU better say something nice or you gone see a pink slip in your E-mail.
My name is Greg Petan, I work with Clement at the Stereotimes.
I first heard the sunny speakers in Clements system with which I am very familiar. I have always marveled at the high level of quality sound Clement has managed from a less than optimum listening space. Yes, The Behold electronics with which I share in my system have a great deal to do with completing the delicate balance achieved. The Dali's were terrific. That ribbon is really magic.
HOWEVER.....After a few short moments in front of the Sunny, I got that uneasy felling that every thing was about to change. Like Clement, I lost no love over horn designs. Nor have I been a fan of large diameter bass drivers. The thought of combining the two was hardly a peanut butter in my chocolate moment. Yet The trick pulled off by the Sunny is mind blowing. There is a cohesive top to bottom balance, seamless bass to mid band transition and an open upper mid range and treble I have never experienced, any were. Then there are the dynamics offered up from the horn and the ease provided by the very high sensitivity. I will not go to much further as I am reviewing the model just below Clement's that use a 15"woofer in place of the 18" in his.
Whether there is a huge audience for these speakers is besides the point. As far as I am concerned, Sunny is a visionary, a purist unrelenting in applying everything he knows in the effort to solve the problems with speakers as he sees them to be. The fact that he has succeeded as he has is news that is well worth exploring. Like Clement, I welcome visitors to my SOHO loft. Feel free to contact me through Stereotimes. PS....please see my review of the Sunny 1000 series wire. Greg Petan, Managing Editor/Stereotimes
I count myself as one of the fortunate music lovers who just about a month ago was invited to listen to Clemet's current audio setup. I listened to his gear several times in the past and I was always impressed with the quality of sound he is able to reproduce in his dedicated listening room. Since this thread is about speakers I will stick to speakers alone. During my previous visits I was able to listen to Dali Megalines and Talon subs. The sound was great. The instruments, vocals and the surrounding venues of the few live recordings we listened to were so palpable you could almost "touch" the performers. Needless to say I was surprised when I called Clement in December and he told me he is listening to new speakers now, and........ they are horns. I have no experience with horns and my initial reaction was,...WHY? I was invited to visit, listen and judge for myself. Since I work in Jersey City it was easy to find a couple of hours and visit.
My opinion of the Majestics in combination with Clement's electronics and his dedicated listening room is that they are the best speakers I have ever heard under any circumstances. Yes they are big, heavy and financially unobtainable to the great majority of us. As to the listening experience, it was the best. To me it was as if I was in front of a live performance. Nnena Freelon's live performance of Tears of a Clown was the absolute best I ever heard. It was just so real and smooth but also incredibly dynamic. No edginess in high frequencies or booming bass and certainly no shouting horns. It's hard to believe that the integration between the drivers was so flawless.
I must admit I was little depressed on the way home from Clement's house knowing that replicating such high quality listening experience in my house is not going to happen anytime soon. The Magestics are... truly majestic.
I have a theory about speakers at shows. If they sounded bad at the show it only means they sounded bad at the show. If they sounded good at the show then I feel they have a reasonable chance of sounding as good to much better in the home. That is if there are no show conditions that cannot be reasonably duplicated in the home. This means the speakers were not pulled out 8' from a wall or driven with prohibitively expensive electronics.
Clement's warning about listening for yourself is, as always, the best advice, especially at shows. I find it appalling that brand new equipment is used, that there are alliances between manufacturers to split the cost of the room that often have poor electronic hooked to great speakers, that speakers often overload rooms, and that many manufacturers cannot set up a room or are indifferent to the sound they get. This was certain true of this years CES and THE Show.
I won't name poor rooms or praise good ones, as some named by others here and elsewhere IMHO were quite poor. I deliberately paid little attention to what I heard on Monday or Tuesday and stayed on until Friday to be assured that at least equipment would have some break-in and demonstrators would have some time to tweak their rooms.
I carried a copy of the FIM K2 sampler with me and listened to cuts 2 and 16 everywhere. On returning home, I listened here. Of course, we all think highly of our own systems, but I am just struck by how hard it is to get the best out of equipment and the hours it would take demonstrators to "tune" their rooms at shows.
I am also struck by the total lack of consensus on where there was good sound. Since my friends and I were in substantial agreement on what sounded good, there must be personal dynamics going on in terms of what one hears as good. Oh well, I enjoyed myself once again!
A forum member sent me this post, so I felt compelled to respond.
Here goes...
Attempting to make sense of anything heard at shows i.e., CES or HE Shows is like trying to catch boomerrangs blind-folded. At the very least, from a manufacturers standpoint, they only can HOPE to get a good sounding room. From a potential purchasers standpoint, we can only PRAY whatever it is that interests us can be duplicated or bettered in our own listening spaces.
This is the sole reason why you should judge everything for yourself and never take any review or reviewer too seriously. With the exception, that is, you had the rare opportunity to know a reviewer personally, and/or, have visited their home, heard their systems and thus gained a trust in their ability to judge components.
I've heard the Shatki Hallographs blow me away at a show and did nothing of the sort when I got them home (but when I installed the second pair behind my listening seat things got very fascinating). Contrarily, I had the Acoustic Resonators do nothing at a show, yet they blew me away when I got them in my listening room. Go figure!
The BIG advantage reviewers have is they get a chance to audition products IN THEIR HOMES first to let you know what it is they think. I do things a little differently: I invite the masses over to hear what it is they think collectively.
As I wrote in the review of the Sunny loudspeakers, what I heard in 2007, using my own CDs of course really surprised me via the Sunny Cable Majestic loudspeakers. Considering how sparse the room was with no tweaks or acoustic treatments, I found it rather strange ANYTHING could sound good in a room so acoustically challenged. It wasn't perfect, but it had something there I've heard horn lovers refer to over and over as "alive." It also didn't hurt that I had experienced a horn system in France the proved the finest listening experience I've had.
Ultimately, there were certain things I heard in the Sunny room that had me second guessing my home rig. I've traveled the world over listening for the right sonics and synergy and rarely if ever have I second guessed myself or my home rig ...especially there in the Sunny room under show conditions.
That being said, I still refused the except the Sunny loudspeakers for review because of their humongous weight and because the Dali Megalines are sonic wonders on their own. I did however accept two of their new 250 lbs subwoofers, which (eventually with some fine tuning) easily outperformed the pair of Talon Thunderbirds they replaced (I was previously using subwoofers with the Dali Megalines, though I hear that some folks don't find it necessary. In my opinion, that's the Dali's achilles' heel).
After lengthy conversations with Sunny Lo, the designer behind the Sunny Majestics, that lasted for nearly 7 months, it made sense to finally give the Majestics a try and as I wrote, what I "got" far outweighed anything sonically I could have ever anticipated.
There's something frighteningly "real" about the sound of horns when done right. And I'll be the first to admit, I've never heard one done right. If it had it in the mids, it was wrong in the bass... and vise versa.
The Sunny Majestic is the first loudspeaker I've heard that can be considered a hybrid horn/dynamic design that does the best that can be expected from each driver. At 800 lbs per side, it's single 400 lbs horn cabinet weighs nearly as much as a pair of Dali Megaliens. Coupled to its 400 lbs woofer cabinet gives it a certain substance that is quite remarkable after hearing it.
No loudspeaker can play itself. It needs a source, wire and amplification. The Nova Physics Memory Player and the Behold line of electronics are in my opinon among the best available at what they do...to these ears (and as more folks get the chance to hear the MP, the more agree with its sonic capabilities). Ditto the Sunny Cables and Bybee Super Effect products.
The Sunny Cable Majestic loudspeaker has proven to be the sonic equivalent on the loudspeaker end.
All I can say is there's plenty of musicians, high-end manufacturers and importers and especially music lovers that pass through here often (make that very often with the addition of my neighbor The Audio Doctor). Of these, NONE has found the sound of the Sunny Majestics less than spectacular. And of these, there were one or two that surprisingly still preferred the sound of the Dali's as a personal preference. But those who love the Majestics said their qualities put them in an entirely different and sonically superior class. And that number was in the many, many dozens (and of course, I include myself in that count). Living in an imperfect world, I would suspect a vote of 45 to 3 says a lot about the Sunny Majestic's qualities (and that's only after 4 months).
Bottom line is, I am quite down to earth and don't review equipment from some far away hideaway. I'm very easy to get in touch with and I'm located right here in downtown Jersey City, NJ (five minutes from Manhattan). I'm quite poplular around these parts with the systems I've amassed over the past 15 or so years and my association to The Stereo Times. At the same time, I don't hesitate letting anyone in to listen that wouldn't mind spending a lazy afternoon enjoying some great traditional jazz music (another passion) or whatever else suits their fancy. And because of this I get the opportunity to see what type of sound appeals to the masses both musically and sonically. Trust me when I say I've dozens here every Friday night for music sessions that has been a tradition here for the past 8 or 9 years. So, when I say many industry folks pass through, trust me. And 95 percent of these stated with the addition of the Sunny Majestic loudspeakers, I've crossed into another dimension that is clearly superior to what I had previously.
That doesn't mean that $90k is a bargain, but based on what I've heard over the years and what that loudspeaker system in France cost ($275k), I personally consider the Sunny Cable Majestic loudspeakers as state of the art and a tremendous product worthy of only the highest praise. I don't want to put myself into a box, (no pun intended) but after hearing a horn sound this good, it will be very tough to return back to anything else except a better sounding horn.
I wish that I could be helpful, but I don't know how. I hate to see fellow audiophiles spend huge amount of money on something they will regret latter. I just hope that you gone make the right choice - whatever it might be.
I have NOTHING against Sunny or C.Perry but if I was prepared to spend that kind of money on speakers...........they do better be the Best there is at least to my ears.
If you ask me: would you get it if you had the money......I just don't know. I would do my best to give them a fair shot but at this moment......I have to say no.
(It is my opinion ONLY, your ears might hear differently)
Mrjstark Im sure you know, it's sometimes very difficult to make arrangements to audition certain products in our homes. We have to sometimes trust opinions and the written reviews of others, this is why I am seeking bits and pieces of information on these threads.
I know you did not say they were bright and distorted, someone else made that comment.
I agree, that audition should take place in your own home (listening room). Usually, all speakers will sound better in your (or my) room then some ballroom at CES or RMAF. Dealers, manufactures when preparing for these shows rush through set up and calibration which often leads to sound that is less then perfect. Great products turns out (here) questionable and controversial. Sad but truth.
"Hard for me to view these as bright or fuzzy"
I have never said that they are bright or fuzzy. What I said was that sound was OK but not GREAT. Which is quite disappointing. If you are interested in these speakers, don't pay attention what I or others have to say - just try them if you can.
I could be wrong, but I did not see any partition in this particular room. Electronics, speakers, cables and about 15-20 chairs. I did not see any room treatments but that was a common seen at the CES.
I suggest to use some treatment in my friend's rooms but he refused (plus eq. iso. stands)......why???? He wanted to show how it would sound in an average home. TOO BAD.....it could have sound a lot better.
Mrjstark They appear to be the H3W12, these are the ones I listened to at RMAF, I spent over an hour with these and they were very enjoyable. Hard for me to view these as bright or fuzzy. With all speakers and components; setup and room asthetics play a major role IMHO. I believe listening to a speaker in your own setting is most critical. FWIW, All I know is what I remember at RMAF.
Mrtennis, I share your enthusiasm and preferences towards electrostats etc (still own ML). However, try to be just a little open minded and NOT so bias - for the conversation sake.
Mmitch7711, It could be the room, I don't know. Sound was OK, but that is it, no more or less. Room size was good. Speakers were pulled about 1/3 in to the room, with plenty of room to breath.(this is the only picture I got). EVOLUTION ACOUSTICS were in much worst room (small with low ceiling & kitchenette in the back of the room) and perform way better in my opinion.
I missed out on attending CES this year, however I did have the opportunity to attend RMAF and the Sunny Loudspeaker H3W12 sounded extremely musical. I don't know which speaker you heard at CES, could you tell me which model it was, could the room setup have had an affect on the sound you heard. I would also like info if anyone visited Albert Von Schweikerts rooom, did he have the new VR5SE Anniversary Edition on display? Just trying to get some honest feedback. Also for what it's worth, I have heard from a few people who have had the opportunity to personally listen to Clements system and they all say it's the very best they have ever heard. This causes me to believe maybe and I emphasize MAYBE, the Sunny's were in a bad setup arrangement at CES. I am not vouching for the Sunny, just know what I heard at RMAF and I spent more than an hour in that room listening to all sorts of CD's, results; great sound!!
I hope he got them at 75% off retail price. If not.......I agree with Tbg.
IF you want a big, full range and well balanced sound check out EVOLUTION ACOUSTICS MM three ( introductory price, around $35,000 to $40,000 - but will change in a week or two to about $70,000). Together with darTZeel electronics their provided a very well balanced and musical experience.
Of course there were other speakers that are worth mentioning here but if someone is looking for one of the best.......this would be in the top 10.
If Clement got the speakers for a good review, IMHO he got a bad deal. I could not stay in their room for 30 seconds. It was too loud and so distorted that I literally fled.
Just came back from CES this morning. I stand behind my earlier statements.
Faaaaaar from the best.......... Then again - who cares what I think is the best or ...... close to the best would be more accurate. (give or take $88,000 - that is the price. Super tweaters - about $1500) How did it sound.......well, let me put it this way - I forgot already. How is that for an answer.
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