Daedalus Ulysses

@falconquest I am on my third pair of Daedalus Audio speakers, having started with the original DA-1's, then the DA-1.1s (sent back twice for upgrades) and now the Apollo's. I good friend had the Ulysses for a while before going to a Wheelfi horn system. He had them in a large dedicated room with top flight equipment. My experience with the Ulysses mirrors Al's. I loved them. Compared to my DA-1.1s they provided more specific, yet holographic imaging. I am not a fan of the stands which are typically used to elevate the Ulysses to the appropriate listening height. Though attractive and designed to match the speakers, I'm not a fan of putting tall, relatively narrow towers on top of small narrow boxes. Maybe because I have a young child, but even without kids if I owned them I would be constantly worried about someone knocking them off the stands. Not sure if you are looking at purchasing a used pair or new but Lou has made some significant upgrades with his Apollo series and he is using a new tweeter throughout his entire range that is significantly more extended than the model it replaces. So, while Al correctly (IMHO) describes his Ulysses sound as slightly rolled off on top the same cannot be said for models with the new tweeter, which is MUCH more extended, detailed and yet equally non-fatiguing. If you are seriously considering Daedalus I would reach out to Lou and see what model he recommends at your price point. You can also PM me or post that information here and I'm sure myself and others would be happy to make a recommendation.

I think Thom and Al are right on the money. I don't know if I would characterize Daedalus as an acquired taste. To my ears far too many other speakers fall into that category because they don't sound quite "right". Are there speakers that image a bit better--yes! Are there speakers that deliver slightly more detail--yes! Are there speakers that have more obvious bass energy--yes again! Are there speakers that are as coherent, deliver honest tonality, are as musically engaging and balanced top to bottom--very, very few! What I like about Daedalus speakers is that they look and sound beautiful, you can drive them with anything, and they sound great in any room. Sure, there are speakers that do this or that better, but at the end of the day many people who own other well-regarded or better known brands typically move on to something else because something just isn't "right". To my ears Lou's speakers are among the most "right" sounding available at any price. 

As for the bass--I don't get the "plastic" or "synthetic" characterization. What I do get is that some folks might criticize Daedalus speakers as not having enough bass energy. I think Lou is very careful about how his speakers deliver bass, opting for a musically natural response that does not emphasize parts of the low frequencies to increase the "wow" factor. Deep bass is there when it is present on the recording and delivered in a very tuneful manner that is not overblown--no bumps, humps or thumps. I think Lou feels if you want to go really deep and increase the weight of the bass this is best done by adding a sub rather than trying to deliver this through other, less natural sounding means. 

@falconquest sorry, I wasn't suggesting the Apollo necessarily. Not sure what your budget is but merely pointing out that Lou has a variety of models at lower price points with new features (new tweeter, new woofer design, trim rings, midrange housing, crossover elements, etc.) that will get you close to or beyond an older pair of Ulysses. For example, the new Studio Muse, in a smaller room, may knock your socks off. 

@szelda53 Interesting--the Apollo 11 and the Studio Muse both have the same Daedalus house sound but present the music a little differently due to the driver configurations. The Apollo 11 is meant for larger rooms (obviously--bigger speaker) and will perform very well in open floorplans where a wide sweetspot may be preferred. The Studio Muse (and the larger Apollo with the same driver configuration) offer a different presentation with more focused imaging in a smaller sweet spot. I first heard the original Muse at CAF a few years ago and fell in love with the way the clustered driver array presented such a coherent sound with very realistic image size and location. When Lou came out with the larger Apollo with the same driver array I just had to have them. If I had a large, open space I'd have gone for the Apollo 11's, which present more similar to the way my DA-1.1s did. But with a small room and my listening chair not too far from the speakers the clustered array really is spectacular.