Hi Albert,
Bright Star and Gilmore Audio shared three display rooms at CES and T.H.E. show in January. I had been familiar with the design for a number of months before CES and had seen one of the raw panels but had not heard the speakers before set up day.
I have been designing, building and modifying speaker systems since I was sixteen years old (I’m now forty seven) and have extensive experience with ribbons, planer-magnetic speakers, electrostatics, hybrids, dynamic speakers, line source and dipole designs. I have designed speakers professionally for over twenty years.
The presentation of Abraham Laboriel’s 5 string Yamaha bass through the Gilmore speakers at CES was exceptionally clean, well controlled, had outstanding dynamic range and I would say had the best articulation I have ever heard from a live electric bass guitar.* (I have been a professional musician – drummer – since I was sixteen years old and have heard many electric bass guitars through many different amplifiers and sound reinforcement systems. I have also played extensively in totally acoustic music ensembles and have been exposed to the sound of live, unamplified instruments in many different situations). I was present for at least ten of Abraham’s performances during the show. The subtlety and definition of each note that Abraham played was very well exhibited by the Gilmore speakers. Abraham has such amazing bass playing ability that even his 32nd notes (!) were each individually identifiable. That is a testament to his virtuosity and the speaker’s resolving power.
I have read a few posts on Audiogon and in few other sources from people who thought that the Gilmore’s bass response was not as extended as the manufacturer claims (the Model 2 Gilmore speakers are spec’d to 17 Hz) . Most of them seem to have based their comments on only a five minute session listening to Abraham playing his Yamaha bass live through the speakers. Unfortunately, this limited exposure is not representative of the speaker’s true capabilities. Abraham’s five string electric bass only extends down to slightly above 30 Hz. The instrument itself does not go lower. Unfortunately, many listeners are only exposed to live bass sound that is highly non-linear due to gross resonances in bass guitar amplifier/speaker setups, poor sound reinforcement systems and generally deaf sound engineers. Additionally, listeners who are used to bass reproduced through the vast majority of home systems have gotten accustomed to bloated bass from speakers that are not well designed and which exhibit resonances, overhang and poor integration with the room and its boundaries. The Gilmores did seem to go down quite low when a CD or LP was played through them.
The midbass, which is usually the Achilles’ heel of planer/dynamic hybrids was handled very well by both the Model 2 and Model 3 Gilmores. I did not hear obvious discontinuities or upper pass band response from the woofers that was out of proportion at the crossover point to the ribbon.
Transparency from the Gilmore speakers was also quite good and they lacked the glare and the intermodulation artifacts that plague the vast majority of planer speakers (and most dynamic speakers). I seem to be more sensitive to IM problems than many audiophiles and sound engineers. Midrange response was also quite good without exhibiting the etching and upper midrange brightness that most people describe as “detail”. The top end was also transparent and free of exaggerated brightness. Most speakers have high frequency response that is brighter than the musical instrument it is attempting to reproduce would be if both were played side by side.
Any areas of performance that were not exceptional could have been attributed to a number of conditions that are typical of show set ups: room acoustics, atmospheric conditions (dry air, over-heated rooms, too many human bodies in a small space, etc), sagging AC lines, the perennial problem of equipment that is not fully broken in before the show begins, etc. Demo material (particular recordings) used can also make a HUGE difference in people’s impressions of a show system. In addition, even though the relatively normally powered Atma-Sphere amps that were used to drive the speakers at CES did a valiant job and reached pretty good volume levels, I look forward to hearing the Gilmores with those intense MA-3 mono blocks or another mega amp that matches the speaker well. I am a firm believer in “over kill”.
My statements above are not meant to give the impression that I think the Gilmores are perfect (or any other speaker is perfect for that matter) and that there isn’t room for any potential improvement. I would have to spend much more time with them under controlled conditions to assess their ultimate capabilities. I would also like to run a number of measurements of their performance before I could make that determination.
Best,
Barry Kohan
* Abraham's playing was a mezmerizing experience. Every time I heard him play I was blown away with his virtuosity and said to myself that he couldn't possibly play any better, but amazingly enough he DID play even better the next time!
