Emerald Physics CS-2, Opinions Please

I was a dealer for Clayton, and remain a friend of his. Just for the record, he received a Golden Ear Award for the CS-2 in the June/July issue of The Abso!ute Sound.

What Clayton did that is imho extraordinary is he pushed into bold new territory as far as what can be done in an affordable speaker design. [I betcha he had one eye on the Zu Druids - another over-achiever.] Clayton brought together a combination of characteristics that had never been tried before commercially, to the best of my knowledge. While his CS2 isn't perfect, as a competitor let me say that the prospect of stepping into the ring against it is quite daunting. He sets the bar very high.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer

Tvad: There are many ways of persuading. I am not interested in any of them, as I have confidence in my own ears and as the saying goes about art, "I know what I like".

One method is that of insinuation, of using irrelevant examples or allusions to cast doubt upon the object under discussion. Why talk about the six-moth hot buzz in your very first response to this thread if you did not mean to imply be association that EPs also fall into this category?

Yes I noticed you are careful enough to cover your tracks by not directly criticizing the sound, and even being magnanimous enough to tell the OP to try/buy them. Very big of you, except that he seems to have a mind of his own and it appears doubtful he will or will not do something based on what you did or didn't say. And if you were to actually READ what he asked, in a few sentences he made the point twice:

those of you that have them what you think?
If you have had them for a couple of months are you still happy? any regrets?

Here are a few examples of what he did NOT say: if you have read assorted ramblings about them and would like to add your own doody to the pile, please waste cyberink and everyone's time. Or: if you would like to recommend other speakers because you haven't heard these, please spew names which everyone knew but many have forgotten. Or: If you think the parts are worth the cost of the speaker and the designer's art and science are worth little to nothing, please post your 7th-grade financial analysis. Or: If you believe having seventeen dealers makes a speaker sound better, please let me have the names of all those speakers and dealers so I can waste my time and money buying them. Or: As I can't read the classifieds for myself, please let me know how many EP speakers are for sale so I can wonder why these people are selling them.

No. Re-read what he asked. As free as this country is, you have no place in this thread unless you will admit you simply intend to distract. Go hear them, properly set up as the designer intended and took great pains to explain in the manual, then come back and favor us with your real-life observations. Until then, STFU.

Wow, I seemed to have stirred the pot.

No point in attacking Tvad whom I hardly know. I'm the one who did not like the speaker.

Paul-If you want to know who my dealer friend is feel free to send me a PM. I have nothing to hide. I call it as I see it. The reason I didn't disclose the name here is that I'm basically saying something he used to sell is not that great. Although it wouldn't be the first time.

As for EP having only one dealer, that seems to be a more recent event. EP had a great showing at CES and a number of dealers picked up the line in January. My friend started carrying the line after the show. He was not the only one. I remember seeing several dealers advertising the CS2 after the CES including here at Audiogon. I first listened to the CS2's in mid February; the speakers arrive about a month after the CES. As I of my last visit to my friend's shop, he had sold his demo CS2 and he is not carrying EP anymore. Which is in agreement with the new single dealer policy. Dealers change lines all the time.

BTW-when I say I hang out at the store, I really mean I hang out at the store. I have often referred to that place as an audio version of Cheers.

In my original post, another friend of mine did listen to the CS2 at another dealer I know in LA. That friend liked the CS2 and I do trust the dealer's taste since I used to hang out at that store when I lived in SoCal. It is ironic. Another of my friends listened to the pair at my friend's store and did not like the speaker. The three of us went through the exact same arguments in this thread via e-mail for several weeks. Feels like deja vu.

Interesting. I have not heard these...so no comments on the sound.

The CS2 system is a stereo, bi-amplified design requiring a high and low frequency range amplifier for each channel......Passive crossover networks in conventional speaker inflict far more damage to the signal.

Little by little the word is getting out about the benefits of eliminating passive crossovers from speakers and using separate amps for treble/mids and bass. Another convert to active speakers! It is great to see speaker manufacturers that embrace technology and progress instead of devoting the largest portio of their efforts at simply making better looking "furniture".

Rchau,

For the record, I was not insinuating that you made it up. I just found your dealer's reaction quite surprising given that, at the very least, these are simply very good speakers. I would say that the reactions I have seen/heard (dozens) have been probably 95+% positive - most very positive indeed.

As for them not being 'revolutionary' - so what? With speakers, the devil's in the details. And, frankly, they are rather innovative. The magic seems to be due to the combination of very complete frequency response, correct dispersion/power response by the ingenious coupling of open-baffle and a waveguide (the guide takes over where the bass drivers are beaming) (power response is THE critical area neglected by almost all conventional designs), and the complete time/phase alignment offered by the DSP. The result is a speaker that honestly seems to have no dynamic compression whatsoever, has accurate timber, and portrays a very realistic soundstage.
[A lot in common with Duke's designs, incidentally, which also get around the power response problem by coupling a woofer to a similarly-sized waveguide. Duke, if I'm screwing that up please correct me!]

There is no such thing as a perfect speaker, and there are probably better speakers in certain ways, but these things did drop my jaw at RMAF last year and yes, I did finally order a pair.