Gershman Sonogram Loudspeakers

Category: Speakers

This is the "entry level" floor standing model from Gershman Acoustics, a Canadian Company that makes some unorthodox looking but great performing speakers. However, this model is more conventional "looking" (but still designed to eliminate internal standing waves)

See: http://www.gershmanacoustics.com/

At first glance the look of this speaker invoked a response of "interesting" rather than "WOW!" as it did not have one of the more sterile "in vogue" finishes, but an antique look to it which I liked a lot:
- nicely rounded corners
- hand finished Walnut stain with a satin finish that looked more like french polish.
- modest looking protective speaker grill

Remove that grill and you will see this is a three way unit with
- a 1" silk Dome tweater
- a 2+" Dome Mid Range driver (the fist time I have seen this).
- an 8" driver with the familiar Gershman Gold Cone treatment

Here is a very good professional review that gives a lot more intricate details.
http://www.avguide.com/review/gershman-acoustics-sonogram-loudspeaker

So - what do I think of the sound? - one word - brilliant!

Even in the showroom, it really peaked my interest as it stood out way above the competition.

So much so, that I trundled my amp (a diminutive NAIM NAIT 5i) and speaker cables (Van den Hul D - 352 HYBRID) down to the showroom for a more detailed listen.

What a perfect match!

The dynamics that this amp can deliver were perfectly reproduced in amazing detail and the control in the lower frequencies was stellar!

Gershman rates the lower frequency response to be 28Hz - I think this is conservative and would guess a practical lower limit to be more in line with 24Hz - superb!

Sensitivity is 89db, but they appear a lot easier to drive.

The design of these speakers allows for a great deal of lattitude in their placement within a room, especially a room that has furniture in it.

If you are limited by space like me, they provide a great deal of placement flexibility, but watch out for those pesky standing waves and reflections - they really detract from the performance of these speakers, but with minimal DIY acoustic treatments these can be minimized, if not eliminated altogether.

Also, make sure these speakers are on a REALLY solid footing:
- Hardwood - use the spiked feet provided and protective discs
- Carpet - you might want to get better (more pointed) spikes
- Granite/Slate - spikes provided will suffice nicely

About those spiked feet - this is probably the most disappointing aspect of these speakers
- they are a real sloppy fit and considering the price of these speakers and the importance of a good footing, I would have thought better spikes would have been provided
- still, nothing a little teflon tape and a few nuts could not fix.

The imaging of these speakers is another superb attribute, creating a 3D image that satisfies the very discerning listener. Oh - and try tilting the speakers back a little - I thought it added a little more depth to the imaging

Designing a three way speaker that "really works" can be a bit of a challenge - which is why there are so many two way designs out there - but I believe the success of this speaker lies in the use of the dome mid range unit, which I believe is responsible for:
- the superb imaging
- the really superb musical fidelity

I've probably overused the word "Superb" in this review, but they really are one of the best speakers I have listened to, including many in the $5,000 - $10,000 price range.

Now, I could go on about...
- the "soft whispery voice" of Dianna Krall (OMG - she's in the room)
- the impact of the "Digitally Recorded" canons on the 1812 overture (KABOOM! - no, really!)
- or the completely ridiculous mixing abilities on Mike Oldfield's Tunular Bells II (now I gotta go get III),

But I won't - I'll just say try them - I don't think you will be disapointed - but take your amp and speaker cables in order to do them justice.

Likes: everything (almost)
Dislikes: sloppy feet