BBlilikoi, I think you've hit the nail on the head. I've found that the Orchid takes a long time to burn in. You'll find the sibilance clearing and the bass opening up after several hundred hours of use. I have now tried it against the Cardas Golden Reference and Nordost Valhalla but both of these are balanced, and the Orchid is RCA, so the comparison is not truly meaningful.
But as you say, the Orchid handles macro and micro dynamics far better than the others, though the jury is still out for me as to which is more harmonically accurate. The balanced Cardas, for example seems to carry the sound of piano with more body and timbre. I am trying to get hold of either an RCA Cardas or balanced Orchid. Until then, the listening continues...
But as you say, the Orchid handles macro and micro dynamics far better than the others, though the jury is still out for me as to which is more harmonically accurate. The balanced Cardas, for example seems to carry the sound of piano with more body and timbre. I am trying to get hold of either an RCA Cardas or balanced Orchid. Until then, the listening continues...