I have heard the Giya Spirit G1 (or whatever the current top model is called) and it sounded incredible. It was driven by excellent Luxman SS gear (over $200k system). This was just immediately after I heard the Blade 1 driven by Hegel gear ($40K - $70K via amps. The Blade 1 sounded better to me but my criteria for greatness may differ from others. I like a holographic 3D sound where the speakers disappear and the instruments and musicians are placed clearly in a large soundstage. Sort of like hearing and seeing a performance at the same time. The Blades were better at this than the Vivid and I have yet heard a speaker that did the stuff i like better.
I listen to the Blade with someone from Hegel in a large room for an hour+. The Giya I listen in a great sport with about 4 or 5 people for about 20 minutes.
I have recently started investigating a floor stander for my office. The Blades are too big so I started looking at various other options. One option was the Vivid G4. Have not heard it yet but reviews say smaller sound to the larger Giya models. I spoke to the previous Vivid USA distributor and they recommend the G3 over the G4. They were not too high on the G4, maybe they had an G3 to sell and not a G4. They did say that the 125 watt Luxman 509x would drive the G3 with ease. The Blades need a lot more power from my past listening experience.
I have located a dealer close to me that sells the Vivid Kaya 90/45. The people I spoke with (reviewer and dealers) who have heard the Kaya line told me that I should focus on that model for an office and save the cash. I will have a big speaker audition week sometime in the next few months and the Kaya 45 is on the list.
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Thanks for your experience. I really prefer speakers that don't crave amp power, that are relatively efficient even if they have lower impedance curves. That's why I don't care for B&W, Wilsons and Magicos among other reasons that they just don't sound as musically involving. My wife liked the Blade 2 we heard and the Ultra 11 von Schweikert is her favorite but too expensive. I want to keep my custom 125 watt Class A/B tube amps and mate them with dynamic speakers.
It's difficult to determine what a speaker sounds like compared to another using different equipment. Both the Giya and the Blade are modern and attractive looking to us (while the Wilson and Magico are not). Older Audio Physic speakers also were good at disappearing but are not as dynamic or wideband as the Blades.
I'd like to know what you think of the Kaya. I guess the Giya 4 is too small sounding for my 25' X 23' X12.5' room.
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Gentleman, we had the Vivid line and the Kef Blades and Reference at the same time in the same showroom.
Our take was the Kef line was similar sounding for less money then the Vivids.
We too heard the big Giyas and at $70-95k they were more dynamic with even greater bass punch then the Blades, however, a pair of Blades with a pair of good subwoofers still would come out at half the price of the Giyas.
A well setup pair of Blades is one of the very few $30k speakers that can be compared to $70-100k models from most of the industry.
We had the Oval B1 and V1.5 in our showroom and the B1 were superb, clarity, soundstaging, but in most respects were not better than the less expensive Kef Reference line.
We ultimately gave up the Vivid line as they didn't really outperfom, the Kef's and both lines sounded similar with similar design attributes with both sporting very high tech aluminium drivers.
The Ref 3 or Ref 1 when setup correctly do sound similar to the Blades if the Blade 2 are still too big for your office.
Ysantabarbara, if you are looking for a fantastic smaller speaker listen to the new Quad Z series unbelievable performance for the money. The Z3 are tiny floorstanders, with one of the best sounding ribbon's that isn't sterile sounding or hyper detailed.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
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@fleschler I was at a S. Cal dealer event where they had a Wilson rep and Dan D'??? and his Momentum amps. The Wilsons being demoed were the most expensive in the line. I started talking with the Wilson rep and my wife (who is not into audio) walks over and joins the conversation. First thing she says to the Wilson guy, "why the heck do those speakers look so ugly, like Darth Vader". That did not go over too well. I am glad she likes the look of the Blades though she wonders why I just don't use my iPhone and some headphones. I think the room you have (lucky you) is too big for the G4. However, the G3 may work. The previous Vivid distributer has a demo pair for $22K. You should give them a call. I think this is the older version not series 2. They gave me some good info on room size and the Giyas. https://onahighernote.com/shop/speaker-systems/vivid-giya-g3/@audiotroy I am going to moving sometime in the next 4 months. Once I get my room dimensions I will give you a call. Thanks for the Quad recommendations. I am currently using the following in my office and will continue to do so but I also want to add a floor stander. http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0916/Audience_ClairAudient_1_plus1_V2_Monitor_Review...Great feedback on the Vivid and KEF Ref comparisons. This is the kind of info that I did not know. Though I have heard both lines but not side-by-side. |
I purchased Audio Troy's Vivid 1.5s. I added a Jl subwoofer. Right now I am sitting here listening to Jazz at the Pawnshop and thinking how great they sound. I don't know about the rest of the Vivid line, but if it goes up from here, then they must be great. I don't know why they don't sell well.
Hans Wetzel from Soundstage used to work with me. He had reviewed the 1.5 and was thrilled when I purchased them. |
@crwindy I emailed Hans Wetzel about the G4 and a small room and he said it would fit but he recommended the Kaya 45 and save some cash. The Kaya line (per Vivid) is supposed to image better. I sometimes see the Giyas toed in almost 45 degrees. Especially if there is no side wall reinforcement. |
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That’s where I read that the Giya G4 is just a smaller sounding version of the G1. Is the Kaya 90 better at lower cost? Do they have the same amp requirements? |
I just made a decision today that puts an end to my ramblings about my speaker search for the office (a lot of wasted speaker research). Today, I messaged an A'Gon member with KEF Blade2 in a small room, 14 x 13. He told me his impressions, he has had Blade 1, KEF Ref3, and now Blade 2 in that room. He also heard the Blade 1 in a 15 x 12 room. Long story short. I am going straight to the KEF Blade 2 and forget getting a smaller speaker for the office. It will be near-field of course but it can work. Life is too short to not get what I really want. I will eventually move the Blades to the living room once my toddler is a little older. I will initially use the Benchmark AHB2 mono amps because they sound great and are a small form factor (important for office). I want to get the T+A 3100 integrated in the future once I move them to the living room. Getting back to the Vivid. The Kaya is different and maybe better for someones needs. Look at the link below. http://sunnyaudiovideo.com/"The position of the tweeter and mid-range driver gives KAYA speakers a more directional sound, taking you deeper into the performance. " This is likely the key point for me that I have heard a few times from Vivid on this new line. They are comparing the Giya and Kaya lines there. This is supposed to improve imaging. The Giya is supposed to have a bigger sound stage. Technology moves forward along with knowledge of product development so there is a chance the newer Vivid tech is better than the older lower Giya models. |
Yyssantabarbera, you will be so happy with the Blade 2. They are extraordinary loudspeakers.
As we mentioned before we had both lines the Blades sound more like the mega dollar speakers so we at one time were contemplating the Vivid G1 for our reference room but ruled them out due to the similarities in design between the two lines, with the Blades offering sound in the same calibre for half the price of the big Giyas, other than more extreme bass response, we ruled out the Giyas because the performance of the Blades was that good.
In terms of design and technology these are both tour de force loudspeakers, we feell that the Blades are better than the Vivids for less money the Blade 2 compares to the Giya G3 which is a $40k loudspeaker. The other issue with the Vivids sound is that they are even more detailed then the Blades which makes them a bit more sensitive to any brightness in a system.
The Blades are a perfect balance between resolution, sound staging, bass tightnss and punch.
Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ |
Hi all,
New to the forum; just registered.
I am also looking at purchasing the KEF Blade Two.
A few weeks ago I attended a hifi event in Germany where I heard Vivid's Kaya 45 on Mola-Mola Kaluga monoblocks and a M-M Tambaqui DAC.
I was heavily impressed with their sound. The company that did the demo was the distributor for Vivid and Mola-Mola in the Netherlands (the country I live in). One of the NL dealers of this gear also happens to sell KEF, so for sure in the future I will visit them for an A/B comparison of the Kaya 45 and Blade Two.
That said, at the same German event I was blown away by a pair of speakers designed and manufactured in Switzerland by Sven Boenicke. His speakers are carved out of natural wood! Quite obviously they are less easily available (they have distribution in the US). Perhaps you guys can check out Boenicke's W8 or W11 in relation to the KEF Blade Two and Vivid Kaya 45 comparison.
Cheers,
Marcel |
@crwindy
What other speakers did you hear before deciding to get the vivid?
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I had Merlin VSM. I looked at focal 1128, Wilson Sabrina, Kef reference 1, focal sopra 1, Martin Logan ESL 11, Canton 3.2, acoustic zen crescendo, PSB imagine T3, Janszen Valentina, and others.
Previously owned Proac 1sc and D15.
Also listened to the Devialet speakers.
The Vivids just did something for me.
Audiodoctor Dave had a great selection.
He didn't necessarily agree with my choice but he was great and really helpful.
I know that the prior distributor is closing out some of his speakers and they look like great deals.
10 months later I am still very happy with my choice. |
Also listened to some Tranner and Freidel which were nice but not worth the $. |
Are the 1.5 the new version? there are in fact two versions the latest is v1.5se.
The Wilson sabrina are much more expensive aren't they? I don't see how they would not be better than the vivids. I found the vivids had no bass. It's a reasonable size so I'd expect better bass. The rest of the frequency range was also not remarkable. The kef blades 2 were pretty good but you shouldnt have to spend as much as that to get good sound.
There is no way to tell what you're hearing and make valid comparisons because I've found that the demo rooms are not properly designed to demonstrate the maximum potential of the speakers.
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Mine are the not a new model of the 1.5.
I did add a JL subwoofer (E112).
The speed of the Vivid is what hooked me. The JL took care of the bass.
I liked the Wilson's a lot, but still just couldn't leave the Vivids.
The ML ESL11 was also great but I had concerns about how it would work in my room since it is a dipole. |
