I recently posted this EXACT question & got 1 reply from someone who never heard them but didn't like the No Return [policy of the only seller I could find..
There are a few reviews found via Google,all very positive BUT also all stating a bit more work required to get them dialed into a room...@ $10,000.00 + with no demo & no return I will pass.Settled on the $3100.00 Sonus Faber Lumina V to supplement my Harbeth M30.1's... |
@freediver thanks for your response. I saw your post but as you said nobody really provided any review/impressions of the speakers, hence I also asked the same question. It would be great if you could post the links where you found actual user reviews (not the reviewing sites such as Blue Moon, HiFi Knights etc, as I have already read those.)
I understand no return or no demo can be very frustrating to make a buying decision especially price is this high. I hope you are liking your SF Luminas.
Since only seller was not providing demo or return, did you directly contact Martin of SoundKaos asking him for demo or return policy? I have recently purchased Bakoon amp 13-R from him and found him to be a really nice guy and easy to deal with.
Would have loved to hear your thoughts on them if you would have purchased them. There are some guys in this forum who listened to Vox 3F at the California Audio Show in Oakland in 2019 (there is a separate link to the discussion) but none of them have posted any detailed impressions of them. I will try to tag them in this thread for their detailed impressions.
@pumper24 , @auxinput if you could post your detailed impressions of Vox 3F that you heard at California Audio Show, that would be very helpful as actual user impressions of these are a rarity.
Regards,Saurabh
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Only saw the same so called pro reviews,nothing from anyone with ears on experience & didn't think to contact the maker.
I'll also keep an eye out for more info on these but honestly I doubt I can do better than the Lumina without moving past $10,000.00... |
@freediver thanks for the info. IMO Comparing a floor stander to bookshelf won't be a fair comparison. I had heard some Olympica floor stander at a show which was driven by some McIntosh integrated amp. Good sounding speaker, perfect for jazz or other relaxed music. But it had treble roll off for my taste (sparkle was missing on some of test tracks that I use for treble extension/harshness).
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I saw this loudspeaker at the audio show 2 years ago, so I can’t tell you more than I liked it and felt it was one of the better loudspeakers at the show in terms of tonal balance. It was small and very expensive for what it was, but then being a boutique item, I can understand how they’d have to charge that much for it given a small production run. I’m a mid-range freak. For me the most important thing in a loudspeaker that the mid-range do a good job on voices and acoustic instruments. The demo recordings I bring are voices and instruments I know well. I still think a DIY project using that Tang-Band full-range driver could be a lot of bang for the buck, especially if you add in a good DSP EQ like the miniDSP DDRC-24. There are a couple of things you could do with this driver. One would be to use it as the heart of an open baffle system. The other would be to get enough of them to make up an open baffle line array. That could be loads of fun. One more thing. If you're really thinking of spending the $6700 they were asking for that loudspeaker at the show, I think this used pair of the Avalon Opus would be a much better value. They are my own "wet-dream" loudspeaker. |
@russbutton Thanks a lot for your input. I already had the idea that it would be very difficult to remember how one speaker sounded from a show two years back. But thank you for replying.
Since you liked it then I am assuming that it did good job with midrange as that’s the area you focus most in a speaker (courtesy full range tang band driver). I agree that these are on expensive side but you also got it right that this is going to be the case given the fact that these are from a small boutique manufacturer based out of Switzerland & manufacturing (or assembling) speakers in Switzerland (not made in China for reducing cost or increasing profits).
I have a liking towards ribbon & amt tweeters, hence this design intrigued very much. I think its a very clever design by using full range driver for 200 to 10K Hz and then using Raal tweeter for highs above 10K and dual opposite side mounted bass drivers for duty below 200 Hz along with the folded transmission line to give really nice bottom end for a tiny stand mounter.
That Avalon Opus surely looks great but getting it here in India is going to be one major headache (due to weight for shipping and custom duties), besides I have a very small room, so having floor-stander is going to be challenging from space perspective as well as I fear it would be an overkill.
I know I can get a cheaper system using similar full range driver, but unfortunately I am not a DIY person. So I will have to rely on the manufacturers for a quality speakers.
Regards,Saurabh |
A note of Avalon speakers. These use the older generations of Accuton ceramic drivers. I have heard a lot of speakers using these Accuton drivers. The result is extremely clean audio, but in my opinion these Accuton drivers are too controlled and don't have enough dynamics and excitement. The newer models of Accuton are better, but I still feel that they are not yet as dynamic sounding as other speakers. If you have not heard these directly, I think it would be really hard to make a decision on them.
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@auxinput thanks for your input on Accuton drivers and Avalon speakers. I doubt there is any dealer of Avalon in India (so is the case with many good boutique manufacturers), so listening to them is going to be very difficult. Besides these are all floorstanders which are not going to be feasible given space constrain & they are going to be way out of my budget as well (if I decide to buy a new one). Getting a used one is out of the question duty weight, size and customs (custom duty plays biggest role while importing audio gear here in India). Even if any dealer is having Avalon here, its surely going to be exorbitant (most items are sold at 50%-100% more price than US price, forget about dealer price at which they get).
Do you remember anything about SoundKaos Vox which you heard at California Audio Show in 2019 and liked them. Your input would be very valuable as real world users/listeners feedback is almost non-existent for these speakers.
They are very attractive to me from design standpoint as well as being very tiny and not much of weight (approx 10-11 kg) makes them viable option for considering the option of Import as well. Besides whatever review I have found are positive.
Regards,Saurabh
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I'd forgotten I heard these at the Cali Audio Show, but found the picture I took of them on July 26, 2019. They were good for monitors. Maybe a bit thuddy or thick in the lower mids. That could have been the rest of the system rather than the speakers though. Overall, it was a good room. Better than many. I'd probably go for the upgraded wide bander though.
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Ok, so I took a plunge in the month of October & got the speakers, Vox 3afw. I have written a mini review/impressions on a separate thread below.
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Congratulations on your new speakers. I heard them in the Old Forge Audio room at the audio show in 2019. They were the original 3Fs, and they were sitting on some substitute aftermarket stands because the proprietary stands had been damaged in shipment to the show. It was one of my favorite rooms.
Incredible speakers — so dynamic and engaging, in such a small box. I really wanted to own them, but I had already purchased Boenicke W5s several months earlier. And now you have the new model with all the added refinements. Would love to hear then one day with my Enleum AMP 23R. Enjoy!
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@randyk you said it correctly..they are very dynamic and engaging in a tiny package...if you have a small room like me, I think this can very well be last speaker you need.
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I’m really interested in these. At first glance they look like tiny bass light Japanese style speakers. But they go down low, as long as they are placed close to sidewalls apparently. Seems perfect for smaller rooms.
Audiophool how do they seem after longer term ownership? Did you get the lessloss firewall version.
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@agisthos Yes, I have the lossless version viz. Vox 3afw. I thought that I should not contemplate later about not going for the topmost version available.
Yes, these are meant for smaller rooms or for near-field/semi near-field listening. These are not the speakers for partying or playing out really really loud. If one can play these within this constrain then it can make one very happy.
In my room they are actually far from the side walls, but they are just 30 cm from the front wall (viz. from back of the speaker to the wall behind it). This is needed for the lower bass reach, else it will sound absolutely anemic in bass department. But once placed correctly you will find quality bass which is surprisingly deep given it's size. Besides the bass is very fast, no bloat what so ever. It brings out very nice texture out of the bass notes. But bass is not very hard hitting or having lot of emphasis or weight. It just satisfies me for wide range of genres that I listen to. If you are into large orchestral music or listen to a lot of metal, for rest of the genres the bass is absolutely sufficient (that's my opinion).
Most people notice it's top end at first which is just brilliant. A lot of air, very well extended, smooth, refined and delicate but never sounding harsh. Raal ribbon tweeter mounted on the top is very much responsible for this trait.
but for me the real strength is in it's mids. It just addictive. I am hard pressed to find such a beautiful mids/vocals in multi-driver speakers. One of fellow audiophile who visited my house said, it feels like you are sitting in a small club/bar and singer & band is performing right in-front of you. It's just intimate without having over emphasis on mids or lower mids, but has good body to the vocals wherever need. It's just magical for me.
Another trait of this speaker is it's just darn fast. I once played "B.̉Y.O.B. from Mezmerize album of System of Down" for another fellow audiophile when he came to my house & his reaction was "that's not how the metal is supposed to sound" (in positive way) because he way able to pick out all the individual elements in the song while being able to hear vocals very clearly.
For me this is very likely the first and very last speaker I will every buy. I might just add a RiPol sub from SoundKaos if I move to a larger room than my current one, otherwise I am completely happy with my setup.
And from aesthetics point of view they are darn pretty and got approval from wife as well as from the interior designer who designed the interior for my house. Now that's a big feat.
But one thing you will have to keep in mind is that the description which I gave you regarding the sound is because of my entire system. So you need to make sure you have right from the source to amplifier everything of the same caliber to get most out of the speaker.
If you are interested in seeing photo or read in detail about my impressions then I have posted it on Audiophile style with title "SoundKaos Vox 3a + Bakoon Amp 13R + Merging NADAC Impressions & Long Term Ownership Review" check it out.
Regards,
Audio_phool
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I actually am a metal guy but I don’t listen to that genre on my audiophile system, or like to listen loud. I like an airy and intimate/forward soundstage. These could be the ticket with my 14 foot wide room.
I noted that Srajan gave them a lunar award (rare for him), and for the Hifi Knight guy it took the Borresen M1 to beat it. You took a big chance to buy such priced speakers unheard, but a well calculated decision considering these reports.
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@agisthos If you have 14 feet wide room and I am assuming the length is also going to be similar in length,these can be very well suited. Besides if you can keep the listening distance in the range for 5-17 feet then it can give you all the qualities mentioned by Srajan & Dawid. And if you can spend even more to ad a sub, then you can even enjoy metal and large orchestras as well. But I fee that can be done later.
Good that you brought out the point of Srajan & Dawid. Yes, both of them have given it their highest award. But I take these awards and reviews with a dallop of salt, I need not say the reason  . But in this case both had kept it as their reference, Srajan for 1-2 years and Dawid still has Vox 3afw as his reference and daily driver. Now this is the actual achievement in my books and indicate that they are actually performing good enough to match the their words. And this aspect is really rare if you search across various reviewers.
Another such praise came from unexpected place; viz. Lukas Fikus of Lampizator where he praised these to a very high level. Now given that both SoundKaos & Lampizator have not collaborated before it was a very honest praise. Here is that post
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3318777188354196&set=a.1569150376650228
So buying Vox3afw blind was actually a very well informed and researched decision which turned worked out for me.
And finally since I can vouch for Dawid's review of Vox3a & if I go by his words then, to improve upon Vox 3a in all regards would take one to spend $100K by buying Borresen's M1 is actually an even bigger praise for Vox 3 in my books.
Regards,
Audio_phool
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