Newform Speakers...your experience?

Hello, Whatjd. I've owned Newform Research r-8-2's since sept93. I prefered them to martin logans of that age in the showroom. I didn't have the MartinL's in my livingroom. The Newform are easy to drive, the ribbons do take awhile to break-in but they are very smooth. They are great in a hifi or a home theatre rig. Very revealing of everything, cables, electronics,every change is easily identified but they remain very musical, very fast. You can drive them with an integrated or with high end separates. I did find Red dawn speaker wire too zingy with the very fast ribbons. I've had good results with audioquest, monster sigma and acoustic zen, my fave.....also John Meyer of Newform is an excelent chap to talk to. Hope this has helped. Feel free to ask me anything I might have missed. good luck, Bluenose

I now have the R645's which replaced Magnepan 1.6's and Martin Logan Aerius's before that. I have a review posted on AudioReview.com, please see, but in sum, these are better than the Maggies (except in coherence) and the ML's (much better low and top end). Not the prettiest speaker, but techie and different. Great build quality. Easy to place, not fussy.
The ribbons are fabulous, but require a change of crossover caps (to Hovlands) for smoothest, extended highs, which are as good as anything around, including Maggie 3.6's. I use Nordost Blue Heavens biwire just for the ribbons, and Analysis Oval 9's for the woofers. Plus, you get to talk direct with the designer, John Meyer (when was the last time you conversed with Gayle Sanders?). These speakers are a well kept secret and a bargain right now, please don't tell anyone about tehm, OK? Let's keep them our little secret... -Ed

I agree with the comments above. As a former Maggie owner, I thought I would stick with Maggies for my new speaker. However, I was slightly disapointed with the 1.6's after a lengthy audition and did not have the wallet nor space for the 3.6's. After extensive research and talking to John Meyer, I took a shot at the R645's.

Needless to say, I have been very happy with the purchase. The ribbons are very smooth and detailed. I think the top end sounds of the R645's are as good as anything I have listened to. The midrange is good but not as silky sweet as the maggies. However, the R645's have lower, cleaner and less congested bass. The R645's are also much easier to set up and drive. Aesthetically, I like the way the maggies look better than the R645's. It's Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) may be an issue. I also think that the R645's are better suited for folks who want to have there speakers serve double duty as a HT set-up because of the mono pole design.

I think your choice also depends on the type of sound you are looking for. I find that in comparison to the Maggies, the R645's are more detailed, have wider dynamics, are equal in depth of soundstage, but are a bit drier sounding. If a sweet,liquid midrange is your top priority,the Maggies may be your best bet.

Newform R8 2's plus 30in. ribbons were the speaker of choice in my room between '95 and '98. The ribbons were incomparable and I have yet to find superior sound. The bass, though, seemed queasy to me and additionally the speed difference between the ranges was irritating after awhile - though I understand that now J. Meyer is using the newer quicker bass drivers from Scanspeak. The 645's have been given many favourable reviews in Audioreview....though because this is a factory-direct to customer operation AR postings are encouraged, I suppose. The only other drawback I found (with the 30in. ribbons) was differing vertical dispersion. At present I'm using Hales T5's, having almost gone for a pair of '645's...at some point I'll give NR's another listen! Always enjoyable to own, Newforms may not be so easily saleable, but try a pair...great value!