Thanks Aram! I have spent over 30+ hours total working on these speakers and beleive me it was a pain, but well worth it! |
Asi-tek , it looks like you have done a great job on the Studio 100..I wish I could have done the same on mine...I love the Studio 100 but getting the most out of them is a challenge..anyway congratulations to you.. |
Ozfly,
I put around 300 total feet of silver wire to replace all internal wiring for both speakers drivers and parts, deleted binding posts, deleted any connectors, tweaked crossovers/parts, speakers sit on custom made isolation boards, rings around the tweeters for imaging (this was a huge improvement!), and lastly bybee filters, which also made these speakers sound much better. Speakers cable are made by myself out of silver wire and are obviously captive into the speakers crossovers, WBT silver solders and Caig ProGold used as well.
Results?
Very good disappearing act. Voices and instruments are recreated with such a real like-life sound, very holographic and imaging is right on. Very neutral in a sense that they are not fatiguing and can be played at very insane LOUD dynamic levels without a hint of stress (stock they have no problems either). Bass is extremly controlled and very tight but not overly boomy (I think has to do with the big authority that the amp has).
Bottom line is that they definitely sound different than stock. Total sonic signature is change drastically and worth it all the way. There is alot of "hidden" sound that is not coming into the room with these speakers stock, but enough for the average audiophile, I defintely uncanned alot of resolution, dynamics, and transparency. PRAT!!!
I wanted to see how far I can take these speakers and how they would sound comparable to much more expensive speakers, well, lets say that now I am understanding what the term "snob appeal" is about now!
Thanks for your interests! |
Asi tek, what kinds of mods did you do? Thanks. |
The Triangle Celius 202 is my current favorite among my many speakers, and it mates well with both tube and ss equipment, in my case I have used them with Krell 300i as well as AR SP9-II and VT-60 with the Krell assisting its bass performance a bit more. The bass can be beaten by a lot of other good speakers, but it is hard to better in terms of total musicality. I have no experience with the Studio 100's and cannot comment on a direct comparison. |
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I compared my HIGHLY MODIFIED Studio 100's ver2 to many other types of speakers including B&W N802's, Maggies, verity tomino, JM labs cobalt 926, Mini grande utopia, etc... These were in lots of different systems, and its very hard to get everything into your own.
The modified 100's could defintely hold there own and if there was anything better (which I had a very hard time trying to conceive that there was) of any of the more expensive loudspeakers mentioned, the price differnce is defintely not worth the large jump.
None of the speakers mentioned could give me the full-bodied rythym and pace, (and defintely not make me feel the drums and have them appeat soo real) and disapear completely like the modified 100's could. I do admit the 100's have lots and lots of SLAM, and Dynamics, but do strings and flutes incredibly well too.
But STOCK, they are all right, kinda dark sounding, power hungry, richer sounding than the rest of the studio line, and I would admit that they are great for the money, but after you get into them and do alot of modding, they defitely sound like a expensive snobby-type of high resolution loudspeaker. |
I've listened to Triangle Celius (among others) with SS and it was a disappointment to me. |
Look in the archives, there was a thread very similar to this a few weeks ago. |
Well, I like my Studio 100 v.2's. They make me smile everytime I listen. They are accurate and fast with a tremendous soundstage. The mids are superb and the bass tight. They work in my sound room. I worked very hard to afford them and they are an extraodinary value "IMO" *s*. I listened to and home auditioned B&W N805's, NT9's, and PSB Goldi's prior to purchasing my 100's. My local dealers were impatiently waiting for a decision by this time after hauling heavy speakers in and out of my home.
Frankly, I don't know where people have the time to either run around coincidentially sampling just the exact speakers people happen to be asking about in these postings or hauling all of them in and out of their houses, much to the chagrin of the dealers I'm sure.
I think a lot of people commenting here just read a lot of stuff in publications and online and fancy themselves experts making empirical judgements based on no actual dealer audition or home audition experiences.
But, that is just my opinion... I could be wrong. |
Soliloquy 6.3 lean! You have got to be kidding me.The Celius and the 6.3s sound nothing alike.If you are looking for bass that lags behind the rest of the music... I guess they are lean!Because the 6.3s don't lag.Sounds like the only thing lean was the amp they were hook to.My buddy that owns Paradigms 100v2 upgraded to a $7,0000 pair of speakers after he listened to the 6.3s in my setup( I guess this made him feel better).His 100s are now rear channels for HT! And he was a die hard paradigm fan.Looks like Profrancis has already figured this out!That's cool thou ...hell someones got to defend them! |
Well, I have to stick up for the Paradigms. I thought the Soliloquy 6.3s had the same fault as the Celius: too lean. It depends on what sound you like. I personally prefer full-bodied sound which the 100.2s do very well. The 100.2s have great rhythm, pace, and soul, and make me want to dance. You will just have to try the others out and see what you think. It pays to audition as much as you can. I listened to the Celius and 100.2 back to back with a YBA Passion integre and bought the Studios. I haven't regretted it one bit. They work in perfect coherence and unison with my McIntosh amp and preamp. Gotta love synergy! Arthur |
Soliloquy or VonSchweikert would be a nice upgrade. I would also suggest that you look into Meadowlarks. A used pair of Shearwater Hotrods or possibly a used pair of Ospreys - both are more refined than the Paradigms.
Have fun! |
Yeah.. maybe you should look at some other brands.With your taste in music the Soliloquy 6.3s will fit the bill.Retail is $3200.00 but you maybe able to get them B-stock for around $1800.00 or $1900.00.They need a good 24 inches from rear and side walls to achieve a good blend from top to bottom.But are more refined than the speakers that you have mentioned.This will give you tighter bass than the 100's with an accurate but full body midrange and top end.These are also more efficient than any speaker mentioned so far.25 wpc will do the trick both SS and tubes work well with these speakers! Good Luck! |
I agree with Taat. I think you can do better with another brand. . .even look at psb Stratus Goldi if you want to stay in the same price range and speaker size. IMHO, the psb beats both the Paradigm and the Celius. |
The Celcius are supposed to be tube friendly (I don't know if your mc is tube)... can you audition them? I found their highs harsh for my taste (especially with rock)... but I auditioned with a NAD C370, so maybe it was not a good match. Anyway, I'm not sure if this helps... good luck. |
IMHO, and I owned both the Studio 100 and the Celius, You'd be better off looking somewhere else, ie. another brand.
The Celius had this "lean" sound, and I like warm mid with warm vocals. The Celius can also sound bright if you use them with SS. If you match them with tubes, they're OK.
I switched to VonSchweikert VR4Gen3Se, and I am now very happy.
Good luck,
Tim |
