@smodtactical I have a feeling you are going to Kennedy Hi-Fi for the 9H demo. If you are, how about also having a listen to their Yamaha NS 5000 which is setup in another room. I cannot hear this speaker until I get back home to Toronto near the end of the year. I would be interested in your impression.
Showing 20 responses by yyzsantabarbara
@smodtactical As someone who owned 7B-SST for 5 years and is 99% sure to buy a Persona 3F I would advise you to not use the Brystons with the Persona. It would be way too bright. The almost top of the line MOON gear that I demoed the Persona 5F was rather great but I still would want something a little warmer with the Persona's for long listening sessions. Bryston SST line is much more neutral sounding than those MOON electronics I recently heard. I am getting the Luxman m900u for whatever speaker I get, either the 3F or TAD ME1, because it is an amazing amp and also slightly warm sounding. BTW - any chance to demo the Yamaha NS 5000? |
BTW - I was not recommending the MOON gear for the Persona. I said the Persona 5F sounded very good with the Moon 860A amp and other associated MOON gear in that price range. However, I think even warmer sounding gear would work better with the Persona. I am going with Luxman and I think it will work even better than with the MOON gear I heard. |
@audiotroy I have heard the T+A 3100 HV several times and I think it is great, actually tremendous gear. Something I am going to look at with my future down stairs big room system (KEF Blades). I was considering getting the T+A clearance units from Sunny's (Covina, CA) for the low price but decided against it. Mainly because I was not going to buy any of the speakers I heard with the T+A gear. When I heard the Luxman I was even more impressed, though I think the TAD ME1 speaker I heard with them were one of the reasons for my over the top high praise. I even heard a Harbeth ($5K) with the Luxman's and I also liked them with the Luxmans (though not as much as the TAD ME1). My feeling is that ANY speaker will likely sound good with the Luxman 900 series. I have also heard the 800 series extensively with Vivid speakers and they are warmer than the 900 series. I think the Persona 3F maybe better for me than the TAD ME1 but a home demo will confirm this and having the TAD ME1 as a backup plan is a no lose situation for me. As I mentioned before in many posts getting a small room to sound good is not easy, but it is getting there. Lucky for me my stock investment to buy this gear is getting delayed so I have more time to research. With regards to cost, I am looking at home demoing the Mola Mola Makua preamp with the DAC board to pair with the Luxman m900u amp. This will save me space and $$ over getting the Luxman c900u preamp. @smodtactical If I was smart I would just buy the CODA #8 amp and the Simaudio 390 network player to pair with the Persona 3F or the TAD ME1 and save a lot of dough and get great sound. However, I am not that smart. I am also going to setup the Sonare SystemOptique fiber optic system ($700) + one of their RENDU models for my digital streaming needs. I like the idea of using a computer for my streaming needs. |
The TAD ME1 is not as detailed as the 3F but rather close in that department. The ME1 maybe better for longer listening sessions. I know with the Luxman system + TAD ME1 demo I was totally satisfied with the sound and wanted to listen all day. I like the TAD ME1 more than the Magico A3 that I liked a lot at one point. My assumption is that the 3F will have a bit more bass and can play in a small room. I will home demo this with the Luxman amp to see if that is true in my room. I also think that the coherence of the tweeter and mid on the 3F is a little better (one voice). A lot of folks have said to me that I would not like the 3F for long term listening sessions, I think they are wrong and my home demo will clear this up. A lot of folks like a softer top end and not like Persona’s, I am not one of them. I want to make the 3F work in my small office because I want a floor stander but the ME1 is great and I can live with that speaker if the 3F will not work. I decided I did not want to introduce DSP into my sound chain so I only am relying on acoustic treatments. I went the non-DSP route after I fell for the all Luxman system demo. So I am buying electronics before the speaker. Maybe the Mola Mola pre/dac to lessen the component count. That $15k - $10K - $15K oscillation in the TAD ME1 price was rather disappointing, I now feel a bit like you are getting less speaker for the price. The Persona 3F price seems to me like you get more for the price compared to some other floor standers I have demoed. Main issue is my room. |
I re-read this thread and there was a comment that said that the Persona 9H would work in ALMOST any room. So I went to google to see some photos of the 9H. This following photo seems close to my room size. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=7709C349CA7C92913622C1DE815D07AE186519BC&... Would the 9H work in a very small 12’x11’x9’ room? I do not play too loud in this room and the speakers would eventually move to a bigger room (in 3 years). |
So it looks like the link I posted above for the 9H was from Audio Doctor's NY Show room. I just did a web search for "Persona 9H and room size" and that photo came up. Every time I climb the stairs of my home I see the big narrow empty space currently functioning as my toddlers play area. I have tried to figure out what speakers would fit in there, specifically seeing if the KEF Blades would work along the short wall. Unfortunately, some comments I read here, including by Audio Doctor, indicate that the sound would be compromised along the short wall. Sad times for this potential Blade buyer. The long wall setup is a no go (family wise). However, today I learned after an email discussion with both the management of Vivid Audio and the profession sound technician that acoustically treated my upstairs office room, that the Vivid Kaya 45 will work in my room. The Vivid guys did not say for sure that it work but the sound tech and I deciphered the comments on the speakers dispersion pattern to figure out that it would work. To me, the Kaya 90 (which I heard) actually sounds a bit like the KEF Blade. I did like the Kaya 90 a bit more than the KEF Blade-ish KEF Reference 5 which was surprising. I am targeting the smaller Kaya 45 which has less bass. https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/equipment-menu/865-vivid-audio-kaya-45-loudspeakers Why mention this? Well I like the Persona 3F and the Kaya 45 EQUALLY. However, I did not want to get a Persona 9H for my downstairs space if I got a Persona 3F for the small room upstairs. So in the past, I have not seriously considered the 9H. Now I have a great sounding option for both rooms. Audio Doctor you will get a call from me on the Persona 9H. No dealer around me area that demos this one and likely knows it as well as you. Need some patience though. |
Who is this is Mike Bovaird we are mentioning here? I like the Persona line and when I heard them, the 3F and 5F at 2 separate dealers, they sounded poor (1 was cringe worthy). So why did I decide to get the 3F and now changing my mind to the 9H? Well I had to make the dealer switch electronics to something I thought was a better match for my ears, though not ideal (such as replace the Macintosh). These changes made the systems sound much better. So much so that one dealer said to me, that it was the best he had heard them. That was a little shocking when an audio nob like me can make HIS products sound better with HIS gear. It made me think this dealer did not care too much about the line. So when I read these comments about a bad dealer match with the electronics and the Persona I can relate that to what I experienced. |
BTW - the 2nd dealer I went to visit for the 3F had the system setup with a $10K+ integrated I believe. I won’t mention what brand itwas because I do not remember exactly what the model was. However, I told the dealer it did not sound too good and the dealer then replaced the integrated with the much cheaper NAD m22 amp and m12 pre/dac and it was way better. Not the best gear but great for the cost. I can see people still disliking the Persona for it's sonic attributes even with the proper gear match. I would think a Vandersteen or Harbeth fan would not like the Persona. Though I like all 3. |
A question to Persona 9H owners. I have a room that is 12'W x 21'L x 25'H The short wall is actually 17' wide at the entrance but there is a mostly straight staircase that quickly takes away 5' of space on the right side of the room. So that is why I am stating only 12' wide. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/7959 (photos) 1) Minimum distance required between speakers if placed on the short wall near the entrance? 2) Minimum distance from the front wall? 3) Would the staircase be an issue in terms of reflection? 4) I am assuming that the side wall distance can to resolved via toe-in. The closer to the side wall the more toe-in. I will not acoustically treat this room. I am asking this now so I can prepare the wife for the future big news. BTW - my kid will share this room with a pair of speakers and 1 integrated amp w/DAC and 1 chair for me. |
@prof As someone who has owned Bryston in the past for about 15 years. Bryston would not be in my 10 ten electronics to use with Persona’s. I recently heard Bryston 4B3 and BP17 cubed with Vandersteen Treo CT and even that combo was not to my liking. Maybe I am getting soft in my old age. I attributed my dislike to the Bryston gear. Just did not like that pairing. I have heard Bryston sound good with other speakers, like my old Revel Salon 1 + Bryston 7BSST |
I heard the 9H at a dealer today. I have heard the 5F at another dealer and loved it with SimAudio Moon gear. I heard the 3F with NAD gear at the same dealer and liked it enough to consider buying it (with other electronics). Today the 9H with Mark Levinson was not that great. The bass was incredible, maybe the best I have ever heard in any speaker. I had very high expectations based on the prior 5F demo. I won’t get into the details of what I did not like because I think the setup must have been bad and not reflective of the speakers ability. The 3F and 5F shouldn’t be better sounding than the 9H in an adequate room. However, after this 9H demo, I have decided that I will get the Blade 2 for my downstairs after COVID is over and the META technology is trickled up from the new LS50 to the Blade. I have heard the Blades a few times and every single time it has been magic for me. It did not matter what gear, I just loved the Blades with all the gear I heard. I recently bought my second favorite speaker, a used Thiel CS3.7 for my office. I was sure I would get the Yamaha NS5000 for the office but a local sale of a CS3.7 came up and the CS3.7 has always been my second fav speaker, after the Blades. I have refurbished them with new OEM COAX drivers, outriggers, new paint, and maybe a new OEM crossover (to be determined). I also thought the "bookshelf" NS5000 had more bass than the floorstanding CS3.7 and that would be a bad thing in my smallish office. I still think those NS5000 drivers are pretty special maybe better than the great drivers on my Thiel CS3.7. The A5 was one I was also considering for my downstairs. Mainly because I liked the A3 and S3 MKII and also because it would be harder for my kid to knock down over the Blades (also a reason for considering the 9H). However, next year my kid is a year older and I should be OK with the Blades. |
This was the system on the 3F demo Preamp/Streamer: https://nadelectronics.com/product/m12-digital-preamp-dac/ https://nadelectronics.com/product/dd-bluos/ Amp: https://nadelectronics.com/product/m22-stereo-power-amplifier/ Cables: speakers, IC, power http://www.cardas.com/parsec_sp.php http://www.cardas.com/parsec_ic.php http://www.cardas.com/parsec_power.php Roon: https://roonlabs.com/nucleus.html |
I demoed the 3F, 5F and recently the 9H. The 9H bass was extremely strong but was the worst sounding demo of the 3. I loved the 3F and 5F demos. I think you need to find a good dealer to set it up. I was shocked at how bad the 9H demo I heard. Fatiguing with the bass dominating. Setup must be a bit of a challenge if a dealer can screw it up. How did the setup at Kennedy HiFi sound? They seem like guys that know how to set it up. |
I heard the 9H in Southern California a few weeks ago. It was pretty incredible bass. Maybe the best bass I have ever heard. However, the thing did not sound coherent. A incompatible setup for me. I was really bummed at the result since I knew it was not a good setup based on my 3F and 5F demos. I got the Thiel CS3.7 for my office and have it setup great. Send me PM and I can pass along some things I did that may also work for your NS5000 in your small room. I am still looking at the NS5000 for my living room along with the KEF Blade2 (maybe with META drivers). I am not sure if I will give the Persona 9H another listen. |