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Rethm Maarga Impressions.

I have been going about trying to find the right system for about 5 years and this is the culmination of my journey.

The speakers that I had last were a pair of Klipschorns. Irrespective of what I did they did not become small. They were also slightly fatiguing and seemed to lack details at low volume. Now, they were stock and needed the crossovers replaced. But they were not easy on the eyes and were very large.

I went through listening to
B&W 800 or 801 D - sounded reasonable, needed a lot of power to get them to sound that way.
Devore 9s- sounded better than B&W, still lack finesse
Harbeth 40.1- Not really easy on the eyes, bass could get boomy with wrong room
A smaller Harbeth- mid range was to die for, relatively easy to drive, no bottom end.
Wilson Audio Sasha- quite bright with a good CJ pre amp and monoblock amp. Perhaps needed more power from solid state.

I proceeded to fly down to New York and listened to Rethm Maargas after making an appointment with Gideon.
They left me completely stunned. This was my second exposure to Full range speakers. The Zu house sound had left me quite turned off.
The music was making every molecule in my body to experience the passion in it. I was bobbing my head, could not stop although I tried. I was impossible to not get involved in the music. I could not stop listening to 1 song after another. Finished the entire hour without ever realizing it had passed by. The music from my compressed 128 kpbs Iphone was quite good but the music from vinyl was ravishing. The best speaker to speaker soundstage, all the low level detail one can dream of without getting overwhelmed with the detail, liquid sound, very immersive. Not at all fatiguing.

I have since purchased the speaker and have had it for about a month. I got the dealer demo which appears to have been completely broken in. After going through some amps, I found the incredibly cheap T amp to match well with the speakers. The sound almost as good as they did with the Jadis monoblocks that was used to run them in Audio arts. I am sure if I had them side by side I would end up preferring the Jadis SET monoblocks but for now this is a great solution.
Gainclone amps with a good tube preamp also works well but getting a good inexpensive pre is difficult.

Now the part which I have deliberately left out- the way it looks. Gorgeous. Art . Sculpture. The attention to detail is stupendous. It is not something we like initially and then grow tired of (say like an outrageously colored car which becomes tiresome after some time). This is truly a work of art. Does a great job of sitting there and entertaining me and then when music starts playing it become better.

My rest of system is just as modest as the T amp. It includes Apple TV and Mac Mini for source, home depot cables. Large open room which includes dining and kitchen, about 600-800 sq feet. Hardwood floors.

Now a shout out to the guys who have worked with me to get to sound this way- George Jacob from Rethm. He has been answering my emails for the past year while I was considering the speakers. Gideon from Audio arts, who has no patience with anything but the best sound and great synergy. Gary, my local audio dealer for his infinite patience, allowing me to audition as many components as I wanted without every losing his temper. Due to his patience, I have tried at least 7 pairs of speakers in my house, along with different components.

Wanted to get the word out on a particularly good speaker.
blueacara

Showing 3 responses by nd4speed

nd4speed
16 posts
 
Gemini,
I have both the Maarga and the Trishna, and they're both great speakers. Your caution is well founded, as most single driver implementations, while being superb for midrange heavy program material, have trouble playing a wide range of music well (because they're not truly full range).

Rethm designs all of their speakers for full range performance. Zu is another single driver designed for full range, but I prefer the sound of Rethm personally. In terms of full spectrum performance in a single driver design, it would be tough to do better than these.

As far as amplification, I get plenty of scale and authority from only 6 watts of SET. I had 15 watts of push pull power that didn't really compare, so wattage alone is not everything. If you're going with Rethm and need tube amplification, I would stick to SET; in terms of power output you won't find it lacking if you choose the right amp. Good luck.
nd4speed
16 posts
 
@Milpai: Hey there long time no see! I deleted my system because I went on about being "done" and just about everything changed LOL. A bit embarrassing, but I guess that's how this hobby goes. ;)

@Cfluxa: Sure thing. First things first, in full disclosure: I'm selling my Trishna here (mainly because I was contemplating a second system that may not happen now). If it doesn't sell I won't be heartbroken in the least, and will gleefuly keep it, as it's a great speaker. Anyway you were warned. ;)

Sonically, the Trishna doesn't lose much to the Maarga. They clearly are from the same sonic "family tree" (characterized by extreme coherence, presence without "edge or shout", microdynamic detail in the vocal range, and speed). The key differentiator, as you'd expect, is in the lower octaves (because of different cabinet size), particularly in larger spaces. The Maarga goes down to the mid 20hz range, whereas the Trishna will go down to the mid 30hz range. Whether this matters to you will depend on the program material you listen to primarily. In terms of midrange body, there is a slight advantage in the Maarga, although it could be argued that the Trishna does high frequencies a little more justice (again, as a matter of physics...give and take).

I think the Maarga would simply overwhelm your room unless always played at modest volume (the room I used the Trishna in was larger than yours; about 12x13 if I recall). The Trishna would not be far very off, but would have the advantage in this regard. The reviews don't mention it, but these speakers are very responsive to corner loading. If you back them into corners (whether by choice, or if you're short on room) you will get precipitously more bass (for better or worse). Fortunately there is a bass output attenuator which helps.

I tend to look at speakers (or any other component for that matter) as "a specific tool for a specific job". Similar to your choice, I was mentally and financially prepared for the Saadhana, but given space size for my listening area (roughly about 330 sq ft with a vaulted ceiling), the Maarga was recommended to me by Jacob as the better choice. In retrospect, I feel he was absolutely right.

Ultimately your ears will be all that matter, but in the absence of being able to listen to both, I would talk to Jacob.

Good luck on the search.
nd4speed
16 posts
 
Gemini,
I'm using an Art Audio PX-25 with it. Dick Olsher's review of the amp is an accurate summation of the amp's character. However keep in mind that his Basszilla he uses does not have amplification to augment the bass driver like the Maarga does.

The synergy between the amp and the Maargas is really very good. The speakers are really a wide open window into this amp.

It's very difficult to convey their level of dynamics and bass capability given their relatively diminutive cabinet dimensions. Suffice it to say, they are much more than they appear in this regard.

I would recommend checking in with Jacob about matching your room to your speaker selection. I find his room dimension specifications to be in line if not conservative, but he may have additional insight for you.

Let us know how you make out.
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