Review: CARDERSOUND NINA

I think your assesment is probably right on. When paired with good electronics the reviews from the people who have bought the Madisons have been seemingly amazed with their presentation. A speaker not broken in , placed in a bright listening room and paired with below average electronics has no chance to shine that's for sure! I have the Ninas hooked up to an Ayon Audio 300b and a J.A.Michell turntable and the sound is very enveloping. I was skeptical until I got the opportunity to hear them in my own home. They will only get better from here and in closing you are correct about Jeff too he is a great guy with a real passion for the "Hobby".

A couple of months, ago I took a trip to Jeff's house to hear the speakers he builds. He is certainly a good guy, and he is making a speaker that is very good value for the money. I listened to the Madison in his basement for about 1 and a half hours. I decided not to write on the forum about the visit at that time, because the conditions really weren't optimal. Jeff is an honest guy with a good product trying to get his business off the ground, and making enough to keep it all going. It is obvious that he is enthusiastic about his speakers, and is very conncerned with pleasing his customers. The problem when I visited was the setup. We listened to the speakers in a very live basement room with concrete floor, paneled walls and minimal furnishings. In addition, the speakers were not fully broken in, and Jeff says that these drivers can sound a bit harsh before they are broken in fully. The other problem is that the speakers were hooked up to a very mid-line CD player, and we switched between a very small inexpensive digital amp,(but of course, they are very efficient, and don't need much power) and a midline Japanese receiver. I am really not that picky, but it was so obvious that the speakers deserved much more. For instance, when he hooked the CD player from the receiver to the chip amp, there was a big improvement. The presentation of the speakers was, as I would have expected, really quick and coherent.They had a very 'LIVE' feel to them with lots of detail that wasn't pushed down your throat. There seemed to be very good seperation of instruments and good timbre. The high frequencies seemed to be the weak point, as they didn't sound very delicate, or as refined as some other tweeters I have heard. Again, I hesitate in mentioning that, because they were not fully broken in, and because of the set-up problems that I mentioned. Jeff really needs to set up a dedicated listening room that these speakers deserve. If I could hear them set up in a proper system, I might actually consider buying them. By the way, they look really cool in person. I am wondering right now what these speakers might sound like being driven by my DeHavilland 845s. Anyway, if you have been looking at other versions of speakers of this single driver, double-mouth design, you'll know what a goosd value they are. I think they are really worth a listen, and I wish him the best of luck.