I am a DA-1 owner and one of the guys that spoke with Dodgealum about the Daedalus speakers.
I've owned the DA-1's for better than 8 months now and they are the most enjoyable speakers I've ever listened to and I've been at this for over 25 years.
With the exception of a few months with Ref 3A Royal Virtuosos, the DA-1's replaced a double set of Wayne Piquet refurbished Quad 57's (Wayne does excellent work with these)and the DA-1's are equal to or better than the Quads in every way I can describe. Subjectively, they are a whole lot easier to look at too.
As far as power handling and the ability to play at realistic levels, ther is no comparison to the Quads. The one thing they do have in commor with the Quads is their immediacy and ability to be enjoyed at low listening levels which is unsurpassed in my experience, especially with most "audiophile" speakers. They are as thrilling to listen to today as when I first got them.
There is no comparison to be made with the Royal Virtuosos. The RV's sound thin, dynamically challenged and grey compared to the DA-1's. Imaging wise, once set up properly, there is not that big a difference between the two.
This review is very accurate and expresses my feelings accurately about the DA-1's, with exception of the bass issue and imaging.
They are room fussy to get really right and they don't do imaging like the old Dunlavy's do/did, but they are realistic and do have an excellent sense of depth and stage width. On a good classical recording, things are as I hear them live at the Asheville Symphony. If you have the correct listening room, put on the old XLO test disc and optimize the speakers accordingly...inch by inch...they can image accurately and wonderfully.
As far as the bass, in my dedicated 18 x 24 room, and with a high current amp (Parasound JC-1's in my case), they are fantastic in tone, pace, timing, weight and extension. The most realistic bass I've heard yet. They were designed to be very sensitive and to take gobs of power, but they, like a lot of other multi driver speakers, like current.
The room is critical here as the DA-1's are a full bandwidth design and will excite room modes if not placed properly or in a room that is too small. Again, they need the right room and need to be positioned properly. I have them about 13 feet apart and 13 feet from my listening area, three feet from the side walls and the first reflection points are damped with acoustic paneling. I also have the front face of the cabinets about 6 feet into the room. I also toe them in about 20 degrees on top of their designed natural toe in.
As far as the high frequencies, they do not grab ones attention, which is what I prefer and find realistic, but they do have a natural sense of air. They are not dull, in any case..
I would take a guess that they might not mate well to systems that are already soft and warm, or in smallish rooms that necessitate close proximitry to nearby walls and corners, so try to listen to them in your own listening room with your own equipment. If your room has a resonance problem, fix it...
While I am not now, I like them enough to probably become an audition site for Lou here in the mountains of Western NC, so my interest may end up being vested in something other than just an opinion. But for now, this is as honest an opinion as I can give. If you can hear the Daedalus speakers, set up and driven properly, they are as big a sonic bargain as exists in the high end.
I've owned the DA-1's for better than 8 months now and they are the most enjoyable speakers I've ever listened to and I've been at this for over 25 years.
With the exception of a few months with Ref 3A Royal Virtuosos, the DA-1's replaced a double set of Wayne Piquet refurbished Quad 57's (Wayne does excellent work with these)and the DA-1's are equal to or better than the Quads in every way I can describe. Subjectively, they are a whole lot easier to look at too.
As far as power handling and the ability to play at realistic levels, ther is no comparison to the Quads. The one thing they do have in commor with the Quads is their immediacy and ability to be enjoyed at low listening levels which is unsurpassed in my experience, especially with most "audiophile" speakers. They are as thrilling to listen to today as when I first got them.
There is no comparison to be made with the Royal Virtuosos. The RV's sound thin, dynamically challenged and grey compared to the DA-1's. Imaging wise, once set up properly, there is not that big a difference between the two.
This review is very accurate and expresses my feelings accurately about the DA-1's, with exception of the bass issue and imaging.
They are room fussy to get really right and they don't do imaging like the old Dunlavy's do/did, but they are realistic and do have an excellent sense of depth and stage width. On a good classical recording, things are as I hear them live at the Asheville Symphony. If you have the correct listening room, put on the old XLO test disc and optimize the speakers accordingly...inch by inch...they can image accurately and wonderfully.
As far as the bass, in my dedicated 18 x 24 room, and with a high current amp (Parasound JC-1's in my case), they are fantastic in tone, pace, timing, weight and extension. The most realistic bass I've heard yet. They were designed to be very sensitive and to take gobs of power, but they, like a lot of other multi driver speakers, like current.
The room is critical here as the DA-1's are a full bandwidth design and will excite room modes if not placed properly or in a room that is too small. Again, they need the right room and need to be positioned properly. I have them about 13 feet apart and 13 feet from my listening area, three feet from the side walls and the first reflection points are damped with acoustic paneling. I also have the front face of the cabinets about 6 feet into the room. I also toe them in about 20 degrees on top of their designed natural toe in.
As far as the high frequencies, they do not grab ones attention, which is what I prefer and find realistic, but they do have a natural sense of air. They are not dull, in any case..
I would take a guess that they might not mate well to systems that are already soft and warm, or in smallish rooms that necessitate close proximitry to nearby walls and corners, so try to listen to them in your own listening room with your own equipment. If your room has a resonance problem, fix it...
While I am not now, I like them enough to probably become an audition site for Lou here in the mountains of Western NC, so my interest may end up being vested in something other than just an opinion. But for now, this is as honest an opinion as I can give. If you can hear the Daedalus speakers, set up and driven properly, they are as big a sonic bargain as exists in the high end.