Diversity is a good thing, which I think we will all agree on. One man's meat is another man's poison.
RMAF 2016................Boenicke W5
I spent quite awhile in the Boenicke/Sotm room at the show and was quite taken aback on how musically engaging the W5's were. They ooze a musical timbre that was simply stunning. Considering how diminutive they are (no bigger than PC speakers) they produce a big sound stage. To my ears they are a true Hi-Fi bargain at a paltry $3600 a pair when they are compared to some speakers that cost many times more and are not in the same league as these miniature mighty marvels. There were a few speakers at the show that nearly made my ears bleed and my wallet to hide........
Anything float your boat at this years show?
Anything float your boat at this years show?
Showing 12 responses by gawdbless
The list below is a list of speakers who I think (to my ears) the W5 sounded better on the day at RMAF.......... Classic Audio Speakers not sure of the price around $16000? The Sony speakers $27,000 a pair. Vos Loudspeakers $135,000 Oh lordy.......... JBL's $90000 (ear bleed)......... Austin Acoustic SP-3R $348,000 OMG!!! Happy Mr Gator? Mapman- I don't know why you could not find the specs, just google 'Boenicke'.................The standard version is tuned to 65Hz, and the SE version to 50hz, although you would not have thought so by the depth of sound they play. Check out the youtube clip with headphones https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9owcgCitemA Paltry price? Indeed, compared to the above in purely Hi Fi sound v price terms. I was glad to see this year rooms with complete systems, starting at $250/$500'$1000/$2500. |
Hi John, I believe they are made with a solid piece of wood. The Innards look like someone was having fun with a router. I won't be buying a pair as I have enough (ahem, hope she does not read this....) speakers in the house. Another, and the most important reason is cats and dogs, they would not last 5 minutes on their stands. I thought the Zu room sounded decidedly average. Mapman- you should really hear a pair, you |
The W5's are the smallest speakers in the range. The Peachtree room on the Mezzanine floor had the loudest demo that I heard, to loud for me, although the sound was quite good. I liked the Mackintosh room to especially the fish spinning on the turntable. A few rooms had reel to reels in also. Are they coming back into vogue? Will we see a cassette deck resurgence one day? I might have to take out the old Nakamichi, dust it down and connect it up! lol...... The Sanders Sound System room Electrostatics were very nice and I liked the demo by them. I liked the Burwell and sons Horn speaker, the cd I gave them to play sounded very nice, with a price tag of $80000 so they should be. I was very disappointed with the Classic Audio room, as I have them sound a whole lot better, they were playing a track by Yello, sounded more like Jello to me. I listened to a pair of $2000 Sony headphones, whilst nice does any one spend that much on headphones? I never use headphones personally. I did like the EMM equipment connected to them though. |
Hi Charles, I have not read the 6moon review, but I will for sure. I think darts are being thrown without a dart board in sight with regards to some posts. It is good to have a lively debate on a subject closer to our hearts rather than our ears. Its what this forum is for! The W5 on MY listening experience without the law of physics, or any other law other than my own ears, is that the W5 is a speaker I could live with if my living situation were different. All I will say is if you can listen to a pair take the opportunity, you maybe be as surprised as I was. Kaliki- I believe they can hit 93db without strain. Hardly a small room SPL, there goes that dart again.................*smiley face* Here is the last two paragraphs of the 6moon review. No more monkey business. Its compact size and driver artillery pass right under macho radars of course. As anyone visiting Sven's Basel showroom would see, these things can flood a huge space at solid levels without flinching. But few will have faith without such proof. Here dealers won't exactly do themselves favors either. Playing these will risk having far pricier fare look and sound antiquated. Not that this review will make much of a dent. Preconceptions about loudspeakers and what's actually required are too deeply engrained. |
Charles, I heard the Raidho 2's at the show? they were big speakers anyway at the show, whilst I liked their sound and stayed for a whole song, the ahem W5's were musically better, in that the Instruments and vocals sounded more real with an uncanny timbre (as I mentioned before). Did they have more bass? Course not, but its not all about the bass, statistics and meaningless graphs or cups with water in, its all about the ears and musical emotion. After all one could buy a sub or two, or move up the Boenicke range to their floor standers. Jeez, anyone would think I am a salesperson for them. I don't know why the *p* word is so upsetting to some. How else could one describe the difference between $3600 and $348,000? close? |
They maybe small in stature, and price lol, but they, when heard no way portrait the traits of a small speaker, I know someone will harp on about size, graphs, the laws of physics etc blah blah blah......., but they are the consummate bargain for their quality of sound, excluding the bottom octave. $3600 is a lot of money for single component in the chain, but when one counts the many hours of happy listening, the price Is not an issue. |