Shahinian Obelisk loudspeakers

It all depends. A new Obelisk comes to 4,400 $ now, I think. Due to his 8 drivers of high quality, the Obelisk usually survives even long duty without being strained. It has, indeed, been updated by Shahinian frequently, but every old model can updated as well. Before buying, I would give Shahinian a call, ask about updating, and what he thinks of your buy. Another thing about the Obelisk is that they sound terrible if they have not been used for some time, as I know from my own experience.

Arik e-mailed me, so I add a few points which might be of interest to other Shahinian-wannebees as well. The speakers as such do not sound coloured, have excellent details and soundstaging when run-in. They sound terrible when not being used, and need several weeks (no joke) to sound good again. And they need the wall behind them acoustically deadened - with carpets, foam, whatever. Another point is that they need good, fast cables and a very powerful solid-state amp with a lot of current.A tube amp will not work. I think that in any case an upgrade is worth it, because I have found Shahinian-speakers to be terrific, and even if you would spend 5-1000 dollars on an Obelisk-upgrade, it´s a bargain, because it will be like a new speaker. Their telephone is under www.shahihianacoustics.com