Kthomas,
The Khorus X works well in just about any environment. We have run them in as small a room as 11'x15' with outstanding results. The only issue really is that the smaller the room, the less bass response, this is of course due to the long wavelength of low frequency notes.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Hello...First, I must state a disclaimer that I am a Talon dealer and may be biased. With that out of the way, this is an unfair comparison (the X to the 802). A better one would be between the Khorus X and the Nautilus 800 Signature. The X and 800 are VERY different loudspeakers and most likely each would appeal to a different audiophile "crowd". The X has the fastest transients of ANY loudspeaker I have ever heard (from the lowest to the highest note). Driver integration and coherence of the X is the closest to the "holy grail" full-range single driver available. The X truly portrays the image as if it is coming from a single point source. Also, you will not need a nuclear power station to get the most out of the X, as it is much more amplifier friendly than the 800. The X is a VERY emotionally involving and musical transducer with a presentation that can literally bring you to tears at times. Bass response of the X is INCREDIBLE, both bottomless and FAST (customers ask me to turn off my Roc subs, which are of course not on). Imaging is to the point where my customers ask me to please turn off the center channel speaker, which is not on (demo room is theater and two channel). As you can probably conclude, I like the Khorus X very much. It comes the closest of all transducers I have heard to the ideal loudspeaker.
The B&W 800 is a fine loudspeaker but can be VERY clinical and is not near as "musical" as the Khorus X (this is the VERY reason that many recording studios like to use B&W). The 800 also has a very forward and "tipped-up" presentation and it is important that it is paired with the "right" upstream components. The Rowland 10 would not be my choice simply due to power issues. Keep in mind that none of these characteristics are necessarily "bad" things, just dpends on the way in which you like your music presented. Also, amazingly enough, I have found the bass response of the 800 to be seriously lacking when compared to the X (disappointing for a supposed "full-range" loudspeaker).
This is of course not near a detailed enough comparison that either of these fine speakers deserve. But it is a start and I hope you find it helpful. Finally, these are all MY OPINIONS, your mileage may vary.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Xenon101,
Sorry you feel that way. I clearly stated I was a dealer, there is no secret motive here to sell something. I simply shared my OPINION (which by definition is biased and is what forums consist of, a bunch of biased statements). Whether I am biased or not can only be decided by the forum readers. If you feel I am biased, no problem, I can live with that. My hunch is that you are a B&W owner and were offended by my OPINIONS (even though I clearly stated that B&W makes great speakers, they just aren't my "cup of tea"). If someone gained valuable information from my post, then THAT is the point. If not, then it will disappear into the mists of cyberspace. No harm done.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Dan...Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it very much.
Avnut...You are correct, you don't need a ton of power with the B&W Nautilus series, but they really do sing with higher current amps. My "nuclear power station" comment may have come across that way, sorry about that. And as you stated, careful attention to upstream components (with ANY B&W speaker) is critical to get the best sound.
The Khorus (and the entire Talon line) are definitely more forgiving AND musical than the B&W line, IMHO. This is not egg on the face of either speaker, just a difference in the way they present the music.
The best set-up I have heard running the Khorus? Wow, that is a tough question...Mainly because I have heard them with so many different systems and they all had their pros and cons. If I had to pick just one it would be:
Acoustic Zen cables
Electrocompaniet EMC-1 MK2 CD Player
Edge M-8 Amplifier
Simaudio P-5 Preamp
Off the top of my head, other amps/preamps that I have been VERY impressed with running the Talon products are the latest Electrocompaniet, Rogue, Pass Labs, Simaudio, Jeff Rowland, Power Modules, and First Sound (I am sure there are others, just can't remember them right now).
Lately, we have been running the Khorus X in the showroom with a Power Modules (Belles) 350A and the Shanling CD-T100 direct into the amp with VERY good results.
Hope this helps.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Thanks Kirk...You are correct, there are certainly many dealers out there that only care about profit. Unfortunately, many of the good dealers end up being lumped in with the "bad apples" and we end up being treated like used car salesmen. For the most part (there are a few "bad apples" even on Audiogon), the majority of dealers on Audiogon are great folks and really care about making the customer happy. The only reason I ever got into this crazy business was to share my passion for music reproduction with others, and so far, it has been a great ride. Although believe it or not, the amount of time and effort my dad and I have put into the business have not been directly proportional to our profits (maybe someday ;-] )
FYI...Stewart (SOS) who posted above is one of those "great folks" I mentioned. He is VERY knowledgeble and cares VERY much about his customers. Duke of Audiokinesis is also a dealer I respect very much.
Ok, enough of that ;-) Back to the music!
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Kana813,
Hello...The main reason for the number of original Talon Khorus for sale is that these folks are upgrading to either the Talon Raven or Talon Khorus X. As good as the original Khorus was, the new Talon products are even better. If I may ask, what exactly is a pre-Talon Khorus?
You are correct that the older Talon speakers need a long break-in (VERY long). But, because of design changes and the fact that Talon does indeed now do partial break-in at the factory, the new Talon speakers break-in has been SIGNIFICANTLY reduced (only around 100-200 hours instead of 500-700 hours as it was with the original line).
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Kana813...Ahhh, understood. I always forget that Tierry was doing loudspeaker design long before Talon existed.
To answer your second question...The original Khorus w/X crossover upgrade is NOT the equal of the Khorus X. There are more changes to the Khorus X from the original Khorus than just the crossover. With that said, the Raven (at least to my ears) is a better speaker than the original Khrous w/X crossover upgrade.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Dave (Makofkalaw)...I am a bass, dynamic range, and musicallity addict; the Edge, Sim, and EMC simply give me my "fix" better than any other combination that I have tried with Talon. In addition, this combo has a really liquid and lush mid-frequency presentation. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, the Shanling CD-T100 running direct into the Belles 350A might just take the top spot ;-) The Belles is also incredible with the EMC-1 and Simaudio. Although I prefer the Belles 20A preamp to the Sim with the 350A.
BTW: Thanks for the kind words ;-)
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Marakanetz...All of the Talon speakers sound great with low or high loudness levels. At the lower levels, you do lose some of the dynamics and small micro-details, but not to any large degree. With that said, the Talon line plays louder while still retaining the EXACT qualities at low volume levels, than any other speaker I have heard. In fact, when you first spend some lengthy time with Talon speakers, you have to be very careful because you will find yourself listening at louder levels than with other lines. The biggest reason for this is the extremely low distortion present in the Talon design. My dad and I have thrown EVERYTHING you can think of at the Talons and they have NEVER lost their composure. Usually, we end up clipping amps most of the time and I still don't think we are any where near the limits of the Talons.
I can remember when we got our first pair of the original Khorus some time ago and to break them in we would turn the volume to max and go outside for the day. The Khorus' NEVER even batted an eyelash. It was pretty funny actually because it seemed like the entire showroom was moving from the outside. We also had to wear firearm ear protection to go inside and turn it down and it was also pretty warm inside the listening room ;-)
The things we will do in this hobby ;-)
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
Keithr...The Ravens are one of the GREAT "bargains" in audio, IMHO. As you stated, they are a LOT of speaker for the money. Enjoy your auditon of the Khorus X, let us know what your impressions are, good or bad.
Here is a copy of some text of an email I sent to someone asking the same question about the Ravens...
There ARE differences between the Khorus X and the Raven, but not enough to justify the price difference if you are on a "budget". The biggest differences are:
1) The Raven doesn't quite extend to the same bass level as the Khorus X, but unless you are in a 3000 sq ft listening room, you aren't going to notice a difference
2) The Raven has a slightly smaller soundstage than the Khorus X with the imaging not quite as "razor" sharp
3) The Raven loses out to the Khorus X in the area of the last bit of upper-frequency extension
4) Upper-midrange presentation of the Raven is smoother (IMHO) than the X, where the X has a bit more "bite"
The main reason for 2, 3, and 4 above is that the Raven does not have the same mid to upper-frequency drivers as the Khorus X (Raven has the same tweeter as the Khite), but the mid-range/woofer of the Raven is identical to the X. The main reason the X has slightly more bass than the Raven is because of cabinet differences.
This is all according to my own ears of course. Hopefully Stewart of SOS will chime in to give a slightly different perspective.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio |
