Bullitt: I'm open to anything but my nature is to try to get something where I really like it and leave it alone. I have so many things on my plate that I don't have the time (and honestly don't like) to tinker. Once I have it, there may be more to have, but why go after it if I already really like what I have. Having said that, what I may not have heard may be a quantum leap from what I feel is great so I always keep an open mind. That whole explanation is a prelude to why I have never liked tubes. By my nature, I like maintenance free. I used to be a big car collector. I would restore to the point the car was almost new and super reliable. I could have continued to tweak horsepower every weekend, but then I wouldn't be enjoying the fruits of my labor. Tubes have a finite lifespan. I don't want to have a tube go out in the middle of a movie (yes, I'm still HT centric) or be trying new tubes all the time. I like SS. You buy the right one, put it in and enjoy. I heard Daves Raven amp. I really liked it -- a lot. But I have also heard SS amps that I really like a lot. I really do not think one is inherently better than the other. Only ones that appeal to individuals more than others. If I hear a tube amp that I really think takes things to the next level, I'll rethink it, but then I have 11 channels to deal with and I'm still not clear on how to do a stereo bypass and even less clear on if I want to.
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"Do you want to live forever or something? :-)" Well, I was planning to until you burst my bubble...
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Bullitt
I have no idea how you fit 100 seats into your Mustang, but what kind of mileage does that get? :-) |
Bullitt
I've only ever owned two Mustangs. A red 289 1965 and a lime-greenish 1973 Mach 1 fastback. Never have owned the big engine Ford cars. Sometimes I wish I had. |
There are so many speakers out there that I'm not sure anyone can make a definitive statement, but just speaking for myself, I have not heard a $3000 speaker that is as good as the DI. As a matter of fact, like many on this list have said, I think the DI is better than most speakers I have heard at any price. I have no idea if the Ulf will have the same value proposition, but I am willing to bet that it sounds better than almost anything at it's price point. If the mini Ulf is close to the Ulf, that price/performance ratio is going to be hard to beat. |
Wow Terry... that is good stuff.
Any comparisons to other speakers you have heard in terms of how they sound or how good they are? |
I just talked to Eric, and he is crazy busy as usual. I think he is going to be even more crazy busy after the Ulf reviews come out by the sound of things. I hope he can manage his growth. I have seen companies fail when they do not have the infrastructure in place for rapid growth. No one deserves success more than Eric. I know I call him when he is in the middle of stuff and I know he spends time with me when he really wants to be getting on with other things and I know I am probably not the only one that does that to him. He is a great guy and I wish he had more time because I genuinely like him and would love to just talk to him on this stuff. Time is not a luxury he has, lol. He is so knowledgeable. Every time I talk to him I learn something. I'd love to see him build this into a large company. He definitely has the know-how and the drive. The Ulf sounds like another home run.
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There are a lot of analog people here. I decided to digitize my vinyl. What can anyone recommend to clean them as I do this? I don't want to spend a lot of money because whatever I get won't get used again after the albums are all digitized.
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Evolvist -
Yes, that would be great. I could use the help |
Jeffrey: I thought they'd sound better than they did. It sounded a lot like the sound coming out those little speakers on the back of a cheap monitor. oh... wait... never mind. I'm sure they'll sound better when I hook a pair of Ulfs to my computer.
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I would hold out for the Ulf Maxi
3 tweeter arrays, 2 16in bass drivers and 8 6in mid bass.
Sure, I made all that up, but Eric won't be outdone. It's probably on the drawing board! :-)
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The 18in drivers are being reserved for the 4 tweeter array Ulf Supra. And there will be 4 of them. To balance out the tweeter arrays. |
LOL Mac, yes... the mini Ulf will do nicely for me also. The perfect size for my space. |
Jeffrey: I see why you went with the full size Ulfs. Next to your cabinet, they do not overwhelm the room. They don't look like the large speakers that they are in that setting. It works out well, IMO
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In Jefferys defense, we all have stuff we have to work around, whether it be because the room is dual purpose, because our wives want it a certain way, or whatever.
I happen to need to place my speakers both near a front wall and one of them near a side wall with the other not near a side wall, so that they will have different sound properties. That's just the way it is. Before I purchased, I ran it by Eric and even sent him pictures. He assured me it would be ok. I figure if the guy that actually designed the speakers said it was ok, it's probably ok. He has forgotten more about speakers than I've ever known.
My situation is this. No matter what speakers I buy, they are going to pretty much have the same constraints. So I can say "I have constraints and can't put them in an optimum placing, so I should buy speakers that aren't very good because the sound will be messed up anyway", or I can buy some great speakers that might be compromised by the placement but at least start out at a much higher floor and therefore, since both will be compromised from perfect placement, I'll still get better sound than I would have with other speakers because they will be in the same place anyway.
That was long, and I might have confused myself.... :-) |
Evolvist:
It must be your speakers that are being painted. Mine have already been painted. Hopefully that means yours are getting close! |
Maybe you could ask Eric. Could be a running change in the drivers. |
Seriously, I don't know how he makes much on the DIs at 3k shipped. I've been expecting an increase for a while. Not sure when or how much but yeah, they are an underpriced bargain at this point in time. And if they compare well to the Wilsons (I have heard the Wilsons -- and I love them but I don't think the DIs give up anything to them) in a professional review, they will still be a killer bargain even after an increase. |
Mr_m:
I agree. Customer service is paramount. That’s why I asked if anyone had allowed Eric to address it. I doubt whether he wants his products or his company to get a bad reputation. Things happen, and it is a true measure of a company how issues are addressed. I have no reason to believe that Eric won’t address it both with customers and the manufacturer. He has worked too hard to get the reputation he has to just not address it. I agree though. It is a killbuzz to wait for a shiny new toy and then have it not be 100%. I’d be really surprised though if Eric doesn’t do the right thing. |
Has anyone contacted Eric and given him a chance to respond to and remedy the issue?
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Do you at least have the dust cap attachment for your shop vac? |
That is exactly why I wanted the gloss finish on my speakers. TBH, the speakers are nothing more than a rectangle. They are all about the sound. So, without any fancy gloss wood like some competitors have, the gloss finish was about the only way to dress them up, and honestly, they look pretty good in gloss from what I can tell in the photos. When I get mine, I will be better able to assess that. But the real money is in the sound and the Tektons sound good.
Has anyone played with the Zen amps? |
Thanks David. There is no right or wrong. Just interest in what the criteria was that won the day for the SEs |
Who (if any) are "the Tekton" of the amps? ie -- who is selling a leading edge amp for a price that most would consider to be average? Both tube and SS. Is there one? Schiit has the Vidar, but I'm not sure that is leading edge an amp as the DI is a leading edge speaker. |
Eric told me the metallic black looks really good and has some pearl in it. That’s what I ordered, but have not received it yet so I can’t give any impressions |
Mac: I just looked at the ZOTL10 and at least for me, it is not as compelling as the Tekton. I honestly believe that the Di can hold it's ground against 30k speakers I have heard. With the 2600 price of the ZOTL10, the same formula would put it against 26k amps. Some pretty heady stuff.
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Glad to see Eric came on and addressed both the cones and the delays for some speakers. I can say that I am also past the point that Eric told me that I would get mine, but really I have not made it an issue. He is doing some new stuff for me and I'm going to let him sort it out. If it really gets to the point where it is painful for me, I'll get hold of them and discuss it with them before going public -- it's what I think any one of us would want if we were in his shoes. As far as the guys who have posted already, I am not condemning it (I don't know the intimate details, nor am I one to judge -- not for me to say). And really when something gets to a point you can't get it addressed, then what else can you do? I have no idea if that was the case, I just know I am not there on my stuff. I wanted the best speakers I could afford, and I actually think I am getting better speakers than I could afford anywhere else, so I am happy to wait, but that's me. We are all wired different. At some point though, Eric will lose business (and reputation) with delays. He is not a stupid person. I am sure he realizes it and sounds like he is addressing it. Hopefully, it will allow him to continue his growth. He needs to have other people painting speakers. He is the face behind the business. He needs to be doing the design, planning for growth and talking to the press and customers (for as long as he can still do that function). Just my two cents.
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Eric:
Thanks --- good to know. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on how they sound after you get them together and tweaked. |
Well Racer, I just invested in a complete HT setup with Eric, and certainly hope my experience does not mirror yours. I will say though that I in no way think that the DI speakers I heard were anything close to veiled or any of the other adjectives you describe. I believe what you say happened, but I can't connect the dots. I love electrostats and ribbons (I own a set of each). I think the Tektons are much more dynamic and the clarity is superb. I do not think they are as airy as my ribbons, but the mini Ulfs are supposed to partially bridge that gap. I can't say because I have not heard them. I HATE muddled/veiled speakers. I would never have invested in them if I thought they were veiled. I would never describe the sound I heard from the DIs as being veiled. I can't explain what happened in your situation. |
I agree evolvist -- I didn't hear the same thing, but it seems that someone should be able to say they didn't like something on a forum that is discussing experiences with the product.
If a bunch of people all heard the speaker sound bad, then it probably sounded bad, but I sure can't say why their experience was different. |
racer - I appreciate the contact, but since I heard them myself, I know what they sound like and I like them. Not sure what the situation was with the speakers you had.
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Good stuff Terry. Love to hear it. Eric raved about the Ulfs and I have never heard them, so good to see that Erics impressions are vindicated in a professional review.
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Hey Terry, I know you can only do so many reviews of one brand of speakers, but do you think you will review the mini Ulfs? At the price point they are at, I think a lot of audiophiles might find it an interesting speaker. |
Bullitt - sounds like well.... you dodged the bullitt :-)
Glad to hear it. Thanks for letting us know. |
Bullitt:
So far no water in the house. We are pretty far North. How about yourself? |
Trani - I have not, but I believe there are others on this list that have. I do know that Eric told me that his speakers are all voiced the same, so to some extent they will all have that "Tekton" sound. Also, not sure what your budget is but the mini Ulf is smaller than the DI, yet higher end. However, be aware that they are not completed as of yet and they may take a while to get. Eric addressed in an earlier post what speakers are able to go out the door quickly. He is building and shipping speakers daily but the speaker you buy and finish you get makes a difference. Just go with whatever makes sense for you.
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Looking forward to it Terry.
Any idea if you will also be reviewing the mini Ulfs when they are released? |
Aniwolfe -
Great news! I envy you. That 2170 is something that really interests me. I am more HT though so I guess it would be the MP50, but then I would need 6 of their amps. Just too much for me, but I love the technology in the 2170. Let us know what you think when you get it. |
Aniwolfe:
Prayers are with you. We just went through it down here in Houston but thankfully where I was did not get hit very hard. Just constant rain. Hopefully the same will happen to you, but with the storm being even stronger than ours and more than 400 miles wide and a state less than 200 miles wide, I am concerned. Just try to stay safe. Are you evacuating? |
David -
That is interesting. As Eric (and others) say, there is no replacement for displacement -- which is why I can't wait to see how he solves that on the mini-ulfs. I am curious though... With the price of the SE only a short stones throw from the mini-ulf, I am curious as to why you chose the DI SE over the mini-ulf. As you know, I went with the mini, so I'm curious as to what criteria you used. Not sure if you are up for the extra wait, but since he did a Ferrari color for me, there is a gloss griggio (grey) color that I saw that I really liked. Not sure if you will or not, but I thought it was really nice. Congrats!!!
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Mac - put a tube amp decal on the 2170.
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Terry, when you find a disruptive product in the video processor(pre-amp) and multi-channel amp categories, let me know -- I’ll be in. Are you also going to do a review of the mini-ulf or is that not decided yet?
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treebeard -- That really is a great color. If I would have seen that, I might have gone with that, but I do like the gloss finishes. Really a nice choice there. |
Terry, that's a shame since you tell it like it is, but I imagine that a fair amount of home theater equipment gets reviewed at home theater review, so if you hear of anything, let us know. |
lol lmswjm
I consider any time I spend $250 on a power cord to be disruptive! :-) |
213runnin
Of course not! He is just some guy in a base ball hat but with a youtube channel. |
They are electrifying -so I guess both would qualify
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Not to put words in his mouth, but I honestly think that zero fidelity just played it safe. Would have been too big a backlash from people that a $3k speaker was better than some $30k speakers, so he added that and saved himself a lot of "you don't know what you are talking about" and people calling him a homer. He said in about as strong terms as he could without offending the "expensive speakers are inherently better" crowd. Just my opinion though. |
brotw;
I heard the Focus speakers. I thought they were very good. I like the Legacys. I went there to hear the Signatures which were more in the range of the DI speakers, but there was no comparison. I then listened to the Focus and liked them.
I didn't hear anything lacking in the precision of the Di speakers at all when comparing them to the Focus. In fact, that was my main criteria - precision and clarity so I paid close attention to both of those in my comparison. |
brotw:
I’m not trying to be funny here (and maybe you were just being sarcastic (hard to tell with just the written word), but you should not have a "case closed" just because I think there is a lot of precision. That is me, not you. You should hear them yourself, but when a speaker reveals small upstream changes (which many people have been able to hear), I just don’t know how it can do that unless it can allow you to hear the small details. I heard them heads up against that ribbon tweeter in the Focus (which I think is a spectacular tweeter btw), and thought the DI was right there if not even a little better. And this is coming from a guy that loves ribbons. I own a set of electrostats for my HT and a pair of Apogee ribbons for my speakers. So I don’t typically prefer domed tweeters to ribbons. I can’t think of the last time I did. It’s just characteristic of me. I like the openness, clarity and revealing sound of the ribbons. Yet I went with the Tektons. But again, you need to compare yourself. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but the only thing that I remember reading on the live music vs anything to do with precision, was that I believe that someone (may several people) said that the speaker is musical, revealing but not revealing in a clinical way. Maybe that was what stuck in your mind? Not sure. But heck... when you listen to them you may in fact feel that they are not precise.... It's whatever you hear that really matters.
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