Mike,
How does it compare with Contriva D SE?
Thanks |
This thread sounds like a love fest :)
As good as these speakers are (if indeed the case as I have not seen any major reviews), they will be bettered down the line as is always the case just as they are now dethroning some other speakers.
Having got caught up a little in this "hype", I am trying to find a way to hear them. But they are unsightly expensive! If these are to be a last pair of speakers it might be worth the effort to save - but will take a few years... Why can't they bring these down to more reasonable level? |
Karelfd,
Thanks for your comments. I will certainly listen to them, as long as they are available for audition, as this will be freee. Thailand is listed as a location where they have distribution, and I hope they have stock.
Tbg,
Not sure what planet you're on. Much more expensive speakers? Much more than, what, 40-80K a pair? I know they exist but it's almost scandalous to suggest these prices are reasonable just because some other speakers ask for more. No wonder there are no reviews or marketing for these speakers, since they will only appeal to an absolute tiny fraction of the audiophile market, let alone general population of music lovers. For 80K, I could almost buy my dream car Nissan GTR, or a couple of BMW convertibles.
Mike,
That is great endorsement. If you earn a million+ a year and have no kids to support that would make sense. Otherwise I hope you're not sacrificing beyond sanity for a hobby.
Sorry I'm obviously ticked off as this price is out of reach for now even if I do find them worth it. |
Drove down to Tidal dealer today. A rather "outback" kind of place in Bangkok, well away from the recent political clashes in upper class shopping malls. For speakers that carry such a hefty price this dealer seems out of place. As we entered the building, we realized it's basically a townhouse with a couple of sound rooms one still under construction. The room housing Contriva Diacera was upstairs, and we had to walk past boxes and a kitchen and some more boxes before getting there. Inside, we saw a pair of rather unobtrusive pair of black shinny speakers. Sandwiched between them was a handsome Esoteric X-03 sitting on top of a McIntosh integrated amp. Pairing each speaker was a 1201 McIntosh monobloc. Linking all these items were massive cables, one of which was not too different in thickness to my own biceps (of which I'm rather proud of with regular workout). We brought 3 discs with us: Carpenters Reflections (a Blue Spec disc made in Japan), Dr Hook Greatest Hits (very ordinary disc with some tracks as flat as they come), and Dire Straits Brothers In Arms 20th Anniversay Edition SACD. Without as much as a conversation or even a quick marvel at the gears on display I passed Carpenters over to the polite dealer. He handed over the remote and off we went.
In summary:
I weep now that I'm back home trying to re-create any semblance of the sound we heard at the dealership with my Cremona M + Naim Electronics + Marantz SA7-S1.
Clearly every component (barring perhaps disc spinner) is outclassed. I suspect cables were not a small contribution to the dealer's sound. And the totality of the gains was impressive.
My wife (who clearly has superior hearing) immediately said after 1 track of Carpenters that this music was emotional. Kind of odd (not), since Tidal's slogan is "we build emotion", of which she had no idea as I dragged her along last minute. I was massively impressed too with this track (I Need To Be In Love). For me emotions are often lost and so a waste there of Contriva's talent. What stood out instead for me was the lucid vocal so natural and dominant yet without crowding out everything else that was there, which was a lot - particularly the gorgeous piano notes with each strike clearly audible and wonderful together with powerful but coarse drum beats far from polite and so close to what must be live sound. However what impressed me most was Dr Hook's Sylvia's Mother, as I was expecting next to nothing from this flattest of flat discs. My god, the layers of sound that I heard! The horn-like echos (akin to what you often hear in a Western movie during a gun fight) that went far left and so far right all across the room that I had barely noticed before became very meaningful 3-D special effects. I felt for some odd reason like I was sitting by a lake on another Dr Hook's track surrounded by forest trees. Maybe the emotion did get me. On Dire Straits, So Far Away, the beats were astounding on the metal discs. I could go on and on...
Overall conclusion:
We also listened to Carpenters and Dire Straits on Scala. Perhaps I'm artificial, as I like analytical sound and I adore scale, of which Scala created a larger musical landscape. My wife however had no doubt Contriva was her pick. On Dire Straits, I would have to give it to Contriva, particularly track 9 Brothers In Arms. The thunder at the start of the track that I test almost on all systems I audition was truly thunderous and there was no equal that I could remember. As amazing as these speakers were, I would most likely opt for Scala but am wary of the different electronics used - and I believe the Chord gears that partnered Scala were more expensive. The more realistic price of Scala certainly plays a part. But if not anything, I think this audition reminds me that perhaps I could up my electronics before getting in line for my final pair of speakers. My gears at home no matter how hard I crank up does not produce what I heard and shows up significant fidelity weaknesses. I will also head back to listen to Piano in a couple of months when it arrives. At a more sensible price, you never know... |
Ozy,
Yes fair comment as the sound I heard last night is now a benchmark and etched permanently. However so was the Focal Scala sound.
Kclone,
Unfortunately it's the Piano Diacera. I'm glad you made these comments, although I wonder how the classic (cheapest in the range) could outperform others for such wide music genre as pop/rock.
I am glad though that I came across this post and gained some insight into fine speakers. However not often have I listened to speakers as expensive as Contriva - maybe never. So that it redefines a few boundaries is not unexpected. What is has to stand up to now are further listening against peer speakers (in price terms). |
Kclone,
Could you elborate how you moved from our prior system (which included Scala?) to Piano? I believe Scala and Piano Classic prices are similar? |
Kclone,
Thanks for that useful comment. I listen to jazz too. These days not much different to soft pop. If Piano Classic indeed outshines on pop/rock I would certain have them on short list. Could I ask whether you have done any direct comparison between the different Tidal speakers:
Piano Classic
Piano Cera or Diacera
Contriva Diacera SE (this is one I heard)
Ozy,
Thanks again - I see you have Sunray. Did you do much comparison between the different speakers in deciding for Sunary?
Luck Boy,
I would be very interested in your thoughts how Focal Scala compares with Tidal. Would you be doing a comparison? For your info, I was very impressed with Diablo. I instead got Cremona M for fuller sound. But Diablo's high was the best I had heard. When I listened to Scala I was surprised it outperformed Diablo in almost all aspects (if not all), and in total a much better pair of speakers than any other I heard at the time. Unfortunately I did not get Scala as my room art the time was very small.
I will carry amp to dealer to check out Tidal in the next couple of months. Will report back. |
Went back for second audition. This time Contriva not as impressive. The stand out vacal in first audition a few weeks ago was gone. Still very enjoyable but not much more special than any other high end pair. Dealer said he had optimized speaker position. More suited to classical music. Based on this, Scala (6 months ago) was clearly ahead - more intimate sound with tremendous soundstage. Will go back again August when Piano arrives with my amps. |
Alectiong,
No he changed nothing except speaker placement and acoutic treatment placement. I was very impressed originally and now very surprised by the change. Third time lucky (too) perhaps... |
All,
The key awe inspiring feature in my first audition was the complete cut out of vocal from the fabric of music. It was as tho there was a separate center speaker a few feet forward from the main speakers blasting away merrily on its own. I loved that. Even tho it was forward and aggressive by other speakers' standards, both I and my wife found it natural and relaxing. My wife in particular does not normally like forward sound and describes 800D as shouting at her with the same music, yet obviously fell for Contriva which in some way achieved greater aggression but without the tension. So where did that center speaker go on second audition? Has anyone had this experience? |
Colloway, congrats!
Would b interested to read your thoughts in a few weeks too. Often I marvel at the improvement after an upgrade and wonder whether this was it, only to upgrade again in a while. Is this euphoria or not? Suspect you will not know for sure for some time.
Still waiting to hear Piano in a few weeks.
Been reading about new speakers seem to be proliferating. |
Bvdiman,
Perhaps you're right which would make speakers very sensitive to positioning. Music was still very good but not memorable. First audition tho was and lingers.
Went back to listen to Piano this time. Finally had arrived. Burned in with I believe over 400hrs. Hooked up with an assortment of gears: pass lab massive monoblocks, top moon pre amp and escoteric cdp with digital out into a 1500usd dac. Sound was anything but memorable. Held back. Not engaging. Lots of low and high details but one dimensional. Was packing up my cds after an hour or so. Then dealer suggested I listened via his server (macbook + DAC via usb). System came alive. Piano managed to do something similar but not quite what contriva had done on hi res tracks. We then burned Dr Hook and streamed it. But it did not approach what I heard on contriva with esoteric. Leaves me to conclude either get contriva or something else. Likely go back for final audition between scala and piano (dealer believes he needs to optimize as he agreed a few thngs were not right about the sound) as I would dread to spend 60k on speakers to make contriva regardless of performance a real option. Visually piano a stunner. Preferred them to contriva easily. Looks probably better than my cremona m. Exudes authority and class. A bit taller and wider than cremona m. |
Luckyboy,
Yes I listened to Piano Diacera. If I had to decide today, I would rank my listening experience equally between Scala and Contriva Diacera with Piano Diacera as some way behind. I have heard Scala on 3 separate occasions. First was the best and absolutely awe inspiring. They were partnered with top Chord gears so some credit would have to be given to electronics. Second was awful - speakers not burnt in and I believe some mismatch with Accuphase electronics. Third was once again excellent but not as good as first, with BAT tube amps (same shop as second audition). My conclusion is, if I have the right amps I could live with Scala and would adore music from these speakers. I heard Contriva twice. First was truly memorable. They were as impressive as Scala but in different ways. They hit hard with thunderous bass laced with details so fine to create contrast and dynanmic at a level hard to believe. Best of all, vocal was surreal and spooky in the best possible way imaginable. Second audition was mediocre but still not shameful given their almost shameless price. Piano approached Contriva in some way and even that was almost magic but just didn't have the muscle and meat of Contriva and unconvincing in that way. So I am torn between Scala and Contriva and wished I had enough money for both. Lucky for me my budget caps off at around Scala so I should not have a difficult time deciding when I eventually have to decide. I will bring my own amps to Scala for final run before maybe pulling the trigger around bonus time (wife and family permitting as even that is a major financial undertaking). Taught me tho why there are diverging comments about same gears - because they can sound very different depending on circumstances. |
Tbg,
Yes Focal Scala. Tweeters on these are to behold too. |
Been a while since I was last here. Finally got my act together. Have ordered a pair of Tidal Piano. Will be getting them in Dec. Hopefully before Xmas as I would be away. Look forward to exchanging tips with everyone soon. |
Bostonbean,
Thanks, look forward to having them home.
Linkster,
How are your Piano D coming along?
Adstew,
Space a premium too here. My pair will be in living room. Hiding all electronics inside enclosed shelves for WAF (among other considerations). Limited to 40cm depth (plus 10cm for cabling). Width no problem. Height limited to 30cm. Tidal amps should be good (at least 2 boxes). Naim amps good too (4 boxes but each smaller than Tidal). Have not considered integrated. At this level I don't know if any conventional integrated would do justice. Would be interested if you find something compact. |
Thanks Linkster that is great endorsement and reassurance. Unfortunately nothing I could share. Still awaiting for my PiaDia. Timeline has overshot earlier indications by some margin. Santa did not deliver this time. But trust not too long to go. |
