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Vienna Beethoven Owners--I need your advice

I have the opportunity to purchase some very nice demo units in Rosewood for little more than typical used price with the warranty--probably because the Sumiko rep is bragging about the new totally redisigned Beethoven now trickling in. They are low hour and flawless. I heard some of their music, including Yoyo Ma. The cello seemed alive. However, when I returned with my own cd's I was surprised by a few things. There was plenty of base in Dire Straits--more than I expected, but the voice was so smooth and muted that it didn't sound real. I tried Stephan Grappeli and the high notes of the violin also seemed so smooth, without any timber. I then listened to some salsa, which sounded pretty darn good. As you can see, my tastes cover a broad range.

I should point out that the equipment wasn't too impressive, some Integra (Onkyo?) seperates that I am not familiar with. The cabling was high end though.

Was I auditioning speakers that weren't broken, inadequately powered, or both?

I remember auditioning Mozarts several years ago at another dealer using Mark Levinson seperates and they were most impressive.

Thanks for any feedback.
gwoodall

Showing 1 response by mrfastguy250aol

mrfastguy250aol
65 posts
 
I use my Beethovens in conjunction with a Wadia 830 and Linar 250 amp connected by Transparent Ref Balanced and as of now, just some basic speaker wires and Michael Wolff power cords, I would definately say these speakers are
very natural sounding with lots of bass, before i bought them i had heard them several times in another room.
The bass is more prevailant in my room than the previous owners but i would never call it tubby or slow by any means.
As of now, the only real problem i am having is lack of pinpoint imaging, however, also in the previous system i heard them in, I have never heard a speaker with better imaging at any price, which leads me to believe i definately need different speaker cables and a bit more tweaking or setup.

All this simply leads me to one basic conclusion, with proper setup and components these are really fantastic speakers. With average components/cabling you may be able to find other speakers that are a bit more forgiving.

Hope this helps.
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