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Why is Shahinian not more popular

I am a German living in Moscow, and only recently got to know the speakers of Shahinian. I first received a pair of Obelisks in the summer of 2001, and liked their sound and presentation so much that I upgraded to the Diapason when Audiogon-member dogman7515 offered them for sale. I drive them with a MacIntosh MA6500, a German Audionet CD-transport and the Chord DAC64. Everybody who listens to these uncoventional, omnidirectional speakers is amazed, and I already have my best friend shopping for Obelisks as well. Having fallen in love with the Shahinian-speakers, I took a look around, but was astonished to see that there is almost no discussion of these speakers on Audiogon. Nor, it seems, are there dealers of Shahinian in the US. Why, dear Audiogons, are they not more popular with you? To those of you who own Shahinians: What is your experience as far as room acoustics are concerned? And what are your experiences with bi-amping and bi-wiring them? A review in the German journal Image Hifi stated you'd nee to dampen the wall behind Shahinian-speakers (Diapasonns, in that case)to get decent soundstaging. And finally, does anybody know what Shahinian is doing like? A German Hifi-dealer told me the rumor that Shahinian might be in trouble and bankrupt soon.
Thanks for your insight. Florian Hassel
hassel

Showing 2 responses by audiokinesis

audiokinesis
2,727 posts
 
Hassel, I have tried to become a Shahinian dealer, so far without success. Dick Shahinian has no US dealers, and doesn't really need any. He has a hard enough time keeping up with orders from Europe and Asia. I have been contacted by people who've told me that if I could get them a pair of Shahinians, they'd buy 'em in a heartbeat.

So please don't take the absence of US dealerships as a commentary on the sonics of the Shahinian line. What they do well, they do very well.

I still hope to convince Shahinian that they need at least one US dealer...
audiokinesis
2,727 posts
 
Sean -

Once again, thanks for your vote of confidence.

In a sense, the Shahinians have some common ground with the Sound Labs - both systems recreate a well-energized, diffuse reverberant field whose tonal balance is very similar to that of the direct sound. I think the Shahinians would fit well into my little line-up, if I can make it happen.
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