Clearwave Speakers?

Acurus,

Noted. THanks.

The reviewer in this case seemed off the mark to me in his approach.

I am not familiar with details of the Accuton but have heard some good things and have read where RAAL ( or perhaps even just ribbon tweeters in general) may not be well suited to a large 2-way full range design in general, ie other drivers, in the case of a 2-way design like this the bass driver(s), will be tasked to cover the midrange to a greater extent perhaps than with other tweeters?

This makes sense to me based on recollection of various designs using ribbon tweeters that I have heard over the years.

The ones using ribbon tweeters that seem to do better to me in terms of midrange presence along with the rest are smaller two ways with limited bass extension and larger 3 ways. ALso perhaps planars using larger ribbon tweeters like Magnepan, but that is a whole different ballgame.

I am glad to see that someone was able to come to the defense of the design! I would like to hear these sometime.

I have seen 3 way RAAL designs (Philharmonic speakers) that report very impressive flat frequency response. Are there frequency response charts for the CLearwaves available? That would probably alleviate any concerns somewhat in lieu of actually hearing.

Last RMAF I was very interested in buying this very speaker. I was able to spend about an hour with them by myself in the Wyred4Sound, with my music.

My impression was that they are a smooth and refined sounding speaker, but ultimately too laid back for my taste. If that's the sound you're looking for, these do it very well. But I was hoping for something a bit more lively and energetic sounding ... so I went a different direction.

J_fav, those speakers were not broken in, they later changed a lot. I do not find them laid back.

Nothing wrong with sound being somewhat "laid back". I've heard many great sounding systems that are, probably the majority. That also often translates to less fatigue, longer listening sessions, and more enjoyment in the end. ALso probably healthier for the ears over the long haul. Could be an advantage with the Clearwave that goes along with the name? YMMV.

Brian, in your gorgeous but I would assume also quite lively sounding log home/room, you might never have to worry much about laid back sound!

I recall once in college taking my original OHM Walsh 2s, which were notoriously laid back, to a rental log cottage for a week during spring break and the sound there was suddenly breathtakingly in your face (which worked well for a bunch of college kids on spring break) and no longer laid back! Totally different presentation!

I did my listening Saturday evening ... after playing Friday all night and then Saturday, I'd have to think they were close to being broken in.

No, there's nothing wrong with laid back. There's noting wrong with the Clearwave sound I heard, just that it wasn't what I was looking for personally. They were a very nice sounding speaker, and built well for the price with quality components. I just wanted a bit more excitement is all, different strokes.