Janszen za2.1 vs nola metro grand ref series2

further impressions. there are 3 things that the gallos do better.

the first is bass. the janszens do bass well, but I see why david recommends a 200w solid state amp. I wish there were a way to biwire the speakers. the bass has significantly more impact from the gallos.

the second area is soundstage width. I have always liked huge open soundstaging speakers such as maggies. however, in this regard I will lose a little width to keep the other things that the janszens are doing in my system.

the third area is in regards to off axis listening. the gallos have a very forgiving and wide listening zone. the janszens don't seem to require your head be locked in place, but vertical changes and anything beyond 2-3' side to side loses the magic. vertically there is a very distinct line. it's almost like the difference b/w halogen headlights vs HID.

these are all small quibbles. I am very intrigued by the effortless grain free sound. no sibilance or etch even with some of my fairly bright recordings.

the only real concern that I have at this point is the increased power consumption of the janszens. they are not efficient. I have run out of steam with my 50w triodes. This is not good. I will have a conversation w/ david and keep you all posted.

my settings on the speakers is tweeter -3, air layer -8 and bass 0. just fyi.

brad

I know that I seem to be the only one posting replies here, but I thought I would try to further clarify the "headphones" comment.

I remember hearing a similar effect one time while at a private concert of Chris Issac. I was seated center stage not more than 8' from Chris. The speakers for the small auditorium were actually on plane with me to either side. The amplification was not turned up particularly high and I could hear the actual acoustic guitar and his voice in the natural while also hearing the amplified signal from the pa system. When I moved to behind the plane of the speakers the sound became very typical. But the magic returned once I re took my seat.

This is a very similar effect to what I am hearing from the Janszens. Take that for what it is.

I'm sorry if this violates Audiogon convention, but I'd like to weigh in, just to state that the effect is headphone-like, in terms of immediacy, but is not "in the head", like the sound from headphones and some planar speakers is.

I am keeping the Janszens. A great speaker that suits my listening tastes much better than the myriad of other speakers I listened to in comparison. I have yet to hear the Nola, but I will at some point and decide then what differences I hear. Some may find close to 10k for speakers paltry, but I do not find it insignificant. However, I feel like I am getting my money's worth. What sounded like lossy compression on other 15-20k speakers the Janszens revealed as distortion in the crappy quality music files I sometimes listen to for background music.

$10K "paltry"?? Hardly. Congratulations on your choice, you made the decision the right way, with your ears and in your room.