I adore my Shahinian loudspeakers


Myself and several other Audiogoners with Shahinian loudspeakers repeatedly bemoan the fact that so few people know how good these speakers are. Richard Shahinian has formerly and accurately been described as a poor promoter of his products. Other than a website, I am not aware of any advertising by his company. It bothers me that Richard and Vasken Shahinian are not more famous than they currently are. And no I am not financially tied to these guys but I do talk to them enough to consider them as friends.
Why do Richards speakers sound so good? I think it's primarily do to his love of live classical music performances. At the workshop, the focus is making the speakers sound like the performance the night before. I can't think of a better way to design a speaker. Isn't the goal of hi-fi to reproduce the actual event in our home? And oh golly g molly the Shahinians do this like no other I have heard or owned. I have compared the Shahinians with many, many loudspeakers. Some of these speakers cost 10 times as much and couldn't touch the Shahinians ability.
What told me these speakers are worth mighty praise? My family loves them. My wife and kids play them when I'm gone. My friends bring there cd's over so they can hear them on my system. People congregate in the listening room when they are playing. Last X-mas we had 20 or so family members over. Before the night was over, they were all in the listening room. Several went out to their cars to bring in favorite cd's. I was in heaven. Finally I could share my love of hi-fi. The X-mas before I had a $11,000 pair of electrostats and nobody even gave them a nod.
What do they sound like? Easy answer-- Live Music!
Do yourself a big favor. If you're in the market for a pair of speakers then give these a listen. You'll probably have to fly to Richards shop in New York if you want to hear a pair. I think he has maybe four dealers in the US.
holzhauer
I've mentioned this before but I heard some Obelisk's in the early 80's at someone's house & the next day went to my dealer & ordered a pair of the box speakers (that's what they were called), as I couldn't afford the Obelisk's. I had them for many years & thoroughly enjoyed them. Unfortunately the dealer I purchased them from does not deal with Shahinian anymore (hasn't for quite some time) or I very well may have purchased another set when I was looking for something else.
Many years ago I heard the Obelisks and thought they sounded very good. Excellent soundstaging. However, I couldn't get past their rather odd looks and comparatively high price tag. Shahinian's newer models such as the Starter and the Compass look interesting, but I wonder how they sound. Also, are they sensitive to room placement?
I've heard a few different models over the years, in different rooms, but always at shows. Richard is a sweet heart of a guy. He also plays real music in his demos, kudos! He used to really push Bedini amps. Shows are not for serious auditions, but I never liked any of his products at any time, and never investigated further.
I talked to Richard Shahinian yesterday. Apparently none of the American dealers are active. He does demo them in his shop in New York. I was happy to learn Shahinian loudspeakers are owned by some notable hi enders including Scott Markwell, John Marks and Peter Thomson.
Scott Markwells review of the Hawks can be found on avguide.com