Natural or Dark Cherry? Or Maple?

[ralflar]

Let us know how it goes with the Vantages...!

Bubinga or Natural Cherry... come on Bubinga!! (I cant believe I'm rooting for the veneer that isnt mine)

Joey

I went for natural cherry. Bubinga was another $200 on top of the $300 premium for nc. Approximately 2 weeks to delivery.

Not going for Bubinga now will give me another excuse later as to why I absolutely must uptrade again. I can only hope the CLX will be out by then.

 

[ralflar]

I think I will like them. As long as the website is close in color. As far as selling them, not worried, I would be fine. I would offer someone a really good deal.

You will be fine. I checked the dark cherry again today. It does not look bad at all. It is just that the other woods in my room are lighter and have a more reddish hue.

Did you buy the standard black or optional clear aluminium frames? I wished the latter were available with Vantages. Dark cherry and aluminium would look great together.

 

[jtwrace]

I bought the dark cherry with black frame. It will just blend better. Being that my wife is an interior designer I had to compromise somewhat...Oh, I even prefer the black frame anyway. Just me.

 

[ralflar]

Yes, it is the environment which dictates our choices, as well as certain fashion periods that we go through. Lets not forget personal preferences. I am currently on the silver and white trip. Most of my audio gear is of silver color, my analog SLR is silver, too, as are my digital cameras. Computers are white and silver, both the Mac and the Windoze box. Let Dell sell black boxes all they want.

Of course, before that all my audio gear and my computer were black. Silver was just so unprofessional! During that period I also wanted a black SLR, badly, but it never happened. I still wear black clothes often, though. I reckon that habit will never change. Black goes with almost everything. My favorite sunglasses are custom made black Ray Bans.

When I saw photos of Joey's silver frames a while ago I was hooked. They are different. I figured those frames would fit very well into my room. Zip's recent reminder only reinforced that impression. Anyway, my comfy chair and foot rest have black leather. The couch and dining chairs are black. The base of the dining table is black. So I am sure I will like the black frames of my new Vantages very much.

 

[timm]

Buy them in PINK and turn off the lights!!! Enjoy the sound baby!! But, that Bulbinga??? Bubinga....whatever... sure did look cool... but for ...did someone say 500 bucks? I like the finish on speakers.... but I draw the line on paying extra for them.

 

[Joey_V]

I went for natural cherry. Bubinga was another $200 on top of the $300 premium for nc. Approximately 2 weeks to delivery.

Not going for Bubinga now will give me another excuse later as to why I absolutely must uptrade again. I can only hope the CLX will be out by then.

Congrats on the Natural Cherry! You will like it a lot!

Did you know that you can actually call ML hq and have them give you the heads up on your nat cherry Vantages? They can even take pictures for you of the process. You can even remind them to pick the veneer "cut" that you want.

It's real cool... I did that with my Vantages and the guys at ML hq were more than happy to help!

Joey

 

[Joey_V]

When I saw photos of Joey's silver frames a while ago I was hooked. They are different.

Thank you for the compliment!

I like the silver aluminum trim because it breaks the monotony of the black panel with black trim. I remember when I had the black panel and black trim, When I was at my sweet spot, all I saw were these two rather large black pillars staring right back at me.

But that's just me... the black looks great too!

 

[kirkawall]

Hi,

I have the Vantages in natural cherry and these replace the dark cherry version which arrived, er, broken. I think both finishes work well in quite different decors but my new ones are the "cross-cut" version and they are absolutely lovely in the right light. They do stand out a bit more than the dark but they sound identical -- fabulous!

enjoy the new speakers,

k

 

[ralflar]

Joey,

Interesting, I did not know that. Is their phone number on their web site?

As for the color of the frames, when I am in the sweet spot it does not matter that much because I keep my eyes closed most of the time . It is when I am not listening that I notice the difference.

That is why, should ever get Summits, mine will be silver like yours.

 

[ralflar]

Kirkawall,

Could you explain the cross-cut version? The ML site does not show this option, and Tweeter have been unable to provide any info on non-standard veneer options.

 

[Joey_V]

Kirkawall,

Could you explain the cross-cut version? The ML site does not show this option, and Tweeter have been unable to provide any info on non-standard veneer options.

I think crosscut is what I have too... just a slanted cut at which you are able to see the grain of the wood (fiery looking grain I might add) at the right light. Look at my pic again.

You can request this if you call ML hq.

JOey

 

[sleepysurf]

Another name for that is Rotary Cut. If you call ML, they'll know what you mean.

 

[ralflar]

Thanks again for all the info. In the end I had to reconsider my choice of wood. I could either accept dark cherry now or wait until next year. No way.

My Vantages were delivered this morning! The dark cherry actually looks quite good.

They have been playing for an hour now. It is clear that break-in will take a while. I miss some bass and treble. Mid-range is fine for now. Resolution and speed of the Xstat panel is superior. The Vantages sit were the Aeons had been. Experimentation with positioning will have to wait a few days. But I still don't think I will get out much this weekend. :rocker:

 

[Joey_V]

Do you like it more than the Aeons?

Oh man... should've waited.... good things always come to those who wait! Ah well... enjoy the Vantages!

JOey

And... PICS!

 

[ralflar]

During the first hour of play I almost wanted my Aeons back. Almost.

The Squeezebox has been serving endless shuffle play for over four hours. I spend most of the time in other rooms. I can hear what is being played but not really how it sounds. That helps finding the differences as they develop. The Vantages started to call me over into their room a few times by now. Kick drums begin to sound like kick drums. The highs do not sound so choked anymore. They have already shown me details in some records which the Aoens did not see at all. I believe that the sound stage will be layered better in depth, and better defined laterally. So far stage height is as limited as it was with the Aeons. No improvement here. The Vantages seem to have much stronger dynamic muscle. Horizontal dispersion is wider. Vertical dispersion is very well controlled. I will probably not miss my Aeons very long.

I wrote above that I would not experiment with positioning just yet. Changed my mind, I will, at least a little. The stage needs to be taller. This will be fun.

Dark cherry and black frames represent incentives to upgrade to CLXs or Summits! Having the Vantages in my room I can really see how nice silver airframes would be. Dark versus natural cherry turns out to be of secondary concern.

 

[Joey_V]

How are the Vantages positioned right now? Are they toed in aggressively? What is the position relative to room and walls?

Also, how do you like the vocal image/focus at the moment? Is it super focused? Is it better than you remember the Aeons to have?

Lastly, how is soundstage depth and all that jazz?

I agree... you need the silver airframe.... jk!

Joey

 

[ralflar]

The panel centers are 4' from the front wall, a bit over 2' from the side walls. They are 6.5' apart. In the listening position my ears are 7' to 7.5' away from the speakers. Ear distance to back wall is 5.5' to 6'. The speakers are toed in more aggressively than recommended. I can see approx 1/2" of the inside cabinet walls. I have no really hard or super soft surfaces in my room.

Sound stage depth is about the same as with the Aeons. This means that drums often appear to play within or beyond the front wall. Centering was and is very good. Main reasons for upgrading from the Aeons were the spatial resolution in height, depth, and between the center and the speakers. This seems to work for the depth dimension. I expect the lateral resolution to improve as the speakers break in once I find good positions.

Considering that the initial position just mimics how I had setup the Aeons, results are pretty good. Except for the issue with stage height. It is no better than what the Aeons could do. To give an idea of what I mean, imagine a guitarist who sings with his chin on the guitar. Some recording are worse than others.

 

[Joey_V]

The panel centers are 4' from the front wall, a bit over 2' from the side walls. They are 6.5' apart. In the listening position my ears are 7' to 7.5' away from the speakers. Ear distance to back wall is 5.5' to 6'. The speakers are toed in more aggressively than recommended. I can see approx 1/2" of the inside cabinet walls. I have no really hard or super soft surfaces in my room.

Sound stage depth is about the same as with the Aeons. This means that drums often appear to play within or beyond the front wall. Centering was and is very good. Main reasons for upgrading from the Aeons were the spatial resolution in height, depth, and between the center and the speakers. This seems to work for the depth dimension. I expect the lateral resolution to improve as the speakers break in once I find good positions.

Considering that the initial position just mimics how I had setup the Aeons, results are pretty good. Except for the issue with stage height. It is no better than what the Aeons could do. To give an idea of what I mean, imagine a guitarist who sings with his chin on the guitar. Some recording are worse than others.

Cooooll...

What does the Vantage do that the Aeons could not do to your ears? I remember listening to the Aeons and the Vantages side by side and the first thing that popped out in my mind is the dynamic ease at which the Vantage is able to add that extra bit of palpability to recordings. I also thought that the Vantages are better controlled in the vocal regions in terms of tonality and overall air.

What do you think?

Joey

 

[theWB]

Except for the issue with stage height. It is no better than what the Aeons could do. To give an idea of what I mean, imagine a guitarist who sings with his chin on the guitar. Some recording are worse than others.

Ralflar,Have you tried raising the front feet higher than the rear feet on the speakers. I've done this with my Odysseys with good results in rising the soundstage.:rocker:

 

[timm]

Yes - I think raking them back will help. Secondly, I have a tendency to like a little more distance from my speakers. If it is easy to do....my suggestion might be to go to the inner third for toe in - and move your sitting position 3 feet back - that still gives you 3 feet to the back wall...when of course you get CRAZY... and start moving stuff around. I have a tendency to look at my odysseys and think....I wonder if I moved them this way or that way - or moved my sitting position or....yadayadayada....That is the fun of it though isn't it? My original impression though was that you pretty much have them set up for the smaller aeon. I have not heard the Vantages however...but, from what I have heard from others maybe you want to let them breathe a little by moving back a bit and changing the toe in out a bit - plus the rake back.... Talk to you in 3 months