So the search for the speakers continue.... Summits X vs others

[jtwrace]

I like the rake angle adjustment feature - this was something that I think OUR forum came up with. Wink Wink... to ML.

Yes, made by yours truly.

I haven't been on this forum for years. I was bored and remembered ML's for some reason. Anyway, go have a listen to the TAD Evolution One ($30k) and CR1 ($45k). Those are what you should also include. The Evolution One will blow you away in that price range. Since you use science at your day job, you owe it to yourself to listen to something that is 100% about science. ;-)

 

[Joey_V]

Yes, made by yours truly.

I haven't been on this forum for years. I was bored and remembered ML's for some reason. Anyway, go have a listen to the TAD Evolution One ($30k) and CR1 ($45k). Those are what you should also include. The Evolution One will blow you away in that price range. Since you use science at your day job, you owe it to yourself to listen to something that is 100% about science. ;-)

Lots of people mentioned TAD Evo 1s.

Will continue the search.

 

[bonzo]

Found the TAD another boxy unmusical speaker. Heard the verity yesterday which actually has an excellent midrange for a box, plays all music easily

 

[beek]

Why not the Linkwitz Orions latest flavor
I just spent some time with them and they are pretty amazing for a dynamic.

 

[RUR]

Why not the Linkwitz Orions latest flavor
I just spent some time with them and they are pretty amazing for a dynamic.

Bill, have you heard the LX521? They're sufficiently new that local owners are hard to find, but I'm hoping Siegfried brings a pair to the upcoming Newport THE Show.

 

[beek]

No but I did hear the latest Orions with the new woofers
but the owner of the O's has & he likes em

 

[gordonmenninger]

Sasha 2 (vs Sophia 3) - An initial listening session.

[
When I listened to Lana Del Ray - similar conclusion. I found her voice to be well reproduced, well placed and hung around 5 feet up in midair. There was less fuzz around the vocals and a better sense of density. The detail was all there, but the high end of the spectrum was not as piercing as I noted on the Sophia 3. There was less sibilance and yet the details remained. This extra detail in highs and detail in bass allowed a better sense of space. The piano and the bass kicks in this track was well placed and the stage felt deep. Her voice was a little in front of the plane of the front baffles of the speakers while the bass and other instruments sounded at least 5 to 10 feet behind the rear wall... at least. Definitely easier to "walk around" the performers and instruments. Definitely a better sense of stage.

First of all, nice detailed reviews / comparison. I wanted to also chime in on Lana Del Rey... I think that she has one of the most beautiful, raw voices I have heard in a long time! When I first heard Summertime Sadness on the radio about a year ago I always liked that song. I bought her album "born to die" which is absolutely incredible. Almost every song on there is great and perfectly suited for audiophile evaluations with great music! Her voice is absolutely crisp with just a bit of sibilance and lot of weight and raw emotion... When I first heard "young and beautiful" I could not get it out of my head and played it constantly. They don't make tracks like this anymore. If you have not listened to it you owe it to yourself. Of course she ain't bad looking either, and it does not help that she used to be a model. Just be warned if you watch her perform live - she is not a great live performer and her voice is hit or miss live! Sorry to chime in here and rant on but Lana is awesome!

 

[InterMechanico]

First of all, nice detailed reviews / comparison. I wanted to also chime in on Lana Del Rey... I think that she has one of the most beautiful, raw voices I have heard in a long time! When I first heard Summertime Sadness on the radio about a year ago I always liked that song. I bought her album "born to die" which is absolutely incredible. Almost every song on there is great and perfectly suited for audiophile evaluations with great music! Her voice is absolutely crisp with just a bit of sibilance and lot of weight and raw emotion... When I first heard "young and beautiful" I could not get it out of my head and played it constantly. They don't make tracks like this anymore. If you have not listened to it you owe it to yourself. Of course she ain't bad looking either, and it does not help that she used to be a model. Just be warned if you watch her perform live - she is not a great live performer and her voice is hit or miss live! Sorry to chime in here and rant on but Lana is awesome!

Lizzy, you mean.lol. But all joking aside, I know exactly what you mean (the voice)

 

[gordonmenninger]

Lizzy, you mean.lol. But all joking aside, I know exactly what you mean (the voice)

Yes exactly - Lizzy! I watch alot of her music videos on youtube and Vevo and they sound incredible on my system! This is the preferred way my wife likes to listen to music lol! She loves the visuals and in this case I do too!

 

[Joey_V]

Did a full back to back A/B of the 800 Diamonds (full Classe system) and the Sasha 2 (full Audio Research system).

Few things stuck out.

I bet a good portion of the sound reproduction was probably because of the upstreams.

Michael Buble - You've got a friend in me
- Sasha 2 felt like it was closed miked... like his voice was very specific in location and had this weird sound to it that made it sound artificial BUT good... like you could tell he was close miked. I could not tell if this was a neutral presentation or not.
- 800 Diamonds felt like there was less of a pinpoint image as on the Sasha 2, but I felt like the vocals on the 800 Diamonds had more realistic projection.

Lorde - Royals
- Sasha 2 absolutely killed on bass, 800 Diamonds just did not have the same impact (which is weird because I've heard the lowly 804 Diamonds have a good impact on the bass chords)... which leads me to believe that there is something about the room that the 800 Diamonds were in that affect the bass negatively.

John Legend - All of me
- I still think the pianos on the 800 Diamonds are better reproduced than on the Sasha 2. I thought the vocals on Sasha 2 had a very tubey effect (maybe because of the AR equipment). Still had projection and power and naturalness on the BW 800 Diamonds. I bet if I had hooked up some tubes instead of the full SS Classe set up to the 800 Diamonds, I'd be getting a different sound.

All in all, I enjoyed the vocal reproduction and pinpoint imaging by the Sasha 2 w/ the ARC electronics. But I also enjoyed the naturalness and overall projection/energy of the BW 800 Diamonds with the full Classe set up. Methinks this is partially related to the upstreams.

My next step - I'm probably going to buy the Cary SLP05 from the 'gon and then bring it to the 800 Diamond dealer and see what kind of music I can get out of them. I'm looking for the vocal density of the Sasha 2 WITH the projection and the naturalness on the 800 Diamond.