Speakers – the final frontier.
After years of swapping out gear, I finally settled on all of my components and cables, so it was time to reluctantly consider replacing my GR Research O3 omnidirectional speakers. I had a simple concept in mind – they must be a small, affordable, open baffle design.
The appeal towards open baffle designs stemmed from my acquisition of a GR Research dual 12” open baffle servo subwoofer. This sub is exceptional at bass articulation and realism with no boominess whatsoever. It’s the best bass I’ve ever heard. From this experience, I decided to take the logical next step and pursue acquiring open baffle speakers. The problem I encountered was that typical OB speakers are too large for a modest size room. (The real truth has something to do with the wife acceptance factor.)
Nevertheless, one day I got the itch and contacted Darrel at Hawthorne Audio to inquire about their “small” 10” silver sterling options. It was great timing because that’s when he informed me about the new MTM monitors he had just developed. So I took a leap of faith to become the first buyer of the Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors.
The speakers’ dimensions are approximately 20" tall x 10.5" wide x 11" deep with a sensitivity somewhere in the mid 90's and an 8ohm nominal impedance. A very simple second order crossover with high quality parts is used. These speakers employ a variable L-Pad that allows for adjusting the highs to the listener’s preference. The highs are delivered by the highly regarded AMT 700 tweeter, and Beyma manufactures the 5" drivers that extend down to 63 Hz. Incidentally, I don’t have the equipment (nor the desire) to measure it, but the sensitivity seems lower than mid-90’s.
My room is a 13’ x 20’ x 8’ rectangle with two doorway openings in the rear. I placed the speakers along the short wall about 4.5 feet from the back wall and 2.5 feet from the side walls; they are about 10 feet from the listening position and 7 feet apart with no toe-in. Initially, I pulled the OBsession far out into the room, but when I did that, the sound arrived at my ears too fast – like someone who is talking too loud.
In terms of aesthetics, the OBsession are finished in accordance with my specifications, so of course I like them. But the more significant question is – what will the wife think of them? Well, the moment she first saw them, she absolutely adored them, then walked behind them and remarked that the back looked so good it could also be the front. That’s when I schooled her on the open baffle concept. She understood immediately and intuitively the significance of an open baffle vs. a traditional box speaker.
OK, so how do they sound?
The moment I hooked these speakers up and pressed play, my wife and I were simply stunned at what we were hearing.
The magic in music starts and ends with tone. If a system gets the tone right, everything else seems to fall in line. Upon the hearing the OBsession for the first time, I knew that no other pair of speakers should bother submitting applications because the tone was extraordinary. Most importantly, the emotional connection to the music -- it's all there and then some.
There's some inflections and smoothness in the vocals that my previous speakers were simply unable to capture. What's really special is the sound of percussion instruments other than drums. I never paid much attention to cymbals, tambourines, triangles, etc., but that's because I never heard them properly. I’m stunned by the crack, sizzle, and pop of those percussions. And don't get me started on the awesomeness of guitar plucks and piano notes! That AMT tweeter is an exceptional performer.
What sets them apart is their unbelievable sense of clarity. Stated another way, these speakers are super clean, crystal clear, and extraordinarily precise with haunting imaging. They capture the music with an incredible sense of realism. I played a familiar CD and it sounded exactly like I was in the club along with the live musicians. [Emphasis on “exactly.”] The CD wasn’t recorded live, by the way. Additionally, the dynamics are on a completely different level from what I was accustomed to hearing. The transients alone are worth the price of admission.
An unexpected aspect of the OBsession was “less bass.” What often occurs with major component or cable upgrades is a cleaner sound, i.e., less muddiness. These speakers have contributed significantly to the veritable “lifting of the veil.” Initially, I thought something was wrong with my subwoofer, but eventually realized that on certain tracks, those apparent lower notes were never supposed to be there in the first place!
I believe the phenomenal clarity and tone of the OBsession gives rise to a realistic presentation. In lieu of resorting to frivolous audiophile language to describe the sound, I can’t overemphasize the importance of the system imparting the proper tone. Without true tone, you may have great sound, but not great sounding music. Of course, the quality of the recording plays a major role. Don’t expect mediocre recordings to sound much better. But if you pop in a well recorded CD or play an HD track, buckle up ‘cause you’re goin’ for a ride to Funkytown. LOL!
I'm glad Darrel put a brilliance button on these speakers. I appreciated the ability to dial in the highs to my preference. The speed and detail seems to improve as you dial them up, until you reach the point where it sounds fatiguing. Mine are set at the 11 o’clock position. However, I was baffled that the rear speaker grilles are not removable. This may confound the tweakers in the audience who enjoy experimenting with bypass caps, etc. I was personally looking forward to tweaking them.
One more thought -- even though the OBsession are monitors, just like its bigger OB siblings, I think they need a large room to really shine. I’d love to place them in a larger room to hear what they can really do.
Needless to say, I’m thrilled with my OBsession Reference Monitors. The OBsession are, by far, the best speakers I've ever owned. The speakers provided me with everything I was looking for in terms of improved sound. I doubt seriously if one could buy or build a better speaker within this price range. Very highly recommended.
Room:
13 x 20 x 8
Speakers on short wall
Musical Preferences:
jazz/folk female vocalists, contemporary jazz, old school R&B
Associated Equipment:
PS Audio Perfectwave Transport
Audio GD SA-2 DAC
Audio GD Master 1 preamplifier
Audio GD SA-300 SE amplifier (300/600 wpc)
GR Research dual 12” OB servo subwoofer
PI Audio Group Uber/Minibuss power conditioner
Interconnects by High Fidelity and DCCA Audio
Speaker cables by DCCA Audio
Power cords by DCCA Audio, HiDiamond, Dynamic Design, and Electraglide
P.S. – I have encountered some great customer service in this hobby, notably from manufacturers on this forum such as Danny at GR Research, Dave at PI Audio Group, and others. I can certainly add Darrel and Diana Hawthorne to the top of this list. They provided exceptional communication throughout the purchasing process and really worked overtime to ensure they provided me with everything I wanted within my budget. I felt honored to be their customer.
