Ronin 'A' Followup

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Soundbytes

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Ronin 'A' Followup
« on: 13 Dec 2007, 06:02 pm »
I’ve had my Ronins (Amplified version) for almost a year now and thought I’d share my long term impressions.

Simply put, the Ronins convey the musical performance and the emotion of the performance to the listener better than any other speaker that I’ve had the privilege to audition during the last two years.  After listening to a wide range of speakers and components, in an even wider range of systems that mixing the speakers and components allowed, what stands out as the differentiating factor with the Ronins is their ability to convey the emotional qualities of the performance in the very real world environment of my home.

To achieve this requires that tone, image, realism of the spatial relationships when off-axis, integration of bass, mid-range, and highs, etc. all be in place.  How the balancing act of the engineering factors has been accomplished is a subject that Paul is far better equipped and quite willing to address.  So do ask him.

As the first customer of the ‘A’ version Paul was exceptional to work with.  Since others might be interested in some insight into working with Paul a bit of background on this is contained in a note I sent to a prospective customer of Paul’s back in May at Paul’s request that I've included below.  I should note that prior to this deep plunge over the last two years to find the next “right” system for me I was very content for about 10 years with my system comprised of a pair of Spendor 2/3s, a REL Strata 3, a SE-40, and the Wadia 6.

Please note:  I have no affiliation with Paul other than being a very very happy customer.  Having seen the pictures of the Cherry version it reminded me that I’d intended to provide some insight for some time now.

 aa Shameless plug: I’m no longer in the market for anything else and will, time permitting, be selling off most everything listed at the bottom of this post other than the Duetto and the Ronin’s.  If interested in anything please PM me and ya might just get a deal.   8) In addition I have a pair of Zu Tones and a Mini-Method that have very little time on them and a pair of Druid’s still in the box.

Cheers!


 
Note from May 2007:

Paul asked me to provide some input and I'm happy to do so.  This isn't intended to be a formal review.  Any questions please feel free to ask.
 
First some background.  I contacted Paul as I was very interested in an Open Baffle Dipole speaker system that I could use with my Wavelength Duetto 300B as the primary amplifier.  To this end Paul let me know that he was very interested in providing a solution for lower powered amps so my request fit within his philosophical directions for this line of speakers.  Over the course of a few weeks we agreed on the amplifiers to drive the woofers, the adjustability options related to EQ, its range adjusted for the 200 HZ crossover to the woofer, etc., and how various use models and topologies would work.  Paul further confirmed the viability of my 300b driving the mids and tweeters by making measurements of the impedance curve with the woofer elements removed.
 
I then decided that I wanted to also be able to use the Ronins as a test-bed for me to learn more about the DEQX options so Paul designed and implemented a tri-wired system that incorporates the woofer amps so that only 4 channels of amplification would be required if and when I decided to try this out.   This is my next area of exploration but I'm in no hurry as I'm very pleased with the Ronin's as is.  If you have not already done so I strongly suggest you read the users manual for the 'A' model as it describes the flexibility that Paul can optionally offer. 
 
It was time to take the leap and I sent Paul a deposit.  During the design and build process Paul was very informative and kept me aware of the progress.  Delivery was right in line with his original estimate.  The Ronins are beautiful and this has been pointed out by everyone who has seen or heard them.
 
As for the sound with my Duetto.  It is musical, fast, coherent, dynamic and plenty loud, even with my 8 watts.  The 300b imaging and 'holographics' translate beautifully.  Soundstage is  wide and proportional.
 
Listening off center (out of the "sweet spot") is very rewarding, like sitting off center at a performance.  The woofers are dead quiet with everything running and I believe Paul added some extra AC filtering to accomplish this. 
 
With the Ronin's I run a Mac Powerbook into a Wavelength Cosecant DAC w/ volume control into the Duetto.  Not much gain here.
 
Getting the bottom end integrated did take some work but this has been well worth the effort.  That is, of course, what one gets when asking for flexibility.  Paul's initial settings were adequate to get familiar with the Ronin's sound.  When I was ready to get more out of the system and everything had a chance to settle I took measurements using test tones and a radio Shack SPL meter, and then gestated the setting for the woofers trusting my ears and the information Paul had provided.  The result was a significant improvement for my tastes and in my house.  In other words success.  I'll be refining this again in the near future with more scientific methods but still I trust my ears.
 
End result is that I'm very pleased.  What do I have to compare them to or other components to use with them:
 
Speakers:  Ronin 'A', Hyperion 938, and Zu Definitions (Note:  Lowther-based Alerions also added to the mix since May)
Amps:  Wavelength Duetto, Red Wine Signature 30, First Watt F3, and Pass X-150 (Note: Transcendent SE-OTL built and added to the mix since May)
Pre-Amp:  N.E.W. P3 with NOS tubes (telefunken and mullards)
Source:  Mac, Wavelength Cosecant DAC w / volume, Nixon USBTD, and Wadia 6.
 
For what it is worth:  I'd been using the Definitions for the last month in my main system and dropped back in the Ronins about a week ago.  With the Ronin's, in my house, what I gained was a more realistic sound stage, improved dynamics with percussion, and greater clarity in the bass.  This is no small feat.  To my ears the Ronins really are that good.
 
As I've explained to Paul, I need to sell some stuff off but I'll be keeping the Ronins.

PaulHilgeman

Re: Ronin 'A' Followup
« Reply #1 on: 2 Jan 2008, 04:59 pm »
Wow,

Thanks for the update!

I PROMISE I will get those bamboo bases out to you soon!!!!

Have a great day and happy new year.

-Paul