Monitor style speaker recommendations for IDA8

sbrtoy · « **Reply #20 on:** 18 Sep 2016, 03:30 am »

Many of the new inexpensive commercial designs are very good unlike in years past, only heard the new ELAC speakers very briefly but was impressed at what they did.

That said you can also find some superb kits for around $300 in parts if you are willing to build your own cabs or get some fabricated and do the solder yourself. I am a huge fan of Jeff Bagby's designs, will probably build a set of Continuums this fall which are really highly regarded for vocal reproduction.

I have built many TABAQ's (funky one below) which can have a beguiling ease and do have impressive bass. That said you make the tradeoff in driver selection of airy highs or deep lows, no one driver is a magic bullet here and they run out of steam quick as you push up SPLs.

My reference speakers are very revealing and the IDA-16 paired well in a brief introduction with them, I'd guess with people saying the IDA-8 tends towards more warmth you wouldn't want anything on the forgiving side as mentioned if you want detail to come through.

rustydoglim · « **Reply #21 on:** 18 Sep 2016, 09:10 pm »

Quote from: Armaegis on 8 Sep 2016, 06:53 am

I'm guessing maybe it's a passive version of the SP One?... http://www.celsus-sound.com/index.php/products/speakers/active-speakers/sp-one

The URL is here: http://www.celsus-sound.com/index.php/products/speakers/sp-one

We didn't release it after the initial trial run production for crowdfunding. Spent more time to improve it.
Celsus team has been busy shipping the production version this week.
Take a look at the combined FR plot (tweeter, woofer, pot). I have to check with the engineer again when I first saw it.
At $499 / pair, it is really good. Keep in mind that this is a very small speaker.

mresseguie · « **Reply #22 on:** 18 Sep 2016, 09:26 pm »

Jason,

Do you know if any of your Taiwan dealers have this speaker on display, or available for auditioning? I will be back in Taoyuan by mid-October and stay until March 2017.

Michael

rustydoglim · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Sep 2016, 04:35 am »

The Celsus Sound speaker is very new so it will not be available in Taiwan until much later.

Armaegis · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Sep 2016, 05:04 am »

I'd be curious to hear that too. I'd like to compare against my current desktop speaker which is the Johnblue JB3, which has very similar physical dimensions.

kazsud · « **Reply #25 on:** 30 Sep 2016, 04:42 pm »

Amphion are known to sound great w/ Nuforce/Nuprime.

I plan to upgrade my emo stealth 8s to amphions and a nuphime amp.

zoom25 · « **Reply #26 on:** 30 Sep 2016, 05:16 pm »

Quote from: kazsud on 30 Sep 2016, 04:42 pm

Amphion are known to sound great w/ Nuforce/Nuprime.

I plan to upgrade my emo stealth 8s to amphions and a nuphime amp.

Which Amphion in particular?

seikosha · « **Reply #27 on:** 30 Sep 2016, 06:32 pm »

The sp one website says the speaker has a single capacitor replacing a complex crossover, but on the same page, they picture the crossover components which clearly are more than a single capacitor. What's the story? At what frequency does the crossover occur?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #28 on:** 1 Oct 2016, 02:39 am »

Thanks for pointing it out, the crossover network has been completely redesigned.

seikosha · « **Reply #29 on:** 1 Oct 2016, 09:51 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 1 Oct 2016, 02:39 am

Thanks for pointing it out, the crossover network has been completely redesigned.

So is it a single cap or a more complex type?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #30 on:** 2 Oct 2016, 05:20 pm »

A complex crossover board as shown. The FR is very impressive, especially the low freq from such a small speaker.

Doublej · « **Reply #31 on:** 2 Oct 2016, 05:32 pm »

Can you explain the sensitivity number? The webpage says 88dB but the graph posted here looks more like 83dB. What am I missing?

seikosha · « **Reply #32 on:** 2 Oct 2016, 05:33 pm »

Thanks rustydoglim. I agree with you on that graph. Is the graph identical for both the active and passive speaker versions?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #33 on:** 10 Oct 2016, 08:32 pm »

Yes. A good amp should not affect the FR.
But obviously IDA-8 or STA-9 with the Celsus SP-One is noticeably better than the active SP-One.

Sandals123 · « **Reply #34 on:** 10 Oct 2016, 09:26 pm »

I have never heard about the Celus SP-one before. Dies anyone have personal experience with these speakers? How do they sound with the STA 9 and DAC?

Armaegis · « **Reply #35 on:** 11 Oct 2016, 12:38 am »

Quote from: rustydoglim on 10 Oct 2016, 08:32 pm

Yes. A good amp should not affect the FR.
But obviously IDA-8 or STA-9 with the Celsus SP-One is noticeably better than the active SP-One.

Is that simply because the amp in the active SP-One is built to a certain budget point?

rustydoglim · « **Reply #36 on:** 11 Oct 2016, 04:36 am »

Celsus SP One is very new, just being shipped to USA and some distributor this week. www.celsus-sound.com
Furthermore, the active SP One cost $649 per pair versus the passive $499. Celsus's amp is not designed by NuPrime and certainly not in the same league as the NuPrime amp.
This is a NuPrime forum so I try not to hijack it, and only mention it within the context of this topic. I also have to stay neutral with respect to other speaker brands.

Armaegis · « **Reply #37 on:** 11 Oct 2016, 05:00 am »

Ok, well as an outside observer the pricing certainly does bring it into context. $150 for two amp channels, power supply and bluetooth support is... well, it's certainly not going to compete vs the IDA-8. On the other hand, that's also very cheap and very convenient to turn speakers until a standalone unit.

I.Greyhound Fan · « **Reply #38 on:** 11 Oct 2016, 04:37 pm »

Give a look at a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 2. I own a pair of older S1's and they are neutral sounding, clear, articulate and detailed with good bass and smooth treble. The Silver 2 is a new version of the S2's and RX 2's. It uses an 8" woofer but the speaker has a small footprint. And they come in a real wood veneer. Saturday Audio has them on sale.

http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/products/silver/silver-2

Here is a brief review-

http://www.hifi-review.net/238-monitor-audio-silver-2.html

If you don't mind used, there is a pair of Monitor Audio Gold GX-50's for sale on the AC forum at a great price.

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=145841.0

Another outstanding performer for the price is the B&W 685's. I think that they would be a good match for the warmer sounding Nuprime grear.

snoocher · « **Reply #39 on:** 15 Oct 2016, 04:11 pm »

I have the first version of the B+W CM1s with my IDA-8. I think they're a fantastic match.