Hi Marius
Those are the Model T's not the Middles.
Anxious to hear what you have to say. How large is your room?
james
HI James,
Auditioning the Model T's has ended. Returned them to Mafico who i thank for having them over at my place.
There were 2 major ups and 2 downs for me. Beginning with the ups:
- Placement is as easy as connecting the cables and turning on the amps. Never realized how easy it can and should be to have a big soundscape, and have the speakers disappear sonically. We really couldn't point out the speakers, just one big powerful image. Comparing that to my ESL's (which are supposed to be easy on that), Model T wins hands down.
- No matter what i played, the tweeters never dominated, nor fatigued the ears. T's were the first I auditioned to succeed in that regard. And i listened to the old tweeters, the newer ones are even better?
Now, i noticed some downs too, unfortunately:
- the Basses are way too dominant, and not very well defined for that matter, sometimes plain muddy. I've done some heavy stuffing at the back ports, even closed them completely. I was surprised the basses were so prominent, in a rather unnatural way. I missed the option of the 10bsub here. Would have thought a full range speaker like the Model T's didn't need extra care in balancing. For me, they really do. Here, my Rel sub/10bsub wins quite easily, no matter the musical style. Blend in perfectly. I now am looking for a second model REL B1 Britannia Cherry to have them in stereo. (that is one thing i learned auditioning the T's: do have your subs in stereo. )
- The Model T's provide a amazing sound, apparently without any limits in power, and as such they build a colossal experience. Wow. I must admit i never heard anything like it.
Still, and thats why i list this under the downs, the sound image was not very transparent. I've thought of ways to describe the way i experienced it, and think it is worded best by Wall of Sound, rather than Hall of Sound. Massive rather than transparent.
Of course I've lived with ESL's for the better part of my professional life in music, and have trained ears, focussed and depending on the directional musical lines and their origin/positions. ESL's excel at that, transparency being their first, middle and last name. I feel the T's do an amazing job for all music, created in the studio, on the mixing board, and not directly in the hall used for the recording. Albeit with a too bass heavy sound, un-crossovered.
Listening to Classical music, which relies on being able to listen through the music to find all instruments, and perhaps more importantly hear the silence and acoustic of the hall being played, was just something i felt the T's don't excel in.
All in all, i find the T's to be exceptional speakers, they're just not made for my ears and needs, which i really regret... Would have really liked an all Bryston line-up.
If i might add a final word on the design: James you often talk about designers and architects to not think enough about the needs of the audiophile in matters of acoustics and space. I think we all agree on this forum. Maybe Bryston could in turn think a bit more about the eye-candy aspect of the speaker range. Ive had several people over to help me listen, and they all started talking about the speakers before i had played one track ;-( They disappear sonically, but are real eye catchers.
You must be able to design the speakers in less barebones, more elegant way. They might get a bit pricier doing so, but when one spends about 10-12 K for the main room, the aesthetics are important too.Hope im still allowed on AC after this...Still, Cheers!Marius