My Orpheus Speakers

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic. Read 14708 times.

advanced101

My Orpheus Speakers
« on: 11 Apr 2017, 12:34 am »
I told Lou I would post my thoughts after the speakers settled in.  My speakers are the Orpheus with the Duelund/ Mundorf Upgrade in the highly figured walnut.  My previous speakers were the B&W 800D2.

Associated equipment: Koetsu Blue Lace- Ikeda 407- VPI Avenger- Hashimoto HM7 SUT- ANK L3 Phono (Waiting for an L5)- Line Magnetic 219ia.  Fully treated dedicated GIK room.

I was looking to move on from my 800D2s after a couple years of ownership.  In short they were very detailed and thunderous speakers but a bit fatiguing.  I tried a few different front ends but listener fatigue always crept in after an hour.

The Orpheus are fantastic.  Detailed and natural, almost sweet and work great with my SET amp.  They equal or better the B&Ws in everything but bass.  The 800s do have two 10" drivers, so this is to be expected.  The bass is still musical and plentiful for music but lack pure thunder.  No big deal, I could see a pair of BOWs someday.

The finish is obviously top notch.  They are an heirloom piece.  The figuring of the walnut is majestic.

Although they are efficient they can push my LM to 50W during peaks, which was interesting.  I can see how some people use these speakers and say they have better dynamics with a solid state amp compared to a SET.  Luckily, my LM219 puts out well over the 24 wpc spec. 

I always say that the true test of a speaker is one that makes you want to continue listening and come back time after time.  My Daedalus gives me that.

Lou is a nice guy.  I am always nervous wiring such a large amount of money to someone I never met but he seemed to have a great reputation.

Criticisms: Nothing is perfect and I do have two small criticisms.  One was the packaging.  I wish they would have shipped in crates.  The speakers arrived unharmed, but the boxes had a few holes in them.  I had to tear them open before accepting from Fedex.  The second, I would wish for more robust feet.  My room leans to one side by about 1/3".  That means I have to raise one speaker 0.25", plus level the speaker.  I am maxed out on the adjustment of one speaker.

I will probably think of a few more things and edit this post a couple times.






« Last Edit: 11 Apr 2017, 04:18 pm by advanced101 »

ArthurDent

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 15326
  • Don't Panic / Mostly Harmless
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #1 on: 11 Apr 2017, 02:23 am »
Beautiful looking, to go with what I'm sure is stunning sound. Nice room with stellar system. Couldn't be more pleased with my 'little' Muses and my modest system. I'm sure you'll enjoy for a long time to come.  :thumb:  Lou is a good man to work with.   8)

FullRangeMan

  • Volunteer
  • Posts: 19849
  • To whom more was given more will be required.
    • Never go to a psychiatrist, adopt a straycat or dog. On the street they live only two years average.
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #2 on: 11 Apr 2017, 02:29 am »
Nice LM amp, that shining real wood is great :thumb:

Daedalus Audio

  • Facilitator
  • Posts: 974
    • http://www.daedalusaudio.com
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #3 on: 11 Apr 2017, 03:12 am »
I hated to see that pair go but they clearly have a good home :thumb:

The reason I don't use crates is that would push the weight over what can be delivered except by freight, which is expensive and a major hassle. Once in a while the outer box gets nailed but since we have refined the packaging to what it is now we have not had one damage claim! And that has been about 7 or 8 years!

Give me a call and I can get you a longer stud for some of the spikes/knobs, that will give you more adjustment.

Oh and the new caps and resistors will take about 300 hours to break in, I also don't think the new woofers in there are broken in so in a month or so it should sound much more betta :wink:

thanks,
lou

advanced101

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #4 on: 13 Aug 2017, 09:29 pm »
This forum is waay too quiet, thought I would give an update.

I have a few hundred hours on them. Well broken in, and the bass has filled out. I also moved them to the 4 Ohm tap on my 219. This resulted in a fuller presentation with more weight and texture.

Next up is decoupling the speakers from my floor. The DIDs would be a good choice but I do not want to add height to the speaker so I will likely get an Isoacoustics Model 2 device. I will eventually try the DIDs under a few components, they seem like a good value.

Speaker cable wise, call me crazy but out of a few cables and thousands of dollars I prefer the cheap 10 gauge from BJC. But, Ill likely compare them against the Auditorium 23 cable next.

Overall, these are dream speakers. I move through a lot of equipment, out of curiousity. But, these speakers aren't going anywhere for a long time.

If you are looking at Daedalus, just buy them...  They are sweet and right at the same time. But beware that you will have to get furniture as beautiful or else they will look out of place :)

« Last Edit: 13 Aug 2017, 10:48 pm by advanced101 »

rbbert

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #5 on: 13 Aug 2017, 10:20 pm »
I don't think Lou is making them anymore; you got the last pair!

Wig

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #6 on: 14 Aug 2017, 12:00 am »
Very nice indeed! I'd recommend you try Deulund DCA16 speaker wire bare with no connectors on your Daedalus, you will be amazed at the performance and very cheap as well.

Wig

advanced101

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #7 on: 14 Aug 2017, 12:16 am »
Very nice indeed! I'd recommend you try Deulund DCA16 speaker wire bare with no connectors on your Daedalus, you will be amazed at the performance and very cheap as well.

Wig

Will do!

LesterSleepsIn

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 1361
  • Occasionally consternated
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #8 on: 14 Aug 2017, 12:21 am »
Wow, truly beautiful speakers. Congrats and enjoy!
Lester

mresseguie

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 4697
  • SW1X DAC+ D Sachs 300b + Daedalus Apollos = Heaven
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #9 on: 14 Aug 2017, 12:47 am »
Hi, 101.

Those are fantastic speakers you've got. :thumb:

As for the quiet...I think it's a reflection of how it takes folks a while to realize just how good Lou's speakers are. It took me 3 years to come round to deciding to buy a pair (Apollos), but I'm delighted that I did. I can't wait till they're in my house hooked up to my gear.

Enjoy!

Michael

rbbert

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #10 on: 14 Aug 2017, 01:03 pm »
Hi, 101.

Those are fantastic speakers you've got. :thumb:

As for the quiet...I think it's a reflection of how it takes folks a while to realize just how good Lou's speakers are. It took me 3 years to come round to deciding to buy a pair (Apollos), but I'm delighted that I did. I can't wait till they're in my house hooked up to my gear.

Enjoy!

Michael

I know what you mean; I have a new pair of Ulysses (latest Xover upgrade) waiting to ship to me soon!

rbbert

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #11 on: 14 Aug 2017, 01:04 pm »
Very nice indeed! I'd recommend you try Deulund DCA16 speaker wire bare with no connectors on your Daedalus, you will be amazed at the performance and very cheap as well.

Wig

Have you tried the Daedalus/Wywires cables?

shahed

  • Full Member
  • Posts: 307
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #12 on: 14 Aug 2017, 03:45 pm »
I use western electric 10ga wire as my speaker cable with my Daedalus Athena V.2. This has been one of those educating experience in my audio journey that less money can bring you better sound quality sometimes.

david12

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #13 on: 14 Aug 2017, 03:52 pm »
"Very nice indeed! I'd recommend you try Deulund DCA16 speaker wire bare with no connectors on your Daedalus, you will be amazed at the performance and very cheap as well.

  Wig"

 I'm sure the Duelend wire is great, but the Daedalus speaker, put together by Wywires is truly excellent and still matches the internal wiring, I believe.

 That certainly is a beautiful pair of speakers, you almost wouldn't care what they sounded like, almost.

easystreet

  • Jr. Member
  • Posts: 24
Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #14 on: 15 Aug 2017, 04:12 pm »
Here's another vote for the Daedalus/Wywires speaker cable. These are designed by Lou and the wire is basically the same wire he uses in his speakers. In my system, they handily beat worthy contenders including Auditorium 23, Audience, and High Fidelity Cables. Plus, they are a relative bargain.

Wig

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #15 on: 15 Aug 2017, 11:57 pm »
I can tell you from experience and owning $2k+ interconnects and speaker cables that this Deulund DCA16 speaker cable at $120 a pair or Deulund DCA20 interconnects DIY $80 will give those mega dollar cables a run for their money and you may even prefer the Deulund. Lots of talk about these cables and what they are sayings are spot-on.

Wig

rbbert

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #16 on: 16 Aug 2017, 01:27 pm »
I can tell you from experience and owning $2k+ interconnects and speaker cables that this Deulund DCA16 speaker cable at $120 a pair or Deulund DCA20 interconnects DIY $80 will give those mega dollar cables a run for their money and you may even prefer the Deulund. Lots of talk about these cables and what they are sayings are spot-on.

Wig

Can you link any comments or reviews that actually talk about these cables as something other than "vintage sound" or as an update on older Western Electric cables?  Because I personally don't think of Daedalus speakers as being in the "vintage" category...

Wig

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #17 on: 16 Aug 2017, 11:31 pm »
Can you link any comments or reviews that actually talk about these cables as something other than "vintage sound" or as an update on older Western Electric cables?  Because I personally don't think of Daedalus speakers as being in the "vintage" category...

http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/?cat=31

http://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/duelund-coherent-audio-dca16ga-premium-tinned-copper-vintage-tone-cable/

http://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/duelund-coherent-audio-dca-series-cables-part-1/

http://thenewold.co/duelund-coherent-audio-dca-16ga-wire/

Not saying that they will be better but you will be pleasantly surprised especially if your current cable is not substantially better than $120 Deulunds...

https://theaudiobeatnik.com/index.php/2017/04/12/duelund-dca16ga-part-iii/

Wig

rbbert

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #18 on: 17 Aug 2017, 12:23 am »
Well, unless you read differently than I do, those postings are comparing Duelund to vintage WE cables, and describe a vintage sound.  Nothing wrong with that,  but I don't think that fits with the design goals and sound of Daedalus speakers.  YMMV.

Wig

Re: My Orpheus Speakers
« Reply #19 on: 17 Aug 2017, 03:29 am »
The cable design is vintage but not the sound quality, Deulunds has even been compared to $14K High Fidelity Cables. Try a pair and if you don't like it there's a nice following on Audiogon and someone will snatch them up; rarely see them for sale on the used market.

Wig