Hi all. A big thanks to Mike for getting speakers out for us all to listen to. There is nothing like auditioning in your own home. No matter what anyone writes about any product try to listen to it in your own home. If your looking for speakers of this type, get on the list and check them out.
Mike made a shipping carton out of plywood and packed the speakers inside styro-board stuff. Then glued and screwed it all up.....very sturdy.
After I unpacked the speakers I had a good look at Mikes work. The wood grain on the veneer job was great it lined up very well all around the speaker save the bottom. Knuckle test was solid and fit and finish was great. I set them up on my custom made speaker stands and found they were at perfect height. The tweeter was 33" from the floor the same as my ear when seated with a slight kick back. I think I would prefer a rounded baffle.
The system for this demo consisted of either an Adcom changer into a Snixon TubeDac or the Pioneer 563 universal player for SACD/DVD-A. A 4play tube preamp and a Stratos amp added the gain to the Keelins.
I started out listening to Boulder Cable's demo disc. Wayne came up with a nice group of songs that I listen to on a regular basis, thanks Wayne. I immediately noticed a difference in the high-to-mid area compared to my norh SM6.9’s. I started with the speakers pointed just behind my head. Throughout my demo I tried different positions but kept going back to just behind the head. The speakers pretty much do where they are pointed. Straight ahead = wider stage less focused imaging/diffused center, at you = lesser stage and image but mids speaking right to you. The best position for me was slightly behind my head. The sweet spot was very wide as I could sit on the couch in font of the left speaker and still feel very much involved with the music. Nothing beats the center so back I went.
What I like about these speakers so much is the lower treble and the upper midrange. Right in the xo region. “Walking my Baby Back Home” on one of the MapleShades CD’s sounded fantastic. Rich, warm vocals and sax that sounded even more real than I was accustomed to. Piano and acoustic guitar also excelled on these speakers. The tweeter is sweet, never sour and clear, never ssssssibilant.
As my demo neared the end I delayed it a day cause I didn’t want to put them back in the box, but I must pass them on the next for the next demo.
Thanks Mike and Shamrock Audio for the demo.