New Model ... Muse

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Daedalus Audio

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New Model ... Muse
« on: 21 Mar 2014, 03:46 am »
I have been playing with the Pan design and just finished a custom pair for my favorite guitar luthier. This pair is about 6" taller than the Pan. Well guess what it works! Sounds very balanced and full.
 I am now working on a new model, called the Muse v.2, this is the same baffle arraignment and crossover as the Pan but in a cabinet the same height and volume as the Athena (38.5" tall). Basically a floor stand version of the Pan. It will have the point source type imaging of the Pan, be very suitable for near wall placement and small as well as large rooms and have the same bass definition and extension of the Athena.

The base price will be $7750 and for a limited time the introductory price will be $6450

We will be able to also offer an Athena crossover in this, I'm hoping we can do that for about $2200, but the standard crossover is no slouch, I am loving this new pair!

I will get pictures up in a few weeks, and we will be showing this in our second/smaller room at Capitol Audio fest.

I am pretty excited about this one!

Daedalus Audio

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #1 on: 20 Jun 2014, 05:05 am »
Finally have these up and running and they far exceed my expectations!!! This is one great speaker!




shahed

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #2 on: 21 Jun 2014, 04:37 am »
Beautiful speaker Lou! Their spec is very similar to Athena. And with Athena's crossover, the price is also similar. How'd you compare/contrast Muse with Athena's crossover against Athena v2?

Daedalus Audio

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #3 on: 21 Jun 2014, 03:32 pm »
The Muse have the Pan crossover, the AthenaV.2 crossover design is different, and much more expensive.

The Muse is a bit warmer and can function very near the walls (side and front) with excellent imaging, while the Athena V.2 benefits from a bit more space and has exceptional clarity and resolution.

btw, the Muse and Pan are not listed as V.2 because they are new models but they have most of the V.2 improvements.

FFzz

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #4 on: 2 Jul 2014, 02:37 pm »
Is there a place I can go for an audition? I am in great DC area (Potomac area in Maryland, zip 20854).

Thanks

Daedalus Audio

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #5 on: 2 Jul 2014, 03:12 pm »
Is there a place I can go for an audition? I am in great DC area (Potomac area in Maryland, zip 20854).

Thanks
you are in luck! we will be at the Capitol Audio Fest at the end of the month.  We have two rooms, the smaller will have the Muse and the Modwright KWI200 integrated amp. The large room will have the Ulysses V.2 with all the top line Modwright gear, WyWires cables in both rooms.

thanks,
lou

etcarroll

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #6 on: 27 Jul 2014, 12:34 am »
Heard the Muse at CAF today and was favorably impressed, found them more 'involving' than the Ulysses V. 2 in the big room, granted there was an issue with the Ulysses setup in the morning when I heard them, which was corrected later in the day.

And Scott, I told you not to let me touch things.

Gene

dB Cooper

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #7 on: 27 Jul 2014, 02:15 am »
I finally heard the big room setup late in the day today (Saturday) and continue to prefer the Muse in its room. My ears just seem to favor simpler configurations.

Wig

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #8 on: 27 Jul 2014, 03:17 am »
I finally heard the big room setup late in the day today (Saturday) and continue to prefer the Muse in its room. My ears just seem to favor simpler configurations.

Would the difference in sound be related to less drivers and better or less parts in the crossovers?

Thanks,
Wig

Austin08

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #9 on: 27 Jul 2014, 03:51 am »
I was in both room today (Sat) and have a mixed feeling.

 In smaller room, the Muse cover the room quite well. Even though the bass was nice and solid but sometime I felt the bass was a bit floating and unnatural (only reference to its bigger brother). But overall, I felt everything were going together very well in that room.

In the bigger room, I love the midrange especially vocal. It is so freaky real. The bass was tigher and so on... But somehow, the sound did not wrapped me yet. I felt the emptiness. Could it be room relate or too big? I don't really know but I felt the smaller room was more intimate and easier to live with.

dB Cooper

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #10 on: 27 Jul 2014, 06:59 am »
Would the difference in sound be related to less drivers and better or less parts in the crossovers?

Thanks,
Wig
Hard to say, but it seems my mind is more easily "convinced" by a simpler driver arrangement. Almost all of the speakers that have "grabbed" me at recent Audiofests have been two way systems (notable exceptions being Daedalus and Salk). Odyssey, Audio Note, "The Clue", Joseph and more. The gentleman from Audio Note UK (don't remember his name; sorry) had a good way of putting it when I shared that thought with him:"The more complex the driver arrangement, the harder it is to create the illusion that the sound is coming from a single, unified source." Less is more?

I may also be more sensitive than I used to be to crossover artifacts on account of the proportion of my listening time that is via headphones which, with the exception of certain IEMs, are almost all full range single way systems. I have heard speaker engineers say that getting the crossover right is the hardest part of a design. This leads some to single driver systems, but all I have heard have had problems I can't live with- colorations and problems with dynamic range chief among them.

vinyl_lady

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #11 on: 27 Jul 2014, 01:30 pm »
I spent some time in both rooms yesterday. It was my first time hearing the Muse and I really liked them. They are front ported which Scott explained allows for easy placement in the room. With the exception of Daft Punk :shake: which drove me from the room, it was easy to get involved in the music with these speakers. They carry the Daedalus trademarks of tonal accuracy and great dynamics. I think they would sound great in about any room set up.

We listened to some vinyl in the big room yesterday afternoon and it was killer sound. Dan has really hit it out of the park with his new phono stage. While we were listening, Mark (dodgealum) and I thought the seating was too far from the speakers so we moved our chairs about 4 feet closer and settled on about 3 feet closer. The overall sound improved along with a greater feeling of involvement with the music, leading me to believe that the large 'L" shaped room with lots of corners due to support pillars along the walls was difficult from a sound standpoint. Lou agreed with us and said the sound in room had changed since Friday. I think the shape of the room with it being open to the right at the listening positions had more to do with comments that the Ulysses v.2 were less engaging or involving than the Muse. I have heard the Ulysses (both the original and v.2) many times in many different settings, mostly at RMAF in relatively square or rectangle rooms, and they are very engaging speakers with pinpoint imaging, outstanding dynamics and a deep and wide soundstage.

Laura

jtwrace

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #12 on: 27 Jul 2014, 01:36 pm »
Dan has really hit it out of the park with his new phono stage.
You buying one? 

vinyl_lady

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #13 on: 27 Jul 2014, 01:41 pm »

jtwrace

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #14 on: 27 Jul 2014, 01:42 pm »

audiogoober

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #15 on: 27 Jul 2014, 03:02 pm »
While we were listening, Mark (dodgealum) and I thought the seating was too far from the speakers so we moved our chairs about 4 feet closer and settled on about 3 feet closer. The overall sound improved along with a greater feeling of involvement with the music, leading me to believe that the large 'L" shaped room with lots of corners due to support pillars along the walls was difficult from a sound standpoint. Lou agreed with us and said the sound in room had changed since Friday. I think the shape of the room with it being open to the right at the listening positions had more to do with comments that the Ulysses v.2 were less engaging or involving than the Muse. I have heard the Ulysses (both the original and v.2) many times in many different settings, mostly at RMAF in relatively square or rectangle rooms, and they are very engaging speakers with pinpoint imaging, outstanding dynamics and a deep and wide soundstage.

Laura

As a Ulysses .V2 owner I totally agree with the comments Laura made about this model. Listening/seating position is critical with the U's as well as speaker placement & room acoustics. Taking the time needed to dial them in is well worth it. Once you're in the sweet spot it's very hard to stop listening!




Scottdazzle

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #16 on: 29 Jul 2014, 02:41 am »
I spent some time in both rooms yesterday. It was my first time hearing the Muse and I really liked them. They are front ported which Scott explained allows for easy placement in the room. With the exception of Daft Punk :shake: which drove me from the room, it was easy to get involved in the music with these speakers. They carry the Daedalus trademarks of tonal accuracy and great dynamics. I think they would sound great in about any room set up.

We listened to some vinyl in the big room yesterday afternoon and it was killer sound. Dan has really hit it out of the park with his new phono stage. While we were listening, Mark (dodgealum) and I thought the seating was too far from the speakers so we moved our chairs about 4 feet closer and settled on about 3 feet closer. The overall sound improved along with a greater feeling of involvement with the music, leading me to believe that the large 'L" shaped room with lots of corners due to support pillars along the walls was difficult from a sound standpoint. Lou agreed with us and said the sound in room had changed since Friday. I think the shape of the room with it being open to the right at the listening positions had more to do with comments that the Ulysses v.2 were less engaging or involving than the Muse. I have heard the Ulysses (both the original and v.2) many times in many different settings, mostly at RMAF in relatively square or rectangle rooms, and they are very engaging speakers with pinpoint imaging, outstanding dynamics and a deep and wide soundstage.

Laura

Laura,

It was so nice to see you and a bunch of AC members at CAF.  I had a great time showing off the Muse speakers to you all.  I had to laugh about the Daft Punk situation.  I like to let visitors in the room select the music they want to hear. A really young man (early 20's I'd guess) wanted to hear Daft Punk when there were about 9 people in the room. Within 2 minutes the room was almost empty.  Kind of like playing Tom Waits at a cocktail party!  Anyway, I'm trying to encourage young people to get excited about audio and sometimes that means playing music that doesn't necessarily appeal to old farts like me!  :lol:

When I got a short break courtesy of Mat Weisfeld, I heard Led Zep and Red Hot Chili Peppers had the room rocking with vinyl.

Scott

dodgealum

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Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #17 on: 29 Jul 2014, 02:57 am »
Scott:

It was great to see meet you Saturday--you did a great job showing the Muse. I have to say I was really moved by this speaker--it does all the things Daedalus is known for and the result was magical. When you played Massey Hall I really was blown away by the naturalness of the sound and the way Neil appeared right in the listening room. For those looking for a speaker that has all the Daedalus trademarks--tonal correctness, dynamics, revealing without being fatiguing, etc. but have a smaller room or one that presents a difficult set up the Muse should be at the top of your shortlist. What a gem! I hope the rest of the show was as busy for you as Saturday and sorry again for sending people packing with Blood on the Tracks--I would have never guessed that one would have been such a buzz kill! It's not like I asked to hear Daft Punk--whatever that is…..

And Lou--great to finally meet you in person. You are even better "live"!!!! I'll let you know how the trim rings work out on my DA-1.1s.

Scottdazzle

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #18 on: 29 Jul 2014, 03:06 am »
Scott:

It was great to see meet you Saturday--you did a great job showing the Muse. I have to say I was really moved by this speaker--it does all the things Daedalus is known for and the result was magical. When you played Massey Hall I really was blown away by the naturalness of the sound and the way Neil appeared right in the listening room. For those looking for a speaker that has all the Daedalus trademarks--tonal correctness, dynamics, revealing without being fatiguing, etc. but have a smaller room or one that presents a difficult set up the Muse should be at the top of your shortlist. What a gem! I hope the rest of the show was as busy for you as Saturday and sorry again for sending people packing with Blood on the Tracks--I would have never guessed that one would have been such a buzz kill! It's not like I asked to hear Daft Punk--whatever that is…..

And Lou--great to finally meet you in person. You are even better "live"!!!! I'll let you know how the trim rings work out on my DA-1.1s.

It was great to meet you too! Don't worry about the reception Blood on the Tracks got. It could have been that people were just ready to go to the next room.  To my surprise, the most requested music of the weekend was the 1958 vintage Miles Davis Kind of Blue! Fortunately, that record sounded alive and vibrant on the ModWright, Daedalus, WyWires, VPI system (shameless commerce - guilty as charged  :icon_lol:).


dB Cooper

Re: New Model ... Muse
« Reply #19 on: 29 Jul 2014, 12:18 pm »
I think the shape of the room with it being open to the right at the listening positions had more to do with comments that the Ulysses v.2 were less engaging or involving than the Muse.

Laura

That may be a contributing factor, but in my case, I seem to be liking complex driver arrangements less and less as time goes on, and simply find my ear more easily "fooled" by the simple Muse driver layout than by the WMTTMW" arrangement used on the big speaker. As the gentleman from AudioNote said to me last year, "The more drivers, the harder to fool the ear into thinking it is hearing a coherent single sound source". I think this was a bigger factor for me. It wasn't that the big system sounded "bad", it's just that I was much less able to "suspend disbelief" and put out of my mind the fact that I was listening to recorded sound, whereas the Muse drew me in very quickly.
« Last Edit: 29 Jul 2014, 10:15 pm by dB Cooper »