Continuums 2.5 Review

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PeteG

Continuums 2.5 Review
« on: 12 Nov 2005, 01:45 am »
Well I finally got a little time on my Continuums 2.5, the last tweeter and xover upgrade was at the time of RMAF (1st of Oct) and it was well worth the wait.

 I’ll start with how well they were packed, I received 4 good size boxes that
had very thick styrofoam that hugged the speakers snug in position and Bob also lines the cardboard box with 1/8” hardboard for even more protection.

 The setup was pretty straight forward and took about 45 min, on the 2.5 you have
to connect the top and bottom cabinets and lock them down. You also receive a nice
three ring binder “User’s Guide Manual “ with a Frequency/Phase readout of you’re
speakers.

 The fit & finish is of high quality, the front baffle is like a black mirror, what is so cool is looking down in to the waveguide throat and seeing your image all the way down, it seems to be made of glass. The beautiful veneering finish is topnotch too, the cabinet’s was book-matched with each other,  top to bottom. I got plan”O” oak, but to me it look’s
gorgeous.  Bob’s wood/veneer craftsman knows what he is doing.

 Before I start going on and on about the great sound, there’s one thing I heard from
the beginning, that is how ruthlessly revealing they are, the resolution and
transparency are so good, I hear nothing but my gear, this can be a double edge
sword if the system isn’t up to par or the equipment don’t have synergy together,
you will hear it, and one could easily blame the speakers for the ill sound they are hearing.

 Now for the sound, there are a few (very few) speakers out in the world that have
no dynamic compression or congestion with a dynamic reserve that is endless
and this gives you a very real/live sound, and the Continuums reminds me of this sound,
and I enjoy this immensely.
 
 The tweeters range from 600Hz-20KHz is wonderfully smooth, clean, open and uncolored, very seamless. The harmonic balance and image separation in this range is about as good as any I’ve heard, good texture on the notes with great micro/macro dynamics makes for a very realism listening experience.

 The bass from the Continuums is amazing, from a soft note on Yo-Yo Ma’s cello
to being hit with a sledgehammer from Peter Gabriel, depending on the recording
you can very easy shake the room with no hint of compression or limits.
   Bass drums simply appear, and just as you get ready for at least a little boomyness
or overhang, they disappear with realistic speed.

 Imaging and soundstage is personally one of the important characteristics of a speaker
to me, voice imaging from the Continuums is spot on with good height and sits back just behind the speakers, with realistic and emotional impact without any edginess.
Soundstage is good and deep, but my room is a little too narrow which restricts the width
of the soundstage some, even though the music still goes outside the speakers.
 I have life-size images that are clear, open and spacius with good separation of instruments. One of my favorite recordings is a live jazz piece (I have several) with the lights either very low or off, you are drawn in to the event and this has a amazine 3D effect and to me very relaxing.

 Click here to see my system, at the moment I’m playing with a SqueezeBox2 that I like a lot, and will get it modded soon. I’m also interested in room correction for the Continuums, I think it will do wonders for my med/small room.

 As you can tell by now, I’m very happy with my Continuums 2.5. I don’t write a lot
of reviews, I believe gear and speakers (also cars and other things) are very personal to ones ears, but I also believe many
folks will feel the same way I do about SP Tech’s new speakers.

BRAVO, Bob you did a great job!

-Pete

zybar

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Continuums 2.5 Review
« Reply #1 on: 12 Nov 2005, 02:18 am »
Great to hear that the upgrade was worth it.

Maybe on my next trip out there I can come over and hear the setup?

George

PeteG

Continuums 2.5 Review
« Reply #2 on: 12 Nov 2005, 02:50 am »
Quote from: zybar
Great to hear that the upgrade was worth it.

Maybe on my next trip out there I can come over and hear the setup?

George


George, That would be great, maybe by than I'll have some kind of digital room correction.
Hell, might even be a Tact.

Pete