[mynameisplayer]

Well I was quite happy with my KEF reference 4's untill I went to Adelaide and auditioned a pair of VAF I-93's.  Although the KEF's can produce more "grunt" I walked away impressed with the imaging and overall balance of these things.  Imediately I start moving the KEF's around the room looking for the image.....So I start thinking "well, Ill drag the KEF's over for an a/b comparo" and then I stumble across a review comparing the I93's to the Equinox Jupitors.  Great I thinks.  Better, bigger Aussie speaker for similar $$.  And then I discover another review talking about the ASLAN Australs.  A little more money but still wihin reach.    Ive not heard/read of anything to sound better than these - especially for the budget!  I think they will be in line with what Im after with a speaker.  I moved to the KEF's from Bose 901's.  Yes,yes no highs/no lows is the catch phrase, but they could move some air!  I thought the KEF's would do the same but actually with an image.  And they are fantastic, untill you listen to something else with a 4 times wider image!
Now before you all get excited and say "run off and audition everything under the sun"  its a bit hard for me, Im 4hr from Adelaide and 6 from Melbourne (10 from Sydney) so Im gunna have to trust your judgement here.... I will listen before I buy but would like all the constructive thoughts i can get before I spend......Thanks
 
BTW anyone in Melbourne or Adelaide with ASLAN Australs?

[jules]

Mondie or Andrew can correct me here but I think the Australs are the first off the line.

Sounds like you're somewhere up on the Murray? Maybe a trip to Sydney is called for? The design logic of the Australs really appeals to me.

Jules

[Rocket]

Hi,

You definitely need to listen to the aslan speakers before you buy a pair.
They seem quite expensive.  Jules and I built a zalytron speaker kit which utilises raven 2 ribbon tweeters and 2 phl midbass drivers.  I don't have any
diy skills and my speaker cost $3000 to build but i'm sure jules would have
built his for a lot less.  I'm very happy with their sound and i have very good
complimentary equipment which is as follows:

Pioneer pds 507 (modded as transport)
perpetual technologies p3a dac (modwright modification) and pt p1a
N.E.W. p3 tube preamp
spread spectrum technologies/son of ampzilla
ps audio hca - 2
bluenote turntable and phonostage.

I'm not bragging but just confirming that the rest of my system is really up to scratch and obtains the best from my speakers.  You could also try war audio here in perth who can build a pair of custom made speakers which utilise drivers
which include phl, focal accuton and raven tweeters.

Pat's reference 1 speakers utilise a raven 1 ribbon tweeter, accuton midrange and bass driver and this speaker sells for about $7000au approx.  It certainly is worth a phonecall (08)92425538.  Six Moons recently reviewed his Dianne speakers.

Regards

Rod

[mynameisplayer]

I must say that what Im looking for in a speaker is good balance, excellent imaging, and lots of bottom end ability (grunt).  I thought I had it with my KEF's but after hearing the I91's and the stage they presented I came home and have stated to move things around to see if I can get what Im after.   My motivation with the Australs is to get the beutiful point source, with grunt!  Id like to know if theres anything just beyond these speakers as far as performance and price.  $14k is a lot for me, but Id find a way........and no, I wont be buying anything without audition.

[mynameisplayer]

BTW Im thinking about KEF 207's - I know they are $25k but....

[Rocket]

Hi,

Spend $500au on a plane ticket to perth and have a listen to a pair of speakers from war audio.  Pat can build whatever design configuration you want.  It does take quite a long time to get them built.  He's currently designing a very large speaker which uses the following components:

BEengineering Ribbon Tweeters
Triangle Midrange
15 inch phl bass drivers

http://www.warco.com.au/waraudio/index.html

Best of luck with the speakers you eventually buy.  Btw what equipment are you using in your system?

Regards

Rod

[Mondie]

mynameisplayer,

Both those reviews you refer to were written by me as l have stepped up from the i-93's to Jupiters to Australs over the years. The best thing you could do is get a ticket to Sydney and spend a full day - maybe even stay overnight and go out to Richmond where both Aslan and Equinox are located. Spend the rest of the time in some of the upmarket Sydney HiFi stores and after that your choice will be made easy. In my biased opinion the Australs are stunning and you wont hear anything that comes close, but you do need to have a listen for yourself.

Cheers

[mynameisplayer]

Cheers Mondie
Your probably as far away as Sydney for me, so if it came to spend $$ time I would get to Sydney.  As long as I could listen to all 3 in a short space of time.  Although just from size then the Equinox, as are the VAF's , out of the race!  Wish I could take the KEF's to Sydney for a comparo, I know they are going to be lagging in areas but it would be nice to know how much.....

[ajw056]

Hi mynameisplayer, I'd certainly recommend an extended listening session before forking out these sort of dollars on anything.

I'm not sure of any VAF dealers in Sydney, but Rick (Equinox) and myself (ASLAN) are only 30 minutes drive from each other around an hour and a half's drive from the Sydney Airport. If you're thinking of making the trip you could probably squeeze us both in in one day, or preferably an overnight trip.
I prefer to do business during the afternoon/evening over a bottle of red and some decent food....it's far more civilized, as Mondie will attest.

Anyway, if you're interested in an audition at any time just give me a yell.
Best regards,
Andrew

[mynameisplayer]

Andrew

Definately going to have a good llisten!  I just thought it would be easy to stop at something like the VAF's!  They come well short of my KEFs in a lot of areas.  After seeing reviews that kep upping the ante I hope the Australs are at least as good.  I dont have a lot of power behind them, but with the 2 loaded 10's in them, you usually dont need an additional sub! 

[ajw056]

No worries, the Austral demo pair are running off a pair of Shanling SP80C monoblocks.....only 55 watts rms. They dont need a lot of power with the active on-board subbie setup.
They are in a room 6m x 9m x 3m and dont have any trouble filling the space.

[mynameisplayer]

How would a Rotel RB-1090 go behind these?  I know my KEFs would love one, poor little Yammie RX-V2400 keeps cutting out when the first big thing comes on the screen in Star Wars....

[ajw056]

Sorry mate for the late response, I've been somewhat busy of late and out of town for 10 days delivering and installing a 7.2ch Austral setup to FNQ.

A 1080 will do the job nicely.

[ajw056]

Oooops, meant 1090.

[mynameisplayer]

still waiting on someone with a pair of KEF 207' to come forward in this debate. cmon, I know theres hundreds out there    i can get these into .au from the US for near $10k i reckon, so near money to the australs....  Mondie or our friend in Cairns will be bribed with quality bottles of red from our many Mildura wineries for a listen in the near future........