Has anyone had any Monster Eleganza experiences ?

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 Dec 2007, 01:05 am »

Nutsnbolts, One more thing... Just a heads-up concerning the delivery of your Eleganza speakers. The trucking company that delivered my system tried to get me to meet them at the nearest major cross-roads next to my house as the driver didn't want to try to get his big rig onto the street where I live (a normal to large residential street). I met with him and took a look at the huge boxes sitting by themselves at the end of his 40' trailer. He wanted me to try to offload the boxes right there and put them into my Chevy Tahoe. This wasn't going to work with the big subs. He finally relented and pulled up next to my driveway. He pushed one of the tower speakers over to the edge of the loading bay and I took the bottom end and tried to stand it up. The driver didn't pay any attention to the arrow on the box saying "this side up". I almost broke my neck as I tried to gain control of the 8 foot long box and not let it flip over. The 70 lb steel base was at the TOP of the box when he dropped it into my hands. The packing material would probably have saved the speaker (lots of padding), but just so you know, be ready for some heavy lifting.

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #21 on:** 12 Dec 2007, 07:44 pm »

Quote from: Cyrpinodon on 11 Dec 2007, 12:44 am

Nutsnbolts, I have two sets of electrostatic Acoustats: the 1+1 (7.5 feet tall) with Mediallion transformers and a set of the Model 2 hybrids. The 1+1 Acoustats were the speakers paired with the Hsu sub-woofers that I mentioned earlier (Dr. Hsu and I met when he was just starting out and he customized the electronic cross-over for the subs, a little name-dropping here). I purchased a Martin Logan Logos for the center channel, but that speaker never matched the Acoustats. I bought the Model 2s thinking that I could make one of them into a center channel that would blend in with the 1+1 speakers. A total failure as all of these speakers not only have extremely focused "sweet-spots", but also have to be placed at least 3 feet from any walls. This long answer is why I bought the Eleganza system. I'm getting ready to buy a front projector (waiting on seeing the newest models at CES in Vegas next month) and want to have a system where I can place the speakers at each end of a 10' wide 2.35:1 screen. The electrostatics would have had to have been placed too close to the side walls to clear the projection area. The "sweet-spot" and imaging limitations of the Acoustats just wouldn't allow me to use them in this floor plan. Sigh, I LOVE these speakers! Question: how do you like the Sony 7100 ES? I'm thinking about purchasing the new ES version of the Blu-Ray player and wonder if it is worth the extra dollars for the "elevated standard" designation. I would assume that 170 watts per channel should do the trick.

Cyrpinodon , I like the 7100es a lot as it has digital amps(switching).Sounds better than the equivelent priced analog amps, IMHO. As for the Sony ES BR , I have a BDPS-1 and it works well - I don't know about the 2000ES , it looks to me alot like the BDPS-1. I suspect it has more to do with good analog outputs from hat little I've read on it. The BDPS-1 is a solid piece of kit to be sure.You can find more info on Sony gear here :

http://www.agoraquest.com/

Maxxwire there is uber helpful.

Thanks for the tip on the shippers! I have a slipped disk so any lifting by me is out of the question unless I want to enjoy the speakers from my bed for a month

It's a 950 pnd. shipment.

I will have a REDMAN ( Canadian for $50) on hand to have the fellas unpallet and bring the speakers up to my fourth floor condo

Tracking # states I should have them by the 17th - I will be brokering them into the country myself , that should eliminate any possible delays. I can't wait!

doug s. · « **Reply #22 on:** 12 Dec 2007, 09:58 pm »

you need one of these; this was the only thing that worked re: my chronic back pain after slipping a disc a long time ago. after ten years of dealing w/a daily dull ache in the small of my back, i am now 100% pain free:

http://www.teeterhangups.com/home.html

doug s.

Quote from: nutsnbolts on 12 Dec 2007, 07:44 pm

Quote from: Cyrpinodon on 11 Dec 2007, 12:44 am
Nutsnbolts, I have two sets of electrostatic Acoustats: the 1+1 (7.5 feet tall) with Mediallion transformers and a set of the Model 2 hybrids. The 1+1 Acoustats were the speakers paired with the Hsu sub-woofers that I mentioned earlier (Dr. Hsu and I met when he was just starting out and he customized the electronic cross-over for the subs, a little name-dropping here). I purchased a Martin Logan Logos for the center channel, but that speaker never matched the Acoustats. I bought the Model 2s thinking that I could make one of them into a center channel that would blend in with the 1+1 speakers. A total failure as all of these speakers not only have extremely focused "sweet-spots", but also have to be placed at least 3 feet from any walls. This long answer is why I bought the Eleganza system. I'm getting ready to buy a front projector (waiting on seeing the newest models at CES in Vegas next month) and want to have a system where I can place the speakers at each end of a 10' wide 2.35:1 screen. The electrostatics would have had to have been placed too close to the side walls to clear the projection area. The "sweet-spot" and imaging limitations of the Acoustats just wouldn't allow me to use them in this floor plan. Sigh, I LOVE these speakers! Question: how do you like the Sony 7100 ES? I'm thinking about purchasing the new ES version of the Blu-Ray player and wonder if it is worth the extra dollars for the "elevated standard" designation. I would assume that 170 watts per channel should do the trick.

Cyrpinodon , I like the 7100es a lot as it has digital amps(switching).Sounds better than the equivelent priced analog amps, IMHO. As for the Sony ES BR , I have a BDPS-1 and it works well - I don't know about the 2000ES , it looks to me alot like the BDPS-1. I suspect it has more to do with good analog outputs from hat little I've read on it. The BDPS-1 is a solid piece of kit to be sure.You can find more info on Sony gear here :

http://www.agoraquest.com/

Maxxwire there is uber helpful.

Thanks for the tip on the shippers! I have a slipped disk so any lifting by me is out of the question unless I want to enjoy the speakers from my bed for a month It's a 950 pnd. shipment.

I will have a REDMAN ( Canadian for $50) on hand to have the fellas unpallet and bring the speakers up to my fourth floor condo
Tracking # states I should have them by the 17th - I will be brokering them into the country myself , that should eliminate any possible delays. I can't wait!

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #23 on:** 12 Dec 2007, 11:26 pm »

Quote from: doug s. on 12 Dec 2007, 09:58 pm

you need one of these; this was the only thing that worked re: my chronic back pain after slipping a disc a long time ago. after ten years of dealing w/a daily dull ache in the small of my back, i am now 100% pain free:

http://www.teeterhangups.com/home.html

doug s.
Quote from: nutsnbolts on 12 Dec 2007, 07:44 pm
Quote from: Cyrpinodon on 11 Dec 2007, 12:44 am
Nutsnbolts, I have two sets of electrostatic Acoustats: the 1+1 (7.5 feet tall) with Mediallion transformers and a set of the Model 2 hybrids. The 1+1 Acoustats were the speakers paired with the Hsu sub-woofers that I mentioned earlier (Dr. Hsu and I met when he was just starting out and he customized the electronic cross-over for the subs, a little name-dropping here). I purchased a Martin Logan Logos for the center channel, but that speaker never matched the Acoustats. I bought the Model 2s thinking that I could make one of them into a center channel that would blend in with the 1+1 speakers. A total failure as all of these speakers not only have extremely focused "sweet-spots", but also have to be placed at least 3 feet from any walls. This long answer is why I bought the Eleganza system. I'm getting ready to buy a front projector (waiting on seeing the newest models at CES in Vegas next month) and want to have a system where I can place the speakers at each end of a 10' wide 2.35:1 screen. The electrostatics would have had to have been placed too close to the side walls to clear the projection area. The "sweet-spot" and imaging limitations of the Acoustats just wouldn't allow me to use them in this floor plan. Sigh, I LOVE these speakers! Question: how do you like the Sony 7100 ES? I'm thinking about purchasing the new ES version of the Blu-Ray player and wonder if it is worth the extra dollars for the "elevated standard" designation. I would assume that 170 watts per channel should do the trick.

Cyrpinodon , I like the 7100es a lot as it has digital amps(switching).Sounds better than the equivelent priced analog amps, IMHO. As for the Sony ES BR , I have a BDPS-1 and it works well - I don't know about the 2000ES , it looks to me alot like the BDPS-1. I suspect it has more to do with good analog outputs from hat little I've read on it. The BDPS-1 is a solid piece of kit to be sure.You can find more info on Sony gear here :

http://www.agoraquest.com/

Maxxwire there is uber helpful.

Thanks for the tip on the shippers! I have a slipped disk so any lifting by me is out of the question unless I want to enjoy the speakers from my bed for a month It's a 950 pnd. shipment.

I will have a REDMAN ( Canadian for $50) on hand to have the fellas unpallet and bring the speakers up to my fourth floor condo
Tracking # states I should have them by the 17th - I will be brokering them into the country myself , that should eliminate any possible delays. I can't wait!

No kiddin! I have a friend who's been trying to give me his for ages . lol. I just may take him up on it!

doug s. · « **Reply #24 on:** 13 Dec 2007, 01:18 am »

no kiddin' -i'm serious as a heart attack. it's the real deal. plus, since i have been using it, i no longer have to readjust my rear-view mirror in my car for the drive home every afternoon, then readjust in the morning for the drive to work, as it keeps you from shrinking... again - i'm dead serious.

doug s.

Quote from: nutsnbolts on 12 Dec 2007, 11:26 pm

Quote from: doug s. on 12 Dec 2007, 09:58 pm
you need one of these; this was the only thing that worked re: my chronic back pain after slipping a disc a long time ago. after ten years of dealing w/a daily dull ache in the small of my back, i am now 100% pain free:

http://www.teeterhangups.com/home.html

doug s.

No kiddin! I have a friend who's been trying to give me his for ages . lol. I just may take him up on it!

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #25 on:** 15 Dec 2007, 02:13 am »

Cyrpinodon, Roadway is what UA booked up for me. Is that what you used or...

Goodness , er , sonic bliss ETA : Monday.

You there?

Robert.

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #26 on:** 16 Dec 2007, 12:46 am »

Nutsnbolts, I just got home. I pulled the bill of lading for my delivery. Oak Harbor Freight delivered my packages. Better luck with Roadway. I read the piece about your slipped disc. You might want to have a couple of friends on tap at delivery. It takes a considerable amount of time to carefully unpack these speakers and even more time to assemble. Once out of the boxes they are subject to damage just like any fine piece of furniture. Whoever assists with the unpacking, be sure to locate the small 12v transformers that power the blue light strips. These are hidden in the white foam sleeves that surround the speakers. A couple of more "heads-up".... The sharp pointed array base spikes that come in the hardware package apparently can't be used in conjunction with the bass modules. I tried, but each bass module has to lock just right onto two pins located on the 70 lb base and both the array base and bass module have to be exactly the same height off the floor. All-in-all, it took me maybe a couple of hours to unpack and assemble two 8400 speakers and install their bass modules. The directions that come with the speakers are not very helpful, but the assembly is fairly intuitive. I did the assembly by myself, but two people are really better when you are trying to slip the array onto the base. I wouldn't trust this task to the delivery company drivers.

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #27 on:** 17 Dec 2007, 11:39 pm »

Nutsnbolts, my turn... did they arrive... w00t?

KCI-JohnP · « **Reply #28 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 04:18 pm »

Yeah, I'm sort of curious as well. So what do you think of them so far?

Regards,
John

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #29 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 09:03 pm »

Gentleman , delivery is now scheduled for the 21st due to Customs delays. Hurry up and wait

KCI-JohnP · « **Reply #30 on:** 20 Dec 2007, 09:10 pm »

Well keep us posted, I'm interested in hearing your thoughts on them. A few months back I received an email from Monster when they were offering these for a large discount, seemed like a lot of speaker for the money.

Regards,
John

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #31 on:** 22 Dec 2007, 12:11 am »

Mini update: They are here and they look magnificent!!

I'm slowly unpacking them - I have pics of the delivery but I don't know if i can post pics here. WooHooo!!

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #32 on:** 22 Dec 2007, 03:45 am »

Nutsnbolts, They are magnificent pieces of equipment, aren't they? The vernier-caliber engraved bases (indicating the degrees of tow-in) look like something out of a machinist’s dream. Don’t forget, these speakers need around 100 hours of “burn-in” before they mellow out. I thought that they sounded great right out of the crates, but they do improve with age. I’ve had a number of people over who heard about my purchase and just had to see and hear this system. I love to audition these speakers. I start out with a simple stereo CD, something like a vocalist with a three-piece accompaniment (Kari Bremnes, “Norwegian Mood”), using ONLY the two 8400s with bass modules. It is amazing, after getting the speakers fine-tuned, to hear the excellent sound stage from just the two speakers. No Dolby processing, all effects turned off. Then I put on a DTS CD (Larisa Stow, “Moment by Moment”) to ease the listeners into full surround sound. The Godfather subs start coming alive with the DTS LFE feed. Then, since everyone now-a-days needs more simulation than just listening to great music, I put on a Dolby Digital 5.1 DVD. Just like one of the reviewer who wrote an article on the Eleganza system in Widescreen Review, I love the bean-drum game played on the “House of Flying Daggers”. Overkill.

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #33 on:** 22 Dec 2007, 04:33 am »

Cyrpinodon - I'm not gonna hurt my back so I stopped at unpacking so far (1) L 8400 and put in on the base and placed the center on my stand. wow. just WOW . I can't decide what angle I like looking at the tower right now . They all look good. Color me impressed. Very impressed - and I've had a lot of very desirable hi-end schtuff. I 'll say this , I did not ever audition anything under 10k a pair that exuded this kinda of quality and substatiality . A specificaly engineered design .A lot of effort and basic hard work is shown here .I opened one of the sub pairs crate and pulled out the AC plug.

And that says it all right now.

Is the back alum. ?, it seems denser...

I hope I see wonderful colors!

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #34 on:** 22 Dec 2007, 10:21 pm »

Nutsnbolts, Yup, the back of the speakers are aluminum, pretty thick aluminum it seems. The dull silver metal backs nicely offset the high-gloss cherry wood finish and the black grill cloth. Speaking of the metal backs...I had problems sliding the center channel base mount and the surround speaker wall mount brackets into the grooves on the back of the 3500 center and 3600 surround channel speakers. That was the only problem I encountered with any of the assembly. I finally got the wall mount brackets to slide into the 3600s (the tolerances are so close that they have to be lined up PERFECTLY before you can slide the channel into the speaker), but gave up on the center channel base and bought some metal machinist bolts that worked perfectly. If you encounter the same problem I did, then go to your local hardware store and buy a small package of #8-32 x 5/8" flat headed slotted machine bolts. The heads on these bolts slide perfectly into the grooves on the back of the surround speaker and you can then use these to attach the speaker to the base mount.

I have to travel over the holidays, so I'm looking forward to reading your review on these speakers when I get back home the end of next week. Good listening!

KCI-JohnP · « **Reply #35 on:** 25 Dec 2007, 11:57 am »

Have you given them a spin yet?? PICS!!!! aa

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #36 on:** 26 Dec 2007, 10:49 pm »

Hey all , Merry Christmas!

Due to the seasonal obligations I haven’t had much time to play yet. I have however hooked up the front L/R ‘s 

Equipment :
Sony DA7100ES receiver 170 /8 ohms , 170 /4 ohms all channels driven (7) ; digital amplification
Sony 9100ES SACD i-linked.
Sony BDPS-1 BR
Sony 50’’ SXRD XBR1
Custom 8 ag speaker wire (2x8ag per line+/-) Gold plated everything . Silver soldered everything. Next chance I get 0ag is in order.

First impressions:
Smooth. Completely non fatiguing. Solid, solid image , very enveloping in 2 channel. Not terribly fussy about placement , just toe-in. Lots of power - Subs are at only 9‘oclock . Very sweet n’ syrupy top end. No hash.No shearing no shattering. Super detailed in the mids. Fast. Fast. Vocal presentation on good recordings have excellent depth and realism , solidity and breathe. Absolutley no strain on very dynamic or busy material at reference. It most certainly wants to play loud happily. Believe it or not they sound much bigger than their already large stature would suggest. That blue light is actually a lot cooler than I thought it would be , almost perfect bias lighting around the display. Bonus. And those IEC AC cables that came with the subs-crazy huge

I’ve had to ground lift the subs for now until I find my grnd. loop :b Got a little hum…

In short, I’m thrilled so far. My first line array….

I can't wait to get all of 'em up for some 5.1 SACD - PF-DSOTM is waiting. 100 hrs. break in , eh?

PS : How do I post pics? Do I have those privelages? cheers.Oh and one more thing - subjective opinions based on Gaucho DTS.YMMV.

KCI-JohnP · « **Reply #37 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 02:10 pm »

Nuts,
Cool, sounds like you're really enjoying them so far, glad to hear that.

Thank you for posting your thoughts on them and keep us posted as they
break in.

Sincerely,
John

Cyrpinodon · « **Reply #38 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 09:05 pm »

Nutsnbolts, I too had the ground-loop problem on the bass modules and had to lift the grounds. I tried disconnecting each piece of sound equipment in my system one at a time to isolate the problem but the loop must be somewhere else in the house. Line conditioner reduced the noise, but didn't eliminate it. Do you have the modules set to "auto" or left on all the time? I have them on auto, but don't like the way they activate after a few seconds of play. I figure that this is a power saving feature.

nutsnbolts · « **Reply #39 on:** 27 Dec 2007, 10:21 pm »

Quote from: Cyrpinodon on 27 Dec 2007, 09:05 pm

Nutsnbolts, I too had the ground-loop problem on the bass modules and had to lift the grounds. I tried disconnecting each piece of sound equipment in my system one at a time to isolate the problem but the loop must be somewhere else in the house. Line conditioner reduced the noise, but didn't eliminate it. Do you have the modules set to "auto" or left on all the time? I have them on auto, but don't like the way they activate after a few seconds of play. I figure that this is a power saving feature.

I've found now 2 different grounding problems. Although my reciever sans a grounded cable , my Blu-ray did have one and was the culprate. But wait , there's more - my cable would appear to have a different path to ground as just having it connected to the cable box and HDMI'd to the reciever and then to the tv is also adding some hum. This maybe a little harder to fix. If I disconect the cable from the tv all the hum is gone. But disconnecting and reconnecting is going to be far too cumbersome. I might just end up leaving the subs lifted . I'm just manually going to turn the subs to 'on' and pass on the auto feature - I've already caught it not kicking the subs on at lower volumes. No biggy though .

I do have two question though Cyrpinodon :
On connecting the bass modules to the towers I've connected both low and high pass sends from the module to the tower with the included wire leaving the jumpers in place on the towers. I am not biwiring or bi amping as I understand it .The insructions seem vague on this. Did I connect this correctly?
The subs came with extra wire for the pwr adptor for the lights - how is this supposed to work - I'm just connecting the wallwart directly to the towers. I see the pwr input on the modules but how is that to get to the tower? If this is some where in the instructions forgive me.I'm just not seeing it.Thanks and Merry Christmas !