[Russell Dawkins]

I'm wondering if there is anyone here who has had the opportunity to listen to both these speakers and can offer any indication of relative merits of each.

I am particulary interested in the quality of the reproduction through the upper bass-lower mids and the smoothnes and openness of the treble.

I am trying to make a decision between the two based purely on sound quality in terms of the ability to draw you into the music and let you occasionally forget it's a reproduction, that is, the ability to 'disappear'.

Thanks,Russell

[Poultrygeist]

This blogger has reviewed the Fast 8 and Zeniths. He also answers emails.

http://glowinthedarkaudio.com/lii-audio-fast8.html

[Russell Dawkins]

Thanks for the link. He makes the Fast 8 sound like great value.

The price differential ($200 — $550) between the similar-looking Fast-8 and the new black Fast-10B which apparently replaces and improves upon the Fast 10, sonically, is a little puzzling.

[Folsom]

Electronic pairing is what really makes something like that magical. That's the trick.

[uncola]

Russell the fast8 is one of Lii’s  mid tier quality drivers.  The fast 10 series is part of their top tier along with crystal 10.  They share fast in the name so it’s confusing.  That’s why the big price jump

[Russell Dawkins]

Russell the fast8 is one of Lii’s  mid tier quality drivers.  The fast 10 series is part of their top tier along with crystal 10.  They share fast in the name so it’s confusing.  That’s why the big price jump

It would seem that is what Lii would have up believe—that more expensive is necessarily better—but I am a sceptic at heart and like evidence of some sort.

I certainly would like to know (from the manufacturer) the specifics of the differences between the Fast 8 and Fast 10B, also the differences between the Fast 10 and the Fast 10B, not to speak of the Crystal 10. I have to say the crystal on the pole piece really puts me off. Is this acoustically meaningful or a tacky attempt to appeal to the nouveau riche crowd who are interested in buying 'up-market' bling?

I presume cone material and magnet size and/or quality is one variable, and I hope this translates into better sound, but it seems hard data is in short supply. I read somewhere that they use—at least on the Crystal 10—a higher than usual grade of ceramic magnet, but maybe that varies model to model. It would be nice to see real response curves with THD levels at three or more different output levels.

[kheidenr]

Russell,

I can share my experiences with both the Zenith 852s and the Lii Crystal 10s.  Not sure how much it will help but the short answer is I have the 852's and I am going to buy a set of the Crystal 10s.  Background is:

- I am running the Zeniths in open baffle with 15" driver woofer support for the lowest frequency.
- I have heard the Crystal 10s at the Decfest get together last fall and fell in love with the sound.  When run in open baffle on Steve's new speaker baffles the clarity, transparency, coherency, etc was wonderful.  It was a light on the bass and upper bass due to being on open baffle.
-  Steve also had the Lii Audio Reference speaker on hand as well and wow!  Talk about filling in the bass by using a cabinet.  I was not able to spend a lot of time listening to the Crystal 10s in the cabinet but just sounded fantastic and balanced across the frequency range.
-  So it is not an apples to apples comparison between Steve's demo system and mine:
   - Decware system as I recall was his 25th Anniversary Amp ($2900+), Zrock ($780+),
     and other components I do not recall (preamp maybe, a DAC being fed streaming
     from computer, various Decware silver cabling I presume)
   - My current system consists of Acurus A150 SS amplifier from (1995 - $600), Emotiva
     Stealth DC-1 DAC/Preamp (2013 - $500), MiniDSP HD ($200), Dueland 16ga speaker wire
-  I love what the Crystal 10s did in Steve's system - really the Zeniths do not compare that well.  HOWEVER my system is not in the same league as Steve's so that factors in in a big way and until I upgrade my chain I just won't know what the delta really is between the 2.

Just my 2 cents - good luck with whatever you decide.

[Russell Dawkins]

Thanks for the valuable information, kheidenr. It's the first time I've seen a comparison between the Zeniths and the Liis, even though I bought the Fast 10s and not the Crystals.

[Poultrygeist]

With the Zeniths it's hit or miss and difficult to compare.

Time takes it's toll and not everyone is fortunate enough to get a good example of a 63 year old driver.

[Poultrygeist]

These Zeniths are mint and their alnico motors have kept their charge all these years.

[kheidenr]

Good point - I have no idea how well the magnet has held up in my Zenith.  The drivers appear in excellent condition but no idea about the magnet.  And by the way I have enjoyed the Zenith and have not hooked up my Vandersteen 2CEs in months....

[Russell Dawkins]

I find it fascinating how addictive wideband crossover-less speakers seem to be, and worth pondering.

Perhaps it's yet another example of the value of the KISS principle.

[Poultrygeist]

I agree. They're hard to beat. I just finished building Martin King's Lowther DX3 MLTL speakers and I am so impressed.