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Audio/Video Gear and Systems => Owner's Circles => Virtue Audio Owners => Topic started by: virtue on 2 Apr 2014, 04:23 am

Title: Audience THE ONE
Post by: virtue on 2 Apr 2014, 04:23 am
Has anyone heard the Audience single driver speaker they call THE ONE?

http://www.audience-av.com/reviews/PDF/ONE_review_absolute_sound_October_13.pdf

http://www.stereophile.com/content/audience-clairaudient-one-loudspeaker

(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=97198)

I was absolutely loving the the head-banging power of the MMtMM and then my wife complained about the box that had been in the hall-way for 3 weeks. 

So I unboxed THE ONEs which John McD. had sent me to repay for a ONE.2 loaner a few years ago. That crazy son of a gun Roger did it.  He did it.

O.My.God.

I have customers who are nuts about the John Blue and I never fully understood the fascination.   Roger always gave me hell about cross-overs and maybe he had a point.  I'm hearing "less cross-over" here than at any time before.  But I think it's more than just no-cross-over.  These have a passive radiator in the bass so you're getting the full mid range and mid-bass.   

I emailed John and he told me:

The ONEs play flat to 22Khz and up to 43Khz, AND below 20Hz albiet rolled off. However, if you place them on a desk near a wall (WOW) you have bass flatt to 50 or 40!!! No sub required.

I don't have a wall option -- not a square inch free for rearranging my office -- so I use a sub with a very low x-over frequency.

Anyone heard these?

Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: ericlp151 on 2 Apr 2014, 09:36 am
Full Range drivers are ummm, one could write 50 pages on the sound vs a 2 or 3 way driver speaker...

At one time I was considering Audio Nirvana full range, roll your own speakers.

I kinda have a small question... You say you are using yours with a DAC?  Care to share what kinda DAC you have?

Thanks... 
Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: bardamu on 2 Apr 2014, 10:59 am
Hello,
The big advantage of full range is coherent sound. Most of the time both frequency extremes are missing.Adding a subwoofer to a full range sometimes you will get an unbalanced sound. You need money to buy a good one .greetings, Edward
Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: jtwrace on 2 Apr 2014, 11:19 am
.Adding a subwoofer to a full range sometimes you will get an unbalanced sound. You need money to buy a good one .greetings, Edward
Wrong.  You need to properly setup the subwoofers which most do not. 
Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: bardamu on 2 Apr 2014, 04:25 pm
Hello,
What i mean that there is a kind of '' link'' between the highest and the lowest frequency produced in a sounsystem. This was described by an electronic engineer who did install sound and movie systems in cinema in France for decades. I don't know where the publication is in my audio library.
Of course installing a subwoofer is kind of professional thing. Making it work for movie as well as for music is even harder.
Right now i only use a subwoofer for my movie set up but i also play a lot of music on this set.
I have another set for music only in the same room. With Altec horn for lower frequencies and Tad2001 wooden horn above 600hertz. Sometimes thinking about adding a subwoofer there too and use 80hertz filter in a second virtue amp. With 104db 1watt 1 meter, it will have an easy life.
Sincere greetings, Edward
P.s curious for the first ONE.3 on batteries
Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: virtue on 2 Apr 2014, 05:41 pm
I had these for sale before John had any stock and this morning he told me that he would let me re-list them with 2 day turn-around.

Per Audience policy, I cannot discount the $995 MSRP.  However, for the first 30 days, the stands ($75) are yours free and I'm offering FREE SHIPPING anywhere in the world.

I'm a cheap and cheerful guy... and at $1,000 they aren't cheap.  But I'm so impressed with the value that they are going back up on my website right now.

http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/audience-theone-1.htm

Shoot.  My mighty MMtMM desktop towers are going to get put away until my next office rave.  The wife is concerned that I blow out the kids' ears so that could be a while.

Seth
Title: Re: Audience THE ONE
Post by: virtue on 2 Apr 2014, 06:01 pm
Eric,

I'm using an XMOS/Wolfsen USB DAC clone/prototype from a Chinese vendor.  It's quite good, as most of them are.

I'm also using Audience interconnect cables John provided and the 30/130w power supply.  This reminds me of sitting in Eric Alexander's garage in 2007 listening to our Axis Grand prototype.  Tweeters there were ribbons and a Hivi midrange, but there were so many of them firing together it was information overload.  I killed that speaker because the bass sucked and they cost me too much to make and have shipped here. 

Hard to believe you can get all of that in such a small package.  These 3-inch drivers with huge magnet structure push more air than a typical mid-range in a full-sized speaker.  With a low-bass sub, they're performing like much larger speakers - but almost perfectly linear in the mid-range and very revealing highs. 

I don't have a golden ear, but the clarity is unmistakable and I can crank up louder than I'd want to at close range without loss of fidelity.

Seth