Rutledge Audio Design is a business that's just starting out, but if the speakers I ordered are any indication, the big guys might just have some serious competition.
I ordered a pair of the M-1s and a single C-1, and in fact, I received the very models whose pictures appears on the Rutledge Audio Design web site.
For starters, the photos do not do these speakers justice. These are beautiful pieces, not like some of the mass-produced garbage you'll see in a Best Buy or Circuit City. These are the kind of speakers you mention in your will; the kind of speakers you’ll want your grandchildren to inherit. They're just that lovely.
The finish is smooth and appealing, with not a seam line to be found. They look like they were carved from the wood of a single tree and then meticulously sanded down to perfection.
They speakers arrived in extremely well-padded boxes. So well-padded, in fact, that you need to make sure you schedule enough time for unpacking, unwrapping, un-taping, and picking up and discarding all the foam peanuts. I do not jest.
Hooking the speakers up was a breeze. I was pleased to note that the speakers used high-quality binding posts that accept bare wire, banana, and spade connectors. Nothing damps my enthusiasm for speakers quicker than the el cheapo spring terminals. (*cough* *cough* *bose* *cough*)
My room is not ideal. I got these speakers for my bedroom and placed them asymmetrically due to the room's layout: TV and right speaker on one side of the door, and sound system and left speaker on the other side. My bedroom sound system is state-of-the-art 1991, with a Lexicon CP-3 surround processor as my pre-amp, a 5-channel B&K amp, and the Pioneer Elite DV-05 DVD player, with an inexpensive AMC amplifier powering the rear speakers. I also placed the R.A.D. speakers too high, out of necessity, but pointed them down towards the listening position.
So with all these handicaps, how do the speakers sound?
In a word, delightful. Obviously, these speakers are not full-range and thus don't deliver much bass below 60 Hz, but I think it's an intelligent design choice. The speakers do what they do extremely well, and extend low enough to easily match with any number of commercial subwoofers, not to mention one of RAD's own subs.
So with only the mids and highs to focus on, these speakers truly excel, delivering incredibly clear and untainted sound that's simply a joy to listen to. I found dialog to be very intelligible, without any muffling or emphasis that I could detect, and music sounded natural and easy to listen to, with no listener fatigue.
In particular, I was struck by a listening of the soundtrack to the French film "8 Women", where I could have sworn that one of the female vocalists was in the room with me. It was an unnerving effect, but I was able to repeat it at will. Obviously, a good recording, true, but the illusion wouldn't have worked if the speakers weren't up to the challenge.
R.A.D. claims that this excellence in dialog intelligibility is due to their use of a 3-way design in the center, and I don’t dispute that. The center isn’t one of those standard mid-tweet-mid speakers on its side: it’s a dedicated center speaker from the ground up. (No pun intended.)
The only nit I noticed was a slight buzzing in the center channel that it seemed to pick up from my TV. When the TV was off, no buzz. When the TV was on, the buzz returned. The buzz was only noticeable when the room was completely silent, and you're moderately close to the speaker, so it's really just a nit and not a complaint. Still, to R.A.D.'s credit, Brian Bunge has been very good at helping diagnose the problem, and I'm certain we'll take care of it shortly. I’ve also found that adding a decent power line filter ameliorated the problem greatly, so I suspect that the buzzing is component-related and not speaker-related.
In summary, I think this system is a veritable steal at $600. The speakers sound better than some speakers I've heard that cost $600 EACH. If you're looking for extremely high-quality speakers with furniture-quality appearance and the easy placement, I can think of no better choice than a C-1 and two M-1s. Mate them with a competent subwoofer and a set of matching rears and you’ve got a 5.1 system that can hold its own with those costing much, much more.
