Some of you may be wondering – Audiojerry is reviewing another component? Before you think I'm some kind of nut, I can explain .......................................
...........Ok, maybe I can't.
I hope that's not what you are thinking. Then again, if you were, you probably wouldn't be reading this.
So if you are still here, it means you might be interested in hearing about the Bella, a highly modified SP Technology Essence, which got big kudos from me in a recent review (yes, another review). So, in essence, the Bella is an Essence.
Those of you unfamiliar with Response Audio and Bill Baker, its owner, I highly recommend you visit his website. It's a great site, nicely laid out and extremely informative with nice photos.
“Dedicated to 2-Channel Tube Audio” “Specializing in Tube Amp Modification” “It's all about the Music” “Custom High-End Audio Since 1995”. Those first few statements taken from his website nicely sum up in a nutshell what Response Audio is about. If he's managed to stay in business since 1995 specializing in modifications, then he must be doing a pretty good job of it.
Obviously, he has expanded his modification expertise to speakers, which is why I'm here writing another review. Bill was aware that I had recently reviewed the SP Tech Essence, and he thought it might be a good idea to have someone who had experience with the Essence evaluate the Bella, too. Bill wanted a neutral party (me) to see how his work measured up. I had never talked with Bill previously, although I have been aware of Response Audio by reading about it on AudioCircle, and I also may have responded to a few of his posts on various topics on AC.
The Essence has undergone a rather extensive replacing and upgrading of parts, according to Bill. It's all very eloquently explained here,
http://www.responseaudio.com/bellaSPAV1main.htm.
and here,
http://www.responseaudio.com/SpeakerDesign.htm.
But changing parts alone isn't enough. It takes lots of measuring, listening, re-measuring and more listening to get it right.
Why bother?
And is it worth it?
Two good questions.
Why bother? I thought the Essence was an impressive speaker, and quite adept at home theater in addition to 2 channel. It was exceptional and unique in the way it projected into the room and created a larger than life soundstage. You can read all about my favorable impressions if you want in the Critic's Circle:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=23318.
But I did explain there was a caveat. “The Essence wasn't built as a cost-no-object reference speaker, and this was most evident to me in the manifestation of some cabinet resonance. There was a fair amount of ringing resonance in what appeared to be the upper midrange / lower treble region.” I also said that “you may be able go from a really good loudspeaker to an exceptional loudspeaker. ”. Well, apparently Bill felt the same, and that's what he sought to accomplish.
Was it worth it? I received Bill's latest version, which represents the culmination of all his extensive mod work. Luckily, I still have the Essence on hand, which Bill was glad to learn.. (I think Bob of SP Tech is getting senile or something, since he must have forgotten that I still have them.
) This made it possible to perform direct side-by-side comparisons between the Bella and the Essence. When I got the Bellas, they were not fully burned in, so I put them under the 24/7 burn-in process playing music and burn-in signals. At the time I am writing this, the Bellas have been burned in for only about 48 hours. The change I heard between 24 hours of burn-in on Thursday and 48 hours on Friday was very apparent, so I'm reasoning that more change will logically follow with additional burn-in. Every speaker I've owned has gotten steadily better through 200 hours and beyond.
I believe Bill currently has an introductory price of $2100 for the standard cabinet, which as the SP Tech Essence is $995, I believe. Response Audio is currently offering an additional 10% off through December 31st. Bill said this to me, “As you know, my goal with these speakers was to produce a system that involves the listener in the music while still maintaining the high qualities everyone looks for in a speaker of this price point.”
At the 48 hour mark, I believe the Bella's have already accomplished his goal. They are sounding mighty good. Because I believe the Bellas haven't reached their full potential, that's about all I'm going say right now. The Bella mods have taken the Essence from a “really good loudspeaker to an exceptional loudspeaker.”
More to come later.
