AudioCircle
Other Stuff => Archived Manufacturer Circles => Aether Audio => Topic started by: Aether Audio on 22 Jun 2010, 02:57 pm
-
Guys,
Please post your impressions of the Spirit-1s in this thread. Thanks! :thumb:
The first reports from the tour are located here:
http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=2325.msg24751;topicseen#msg24751 (http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=2325.msg24751;topicseen#msg24751)
Take care, :D
-Bob
-
Bob....
I had the opportunity to hear the Spirit 1 speakers yesterday at Evan's home...nice work !! :beer:
They looked good....and "sounded" even better. I hope others partake in this audition tour...their well worth hearing. :wink:
Good luck with the tour.... :thumb:
Chris
-
Bob....
I had the opportunity to hear the Spirit 1 speakers yesterday at Evan's home...nice work !! :beer:
They looked good....and "sounded" even better. I hope others partake in this audition tour...their well worth hearing. :wink:
Good luck with the tour.... :thumb:
Chris
Chris,
Can you expand on ""sounded even better"? What did you like about them?
-
Ted...
Chris, Can you expand on ""sounded even better"? What did you like about them?
Had my Mini's at Evan's to compare with the Spirit 1's.....both had a very similar sound, but I thought the new Spirit bass went a little lower than the Mini's.
I don't want to "spoil" Evan's review...so I'll stop now and wait for his comments. :thumb:
(http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/ofier/Stereophile/NY%20Audio%20Rave%202010/07-%20July%203rd%20at%20Evan/IMG_9498.jpg)
-
I've had them for a few days, but was ill for one of them, so I have not finished an initial impression write-up yet. The bass is amazing though.
Shawn
-
Ted...
Had my Mini's at Evan's to compare with the Spirit 1's.....both had a very similar sound, but I thought the new Spirit bass went a little lower than the Mini's.
I don't want to "spoil" Evan's review...so I'll stop now and wait for his comments. :thumb:
(http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/ofier/Stereophile/NY%20Audio%20Rave%202010/07-%20July%203rd%20at%20Evan/IMG_9498.jpg)
I'm staring at the picture thinking what's wrong, what's wrong? Then it hits me! Where's the beer bottle?
-
BobRex ...
Where's the beer bottle?
Left it on the outside patio...it was empty... :( :lol:
Ted....
Evan has posted his audition comments here....Link... (http://www.audionervosa.com/index.php?topic=2325.msg25280#msg25280)
-
It would be nice to Bob, etc. if he'd post here (at least copy-n-paste).
-
Yeh ... i dunno why people are posting their impressions on that site when the tour idea seemed to originate here. Atleast cut n paste here as well ...
-
Hi guys
I just received from Aether Audio their new Spirit 1 speakers and just want to give a quick impression compared to my Songtowers. I will give a more detailed review later this week.These speakers can go low, like Bob had posted on AC.They totally disappear in my room. I also like the way snare drums and cymbals sound on these but compared to the Songtowers they are missing something in the Vocal area. The vocals seem to be faint ?? I know these are only a 2 way speaker so some may say that is the reason and the Songtowers do excel in the midrange dept. Piano is like WOW. I guess you could call it the attack and decay ? I am listening to Kenny Drew "Impressions ". I will throw more music at them later. I will also say that they are power hungry . I am using an Odyssey Candela preamp and a Butler TDB 2250 amplifier and my normal listening level for my volume knob is about 9-10:00 and these I have it about 12:00 or a little higher. These things are very heavy around 45lbs each. The cabinet seems to be well built and solid. I think the color is a dark cherry.
So far I am pretty impressed with what this speaker can do for its size. Now if I can only get that bass from my Songtowers.
More listening impressions to follow after I am done with the house chores since my wife fractured her leg last week Duh!
First one to demo them for his tour. I'm actually getting adjusted to the sound. Listening to Sara K. Very good imaging. Must resist.
I've been listening all day and I have to say I am enjoying these speakers immensely. They are very tranquil . They reproduce music very well even at low volumes.I guess my earlier observation of differnt volume settings were a mistake ? I can't believe that these go so low ,I feel like I am rediscovering music again in a different way.
Just a final summary of everything I have heard from the Spirit 1
Well the time has come. I have not listened to my stereo all week and when I turned it on I was heartbroken. I knew something was missing. The Spirit 1's. Then I remembered Lonewolfe lent me his TP Mini's ,so I hooked them up and VIOLA . The sound that was missing. Almost, except for the bass.The Spirit1 goes much lower. The Spirit 1's were gone and this was the only way to experience them again. The Spirit 1's have a very natural "you are there" sound to me. I keep emphasizing the bass only because they go low and bring out the lower registers in my music and add such a great deal of dimension. The imaging is superb, the best I have heard in my room yet. Cymbals are so real sounding that I get chills up and down my spine. I can raise the volume and the music is clear and precise and no distortion,effortless. Every instrument is separated from each other superbly. I never thought I would be so GA GA over a monitor , but I am. And you know what is going to happen now ?
Thanks to Bob Smith of Aether Audio for the demo and for making one of his designs easier on the wallet. And only because of no custom cabinet. Otherwise I think these would cost more than the Mini's.
Here is a list of associated equipment
Odyssey Candela
Butler TDB-2250
marantz SA15S1
Salk Songtowers
-
Thanks, but he has his impressions across several posts. Hopefully he lives here too.
-
He explains on the other forum that JohnR banned him from AC.
-
Actually, he's not banned, I just haven't gotten around to removing his IP blocks yet.
-
Thanks John
Guys I posted my reviews on AN because it would not be fair to Bob if I couldn't give my impressions of his fine speakers
-
Anyone else listening to these speakers yet ?
-
Guys,
sfox7076, just finished his audition, but we have yet to hear from him. They're on their way to a studio in TX right now and will be moving on until everyone that's interested has completed their evaluation.
In the mean time, one pair has sold, so that leaves 4 pair left at he discounted $1,500.00 price. As a side note, this first customer opted to have them upgraded to the Spirit-1 "SE" version, which you will find further information about here on another thread.
Take care, :D
-Bob
-
I was just reading the posts on these and it seems it might be what I'm looking for, but no one seems to be posting impressions ? I thougt this was a tour ? Need to upgrade from my Baby Advents.
-
I was just reading the posts on these and it seems it might be what I'm looking for, but no one seems to be posting impressions ? I thougt this was a tour ? Need to upgrade from my Baby Advents.
Evan1 did post his impressions...on another site...here's what he said...
So far I am pretty impressed with what this speaker can do for its size. Now if I can only get that bass from my Songtowers.
I've been listening all day and I have to say I am enjoying these speakers immensely. They are very tranquil . They reproduce music very well even at low volumes.I guess my earlier observation of differnt volume settings were a mistake ? I can't believe that these go so low ,I feel like I am rediscovering music again in a different way.
I'm listening to Bill Frisell "East meets West". I swear I am in the audience. on the first track "I heard it through the gravevine " the soundstage is so huge. The guitars sound like there coming over the halls sound system with a little reverb from up above with the drums dead center in the back behind the speakers. Wow. These speakers have such a realistic presentation.
I never thought I would like a monitor. In my mind I always felt that they couldn't sound like much
I have then spaced about 8 ft apart with a slight toe in. and about 10 ft away from me. And yes these guys love power.
Just a final summary of everything I have heard from the Spirit 1
Well the time has come. I have not listened to my stereo all week and when I turned it on I was heartbroken. I knew something was missing. The Spirit 1's. Then I remembered Lonewolfe lent me his TP Mini's ,so I hooked them up and VIOLA . The sound that was missing. Almost, except for the bass.The Spirit1 goes much lower. The Spirit 1's were gone and this was the only way to experience them again. The Spirit 1's have a very natural "you are there" sound to me. I keep emphasizing the bass only because they go low and bring out the lower registers in my music and add such a great deal of dimension. The imaging is superb, the best I have heard in my room yet. Cymbals are so real sounding that I get chills up and down my spine. I can raise the volume and the music is clear and precise and no distortion,effortless. Every instrument is separated from each other superbly. I never thought I would be so GA GA over a monitor , but I am. And you know what is going to happen now ?
Thanks to Bob Smith of Aether Audio for the demo and for making one of his designs easier on the wallet. And only because of no custom cabinet. Otherwise I think these would cost more than the Mini's.
Here is a list of associated equipment
Odyssey Candela
Butler TDB-2250
marantz SA15S1
Salk Songtowers
sfox7076 has not posted anything.... :scratch:
-
Will post in the next day or two. Sorry, illness and work got me behind.
-
Part 1 (and I am a lawyer, so I take tons of notes):
My write up has taken a lot longer than I initially planned. I had tons of work, an illness, an unrelated medical issue, and tons of work. However, now I am ready to write my review. Let me start off with a little executive summary regarding these speakers. They are worth the price asked or more. They do sound great. The bass that comes from them is amazing. You will literally be looking for the subwoofer hidden in the corner when listening to these. No, there is no sub, just an amazing amount of bass coming from these speakers. I will likely not be buying them because 1) they are too big for the use I need them for in my office, 2) they are not as good in the mid-range and the high-end as my SongTower RTs, so I won't replace my current speakers in my living room, and 3) the cabinets are a bit big box retail store looking for my taste. I note that I am a wood snob. My wife and I only own solid wood furniture. Anyway, time for the review:
Rooms
Two of them here. One is the main living room. It’s about 20’wide (speakers on this wall) x 15’long x 11’high. However, the room is open on to the kitchen/dining area, making the room closer to 40’ by 15’ by 11’. It’s a lot of space to cover. The main listening position is 10’ from the front wall with the speakers 8-10’ apart. The other room is the office. It’s about 10’ by 9’ by 11’ ceilings. Speakers on the 10’ wall. No other openings to deal with.
Initial Non-listening Impressions:
The packaging was bigger than anticipated (but I later learned why), with the boxes weighing in at 43 pounds each. The boxes were cat-5 cable boxes, but upon opening them, I found some form of pressed wood and 2” of Styrofoam to protect the speakers. This was clearly not going to let damage occur to the speakers during shipment.
Pulling the first speaker from the box, the weight of the speaker was in line with what I had anticipated by the box weight. These speakers are substantial, but you do not need a forklift to get them out of the box. The size of the speakers was bigger than I had imagined. I forgot to measure the cabinets, but they are 18”h x 10”w x 16”d, with a curvature in from the front baffle to the back of the cabinet. They are not as big as floor standards, but they are the largest bookshelves I have ever taken possession of.
The cabinets themselves were built very sturdy. They are sturdy and do not appear to have any construction issues. I believe that these are the cabinets sold by Parts-Express. They were veneered in a light cherry like finish that was made to look like it had aged 4-5 years from the time it was cut (as many know, cherry starts out light and ages to a reddish color over time). I would not call the veneer real wood (though it may be). It just looked like the cherry veneer you would find on a Polk speaker bought in Circuit City in 2004. It just wasn’t a high class look for a $2000 speaker. Now some people don’t care about the look of the veneer and would rather sink the money into the other components of the speaker, and that is fine, but my wife has to give the purchase a stamp of approval, and I have a thing for real wood, so these speakers don’t quite measure up in that category. Off the bat, my wife hated them, while I wanted to hear them (in my office) before determining whether I could live with the veneer.
Finally, the grills looked fine, but did not stay affixed to the speakers. The grills each contained magnets which were supposed to hold fixed to the front baffle of the speaker by the heads of the screws used to hold the baffle on. These screws had been torqued down below the surface of the baffle, so the grills didn’t stay on. Most people I know don’t like grills on their speakers when they listen, so this may not be an issue for some. My wife requires the grills to be on. I am sure the production versions of these speakers will have the grills hold tight.
In sum, on the non-listening aspects of these speakers, I was a little underwhelmed. They were bigger than I thought they would be, and they looked like they had come from a big box retailer because of the cabinets used.
Listening Impressions:
I set the speakers up on makeshift speaker stands because I wanted to listen to them in the environment that I normally listen to them (i.e., my living room). This connects them to:
Anthem D2v2 w/ARC room correction;
Audio by Van Alstine Ultra 550 (hybrid tube amp)
Arcam CD72
Apple Airport Express
Oppo
Tivo Series 3
I do not use room correction when listening to music, so I did not have to adjust the ARC, I just turned on the system. I started my listening session by playing a live version of “Tripping Billies” by Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds on the Live at Luther College CD. This recording is all acoustic. The CD is two guitars and Dave Matthews’ voice. The first thing that struck me was that these speakers were less efficient than my other speakers, so I had to turn the pre-amp higher than I normally would. So with the level adjusted, I started to listen to the music. The first thing that struck me was how deep the speakers went. I actually went to make sure that the subwoofer I use for HT was off and that the Anthem was set to not route to the sub. It wasn’t. These things go as low as almost any speaker I have ever heard and much lower than any bookshelf I have ever heard. I didn’t expect them to go so low. I didn’t do in room measurements at the time, but I am sure it was below 40Hz. When I ran ARC later (just for fun), it showed in room response down to at least 35HZ. I was in awe at the bass. However, the mid range and the high end were not as defined and clear as the sound I am used to with the ribbon tweeter STs. I would not call these muddy by any means. They are still very good, but not as accurate as my other speakers. This may partially be because of their being one less woofer on the mids and the tweeter used not being as accurate as a ribbon, but that was my impression. Regardless, I was really impressed at the sound coming from these bookshelves. I kept marveling at how I heard notes below 40hz that I would not hear listening to other speakers. These speakers do not need a subwoofer. Yes, they go that deep. My wife asked me why the “guitar and vocals” had been sucked out of the room.
About that time, I realized that maybe I needed to tweak their setup. I toed in the speakers a bit less than I had and started the song again. It resolved some of the mid range detail better, but the high end remained more or less the same.
I moved on to my next song. I like to listen to songs that are not recorded well when hearing new speakers. Most great recordings produce great results on almost any speaker. However, a bad recording cannot hide flaws unless the speakers hide them for it. This is a double edged sword as a speaker that hides certain flaws well often misses the details you want on good recordings. This results in a speaker that is not fatiguing, but doesn’t give you the detail you want (in my experience anyway). This is a weird way of listening to speakers, but that is what I do. Anyway, I popped in Coroner’s Gambit by the Mountain Goats and dialed up Insurance Fraud #2. It’s kind of an odd song, but it displays a lot for a lo-fi song, and these speakers did not disappoint. They accurately portrayed the songs flaws, but were not fatiguing. It’s hard to explain, but it has the mix that I want in a speaker--detailed and not fatiguing. I actually liked the Mountain Goats on this set of speakers better than on my current set because I thought they conveyed the feel of the lo-fi sound better and in a way that would let me listen to it for hours without missing the detail of the songs.
-
Part 2:
On to the next track. For fun, I put on Portishead’s Dummy. This song has so much bass it can blow some cheapo speakers. The song also has some interesting strings and the first female voice I would hear from these speakers (though not too high in the register). It produced this song really well because the bass was there. The STs don’t convey that bass. It added a dimension to the song that I would not have absent my subwoofer in the room (if I chose to use a mode that enabled it to be used). The song was otherwise produced masterfully. I could not really fault the speakers for anything on this track. It was great.
The next thing I listened to was basically a plethora of Kathleen Edward’s tunes. She’s an alt-country artist from Ottawa area. I love her sound (and she is pretty nice to look at as well). Again the bass was there, but her voice was a little bit rolled off compared to what I am used to with my current speakers. Was it bad? No. But, I did feel I was missing something when I listened to her sing. I will point out that these speakers did really shine at the beginning of the song “Buffalo” off of Asking for Flowers. If you pay attention, you hear the hammers on the piano falling back into place. Most poor speakers completely miss that detail (in my previous experience). The Spirit-1s nailed that sound.
I then moved on to Damien Rice “Finger Prints Warts and All”. This is a Live EP I discovered because of my intense like of Damien Rice’s sound from 4-5 years ago and Lisa Hannigan’s (his then sidekick) voice. The track Cannonball is a favorite of mine. Rice is an OK guitar player, and hearing him in the opening reveals he has some issues. The Spirit-1s picked this up well. However, “I Remember” exposed some of the detail the speakers miss compared to the ribbon tweeter speakers I have. Hannigan’s voice was good, but I think I lost some of the detail at the top end in her voice. Subtle changes in the voice, not huge issues, but the detail was missing. That being said, I can tell you that they were, far and away, the best sounding non-floor standing speakers I have ever listened to.
I listened to a bunch of other stuff for a few days and then I switched rooms. I want to point out that the Spirit-1s had a HUGE room to fill with bass and it did it admirably. I forgot to mention, I have a 15” Rythmik sub, so I am used to clean accurate bass when I want it.
My wife and I have a small office for us to relax in. I have:
AVA Ultimate 70 (tube amp)
AVA T-8 Tube Preamp
Arcam CD72T
setup in there to listen, but no speakers as of yet. Thus why I jumped on the Spirit-1 trial list. The initial problem wit the speakers was that they are just too big for the space we have there. They are big. Not huge, but big. Until you see speakers in a space, you ar never sure how they will look. Once we got them in the room, we realized they won’t really fit in the places we envisioned. It was going to be tough to use them in the office. Also, the wife didn’t really want those veneer cabinets in that room as she had issues with the cabinet look. Regardless, I hooked them up in the office and listened to the same mix of music. After a little tweaking, pretty much the same sound that I had in the other room.
So what is next you ask? Aimee Mann. I wanted to listen to female voices more (being higher in register). Aimee Mann was the same experience I had with Lisa Hannigan, there was something missing I felt.
At that point, my friend brought over my old pair of Paradigm Studio 20s v.2s that I had sold him 2 years back. Well, that was kind of an eye opening experience. I played a bunch of the stuff that I had listened to previously and determined that the Studio 20s were just not in the same league. They had bass, but they were not even close to as deep, and they had high end, but they were no where near as accurate. Ribbon tweeters had clearly spoiled me. I had forgotten what it was like to listen to speakers without them. This prompted me to hookup my Salk Surrounds and compare them to the Spirit-1s. Again, there was no comparison. I would say that the mid-range and high-end performance was similar, the low end was not even close. The bass of the Spirit-1s made the bass of the Salk Surrounds look like a pair of speakers some guys sold you out of the back of the truck because they “accidently” had too many pairs shipped to them. The bass is just that much better.
I moved on to play Josh Ritter after that, another person I really like. He is an acoustic singer songwriter that has drawn Dylan comparisons for years. His music was reproduced exceedingly well. The prior comparisons really re-centered my expectations and my thoughts. I lost some of my overt ribbon prejuidice there. These speakers just flat out performed well.
We rifled through some jazz and other songs.
Final Impressions
I really grew to enjoy the Spirit-1s. They don’t have the detailed high end of a ribbon tweeter, but they do have bass that I cannot imagine getting out of any other monitor speakers I have listened to, and cannot get out of my SongTowers. They just blew the doors off any other speaker thrown at them.
Bottom line: Great speakers at a great price. The cost isn’t an issue for me, the space is. These speakers produce much better sound than any bookshelf should. I lament a loss of some detail in the top end on these, but the bass increase from these speakers is amazing and resolves one of the issues that I always thought I would have with a monitor speaker. I would buy these for the office if they were smaller. Sigh. What can you do? Please feel free to contact me with questions.
Shawn
-
Great write up . You nailed it. :thumb:
-
Thanks for the impressions Shawn...<insert joke here about an attorney being useful>. :D
Also, just out of fairness, I wanted to point out that Aether does offer a crossover and tweeter upgrade for $1000, bringing the MSRP to $2995; I believe the demo pair as is $1995.
To my knowledge, the Salk SongTower RT is $2600, and they do offer a cap upgrade for $300 more.
Maybe Bob can chime in here with the benefits of the crossover / cap upgrade.
Best,
-
Maybe Bob can chime in here with the benefits of the crossover / cap upgrade.
It would be great to hear Bobs view on that. I was also very interested in the comments about ribbon tweeters. I must admit to a love hate relationship with them. I love their light airy detailed quality but did see some articles giving their distortion measurements. That light airy quality is quite possibly actually distortion. Even some extremely well respected conventional tweeters such as the Hiquphon are sometimes described like that. Check out:
http://www.audioheuristics.org/measurements/Testing/Tweeter4/tweeter4index.htm
'Some general comments and opinions. What to make of the ow2's mediocre nonlinear distortion performance? Well, think about this. Perceived detail and "air" can occur for a number of reasons. Good off axis performance can do this. Good linear distortion performance can do this. But modest amounts of higher order nonlinear distortion can also increase apparent detail. In this fashion, I suppose the ow2 is the winner. But only in the sense that "it gives you all the detail that's in the recording, and then some..." Anyway, I find the nonlinear performance disappointing for the ow2. The xt19 on the other hand, is fairly close to the ow2 in off axis performance and linear distortion, but has an overall better nonlinear distortion spectrum. The only asterisk as far as the xt19's nonlinear distortion performance is it's mediocre 2nd order performance. But if I had to pick between a little bit of 2nd order distortion or multiple higher order products, I would pick the 2nd order products. And the price of the xt19 is a bargain-less than $50. Does this mean the xt19 is a "poor man's hiquphon?" No, actually I think the xt19 is better than that. Neither tweeter is perfect and depending on your priorities, the xt19 may be better in absolute terms as well as cheaper. Or, it may not, if you value off axis and linear performance so strongly and you're willing to accept some higher order distortion products.'
I seem to recall Bob in the past has commented his tweeters can sound a bit recessed and lacking in detail but what you are hearing is in fact a lowering of distortion.
Great if Bob can chime in with his view.
Thanks
Bill
-
sfox7076,
Thanks so much for your incredibly detailed and thoughtful review. :thumb:
Although the Spirit-1's weren't a good fit for you, we sincerely appreciate your time and extreme effort. Sorry too about the shipping mix-up. Sometimes we're all at the mercy of what other's do… or don't do. Anyway, I would like to comment on one of your observations:
I would not call the veneer real wood (though it may be). It just looked like the cherry veneer you would find on a Polk speaker bought in Circuit City in 2004. It just wasn’t a high class look for a $2000 speaker.
The veneer is real wood, but I can't say whether the species is real cherry or not. You'd be surprised how many speakers at this price point and higher use wood grain vinyl instead of real veneer though. I remember many years ago a pair of Scientific Fidelity (out of business now) - Crown Jewels, I believe – that used wood grain vinyl and sprayed high gloss clear-coat over it. Looked pretty good but you could tell it was fake. That was in the late 90's and they were at least $2,500.00. Some other engineers and I at Crown International had a speaker-building club and we did a shootout with the CJs vs. my old Timepiece 1.0s (I guess you'd call them 1.0s – they were the first prototypes). Anyway, my TPs blew 'em out of the water. But I digress.
We tried building speakers with the real wood finish as you prefer and at a similar price point. Performance wasn't scarified either as many here will attest. But… we couldn't make any money on them, so the Timepiece Minis have gone the way of the Dodo. Maybe somebody here on the circle and in your area will let you give the Minis a try some time. In any case, we figured if something had to be sacrificed, it would have to be the high-end finish, as performance will never be on the chopping block as long as I have anything to do with it. Even though $2K isn't cheap, how much would a similar system cost when you factor in the price of a decent subwoofer to get the same bass response the Spirit-1s offer? You'd never get the coherence with a sub, and the final cost would probably still be higher. Everything is a trade-off, but when you consider the performance and the fact that they aren't texture painted rectangular boxes, I think the value is still there. Besides, although you like wood, I think you or anyone would really be impressed with the quality of the black piano finish. Now those puppies are sharp!
In retrospect, I suspect the Spirit-1 SE's would have been a bit more to your liking. Although the enclosure issues would remain, I think their superior performance may have been more to your liking. Thanks again and…
Take care, :D
-Bob
PS. Those that are interested can find a more detailed response and analysis to sfox7076's observations here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=85189.msg828541;topicseen#new (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=85189.msg828541;topicseen#new)
PSS. Bill… Thanks for setting me up. :thumb: You must be frick'n psychic!!! :o
-
The Spirit 1 's have landed. Piano Black. Beautiful well made cabinet. Bob has also tweaked the crossover to bring the midrange up to the same level as the bass and the highs so these are slighty modified than the tour version .Excuse the dust and smudges,I couldn't wait to set them up
Break in time :bowdown: :banana piano: :weights: :dance: :hyper: :rock: :singing:
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36664)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36665)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36666)
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36667)
-
Enjoy Charles!!!!! Congrats!!! :thumb:
-
:thumb: :thumb:
-
Very nice.....I look forward to your future comments....happy listening !! :beer:
-
Congrats and Enjoy!! :thumb: :thumb:
-
Congrats!
-
Professor Xavier, :)
I think a lot of readers would really enjoy it if you started a new thread and posted some more photos / listening impressions / updates along the way as you get these dialed in!
Also, I can't tell, but is that a GIK bass trap in the corner? How do you like it?
-
Professor Xavier, :)
I think a lot of readers would really enjoy it if you started a new thread and posted some more photos / listening impressions / updates along the way as you get these dialed in!
Also, I can't tell, but is that a GIK bass trap in the corner? How do you like it?
OK I will start a new thread soon.Gik bass trap works well . Openback and helps with the boom issues in that corner
-
Congrats and Enjoy!! :thumb: :thumb:
I was very tempted to cancel my order and pic up your Mini's. Sorry
-
Charlie looks good I really like the stands,nice fit.......Bill
-
Sfox7076, nice review. I think that the salk tower with dome tweeter would be a better match for the spirit1. As for looks, IMO the salk win even with the standard finish. It also seems to be u get more with ur moeny from the salk. Still, base on your1 review, the spirit is still a good candidate specially the way and other have described the bass department on these bookshelf. I think they can give some jaw dropping reaction when doing demo.
-
So Charles how do they sound??
-
Ricardojoa, you have some pretty strong pro-Salk comments vs the Spirits. When did you hear the Spirits, and with what electronics?
-
Charles,
I'd love to hear these, maybe on Oct 23d? We can use a speaker to anchor the other room, or can pop them into the main system too.
We'll have some form of Cherry amps there to use w/ them, I'm sure.
-Mike
-
Ricardojoa, you have some pretty strong pro-Salk comments vs the Spirits. When did you hear the Spirits, and with what electronics?
Really u think so?
Nah, i dont think im strong pro salk nor spirit. Too bad, i have never heard neither of the speakers but i like the way the salk looks better.
-
actually I came from songtowers and the way I look at it is hopefully more is going in to the components than the cabinet. The SPirit 1 made me say Wow.The Songtower never did.This is just opiinion.My quest is to eventually find a used pair of 3.0
-
Charles,
Thanks! :thumb:
... the way I look at it is hopefully more is going in to the components than the cabinet.
Not to boast, but if you were to really do your research into speaker design, you'd find that there is more solid engineering and original electro-acoustic design (that's truly worthwhile and makes a valuable difference) in even the little Spirits, than there is in the majority of systems out there - and often regardless of price.
Not intending to slam others, but I'm just not into "me too" design. Slapping a woofer and a tweeter (regardless of quality/cost) into a pretty box is boring and only produces "me too" results (but it does look nice, if that's the main goal). Tweaking crossovers only gets you so far as well. Exotic enclosure design & materials, crossover parts and wire can and do make a difference, but the cost/performance ratio just isn't there if there's nothing but typical driver implimentation behind it.
In the end it's a lot more fun to build a lower cost product based on what we would call more "common" materials, and that kicks the pants off other more expensive products. You can always throw money at a problem, but true innovation is more challanging and fun in the end. If you want "fancy" with all the nice finishes, exotic veneers, high-end crossover parts and wire, etc., we can do that too. In fact, I've never had the chance to build the "monsters in my head," but if I ever do... Magico, Wilson and the rest had better duck! :bounce:
Have fun,
-Bob
-
I was also very interested in the comments about ribbon tweeters. I must admit to a love hate relationship with them. I love their light airy detailed quality but did see some articles giving their distortion measurements. That light airy quality is quite possibly actually distortion. Even some extremely well respected conventional tweeters such as the Hiquphon are sometimes described like that.
Interesting. I'm not at all a fan of most ribbon tweeters, and in fact I can't understand how people can live with some popular speakers that use them. The terms that come to mind are: overly etched, crystalline, tinkly. They're not always too bright; it's usually more subtle than that.
As far as the Hiquphon tweeters, I listened to them for a long time. They do some things right, but they have sort of a "feathery" sound to them that seems like the "airy" comment above.
Fried Products used them for at least a couple of decades, but then switched to the Vifa and Scan-Speak ring-radiator tweeters. The comment I heard was that the Vifas were superior to the Hiquphons and cost a lot less to boot.
-
So Charles how do they sound??
I will let you know soon. I am breaking them in with an Isotek Enhancer disk(ok here comes the arguments :lol:)
-
Charles,
I'd love to hear these, maybe on Oct 23d? We can use a speaker to anchor the other room, or can pop them into the main system too.
We'll have some form of Cherry amps there to use w/ them, I'm sure.
-Mike
Mike
Sad news. I will be missing your rave this year. My mother inlaw is taking everyone to some resort in Pa. that weekend for her 90th Bday. That means you will have plenty of sunshine and it will rain on my parade. I am going to ask Joe to bring Chris's Mini's so Chris can get them back. That is if Joe will put boxes in his car. God forbid :duh:
-
Really u think so?
Nah, i dont think im strong pro salk nor spirit. Too bad, i have never heard neither of the speakers but i like the way the salk looks better.
I have been corrected for that same statement. I have been taught that "we do not look at speakers , we listen to them". :thumb:
-
I will let you know soon. I am breaking them in with an Isotek Enhancer disk(ok here comes the arguments :lol:)
...its got a good beat, easy to dance to, I'll give it a 9!!! :thumb: :thumb:
-
I have been corrected for that same statement. I have been taught that "we do not look at speakers , we listen to them". :thumb:
Then why bother with a finish. Sounds of course is important but looks is also very important specially when some is putting in a living room. When it comes to making a decision on speakers that will be bought over the net, alot need to be considered, specially when most of time having an audition is impossible.
-
ricardojoa .....
When it comes to making a decision on speakers that will be bought over the net, alot need to be considered, specially when most of time having an audition is impossible.
Here's your chance to audition....
See this... (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=81449.0) :thumb:
-
Then why bother with a finish. Sounds of course is important but looks is also very important specially when some is putting in a living room. When it comes to making a decision on speakers that will be bought over the net, alot need to be considered, specially when most of time having an audition is impossible.
I understand your concern. That doesn't mean if it's not a fancy box it doesn't look good either. What did you do years ago before custom and the internet? :scratch:
-
I understand your concern. That doesn't mean if it's not a fancy box it doesn't look good either. What did you do years ago before custom and the internet? :scratch:
Different taste for different folks. I dont have a lot of experience in buying speakers in the past. I was on Car audio mainly, even in the car audio industries, sometimes is impossible to audition a specific speaker i want. My purchase were based on brands names, specs and reviews.
-
tons of reviews on the web and hardly any go up for resale compared to the one mentioned. you have to like them.I did not participate in the tour with the intentions to buy speakers.I did it becaused it was free.what I heard I liked better than what I had. what edo you currently own?
-
and if you weren't the least curious you wouldn't be posting here
-
and if you weren't the least curious you wouldn't be posting here
you are right, curiosity kills. I fell like getting some of these ID speakers for audition and see how each compare. :lol:
I curently have Ascend Sierra, great speaker for the money but missing something in the high and the mid bass IMO.
-
I will be hearing a pair this weekend .Where are you located.maybe someone is close by and you can demo some speakers.Bob's or Salks or anything else that might catch your ear.
-
I will be hearing a pair this weekend .Where are you located.maybe someone is close by and you can demo some speakers.Bob's or Salks or anything else that might catch your ear.
Nah, im from asia. I dont think i will ever get to audition any of those ID companies. But i like the fact that some ID companies speakers are actually made in the US and offer better value comparing with similar prices speakers on the retail market.
-
plenty of excellent retail speakers out there.Or you can move to the U.S.:)
-
Interesting. I'm not at all a fan of most ribbon tweeters, and in fact I can't understand how people can live with some popular speakers that use them. The terms that come to mind are: overly etched, crystalline, tinkly.
Hmm....I've had my Maggie 3.6s with the (most excellent) ribbon tweeter for a little while now...and I have yet to be tinkled one even once :scratch:
-
Hmm....I've had my Maggie 3.6s with the (most excellent) ribbon tweeter for a little while now...and I have yet to be tinkled one even once :scratch:
To my ears they don't tinkle either. They have a light, detailed airy quality to me that I actually like. The issue I have with ribbons is when you look at their distortion profile they actually produce quite a bit of high frequency distortion (close to or actually ultrasonic) and their waterfall plot is not that good. This suggests the reason they sound that way is not due to quickness, transparency or other stuff people conjecture but rather because you get it all where that all includes distortion. The reason you get more detail etc is you actually get more than was there in the first place. If you go along to live events you will find it does not sound like that. The treble is actually quite recessed by Hi Fi standards. If you listen to Bob's and other top designers speakers who put accuracy foremost the first thing you will notice is a slightly recessed treble compared to ribbons and other 'audiophile' speakers. That's because to them accuracy and neutrality is their fundamental premise so it actually sounds like live music. I know one designer who attends a philharmonic practice performances once a week to ensure his ear is trained to know what live music sounds like and that is his reference. I suspect Bob does something similar.
That said there is zero reason in principle why ribbons must inherently have this issue. The new RAAL tweeter for example is reported to sound pretty much like nothing. My advise is to go along to a live events and use that as your reference. It could quite likely change how you judge speakers. I can't do that these days because of arthritis but in the days I did it had a profound impact on my judgement of speakers. The local Hi Fi store at the time was pushing Magnat speakers that to my ears had shrill overbearing treble. Yet people were going right off over them. I told some people near me while I was listening it was false - treble should not sound like that. First it should not be so prominent and secondly it should be sweet. They were not convinced.
Thanks
Bill
-
you are right, curiosity kills. I fell like getting some of these ID speakers for audition and see how each compare. :lol:
I curently have Ascend Sierra, great speaker for the money but missing something in the high and the mid bass IMO.
Sound is
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36911)
good to me . It could be a little more extended on top
-
Sound is
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=36911)
good to me . It could be a little more extended on top
You are a colector.
How do the sierra sounds to the Spirits?
-
In short . Big sound from a small package . The Spirit is still on another level. Not a collector . They belong to a friend
-
Bob when these finally make it back your way, would it be possible for me to give them a run at my place in Laporte?
-
Bob when these finally make it back your way, would it be possible for me to give them a run at my place in Laporte?
Send him a PM . I do not think anyone has them right now
-
Charles didn't you pickup some Zu's?? How did that go over with th misses??
-
Charles didn't you pickup some Zu's?? How did that go over with th misses??
Nope , cancelled it. Didn't reaally want them. I was bored.
-
I can relate.......
-
isaeagle4031,
Just PM'd you. Sorry, but I didn't realize when I wrote that you were here by me in LaPorte! :o Just e-mail me and we can get something worked out before the Spirits go back out on tour.
Everyone,
Sorry about the delay on the tour. The Spirit-1s Evan auditioned had to come back to the shop for a tweak and then I got flooded with work from NuForce. Movng up the ladder there and that's cool, but time left for Aether Audio has really taken a big hit as a result.
Anyway... THEN... before I got back to the Spirits, I had to attend CS again this year with the NuForce team and then... just like clockwork... I got sick as a dog while I was in Vegas. The trip home on the plane was only the "gateway" to hell... and hell was when I got home. I'm just now feeling well enough to head back out to the shop. The upshot is that it was bad enough that I was already behind on stuff... then the CES tour/torture test caused me to loose another good 3 weeks on top of it. :roll:
I'm back at it now though, but have a couple of speaker orders to finish before I get the Spirits ready to head out again. So... if you guys are still interested, please let me know. I know there was at least one or two of you that had originally requested an audition, so if those guys are still interested could you please post to help me figure out who comes first and the proper order? It's only fair that the original guys that are still interested should come first, but I've lost track after all this time. Thanks for your help! :thumb:
Well... now that CES is over and its a new year, maybe things will get back on track again. Thanks for you interest and input, and I'll be watching. You can always e-mail me at aetheraudio@gmail.com if you like and actually, that's preferred over PMing me here on the AC server. I spend a lot of time on NuForce stuff every day, so I don't manage to get logged on to AC very often these days. Thanks again and...
Take care, :D
-Bob