[mresseguie]

Hello.

I'm about to drive to Denver (my wife and I are in Colorado Springs) to audition both models of PranaFidelity speakers the Fifty90s and the Vayu/fs. [Couldn't miss the opportunity!] I will post my impressions either tonight or tomorrow while the sounds are still fresh in my mind (still barely possible at my age). Let me know if you have any questions to pass on to Steven Norber

http://pranafidelity.com

Afterward, I'll visit one or more audio dealers in Denver. Any suggestions?

Michael

[DaveC113]

Steven Norber of PranaFidelity is an excellent designer and both his speakers are among the best values on the market imo...

Locally, check out Soundings... ask for Mark Krekeler. Also, Crescendo Audio.

You are welcome to stop by here sometime too, but give me a few days notice if possible...

[poseidonsvoice]

Hello.

I'm about to drive to Denver (my wife and I are in Colorado Springs) to audition both models of PranaFidelity speakers the Fifty90s and the Vayu/fs. [Couldn't miss the opportunity!] I will post my impressions either tonight or tomorrow while the sounds are still fresh in my mind (still barely possible at my age). Let me know if you have any questions to pass on to Steven Norber

http://pranafidelity.com

Afterward, I'll visit one or more audio dealers in Denver. Any suggestions?

Michael

At RMAF 2013, I had a great time listening to his MTM design. Mind you, his reference amp uses the NC1200 modules and they sounded excellent.

Enjoy,
Anand.

[Kenneth Patchen]

Michael,

What fun! Wish I could join you. Did you have to surrender your credit cards to your wife?

Looking forward to your reviews.

Cheers,
KP

[mresseguie]

Wow! What a day.

As soon as I walked into Steven's listening room, three of his minions grabbed me, pinned me to the floor, and bound me with Colorado rawhide straps. Then, they forced me to sit in his <very> comfortable sofa for hours of delicious music and engrossing conversation.

Don't give me that look. My wife didn't believe me either. 

My credit cards are safe and sound. I can pay cash for the Fifty/90s. They're definitely worth his asking price.

That's all for now, folks. I am dead tired.

[Kenneth Patchen]

Hi Michael,

Wow! congrats on the Fifty/90s. I was pretty sure you'd fall in lve with them. What did you think of the Vayu/fs? Can you compare their sound to a another, similar speaker?

Congrats again - really great.

Cheers,
KP

[DaveC113]

Hi Michael,

Wow! congrats on the Fifty/90s. I was pretty sure you'd fall in lve with them. What did you think of the Vayu/fs? Can you compare their sound to a another, similar speaker?

Congrats again - really great.

Cheers,
KP

Sure, the Vayu is a lot like the 50/90... 

Steven's speakers are technically excellent, very resolving and neutral without any hint of distortions that might cause listening fatigue. They are an excellent value as Steven knows where it really counts to invest the money and he's spent a lot of time finding the right parts. The Vayu will make you really question what you get for spending more.

[mresseguie]

Sure, the Vayu is a lot like the 50/90... 

Steven's speakers are technically excellent, very resolving and neutral without any hint of distortions that might cause listening fatigue. They are an excellent value as Steven knows where it really counts to invest the money and he's spent a lot of time finding the right parts. The Vayu will make you really question what you get for spending more.

I must agree with you, Dave. I'd like to call them open windows to whatever was feeding them. Much of our listening was done with his modded CD player => PranaFidelity preamp => PranaFidelity amp and the music was wonderful. However, he also played a few tracks on his Kuzma TT, and O! M! G! was that amazing.  It was an eye opening experience. He's got a refurbished Technics R1500 [Correction: RS1500] reel to reel player on which he played one song. I nearly cried.

We did some interesting listening tests using different digital cables, different speaker cables, and a couple different power cables. We'd listen to the same track multiple times with sometimes subtle and sometime quite large differences thanks to the different cords/wires/cables. That was very cool.

Just to give you an idea of how cool Steven is, I brought along my <what I had assumed were> cheapo speaker wires that I use for traveling or for my son's system, and I brought my Nuprime IDA-8 integrated amp. Why did I do such a crazy thing? Well, without my amp or speakers wires, everything in that room was new to me. I couldn't know what was influencing the sound - how much was the amp or preamp, or speakers influencing what I heard? Well, with my amp feeding the speakers I could hear just the new speakers. Steven graciously accepted using it. Sure enough, my little 100w/ch amp didn't sound as good as his 400w/ch NCore 1200 amp, but it still sounded pretty good. Anyway, with my little amp and my inexpensive cables those Fifty/90s sounded pretty darned good - not a match made in heaven, mind you, but enjoyable nonetheless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gotta take a walk with my wife....to be continued..........

[DaveC113]

I must agree with you, Dave. I'd like to call them open windows to whatever was feeding them. Much of our listening was done with his modded CD player => PranaFidelity preamp => PranaFidelity amp and the music was wonderful. However, he also played a few tracks on his Kuzma TT, and O! M! G! was that amazing.  It was an eye opening experience. He's got a refurbished Technics R1500 reel to reel players on which he played one song. I nearly cried.

We did some interesting listening tests using different digital cables, different speaker cables, and a couple different power cables. We'd listen to the same track multiple times with sometimes subtle and sometime quite large differences thanks to the different cords/wires/cables. That was very cool.

Just to give you an idea of how cool Steven is, I brought along my <what I had assumed were> cheapo speaker wires that I use for traveling or for my son's system, and I brought my Nuprime IDA-8 integrated amp. Why did I do such a crazy thing? Well, without my amp or speakers wires, everything in that room was new to me. I couldn't know what was influencing the sound - how much was the amp or preamp, or speakers influencing what I heard? Well, with my amp feeding the speakers I could hear just the new speakers. Steven graciously accepted using it. Sure enough, my little 100w/ch amp didn't sound as good as his 400w/ch NCore 1200 amp, but it still sounded pretty good. Anyway, with my little amp and my inexpensive cables those Fifty/90s sounded pretty darned good - not a match made in heaven, mind you, but enjoyable nonetheless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gotta take a walk with my wife....to be continued..........

Cool, sounds good! IF Steven attends RMAF this year I'll be showing with him, just for full disclosure... My cables and modded SurgeX were a great match with his system, and a little more matched in price vs the KS cables he's shown with in the past. Most people won't spend more on cables than speakers, lol...  Apparently the hotel rooms at the Marriot have been remodeled and might not work out for him anymore, but no decision has been made yet.

I do think he could come up with some electronics that match the speakers price a bit better, but his pre and amp are EXCELLENT and really show off the capabilities of his speakers. I think he's probably more interested in speakers vs electronics right now.

RtR tape is incredible though, isn't it? I want one!!! 

[Tyson]

Very few rooms get raves from me and Jason at RMAF, but the Prana room is one of them.  Steve really knows what he is doing.

[mresseguie]

Very few rooms get raves from me and Jason at RMAF, but the Prana room is one of them.  Steve really knows what he is doing.

I can now understand why you say this. I was in his personal listening room yesterday and it was amazing. If I could afford his amp and preamp (and avoid divorce), I would slap down cash, plastic, gold coin, whatever to secure them. Unfortunately, the reality is I can only afford his Fifty/90s or the Vayu speakers, but the Vayu are too large for my room in Taiwan. He did mention that he's sold the Fifty/90s to various Asian customers for the same reason.

Just in case I wasn't clear earlier, his Fifty/90s are superb speakers. Give them decent amp and preamp and they'll take you high.

[mresseguie]

Hi Michael,

Wow! congrats on the Fifty/90s. I was pretty sure you'd fall in lve with them. What did you think of the Vayu/fs? Can you compare their sound to a another, similar speaker?

Congrats again - really great.

Cheers,
KP

KP,

I can most easily compare the Vayu/fs to the Fifty/90s, but that doesn't tell you much. I'll run through a list of <somewhat> similar speakers and offer comparisons. First though, let me tell you I was floored by the Fifty/90s. The midrange detail, clarity, and lack of distortion is stunning. I was in Steven's home far longer than I ever expected, yet I never experienced listening fatigue. Every song he played (both his music and my CDs) sounded like the performer was right there in the room. Steven played "Fever" sung by Elvis. I've heard this song close to a hundred times - sung by other singers - but this was the first time I had heard Elvis sing it. Holy shit! Elvis was crooning into his microphone...making love to every single woman in his audience. The clicks in the left channel were so clear and present.

Okay. Let's see. I visited an acquaintance recently. He's got a great system powering older Von Schweikert VR4 speakers (double woofers below, midrange, and tweeter on top and a tweeter in back). Those speakers delivered a giant soundstage. I 'saw' eight-foot tall singers and performers in his listening room. The midrange was lovely. I now understand why people choose Von Schweikert speakers. ==== How did they compare to Steven's Vayu/fs speakers? As good and clear as the VR4s midrange was, both the PranaFidelity (PF) speakers were clearer and more accurate in the midrange. The bass in the VR4s was less distinct than either PF speaker. The Vayu/fs speakers delivered luscious sounding bass. [Steven played a couple Jazz bassists and the Vayus delivered every single note in beautiful detail.] Now, to be honest my acquaintance's listening room is spacious and Steven's is more modest. Acoustics are different in that Steven's room was built specifically for two-channel listening while the other room is an expansive basement. I am not saying the VR4s are bad sounding speakers. On the contrary, they sound great.

Next up we have the Sonus Faber Olympica III floorstanding speakers. I got to hear these just a few days ago (for the third time in my life!) in the Best Buy Magnolia store in Colorado Springs a few days ago. They were powered by McIntosh mono amps (forgot which ones), McIntosh preamp and I forgot which DAC and CD player. I remember the Olympica III speakers sounded noticeably warmer than other similar floorstanding speakers I have heard. They sounded very nice and of course I'd like to take them home with me. A part of me loves that sound. The other part that has to pay for that (speakers, amps, preamps,etc.) somehow finds excuses to look elsewhere. The Vayu/fs stomp them into the ground with clarity, 'open window' musicality, and zero fatigue. The Vayu/fs are not warm sounding. They present the music as the CD player, the TT, or the R2R deliver it to the preamp. [Perhaps 'stomp them into the ground' isn't as polite as your average audiophile reviewer would pen it, but I think you get my drift. It doesn't matter anyway. I don't get paid for this and no one has offered to give me freebies, so I can say whatever I like about my impressions of PranaFidelity speakers.] 

Please note that I'm describing my impressions of different speakers. Of course, different amps, preamps, DACs, sources, and acoustic treatments will impact how speakers sound. Each individual will have his or her own reaction to different speakers.

More later....

[martinr]

 

[poseidonsvoice]

Mrreseguie,

Great reviews. The Vayu which is Sanskrit for "Air" or "Atmosphere", appears to be a 3 way version of the Fifty/90, with all the attendant advantages you would expect, like lower distortions in the midbass and midrange along with consequent improvements in soundstaging. The ear is sensitive to this balance and as a result I wouldn't be surprised that clients would state that the Vayu has better midrange and treble detail, even though on the outset that the drivers are the same.

Don't forget that amplifier he uses though. That uses the NC1200 board from Hypex along with his own OEM input stage (remember he was one of the design heads at EDGE electronics). It's an exquisite design, primarily due to the NC1200, and he is pricing it as low as he can legally, ~ $9k, as he cannot go lower by contract. The chassis he uses, appears to be from Modushop, Pessante 3U I believe. The same one I used in my Narada phono stage.

The level of 'inner' detail you get from his NC1200 amp is not to be minimized! It provides a very 'real' window into the music and an extremely tight and detailed bass response as well.

If I were you, I would get the Fifty/90, and be happy. End your "quest" for DIY, etc...do not forget that proper crossover design is a bitch to get right and notice how Norber continues to refine and offer just 2 designs. I bet he can work something out!

Have I heard better? Yes. I own it, but...I'm a bit more exacting, I like a little more SPL, etc...I can see a lot of folks happy at the Vayu/fs or Fifty/90 level. The other manufacturer I like that designs these types of speakers is  Phillip Bamberg of Bamberg Sound Lab.

Best,
Anand.

[Tomy2Tone]

What a great experience Michael!

I sat in the Prana room at RMAF for a little while waiting for the R2R to take a turn but it didn't happen. I'm glad you got to hear all types of music, I'm sure that Elvis song will stick with you for a while...I definitely like Steven's vibe, the video on the link you posted was really cool how he explained the switches on the back of the speaker. Did you guys play around with that when you were there?

So just to be clear, you bought the Fifty90's or going to buy them?

[Tyson]

The reason you like Prana speakers better than the VR speakers is because the Pranas are in fact better.  Heard the VR's a ton over the years and there's just no contest, IMO.  But that's not surprising, since there's only a few speakers out there in the whole industry that I've heard that are on par or better than Prana - those speakers being Geddes, Serenity, Odyssey, Vapor and thats about it.  All the usual caveats apply, it's all just my opinion and I have my own preferences, yada yada...

[mresseguie]

Folks,

I do indeed understand how a great amp/preamp combination can influence how speakers sound. That's why I had my little amp powering his speakers for a while. They still sounded wonderful.

I was very lucky to have heard the Bamberg 3 series speakers at Axpona '14. Phil brought them in for a one night showing. They sounded wonderful as well. Unfortunately, they need room to 'breathe' and my listening room in Taiwan does not allow that. I've had to discount many speakers because of my room's limitations (WAF, traffic flow, distance to front wall). I can fit the Fifty/90s into a smaller space and closer to the front wall than Phil's designs allow for (unless I'm terribly mistaken). 

Tomy,

Steven adjusted the switches several times. Most times I heard a <to my bruised and aging ears> subtle change in tone, character, etc. Steven is far more familiar with the changes, so he is able to discern those changes far more easily. He did explain how the XOs are designed and what 'things' enabled the adjustments. To be clear, I did not buy them there and then. Melody and I will be on the road for another 6 or 7 weeks, my home in Oregon is rented out till September 8th, and I cannot fit them into luggage to smuggle back to Taiwan.

Over the last couple years of searching for 'THE PAIR', I have heard many that I really enjoyed; that I made a note to go back to in my final search, but until Monday I had not heard any (in my price range) that jumped up and said, "These fit!" There were several pairs above my budget that said that, but I want to stay married.