Well here goes nothing. This will be my first attempt at documenting my listening impressions. At our local audio gatherings I tend to have no problem yakking up about a given item, but writing them down is a whole other beast.
First a bit about my background, engineer I am not, sound professional, no again. Just your average Joe that likes good sound at affordable prices. I bought my first system in 1973; it was a Sansui quad system. Eventually I wound up selling Hi-Fi as a part time job to make ends meet. It was mainly mid-fi from 1976-1980. Marantz, Fisher, Pioneer, and so on. So I have heard a bunch of stuff and owned a bunch also. I guess I felt it important to say this to avert any ideas about hearing a sling of techno jargon that I do not have a clue the relevance to what I hear. I am inclined to use vintage gear, since it is what I grew up with, "I am an old fart". I have listened to a lot of new stuff at friend’s houses, and just do not find most modern gear to be as pleasing.
Now on to what I use for components. For the Ronins I tried 3 different amps. A Music Angel 300b, Sansui AU717, Bedini 100/100 Class A. Preamp, PS Audio 5.0. CD player Sony 999es, and a Cal Audio CL 15. Vinyl, Ariston RD11S, Grace 707, with an ADC cart. Additionally I used a Magnum Dynalab FT101A for some FM. So nothing fancy or exotic and all very affordable components with modest performance. My main source material was Orbital, Blue Album, various Ry Cooder tracks, Several Reference Recordings disks.
Finally on to the speakers. If first impressions are important then these speakers clearly set a great stage. Visually: Stunning. Paul told me these were not perfect cosmetically, but they still are very impressive. The selection of wood and finish is outstanding. The overall build quality from carpentry, to selection of Furtech binding post, sets the stage for quite an impressive speaker system. I have always been interested with open baffle designs, but never found them to be visually appealing, and also lacking on the bass side. But this design is very good to my eye and does not give you the impression you are even looking at an open baffle. So on the appearance and build quality a solid “A”. But as my audio buds would say “What about the sound” after all it is about the sound.
I started with my 300B amp. I had fairly low expectations given the 87dB rating. So I popped on Orbital and let her rip. I will say, that I was not rattling the windows, but I achieved a very pleasant listening level, and was impressed with the bass response. I love 300B bottom end, it is perfect for my ear and listening habits, so again I did not get major sound levels but I did produce what I would consider to be livable levels. The next thing was to hear some Ry Cooder and how well the midrange performed and again I was not disappointed. Smooth mids, very crisp highs and bass just right. And did I mention imaging. The speakers just seemed to fad away, nice soundstage and very good height. I also must agree with Paul that he speakers are very neutral, not colored on bass or high end. Although my choice for amps for long-term use would not be a single ended 300b I could live with it for some time. I had intended to write about the Sansui AU717, but given the price point of the speakers I do not think many would use this amp. So I will skip it and move on to the Bedini 100 watt class A, dual mono. Built in the late 70’s but still sounds very sweet. The Ronin’s really shined with some power turned on. The bass was solid and not over powering. Mids and highs were about as clean sounding as I have ever heard. I am a huge Tannoy fan for imaging and the Ronin’s clearly image just as well and produce a superb soundstage. If you are familiar with Ry Cooder, his music really test the mids and top end and the Ronin’s sounded fabulous. With my turntable, I gave them some of Prof Johnson’s, Reference Recordings, and “WOW”. I really like vinyl for overall dynamics and imaging. And the Ronin’s really performed. When Mickey Hart got his turn, I was prepared to sell the car and keep the speakers. Again I had to remind myself these are open baffle, yes with a bottom end assist but man do they sound good.
I have a couple regrets about listening to these loudspeakers. One, I wish I had a better tube set up, because I think they would be glorious. Two, I wish I were stinking rich and could afford to buy a pair. As I told Paul I now have red knuckles and red knees trying to keep the FedEx driver at my house. Seriously, Visually these speakers are incredible and sonically equal to the task of matching their good looks. Paul is a real nice guy and has designed and built a grand speaker system. He should be proud of his work and I am certain will achieve great success. Thanks again Paul.
Tim
