[PhishPhan]

I'm sort of in the market for a new pair of speakers. Yeah, I got that itch. In my search I've stumbled across the Ronins many times and been impressed with what I've read and the theories behind their design, especially their OB setup. Unfortunately, they are too expensive for me and probably too big for my listening room, hence my interest in the Sentinel. Has anyone here besides Paul listened to them?

I was also wondering if they would work well with my room and amp. My room is long and narrow, about 10.5' x 18, but I can pull them out into the room as far as I want. My amp, a Jungson JA-88D, is a pure class A design that puts out 80 watts and plenty of current.

I currently own a pair of Tyler Audio Taylos, which, while great, are lacking a little in the bass department. I've tried a sub before, but prefer them without as I was never able to setup the sub properly. Am I wrong to believe that the Sentinels will best them in the bass dept. in addition to providing the spaciousness and midrange clarity OB speakers are known for? I'm also a sucker for environemtally friendly designs; I think the bamboo looks killer .

Any thoughts, comments, concerns or experiences would be much appreciated.

[bpape]

Scott F. has a set he's listening to right now.  I hope to be able to get over to his place in the next couple of weeks to take a listen.  I know right out of the box he was impressed enough that he had already started talking about keeping them.

Bryan

[steve k]

I got a chance to hear them briefly at Scott's place last weekend. They image very much like the larger Ronins and sounded quite extended from top to bottom. They also seemed to produce a fair amount of deep bass for their size. I didn't get to hear them with Scott's normal front end as his preamp is currently out of commission so I can't really judge fairly but they certainly produce a big sound and sounstage for their size.
steve

[PaulHilgeman]

Thanks Brian and Steve.

Keep us posted when you get further listening in on them.  Scott should have an ETM Review up at some point in time.

PhishPhan, let us know if you have any more questions.

Have a great weekend,
Paul Hilgeman

[Audioexcels]

I'm sort of in the market for a new pair of speakers. Yeah, I got that itch. In my search I've stumbled across the Ronins many times and been impressed with what I've read and the theories behind their design, especially their OB setup. Unfortunately, they are too expensive for me and probably too big for my listening room, hence my interest in the Sentinel. Has anyone here besides Paul listened to them?

I was also wondering if they would work well with my room and amp. My room is long and narrow, about 10.5' x 18, but I can pull them out into the room as far as I want. My amp, a Jungson JA-88D, is a pure class A design that puts out 80 watts and plenty of current.

I currently own a pair of Tyler Audio Taylos, which, while great, are lacking a little in the bass department. I've tried a sub before, but prefer them without as I was never able to setup the sub properly. Am I wrong to believe that the Sentinels will best them in the bass dept. in addition to providing the spaciousness and midrange clarity OB speakers are known for? I'm also a sucker for environemtally friendly designs; I think the bamboo looks killer .

Any thoughts, comments, concerns or experiences would be much appreciated.

The Ronin wouldn't have any problem in that room and would sound absolutely phenomenal.  At the same time, given the pricepoint you are looking at, the Sentinel would be an excellent option, giving you the gorgeous midrange/treble from the open baffled drivers AND providing plenty of bass from the bass units inside those beautiful cabs.  I cannot think of a better speaker that would fit the bill for your aim which to me sounds like an organic sound that is well representative of live acoustical music...I know there are many options and speakers on the market, but I really cannot think of one (and I know a great many available), especially at this pricepoint, that will stand its ground against the Sentinel.

Cheers!

[PhishPhan]

Thanks for the feedback. 

Does anyone have a picture of the Sentinel in bamboo? I've seen the Ronin in bamboo but never the Sentinel. I've only seen the stock photos of it on the Nomad Audio website which look great, but I don't think it's in the bamboo finish.

[PaulHilgeman]

I actually haven't built a pair in Bamboo yet, but would be happy to.  It is actually easier than working with the hardwoods that I have been working with.  I should post a picture of the ones that I sent for the review.  They are pretty nice, with a solid cherry and walnut sandwiched baffle, and then cherry veneer on the back half of the box.

I will check with Scott F. to see what the timing is on The ETM review.

Have a good weekend,
Paul

[Scott F.]

Hiya Paul,

The Sentinel's are up right after I finish writing about an amp I have in house. I'm nearly done done with that article (I need about another week to tidy things up with it).

Once I put fingers to keyboard, it will take about 3 weeks to actually write.

[Audioexcels]

Do you get paid to write reviews?  I was always curious about this field of audio because a person that knew a few writers said they got nothing really...I hope it isn't true and that somehow there is compensation for you and the many others that make valueable contributions to the audio community.

What amp is under review, btw?

Hiya Paul,

The Sentinel's are up right after I finish writing about an amp I have in house. I'm nearly done done with that article (I need about another week to tidy things up with it).

Once I put fingers to keyboard, it will take about 3 weeks to actually write.

[Audioexcels]

Thanks for the feedback. 

Does anyone have a picture of the Sentinel in bamboo? I've seen the Ronin in bamboo but never the Sentinel. I've only seen the stock photos of it on the Nomad Audio website which look great, but I don't think it's in the bamboo finish.

I very much prefer the look of the bamboo finish on my Ronins.  There are many different stains/veneers/etc. but the simplistic look of an exotic wood used to make a speaker really does look elegant.  The look is a major plus with the WAF.

One thing to remember about purchasing from Nomad is the guarantee...and then the warranty...and then the comprehensive support after purchase.  These things are worth half the price of the Sentinel IMHO.  Most manufacturers/companies/and corporations for the masses cannot offer anything close to this sort of thing. 

Anyhow, my enthusiastic  for the Bamboo finish in gloss.

[PaulHilgeman]

Wow, you totally beat me to that one, walk away to eat breakfast and cut some flowers to get this house sale-ready and there you are Scott!!

Have a good one.

-Paul

[Scott F.]

Do you get paid to write reviews?  I was always curious about this field of audio because a person that knew a few writers said they got nothing really...I hope it isn't true and that somehow there is compensation for you and the many others that make valueable contributions to the audio community.

What amp is under review, btw?

Hiya Paul,

The Sentinel's are up right after I finish writing about an amp I have in house. I'm nearly done done with that article (I need about another week to tidy things up with it).

Once I put fingers to keyboard, it will take about 3 weeks to actually write.

Hi Audioexcels,

Let me start with the easy one first. The amp is the SoundQuest SQ84. It's a push pull 6V6 that also doubles as a headphone amp.

Regarding getting paid for reviews, yes I do get paid. Steve Rochlin, owner and editor of EnjoyTheMusic pays me $100 per article (music articles are $25). Considering the time I invest in writing each article, the $100 literally works out to about a buck per hour (for me anyway). If you've had the misfortune of reading any of my stuff, I suffer from what I call 'diarrhea of the fingers'. I've often been heard screaming "Help!, I'm typing and I can't stop!".

For some reason my articles turn out to be (usually) more than eight to ten pages in Word (before I add pics). The average internet writers only do between four and five pages. Unfortunately, I tend to labor over my articles. It literally takes me weeks to relate into words what I want to communicate about the piece of gear. For me, writing is a very slow and deliberate process. Very, very seldom have I ever 'cranked out' an article.

Some of the magazines pay more, some don't pay at all. When I was writing for TNT-Audio, we didn't receive anything. I understand that the print mags pay along the lines of $1000 (or so) per article. Trouble is, becoming a regular writer for them is next to impossible. Their 'stable writers' are lucky to have one article per year published. When you have a passion like audio combined with writing, you need an outlet. Publishing just one article per year would kill most writers with a passion. So, we choose to write for guys like editor Steve. He edits with a very light touch. He lets me write pretty much whatever I want. I've never seen him hack chunks out of my articles. He just spell checks, fixes punctuation and on occasion cuts down my run-on sentences into something more readable.

All in all, I do this simply out of the love of music and high end gear. The money I make writing barely covers the additional electric I use because of all the gear I have.

[Audioexcels]

Do you get paid to write reviews?  I was always curious about this field of audio because a person that knew a few writers said they got nothing really...I hope it isn't true and that somehow there is compensation for you and the many others that make valueable contributions to the audio community.

What amp is under review, btw?

Hiya Paul,

The Sentinel's are up right after I finish writing about an amp I have in house. I'm nearly done done with that article (I need about another week to tidy things up with it).

Once I put fingers to keyboard, it will take about 3 weeks to actually write.

Hi Audioexcels,

Let me start with the easy one first. The amp is the SoundQuest SQ84. It's a push pull 6V6 that also doubles as a headphone amp.

Regarding getting paid for reviews, yes I do get paid. Steve Rochlin, owner and editor of EnjoyTheMusic pays me $100 per article (music articles are $25). Considering the time I invest in writing each article, the $100 literally works out to about a buck per hour (for me anyway). If you've had the misfortune of reading any of my stuff, I suffer from what I call 'diarrhea of the fingers'. I've often been heard screaming "Help!, I'm typing and I can't stop!".

For some reason my articles turn out to be (usually) more than eight to ten pages in Word (before I add pics). The average internet writers only do between four and five pages. Unfortunately, I tend to labor over my articles. It literally takes me weeks to relate into words what I want to communicate about the piece of gear. For me, writing is a very slow and deliberate process. Very, very seldom have I ever 'cranked out' an article.

Some of the magazines pay more, some don't pay at all. When I was writing for TNT-Audio, we didn't receive anything. I understand that the print mags pay along the lines of $1000 (or so) per article. Trouble is, becoming a regular writer for them is next to impossible. Their 'stable writers' are lucky to have one article per year published. When you have a passion like audio combined with writing, you need an outlet. Publishing just one article per year would kill most writers with a passion. So, we choose to write for guys like editor Steve. He edits with a very light touch. He lets me write pretty much whatever I want. I've never seen him hack chunks out of my articles. He just spell checks, fixes punctuation and on occasion cuts down my run-on sentences into something more readable.

All in all, I do this simply out of the love of music and high end gear. The money I make writing barely covers the additional electric I use because of all the gear I have.

Sounds like you have two fine products to work on, especially the Sentinel:)!!!

Personally, the 6V6 tube is FANTASTIC when used properly.  The majority of tube making companies utilize the masses' interest and that involves the famed tubes like the KT series, EL series, and Triode based stuff (800 series).  Very seldom do we see the 6L6 or 6V6 type.  I know that any tube can sound good because an amp is "circuit dependent"...but I do have a favoring of a correctly built 6V6 tubed amp over anything else.

Thank you for the write-up regarding money and time and passion.  I had a feeling you got some sort of compensation, and I had a feeling it was a very small amount.  I think what you posted should be posted in another section, really, because it's people like you that are doing this for the passion of it and not to try and make money off of it.  Even the other "fortunate" if one wishes to call them that (those that produce the one article a year at $1000), are basically in the same boat.  It may be 10X what you get paid for an article, but it's only once that they get to publish anything.  In other words, you are actually in the more fortunate boat in that you are able to have a number of articles published.

The reason why I feel your post and words about writing for online magazines/issuers of reviews is because it is something I feel everyone should know about...the fact that it is for the love of not just your own passion, but obviously for helping others with similar or at least some sort of passion in this beautiful hobby.  It's an excellent read and I think the world needs to know more about it, simply because you give us something that is free to view, free for you to produce (electricity and 1 buck and hour negates any pay you get), and we should all be thankful for this.

Well...I know that I am.  I'm really a bartering type of a person at heart...meaning, I believe in giving whatever I can give that may help another, and in return, I expect nothing...though something in return is never a bad thing;). 

Thanks again for the post.  It's very enlightening, especially that it fits into the Nomad Audio section ironically well.