N2Xs have arrived in St. Louis

sharpsuxx · « **on:** 3 Nov 2011, 07:12 pm »

A/Bing with my Onix XSLS powered my Yamaha rxv1800 approximately 200 Watts into 2 ch at 8 ohms. all I have to say is all else being almost equal the tweeter is still impressing me. putting them through their paces now snare and high hat are particularly more revealed, sound stage is virtually identical. There is quite difference in bass, obviously comparing a ported tower to a sealed monitor is not a fair comparison. The N2X are slightly less forgiving on live recordings exposing poor mixing but that can be a good or a bad thing depending on the recording, not so unforgiving as to make mediocre recordings unlistenable but certainly more revealing.

more to come...

eclein · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Nov 2011, 07:57 pm »

Play something with Strings (Violin, Orchestra, etc..) they are fabulous with that stuff.

HT cOz · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Nov 2011, 08:01 pm »

I think the XLS conversion to Neo2X is not that bad.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Nov 2011, 10:40 pm »

I have really been digging norah Jones on these guys so smooth and sultry performed by a smooth and sultry speaker. Any recommendations for a good strings album to listen to?

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Nov 2011, 03:51 am »

Would you have any interest in throwing something else into the mix for comparison? I have a demo pair of my Vapor Audio Breeze you could give a listen.

tabrink · « **Reply #5 on:** 4 Nov 2011, 04:02 am »

I would take those Vapor Audio Breeze in NY second!

And then My Clue and Hoyt Bedfords would be for sale!

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #6 on:** 4 Nov 2011, 04:51 am »

Quote from: tabrink on 4 Nov 2011, 04:02 am

I would take those Vapor Audio Breeze in NY second!
And then My Clue and Hoyt Bedfords would be for sale!

Well, you know I'd be happy to build a pair for you

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Nov 2011, 01:02 pm »

Turbo I would love to hear the Vapor Audio Breeze in this comparison. Let me know what you need to send me over a set. I am in the process of a system rebuild and I know the sound I am shooting for but need to hear for myself. If you would like I would be happy to write up a full comparison at the end of my demo.

I read up on your speakers a little more, very interesting concept, looking forward to hearing them.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Nov 2011, 01:19 pm »

An update for this sort of stream of consciousness, what are you thinking right now now speaker review. Last night when the wife came home I popped in the Norah Jones I had been listening too, (let me preface this by saying I told her pre putting it in that I couldn't hear much of a difference between the two other than the obvious bass extension so I wouldn't color her experience.) and A/Bed the speakers for her on tracks 2 and 3, Who I am to you and Those Sweet Words, off of her album Feels Like Home. I asked my wife for input and she said the same thing I did about the more sultry vocals and the real focus brought to some of the details in the music like a single Rap on a snare during a drum roll.

Shortly after this and all of the Thursday evening television we record, The Office, Big Bang Theory, Whitney among others. I left the N2Xs in to see how they did in day to day monotony and I was quite impressed the only thing clearly evident was the need to switch out at least the tweeter in my XCS MTM Center channel to properly match the voicing of my front three in my setup. After the day to day we returned to some relaxing musical enjoyment I realized we had not yet honored the passing of Amy Winehouse with a revisit of the saddest but fairly good sounding Back to Black Concert DVD, as is common place in this household any night of the week. I set it to 2 channel stereo to keep the sub and the rest of the system out of it. I must say yet again other than Bass extension we both preferred the N2X tweeter to that of the X-SLSs no surprise there, I suppose female vocals is the real separating factor between these two speakers, by no means is this a final conclusion more to come. It sounds like there may be a new contender in this "shootout" of sorts.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #9 on:** 6 Nov 2011, 05:58 pm »

I went over to Ryan's to pick up the Vapor Audio Breeze, wow are they impressive for small monitors. The drivers could really punch and it was a sultry smooth tweeter for something in its price range. I have a feeling they are going to be at whole new level from the other speakers currently in my system.
Ryan was a very helpful and informative guy, really seems to know his stuff. I heard the Vapor Audio Cirruses while I was there, and after we got the amp he was testing to stop dieing they really lit up. The cirruses are truely one of the best speaker experiences I have ever had, could have been that dead silent room but the soundstage they through up was mind boggling. Great experience...I hope to have some impressions of the breeze by tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I think I might buy a timeshare in Ryan's basement to listen to those Cirruses though.

When the mass media audiophiles get ahold of those Cirruses Ryan is going to have to hire a small army to keep up with demand.

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #10 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 05:02 am »

Haha, timeshare in the basement

You could pay it off by pushing a sanding block. I'm so glad you loved the Cirrus, it really is something special ... but sometimes I wonder if I'm just in love with my own work. Reading stuff like this confirms that I'm not just a narcissist.

How are those Breeze treating you?

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #11 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 05:06 am »

still in boxes unfortunately...damn 12 hour workdays...tomorrow they are hitting the stands and getting a thorough listen in my room based on what I have heard so far of them I am sure they will not dissappoint. I think I going to try 5 teeth first and then work my way to 6...my room is much more live than yours.

let me know when I can start working!

tabrink · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 05:23 am »

Any chance of geting the N2x to Kansas City?
Tom

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 12:01 pm »

Ill talk to Danny see if he wants me to send them back first or on tour.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 08:10 pm »

the vapor breeze are resting on there stands and I am giving a little OK computer 24/ 96 a test listen on my speakers then on to the breeze. listening to some radiohead will only feed my excitement over my latest concert ticket acquisition : ).
First impression wow these are heavier than I remember...more to come

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #15 on:** 9 Nov 2011, 09:42 pm »

initial impressions, what a different approach to a budget monitor. This speaker is like if someone designed a speaker to be as good as possible until they ran out of money starting from the highs and working there way as low as possible. It is a very pleasant change from the typical cost cutting measures of using cheaper components and under engineering the designs. This makes a lot of sense with more and more budget 2.1 setups out there. Listening to Ray Lamontagne and Radiohead you can really hear the sweet mid range and very natural musical sound. The only gap compared with the x-sls is the missing punch in the bass, I wonder if Ryan could make a small tower version of these...hm? This is a perfect speaker for a small system connected to a capable subwoofer.

i will have to see if the wife's ear can catch some of the stuff without my bias. Much different presentation than the n2x. Much more listening still to go, poor me LOL.

If anyone else has any monitors to stand up to these two popular speakers and a new up and comer, I would be happy to give them a listen. i am having a blast with this.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 Nov 2011, 12:38 pm »

Listened to a Vienna Philharmonic performance of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony #3, (Like listening to a rock concert cracnked up to 13) These little guys can certainly come through on the dynamics, with the really loud horns I did have to move the ?wave guide? in another tooth to fix some of the issues with my very live room. I have a 100 year old house with plaster walls and wood floors, you were right Brian those simple little pieces really take care of the tweeter, ingenious solution.

More to come...

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Nov 2011, 02:17 am »

What's the latest there Holmes ... I'm betting you're spoiled for RAAL by now

apstoltz · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Nov 2011, 02:50 am »

interesting observtions. I used to own a pair of the sls's and loved them, very forgiving and played all music like a champ. When I had the sls's I auditioned the n2x and when I first hooked them up I did not get that WOW factor. I think this was mainly due to not being familiar with the neo sound. Once I listened to them for a few days and comparing back and forth I will say the N2x definitely best's the sls. The Neo tweeter gives the speakers such a presence as the soundstage is wide the imaging is center with depth with great separation on instruments. The neo's to me reeled me in to the music more as they are very inviting and sultry, as they are very enjoyable to listen to for an extended period of time. I look forward to more of your thoughts with the comparisons.

sharpsuxx · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Nov 2011, 03:25 pm »

I still have the N2X and I am getting a few more impressions on them now with my new pre-amp, I will put a full write up of the X-SLS / N2X / and Breeze shortly I don't want to rush to anything.