New Ulysses Owner

catastrofe · « **on:** 4 Mar 2013, 02:00 pm »

For some time now, I've been thinking about a move from my Sanders 10C hybrid stat system to a high(er) efficiency speaker that can be used with low to mid power tubes. I spoke with Lou a couple of weeks ago, and based on my room size, he thought the Argos would be a good choice. As fate would have it, two days later I stumbled upon a local listing here on AC for a pair of Ulysses at a price that was too good to pass up: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=113993.0

I went for a listen last Monday, and picked them up on Saturday. The condition of these speakers is 9.5 out of 10, and Lou advises that they're current except for the internal wiring upgrade.

Installing these speakers in my system was an ear-opening experience. My Sanders are known for their detail, imaging, and soundstaging. As good as they are, I'm hearing things on familiar tracks through the Ulysses that I've never heard before. Soundstage and imaging are at least on par with the Sanders, but tonality is better. I'm currently using one of my Magtech amps, but just purchased a pair of Atma-Sphere M60 monoblocks. I'm expecting the Ulysses to shine even brighter with the OTL magic.

My previous speaker journey has included Meridian DSP-5000, Thiel CS1.6, Emerald Physics CS2 and CS2.3, and Salk SoundScape 10s. I thought the Salks were going to be my "last" speakers until I tried the Sanders. Now with the Ulysses, I think I'm there.

I'll post pictures once things are dialed in. Thanks to Lou for building a world-class product that's also beautiful to behold.

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Mar 2013, 05:28 pm »

Welcome to the very happy and satisfied family of Daedalus owners. Tonality, soundstage, clarity, detail and imaging are trademarks of Daedalus speakers. Plus, as you say, they are beautifully made.

Laura

stereodad · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Mar 2013, 08:18 pm »

How would you compare the Ulysses to the Salks ?

Thanks Larry

BPT · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Mar 2013, 08:21 pm »

Sounds like GAS time!

Scottdazzle · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Mar 2013, 08:29 pm »

Congratulations Catastrofe! You scored a great pair of wonderful speakers. They're a great deal at the full price so you have to be like the cat with the canary! My Athenas please me musically and esthetically every day. I agree with your assessment of how they rank with your previous speakers. I have come down a similar road to get to Daedalus. In my case it was like this: Celestion, Advent, Cizek, Polk (oops), Thiel (2), Thiel again (2.3), Thiel again (2.4), VMPS, and Daedalus. And yes, I proudly represent Daedalus locally.

MegaHz · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Mar 2013, 12:19 am »

Well it appears my reign was brief. Congrats Catastrofe, those ebonized Ulysses make a gorgeous pair. You should be thrilled you were able to grab 'em.

figcon · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Mar 2013, 02:48 am »

I echo the congratulations and hope you love them, like many of us have. I' ve had two pair of Ulysses, one cherry and now Maple. I also have experience with the OTL's you mention and hope you find it to be a good match. Don't want to be a spoil sport, but in my experience, they aren't necessarily the best match for Ulysses and I also know from first hand experience that they aren't always the most reliable amps around. I could expound further, but won't do that here. I can tell you that Lou's speakers all love power and if you like tubes, which I do, transformers help deliver power properly to the speaker load. Great solid state amps, like the Pass XA series amps also sound great with them. Best of luck!

Daedalus Audio · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Mar 2013, 05:12 am »

Quote from: stereodad on 4 Mar 2013, 08:18 pm

How would you compare the Ulysses to the Salks ?

Thanks Larry

best thing is to find a way to hear them...

thanks all for enjoying the speakers!!!

lou

catastrofe · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Mar 2013, 12:39 am »

Quote from: stereodad on 4 Mar 2013, 08:18 pm

How would you compare the Ulysses to the Salks ?

Thanks Larry

I didn't listen to the Salks for close to a year, so the only comment I can make is related to the bass. The Salks go lower, but the Ulysses are tighter. I prefer tighter.

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #9 on:** 8 Mar 2013, 02:44 am »

Quote from: catastrofe on 8 Mar 2013, 12:39 am

I didn't listen to the Salks for close to a year, so the only comment I can make is related to the bass. The Salks go lower, but the Ulysses are tighter. I prefer tighter.

Bob,
Add a pair of BOWs and you can have your cake and eat it too--tighter and lower.

Laura

audiotom · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Mar 2014, 05:17 pm »

I know this is an old thread

Catastrophe

I have Salk SS10s myself and can only drive them with limited amps
the 84 db sensitivity is a real hard load

I have a pair of Atmasphere MA1s that one would think would really sing with a high efficiency speaker sitting on the sidelines
the Daedalus sounds ideal

any comments on tonality and resolution between the Salks and the Daedalus?

how has your amp experience been?

thanks

Tom

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Mar 2014, 09:52 pm »

I have heard every Daedalus speaker from the original DA-1 to the Pan and all models in between (DA-Rma; DA-1.1; Argos; Athena; Ulysses) and Daedalus speakers are the most tonally accurate speaker I have ever heard, bar none. I have heard a lot of different speakers at RMAF over the past 10 years and the tonality of the Daedalus speakers always stand out compared to everything else.

david12 · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Mar 2014, 11:26 am »

Vinyl-lady, As you have heard all the speakers, can you comment on differences, particularly DA-RMa, Athena and Argos. I have had the DA-RMAs for 4+ years and they are'nt going anywhere, but I just wonder what the others would bring to the party. I am particularly interested in the V2 update, I have the polycap upgrade. In fact I think mine were the first polycaped pair. Lou has suggested I go for the V2 upgrade, I am sure he is right. Unfortunately I live in the UK and transport costs each way over the pond, will be more than $1000, which makes it impractical.

I just wondered about your view of the upgrade and differences between the speakers?
Thanks

catastrofe · « **Reply #13 on:** 13 Mar 2014, 12:12 am »

Quote from: audiotom on 11 Mar 2014, 05:17 pm

I know this is an old thread

Catastrophe

I have Salk SS10s myself and can only drive them with limited amps
the 84 db sensitivity is a real hard load

I have a pair of Atmasphere MA1s that one would think would really sing with a high efficiency speaker sitting on the sidelines
the Daedalus sounds ideal

any comments on tonality and resolution between the Salks and the Daedalus?

how has your amp experience been?

thanks

Tom

Yes, my experience with the SS10s was that they needed a lot of power...the Sanders Magtech did a wonderful job.

I did not have the SS10s when I purchased the Ulysses, so I didn't compare them directly. However, of all the speakers I've owned, the Daedalus are simply the most musical. They have plenty of detail and resolution, and I have no desire to try a different speaker.

Since I posted this, I purchased a pair of MA-1 Silver Editions and had them updated to 3.2 status. The combination of the Ulysses and the MA-1s is phenomenal with one caveat...I prefer the sound using Speltz Autoformers which I had originally purchased for use with the M-60s. I like the 4X setting.

audiotom · « **Reply #14 on:** 20 Mar 2014, 03:14 am »

I have a pair of Atmasphere MA1s and havent heard them with a high efficiency speaker

What is the ohm load of the Ulysses? I am tempted

audiogoober · « **Reply #15 on:** 20 Mar 2014, 11:12 am »

Quote from: audiotom on 20 Mar 2014, 03:14 am

I have a pair of Atmasphere MA1s and havent heard them with a high efficiency speaker

What is the ohm load of the Ulysses? I am tempted

The Ulysses are 6 ohm.

Daedalus Audio · « **Reply #16 on:** 20 Mar 2014, 03:23 pm »

Quote from: audiotom on 20 Mar 2014, 03:14 am

I have a pair of Atmasphere MA1s and havent heard them with a high efficiency speaker

What is the ohm load of the Ulysses? I am tempted

Yes they are 6 ohms , but they are a very very stable 6 ohms ( +/- 1 ohm or less above 100hz), that is the important part. These perform very well with tube amps that often need 16 ohm speakers. Keep in mind that many speakers may be +/- as much as 6-12 ohms (above 100hz) this is why some amps prefer 16ohm speakers.

audiotom · « **Reply #17 on:** 21 Mar 2014, 07:06 pm »

Quote from: catastrofe on 13 Mar 2014, 12:12 am

Yes, my experience with the SS10s was that they needed a lot of power...the Sanders Magtech did a wonderful job.

I did not have the SS10s when I purchased the Ulysses, so I didn't compare them directly. However, of all the speakers I've owned, the Daedalus are simply the most musical. They have plenty of detail and resolution, and I have no desire to try a different speaker.

Since I posted this, I purchased a pair of MA-1 Silver Editions and had them updated to 3.2 status. The combination of the Ulysses and the MA-1s is phenomenal with one caveat...I prefer the sound using Speltz Autoformers which I had originally purchased for use with the M-60s. I like the 4X setting.

I just happen to have Speltz Zeros

I'm curious why the speakers are not biwire capable

vinyl_guy · « **Reply #18 on:** 21 Mar 2014, 08:11 pm »

Quote from: david12 on 12 Mar 2014, 11:26 am

Vinyl-lady, As you have heard all the speakers, can you comment on differences, particularly DA-RMa, Athena and Argos. I have had the DA-RMAs for 4+ years and they are'nt going anywhere, but I just wonder what the others would bring to the party. I am particularly interested in the V2 update, I have the polycap upgrade. In fact I think mine were the first polycaped pair. Lou has suggested I go for the V2 upgrade, I am sure he is right. Unfortunately I live in the UK and transport costs each way over the pond, will be more than $1000, which makes it impractical.

I just wondered about your view of the upgrade and differences between the speakers?
Thanks

David,

sorry it has taken a week or so to respond. The day job is taking too much time right now.

I'm doing this from memory, The Argos is an advanced version of the Da-1.1 which I have. Great dynamics and tone; great bass extension; and a wide sweet spot due to the offset tweeters. The Argos midrange is more open than the DA-1.1 and has a more fuller sound with better bass and imaging. Imaging is good, but not as focused as the Ulysses or DA-RMa. It's been a while since I listened to the DA-RMas so I can't really give you a good comparison with the Athena, but I think the Athena has a little better bass extension. I think the Athena compares more to the DA-RMA than the Argos.

I bought my DA1-1s in early 2008. I've had the internal wiring upgrade, the all poly cap upgrade and the v2 upgrade. While the all poly cap upgrade was significant, the v2 upgrade took the speakers to a whole new level. The improvement was dramatic compared to the other upgrades. Definitely worth it. I posted my impressions here, http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=119371.msg1263297#msg1263297.

Maybe Lou will come to your side of the pond for another audio show and do the upgrade while he is there and save you the shipping.

Laura

Daedalus Audio · « **Reply #19 on:** 21 Mar 2014, 08:59 pm »

thanks for the notes Laura!

I don't often make "house calls" especially now as business is getting crazy but for David I will cross the pond, upgrade his speakers and toss a couple of pints.