Not one, but two new designs unveiled?
Youvguys are killing me. How low do they go?
I'm sure Duke replied, but in case not...Duke mentioned to me f3 circa 40 Hz and that sounds about right. Open low E on electric bass and double bass is 41 Hz.
It did seem like Dream Maker LCS went lower. IIRC boundary reinforcement causes DM LCS Effects Speaker to have slightly lower cutoff (low 30s) than the Main Speaker (mid-high 30s). (One visitor, after the on-off Effects Speaker demo, thought it was a sub. It likely does provide a slightly lower bass cutoff, but a lot more than that too.)
As Duke likely mentions in this thread, I've not heard anything start/stop like this Vortex thingy ever, including many outrageous horns like the Volti Vitora next door. Scot Hull already reviewed Vitora, then heard it at RM, and said the recent post-Stereophile review (Class A, diminished low bass) improvements are hugely audible. Vitora sounded absolutely huge, but where I sat far L not even close in neutrality vs. AudioKinesis. Cupped hands effect too, but extremely broad range/not narrow so you can adapt to that.
Anyway, back to Vortex...extremely arresting....you can't easily have conversation while they play because the sound is so deep in your head...not just loud. The sound is as dense as I've ever heard, likely more so. SPL wise they will crack walls even with the S30 we used. Duke may disagree, but I thought maybe a couple times the S30 might have run out of juice powering DM LCS, sounded better when I turned it down. Conversely, Vortex never ever any hint of strain and levels that made me retreat to the alcove in back.
On a side note no apparent long term ear damage from the show thank goodness.
Hey, did Duke mention he used 16 or 18AWG on the Vortex, about 30', with tiny little alligator leads on the end to make it easier to switch with Dream Maker?
Remarkable sweet and wide image and just incredibly good first impression.
First meeting with Scot Hull, pro reviewer, Confessions of a Part Time Audiophile. He first listens to the Vortex, is just slack jawed, he can't fit this into any pre-existing paradigm (he recently reviewed the above mentioned Vitora behemoth horns).
After the audition, prior to hearing Dream Maker...Scot approaches Duke taking a brief break (probably sleeping while standing up after being so sleep deprived) in the back alcove. Scot is a big guy, thick black hair and black beard IIRC, has this huge camera and light tree, he looks sternly at Duke and says, as if Duke is in trouble: "Now the first thing is why do those speakers sound so good and image and stage like that pushed up against the wall? That's not supposed to happen!"
Scot's as close as a pro reviewer can get to our dear Tyson. Honestly, I am sure Tyson and Pez have made permanent imprint and changed the entire show review Gestalt.
Vortex: about as consistent in top/down response as I've ever heard. If there was any irregularity or FR glitch I never caught it. One does wonder how they sound per Cardas setup, spaced out from the wall. But the credenza/console begs to be next to the wall.
The more you hear them the more you want to listen. Absolutely no fatigue except a couple times it was just a bit loud for me. They have this immediacy and extreme coherence, kind of like a stat that plays like a horn but better than any prior horn.
IMO less treble extension vs. DM LCS, but I'm 6-3, maybe better down lower, don't know. Thing is though you don't really care about that once they start playing.
Big E licensed Pro bassist Mike Arnopol to make the bass guitar Vortex cabs. TalkBass forum speaker techs have ripped Mike several new orifices for claims such as maximum output, dynamics increase with input, room loading, speed, start/stop, etc, etc. I have to agree with Mike: there are two camps, skeptics and those who heard it. Bass mode wise, I will state categorically, although DM LCS goes about 1/2 octave lower...I'm convinced the Vortex had less modal effects even though DM LCS damps bass modes via six mid bass all with different boundary path lengths and eight ports to close or leave open.
These Vortex thingys are a new paradigm. Doesn't matter if they can't explain it properly or if science says LLPOF. The lap times tell the story.
I liked the Vortex look first time I saw them. The cabinet is simultaneously 50s retro and modern somehow. Scot said "They're the ugliest best sounding speakers in the world!" Owner/proprietor of San Francisco Audio Vision (super high end) Antonio came in twice with a woman. Second time she had her high end camera phone, she (discreetly) took a lot of images, and he kept nudging her to get more. I can only imagine he:
- Was spying
- Didn't want the world to know he fell in love with a strange speaker he doesn't resell
- Combination of the above
