[Tom White]

Hi All......
I am brand new to this site and ANY audio site for that matter.  I read every posting searching for similar questions to mine and could not find it.  If this is repetitive, please forgive.

I am reviving my audio hobby, but I am NOWHERE near the level of any of you (there is a compliment to all of you in there somewhere).  Don't laugh at me, but I have Nakamichi PA-7, CA-7 and CD player combination.  I believe that I am happy with my gear (for now), but know for certain that I am not happy with my speakers.  I live in a fairly rural area so hearing speakers is not really an option. 

I am searching for a speaker around the $2k level that doesn't sound like a box.  I want the high frequencies to be sweet, but present.  I like fast bass versus slow and sloppy but I am not a deep bass guy.  I don't use words like imaging and soundstage, though they sound cool.  I don't know what the mean or more accurately, how they apply to a speaker so forgive me for the basic explanation here.  I do know that I want vocals to sound like a voice in a room versus a voice in a box or through a bull horn.  Again, don't laugh, but the speakers I have heard (in my home) are Paradigm Mini Monitor, Focal 706, B&W 685 and DM602's.  I do not like any of them.  They all sound boxy or congested or even worse.  My ears liked the B&W's the best for what that is worth.

After lot's of searching, I found the Breeze and Stiff Breeze.  The reviews describe the speakers well and the Stiff Breeze sounds exactly like what I want.  However, will my current gear make them sound poorly?  Will buying the Stiff Breezes be akin to putting a Mercedes hood ornament on a monster truck? 

I listen to alternative, alternative reggae, electronic, non-classic jazz and some hard rock or hard alternative.  My room is 24' x 18' with 11' ceilings (hard wood with throw rugs and a fair amount of room softening furniture, etc, etc)  What are your thoughts?  I could certainly use some help.

Thank you.

[Nocturne79]

Hey Tom,

Well I really dont know much about your gear even after looking it up on the internet.  But I do have a pair of breeze speakers and for a little while I was using a Harmon Kardon HK430 to power them and I was very impressed with the speakers.  I found my breeze to take things to the next level with clarity and imaging and accuracy yet still allowing good tone to be heard from the instruments.  I don't feel the breeze are boxy sounding at all and that was just using a 1970's reciever that had just a basic service done on it. 

Hope this helps a little in your search and have a happy holiday

T

[Pete Schumacher]

Hi All......
I am brand new to this site and ANY audio site for that matter.  I read every posting searching for similar questions to mine and could not find it.  If this is repetitive, please forgive.

I am reviving my audio hobby, but I am NOWHERE near the level of any of you (there is a compliment to all of you in there somewhere).  Don't laugh at me, but I have Nakamichi PA-7, CA-7 and CD player combination.  I believe that I am happy with my gear (for now), but know for certain that I am not happy with my speakers.  I live in a fairly rural area so hearing speakers is not really an option. 

I am searching for a speaker around the $2k level that doesn't sound like a box.  I want the high frequencies to be sweet, but present.  I like fast bass versus slow and sloppy but I am not a deep bass guy.  I don't use words like imaging and soundstage, though they sound cool.  I don't know what the mean or more accurately, how they apply to a speaker so forgive me for the basic explanation here.  I do know that I want vocals to sound like a voice in a room versus a voice in a box or through a bull horn.  Again, don't laugh, but the speakers I have heard (in my home) are Paradigm Mini Monitor, Focal 706, B&W 685 and DM602's.  I do not like any of them.  They all sound boxy or congested or even worse.  My ears liked the B&W's the best for what that is worth.

After lot's of searching, I found the Breeze and Stiff Breeze.  The reviews describe the speakers well and the Stiff Breeze sounds exactly like what I want.  However, will my current gear make them sound poorly?  Will buying the Stiff Breezes be akin to putting a Mercedes hood ornament on a monster truck? 

I listen to alternative, alternative reggae, electronic, non-classic jazz and some hard rock or hard alternative.  My room is 24' x 18' with 11' ceilings (hard wood with throw rugs and a fair amount of room softening furniture, etc, etc)  What are your thoughts?  I could certainly use some help.

Thank you.

Hey Tom,

You may be in a very rural area, but there are a pair of Breeze monitors roaming the east coast right now, and coming back through the Midwest early next year.  They could coaxed into making a short detour to your neck-o-the-woods.

Where are you at? 

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=115397.0  Breeze Tour Schedule

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=115841.0  Breeze Tour Impressions

Feel free to post in the Vapor Forum if you'd like.  The thread would be there for others who might have similar questions as yourself and are perusing the Vapor Circle for impressions/answers.

Thanks for the kind words Nocturne79.

And more to the point, Stiff Breeze will make anything you're using sound better than it was before.  They're very capable speakers that surprise you with what a stand mount monitor can do.   But they'll also give you the urge to upgrade the other equipment.  Their presentation is very transparent.  And our enclosures are so inert that you'll never hear a "boxy" sound.

[Tom White]

Thanks Pete and Nocturne........
I live in Traverse City, Michigan (think base of your pinky fingernail).  I would be honored to demo the Breezes.  I read every post in that thread and thought the whole idea was ingenious, generous and a little daring.  That being said, it sounds like others are waiting and have been waiting for their shot at the Breeze demo.  Call me crazy, but I am comfortable pulling the trigger on the standard black Stiffs if it wouldn't be money down the drain with my current gear.  All the reviews seem to end with the reviewer saying the speakers make the upstream gear sound bad.  I am good with that as long as my gear doesn't make the down stream speaker sound bad. 

Pete....can you explain how I pull the trigger on the Stiffs and what is the lead time for the standard black as of now?

Thank you again and if others can chime in with their opinions.....I would appreciate it.

Tom

[stlrman]

Tom, good call on just pulling the trigger, you will not be disappointed at all.
I own original Breeze speakers with curved cabinet in redwood burl with matching stands. The crossovers are in the base of the stands.
I sold my entire system , having never heard the Breeze speakers. I had great speakers SP Technolgy Minis, Musical Fidelity A5(250 watts retails at 3grand)
I find the Breeze to have great midrange !, stellar highs, and fast tight lightening quick bass.
I am using a pretty modest amp now that I am extremely happy with. It's an Okyo 9555a integrated. It's abot 85 watts , very clean and neutral . It can play very loud in my room. I got this amp for $300 bucks second hand on Agon.!
Ryan demoed my speakers at Akfest a couple if years ago and many people had the opinion that they were  the best of show, beating speakers over 25 grand.
I looked up the Raal tweeters online and they went for about$380 a piece!!!
Vapor uses the best drivers at prices that are a fantastic bargain to the consumer.
If you are interested pm me your email and I'll send a couple of pics from my phone.
Good luck ,
Todd
How many watts is ur amp?
I run Spotify right from my phone to my amp with very good results.

[Vapor Audio]

Thanks Pete and Nocturne........
I live in Traverse City, Michigan (think base of your pinky fingernail).  I would be honored to demo the Breezes.  I read every post in that thread and thought the whole idea was ingenious, generous and a little daring.  That being said, it sounds like others are waiting and have been waiting for their shot at the Breeze demo.  Call me crazy, but I am comfortable pulling the trigger on the standard black Stiffs if it wouldn't be money down the drain with my current gear.  All the reviews seem to end with the reviewer saying the speakers make the upstream gear sound bad.  I am good with that as long as my gear doesn't make the down stream speaker sound bad. 

Pete....can you explain how I pull the trigger on the Stiffs and what is the lead time for the standard black as of now?

Thank you again and if others can chime in with their opinions.....I would appreciate it.

Tom

Hey Tom, I had to lookup the Nakamichi gear ... but everything I can find on that PA-7 says it's a solid amplifier.  And what I can find about the CA-7 pre says it's a nice piece as well.  I have no doubt they will perform well with the Stiff Breeze, or anything in our lineup for that matter. 

The Stiffs will be a new experience from the speakers you've had, and will give what you're looking for.  They certainly don't have any 'box' signature, nothing we build does because we go crazy in regards to box construction.  You'll notice when you pull them out of the box, they're nearly 50 pounds each!  I listen to a lot of the same music you do, and even though the Stiff Breeze is very revealing, they're not fatiguing at all.  Even the edgy/forward recordings in your collection will still be very listenable. 

Build times for standard configuration are in the 3 week range.  We might be able to get them to you before Christmas. 

To order, email me at ryan@vaporsound.com - or give me a call, number is on the website - www.vaporsound.com

-Ryan

[Tom White]

Thanks Todd and Ryan........

Todd....that is exactly what I was looking for.  Knowing the speakers still sound great with a solid state amp is what I needed.  By the way, the Nakamichi amp I have is 200 watts per side into 8 ohm.  I also have an Adcom 200 watter and a nice NAD set of bridged integrated amps.  The Nakamichi is not the most powerful, but it has a nice open and clear sound so I think it will best match the Stiffs.

Ryan....I read the interview you did and somewhere in there you said that you were listening to a lot of Skrillex lately.  When I read that, I thought to myself: "now I have to buy speakers from this guy.".  I agree, we listen to similar music.  I will email you today to get started.  I will need the matching stands too....of course.

Thanks again.
Tom

[roscoeiii]

Good stuff. Congrats!

[sharpsuxx]

Good stuff Tom, you won't be disappointed!

[Tom White]

Thanks guys.

Ryan....email sent.  Trigger pulled.

[TF1216]

Congrats Tom 

[roscoeiii]

And please report back once you have them. That tweeter is mighty sweet and I imagine the dual cones will work great. The Breeze is a super sounding speaker.