Maestro Review...

Harry P · « **Reply #40 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 11:30 am »

Quote from: Craig Chase

I have asked that the Maestro review be put onto the ACI site, with links placed on all the forums... rather than submit to an online magazine... it is a remarkable product, and hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves.

Craig,Won't it have a lot more exposure if you give it so someone like Enjoy the Muisc or Soundstage, etc? If it is just on ACi site will it lose credibility? Just thinking out loud here.

Craig Chase · « **Reply #41 on:** 22 Oct 2004, 04:31 pm »

Harry, I would be happy to let any of the publications have the review... if anyone wishes to contact the "magazine" in question, that would be fine with me.... or if anyone has a contact he/she would like me to try to work with... just let me know...

thugh · « **Reply #42 on:** 26 Oct 2004, 01:08 am »

Mike D,

When will the review of the Maestro be up? Until I actually have the monster installed (this weekend) I need some validation

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #43 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 02:31 am »

Quote from: thugh

Mike D,

When will the review of the Maestro be up? Until I actually have the monster installed (this weekend) I need some validation

Craig has the review completely finished. IMHO, it is thoughful, well written, and of course I agree with it

The question now is; will Craig have it published in a specific e-mag or will it simply be posted on line. Frankly, I think the quality of the review is as good or better than many published reviews. However, most publications prefer to solicite, approve, and run their own reviews rather than publish independent reviews. We should soon see how this plays out. I'm not sure if Craig might be willing to leave a few quotes/tidbits from the review here or if he feels that might jeapardize the possibility of a third party publishing.

Now here's the real thing; YOU need to get that Maestro up and running and tell us what YOU think:)

Craig Chase · « **Reply #44 on:** 27 Oct 2004, 09:43 pm »

The Maestro Review, in its entirety, can be found here. Thanks to Brenda for taking a Word format review and putting it into something that looks good.

www.audioc.com/speakers1/maestro/reviews/craigchase.htm

thugh · « **Reply #45 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 01:34 am »

Quote from: Mike Dzurko

Now here's the real thing; YOU need to get that Maestro up and running and tell us what YOU think:) ...

Mike,

Came home today and three boxes were waiting for me on my patio. The Maestro seems smaller than I thought it should be... amazing to get the equivalent of 4 Titans from an enclosure that does not seem that much bigger than a Titan. V4 should be installed in my Lex this weekend, my stands from Brian should be here in a week or so, so impressions are on the way soon

Craig,

Great review!

Jayman · « **Reply #46 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 04:58 am »

I am totally salivating after reading Craig's review. I can still remember how my passive Sub 1's sounded sharing the juice from my 200-watt B&K monoblocks with the Sapphires. I can only begin to imagine what the Maestro with its own dedicated 500-watt amp, a 15" driver, and ten years of ACI improvements have done to bring it all to a new level !!

I am now considering going with one Maestro as opposed to a pair of Titans. I know the generally accepted wisdom is that stereo subs are better than one bigger one for numerous reasons. I am looking to use my system for both two-channel music and also HT applications.

I don't know if Mike or anyone else here would like to comment on this based on first-hand experience or from a design perspective of these two speakers (Maestro & Titan). Which would be better, two Titans or one Maestro. Thanks in advance for your input.

Craig Chase · « **Reply #47 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 11:26 am »

Tom and Jayman - Thanks for the compliments, much appreciated.

Tom - Look forward to hearing YOUR thoughts on the Maestro.

Jayman - In the deep stuff, the Maestro is almost four Titans, and is a snap to calibrate... so it would be my guess.

Mike may disagree though, and he might have some inside knowledge...

Good luck to you both !

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #48 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 08:43 pm »

Quote from: thugh

Quote from: Mike Dzurko
Now here's the real thing; YOU need to get that Maestro up and running and tell us what YOU think:) ...

Mike,

Came home today and three boxes were waiting for me on my patio. The Maestro seems smaller than I thought it should be... amazing to get the equivalent of 4 Titans from an enclosure that does not seem that much bigger than a Titan. V4 should be installed in my Lex this weekend, my stands from Brian should be here in a week or so, so impressions are on the way soon

Craig,

Great review!

Tom:

You are in for a LOT of fun. I wish I could convince some people that the Maestro is small

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #49 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 08:50 pm »

Quote from: Jayman

I am totally salivating after reading Craig's review. I can still remember how my passive Sub 1's sounded sharing the juice from my 200-watt B&K monoblocks with the Sapphires. I can only begin to imagine what the Maestro with its own dedicated 500-watt amp, a 15" driver, and ten years of ACI improvements have done to bring it all to a new level !!

I am now considering going with one Maestro as opposed to a pair of Titans. I know the generally accepted wisdom is that stereo subs are better than one big ...

A lot of people are salivating over Craig's very well crafted writeup. As to one Maestro vs. two Titans, here's how I see it. IF you're after the very finest two-channel system, and for whatever reason you use a crossover point above say 60Hz, there are some advantages to stereo subs. However, they do take more work to really get right, you have to have the space, etc. Put it this way, I've been running a single Maestro for both two-channel and HT for several months and have been VERY happy to say the least. When we are ever able to fully meet the demand, I'll certainly add a second one, but I can easily wait.

Harry P · « **Reply #50 on:** 28 Oct 2004, 09:43 pm »

Craig, very well done for sure! I like your writing style and the way you presented your info much better than most pro reviewers.

Mike and the rest of the ACI crew, congratulations, well deserved!

Jayman · « **Reply #51 on:** 29 Oct 2004, 05:12 am »

Mike and Craig, thank you both for your input.

I am seeing another alternative here that Mike just gave me... I can buy one Maestro and if I ever fall into some more cash I could add a second. I plan to be using them with the Panoramas or Sapphires so I don't see the crossover point being much above 60Hz if at all (depending on room acoustics). If anyone has this setup it would be interesting to know where they have the crossover level set on the Maestro and if my assumption is accurate (if I have missed relevant info in another post please direct me there).

Thanks!

PS - Mike, the Jags used to be offered separate from the LFM's but that seems to be changed now. If one were interested is there any way to get just the Jags? If so, approx. how much would they be?

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #52 on:** 30 Oct 2004, 11:16 pm »

Quote

PS - Mike, the Jags used to be offered separate from the LFM's but that seems to be changed now. If one were interested is there any way to get just the Jags? If so, approx. how much would they be?

The Jaguars are available separately.Normally a special order, price would be approx,. 1/2 the full Jag-LFM system price depending on finish. I do believe we have several pairs left in various finishes that would sell for far less. PM me if you're interested. Thanks!

Craig Chase · « **Reply #53 on:** 10 Nov 2004, 06:38 pm »

It was brought to my attention that some may think I had tested and was suggesting the use of TWO Maestros would be needed.

During the review, we only had one Maestro here, including for the measurements. I only added a second Maestro because I wanted it, not because it was needed.

A single Maestro filled our 5700^3 foot room with DEEP and powerful bass.

A single subwoofer hitting 108 dB at one meter outdoors and 20 Hz is POWERFUL ...

hope this clears up any confusion...

Craig Chase · « **Reply #54 on:** 16 Dec 2004, 08:02 pm »

I recently upgraded to the new RS-1k's from AV123 ... and am also going to "unstack" the Maestros and run them more as a stereo pair, one just behind each RS-1K ... The RS-1K has a powered 8 inch driver which is flat to about 29 Hz ... So I am going for a "poor man's" Velodyne 1812 ... only twin 8's and 15's rather than a single 12 and a single 18 ...

And "poor man's" seems silly when the price is $7000 ...

But when you consider you get full range vs. subwoofer only for under 1/2 the price...

Mike Dzurko · « **Reply #55 on:** 17 Dec 2004, 04:17 am »

Quote from: Craig Chase

I recently upgraded to the new RS-1k's from AV123 ... and am also going to "unstack" the Maestros and run them more as a stereo pair, one just behind each RS-1K ... The RS-1K has a powered 8 inch driver which is flat to about 29 Hz ... So I am going for a "poor man's" Velodyne 1812 ... only twin 8's and 15's rather than a single 12 and a single 18 ...

And "poor man's" seems silly when the price is $7000 ...

But when you consider you get full range vs. subwoofer only for under 1/2 the price...

Craig

You do know how to have fun:)

Harry P · « **Reply #56 on:** 17 Dec 2004, 09:32 pm »

You know, I bet that rig would give the $24K Watt-Puppy a real run. I bet it would seriously beat it in the bass department. I lot of guys running Watt-Pups use subs down low. Too bad they don't know about the Rockets and ACIs of the world. Tell em Craig!

Craig Chase · « **Reply #57 on:** 18 Dec 2004, 02:37 pm »

This system DOES Rock ... We are watching "Love Actually" ... which is one of those movies that has literally dozens of subtle things going on ALL the time ... but the REAL test will be the Extended version of "Return of the King" this weekend....

I did listen to a pair of B&W 801 Nautilus this past week ... The $20,000 ones .... they are BEAUTIFUL ... but a bit too forward in the mids for my taste, and just not what I would expect for the $$$$... They sure are a fashion statement, too.

More later, after ROTK ...

thugh · « **Reply #58 on:** 6 Feb 2005, 08:51 pm »

Craig is at it again over at AVS evaluating the new Velo DD18. The Maestro is still holding up well

congrats Mike!

Craig,

I would like to thank you for your efforts, your enjoyment of this hobby and desire to share your experiences is a service to us all!

NealH · « **Reply #59 on:** 7 Feb 2005, 11:58 am »

Can someone tell me the typical distortion level of the Maestro under normal circumstances, say 25Hz at 95db? I wish Craig had given the decibel figures at <3%.

Also, I have been eyeing the Saphires. Will the Maestro match up to these better than the Titan (two channel only - nothing loud)?