[Inscrutable]

Half the price here... don't know if it's a Mo-fi, though.

Yeah, that's a MoFi gold CD.  The point was to tempt him to the dark side, but you practical pigs keep turning on the lights  

[Inscrutable]

claud,
wow, that's gone up that much?  maybe they have sales from timeto time.  i DID pay less fro showdown, and it seems TS was quite a bit less, but not half (but you had yours already).

see shane, it's also a really good 'investment'  

[BrunoB]

Thanks again Carl for hosting this event. It was nice to see everyone.

I appreciate the opportunity to try my foam tweaks in a different environment. It did not work as well as I expected but it was quite helpful to listen to the speakers with less room reflections.

I started my listening session with the Selah Audio SA-1. The setup was relative near field listening to imitate my home setup. I like ribbons and the SA-1’s were very pleasant: treble was smooth and detailed. Unfortunately, the bass lacked the details and clarity I am used to. The problem might be related to the tube amp that was used during my listening session.

Thereafter, we changed the setup to a more conventional one to compare the three other speakers. The first thing I noticed is that I did not like the Usher’s. There was too much emphasis in the upper midrange-treble for my hearing. The Europas were better balanced. The Omegas were interesting, this was the first time I had the opportunity to hear a single drive speaker. Unfortunately, I did not like them: too much midrange.

Sorry not to provide more details. I would need to spend more time  with each speaker and take some notes.

Nevertheless, my preference goes clearly to the SA-1’s (which is not surprising coming from VMPS owner). The Europas come second and the Usher would be a more distant third.




Bruno

[Carlman]

Bruno,
I was really happy to experiment with your methods.  Thanks for suggesting it!

When you first heard the SA-1's playing it was with a pair of Scott Nixon's 35 or 40 watt (can't remember) ampkit monoblocks.  I had found this combo more pleasing to me than the AKSA on the SA-1's... So, that's just what I had them connected to when you arrived.  However, the AKSA 100w is a stronger amp and provides more dynamics and soundstage than the SN's.  Also, the SN's sound better after they've been on for 24 hours... and they had only been on an hour.

In any case, I found the SA-1's, Europa's, and Usher's to have strengths and refinement to justify their cost.  I wish the Keelin's would have been working properly but I feel certain it would have added another good flavor to the mix of these speakers.

Thanks,
Carl

[Inscrutable]

FoamBoy (aka Bruno)   ,

Even though the makeshift setup didn't perform as you'd hoped, fear not ... you've inspired me to try to find my camping mattresses (used to have a double and a single) and play around a bit.  Having been at higher altitude, I wonder if the presentation will be airier, but with less weight  

Oh, and I spoke with Louis at Omega and he thought it sounded like a break-in issue.  He said with relatively short periods of disuse (and mine have been pretty quiet for a couple months), the Fostex's need to be broken in all over again.  Perhaps this will free up some additional lower frequencies, and make the mids sound somewhat less dominant.  But I don't think they'll appeal to your tastes even if they do what they are reported to do.  Also, some of the damping had come loose, and I've reglued that.