Hey guys,
Finally finished this pair a couple weeks back and thought I'd share some impressions. Full disclaimer to start I do not consider myself an expert by any means and my listening experience is just about zilch. I've never owned anything of substantial quality so I have almost no comparison basis. With that said here we go.
Equipment:
Processor: Emotiva UMC200
Amp: Emotiva LPA-1
Source: HTPC via HDMI
Interconnects: Emotiva double shielded cables.
Music was using the Tidal streaming app in FLAC and most movies were in lossless.
Ill say bar non these speakers are the best I've ever heard that I can remember from any real system. Its extremely clear, get significantly louder that I expected from such a small package, and isn't fatiguing at all.
I think what stands out the most is that nothing stands out. I don't feel like any particular region is artificially enhanced. Like treble to high to make perceived detail or extra loud bass to put rumble where it shouldn't be. Everything sounds so balanced.
There is a fantastic level of detail and it doesn't feel strained or fake. I heard things that I know I missed with other systems. The chimes intro from Time by Pink Floyd was out of this world. My jaw almost dropped. And the imaging was so neat. I've never experienced being able to hear positions of sounds as expected from a recording as apposed to hearing the location of a speaker. I felt like they disappeared entirely.
And its all the subtle things you start to catch as well. Echo's, slight harmonics from instruments, and the overall attack of quick sounds. Its clear, detailed, "fast".
Voices are lovely. Acoustic guitar is beautiful. I play guitar so I fall back to acoustic and electric tracks because I'm so familiar with the real sound. These speakers just nailed it. And the integration is superb between the tweeter and mid from what I can tell.
I was surprised by the level of bass. Theres certainly not going to be any rumbling or movie effect type material reproduced but for 90% of music I listen to I felt covered. Particularly anything rock based just rocked. Way more tactile feel and impact than I ever expected. The only place I feel like I miss something are in hip hop tracks with over emphasized low bass or movie affects.
They'll also pretty much smoke me out of my living room which is about 10x20ft in an open floor plan to the kitchen and vaulted ceilings. Maybe my tolerance isn't as high as I expected lol. I also haven't had the opportunity to crank them hard often because I'm in a duplex with a shared living room wall.
Here's some pics of the final build. Note, I did have a little fun with the design process with a sign off from Rick. I'm honestly going to assume they might measure slightly different than what Rick built in shop but the dimensions are within about 1/2 inch on the baffle. Just very different round overs.
Build write up here:
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?245737-Selah-Audio-AnniversarioPhotostream:
https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#AC5oqs3qJ5pi30
