[jkelly]

I was intrigued with the idea of getting a large speaker system with high
efficiency into the audio room.  When the RA-8 became available at 95db,
it caught my eye.  This would be quite an adjustment since my most recent
speakers are the excellent, single driver Brines 1600 mk2.  But what the heck!

I received my RA-8's last night and have listened to them for only 6 hours
so my comments, I am sure will change.  The placement is a little wider than normal,
about 8 foot and they are out about 32" from the back wall.  This may increase
to adjust the bass down a bit.

First off the Clari-T drove them but not as well as it drove the 1600 mk2,
which is a marriage made in heaven.  There was enough volume but just didn’t seem
to have the typical Clar-T magic.  I still had my Eighth Nerve modified Carver
ZR1600 amp so I hooked that up this morning.  This is a good combo.  Even
though the RA8's are 95db they seem to like power.  

Just a couple of early comments on the sound.  

The RA104.5 ribbon tweeter is terrific.  No complaints. Sparkle - everything.
Think I will get a pair for the 1600's!

The midrange is breaking in.  The first thing I noticed is these speakers
like vocals.  Solo and chorus.  Wonderful.  Clarity.  The second thing is
the separation of instruments.  This big soundstage has a lot of room and
each instrument is clearly separated.  Kind of like photoshop layers.  The
third thing is I swore the sound was along side and behind me on a Randy
Travis song.  There is some magic going on that I want to explore.

The bass is stronger than my Brines 1600 mk2 which says a lot and I may
move them a few more inches from the back wall to drop it a bit.

Beautiful construction.  Heavy! So far - more than good.

Jeff

[Milehighguy]

Jeff,
I knew you would be happy with the RA8's. It's good to see some feedback on these still mostly undiscovered gems.

Vocals and soundstage are definitely strengths of this design.

As far as the bass, you may also experiment with putting a little foam rubber in the rear ports. This worked well in the small room at the RMAF. You could cut  12  4" squares of foam out of a mattress cushion for example. Just be sure to do all the ports at once or the tuning might be affected

At some point I would recommend considering the addition af a quality subwoofer such as the sw12. I think the RA8's are the perfect match for a sub as they can handle full range input without straining at all, and the sub can be crossed over very low. Then you have it all.

[Dave G]

Hi, Jeff!  

Any updates on the RA-8s?  I also have a pair of Brines FT-1600 IIs and am interested in how they compare to your new speakers.

Dave