[PhilNYC]

By the end of February I will be up in Mass. but you are always welcome to visit.  ...

George, why don't you leave your gear with me so Carl can check it out?  

Carl, we have Raves every month, so I'm sure we can coordinate it for when you're up here...just let me (or one of the other Ravers) know when your plans start solidifying...

[zybar]

George, why don't you leave your gear with me so Carl can check it out?  

Carl, we have Raves every month, so I'm sure we can coordinate it for when you're up here...just let me (or one of the other Ravers) know when your plans start solidifying...

I will leave some of my gear if I get to pick some of yours to take with me.      

George

[Aether Audio]

Carl,

Bill wrote:
 

I beleive the Timepiece with it's single 8" driver would move plenty of air and reach down plenty far enough (probably mid 30's?).

The Timepiece 2.1's are -3dB @29Hz anechoic.  With room gain figure -3dB @ the mid to low 20Hz region.  Oh, and if you haven't heard our product with the new tweeter, you really haven't heard it at all (well, except in the bass - that hasn't changed).  The first time I heard the new tweeter in our speakers (a pair of Revelations), I thought I was listening to some other company's product...it was that much different.  Furthermore, I was sure glad it wasn't or I would have been sweating bullets!

-Bob

[Bill Baker]

The Timepiece 2.1's are -3dB @29Hz anechoic. With room gain figure -3dB @ the mid to low 20Hz region.

Sorry, my bad. I was thinking Timepiece but looking at specs for the Continuum AD. Of course, but then again even these would still get you down in the 20s.

 I was thinking with average (I know, define average) listening levels that a clean mid 30's would be impressive enough. Minus 3dB anywhere in the 20s works for me.

[Carlman]

Update on the speaker hunt....

I've added the Gallo Ref 3 to the list... There's a pair at a dealer about a mile from where I work... should be fun as soon as I get  free lunch to go play.  I like the way they look and the idea and technology behind them.  I think there are some that really love this speaker and others that don't... I'll see where I fall after the demo.

I was sort of thinking of the Totem Hawk or even the Forest but I'm not sure where I'll hear them.  Totem didn't see fit to indicate how to hear or buy them on their site.

I still need to call Rick at Selah... and see what he's got cookin'...

I'm leaning away from the Salk's... They use 2 of my least favorite drivers and I just can't believe they'd be a match for my tastes... but I'm not going to turn down an audition if I can find one.

I've asked Bob (SPTech) if he can send me a demo pair of Timepieces.  I'll be sure to have a local meeting when that happens... hopefully in March.

Oh, and I spoke to Steve about his Sason LTD's... sound like very nice speakers but there's no way to hear them unless I go to see him.... or buy them with a 45-day money-back agreement.  To me that's like buying a car and returning if you don't like how it drives... I'd rather just test drive it without the commitment.

So, I'm pressing on.... I didn't realize the list would grow so quick.

[lonewolfny42]

Carl :

I'm leaning away from the Salk's... They use 2 of my least favorite drivers and I just can't believe they'd be a match for my tastes... but I'm not going to turn down an audition if I can find one.

[/list:u]

Contact Bryan....he's got a pair.....

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=profile;u=2643  ...sure he could give you a listen.[/list:u]

Chris[/list:u]

[Carlman]

Thanks, LW...
Bryan offered an audition... but he's 2.5 hours away... in a direction I never go... we'll see, though... I wish he were closer, he's a cool guy.
-C

[lonewolfny42]

Thanks, LW...
Bryan offered an audition... but he's 2.5 hours away... in a direction I never go... we'll see, though... I wish he were closer, he's a cool guy.
-C

You got that BMW...I bet you can make it in an hour....

[ekovalsky]

Carl,

Don't be afraid to use floorstanders or large monitors in a small room with the TacT gear.  Bass power that is normally your enemy in such a situation becomes your friend once you implement correction to achieve the desired frequency response at the listening position.  If you don't want to add subs later on, get main speakers that have strong output into the low-mid 20s and you'll have no compromise bass support  

[carusoracer]

Update on the speaker hunt....

I've added the Gallo Ref 3 to the list... There's a pair at a dealer about a mile from where I work... should be fun as soon as I get  free lunch to go play.  I like the way they look and the idea and technology behind them.  I think there are some that really love this speaker and others that don't... I'll see where I fall after the demo.

I was sort of thinking of the Totem Hawk or even the Forest but I'm not sure where I'll hear them.  Totem didn't see fit to ind ...

I've listened to the Totem Forest and Hawk also the VS Vr4jr at the same time on SS and Tube ref gear. The Totem line is very good but the VR4jr sounded better. So I thought I would try the Ref 3's next.

 Nice shop in FL had them with very good Tube and SS gear to Audition the Ref 3 and the VR4jr side byside,w/o the Sub Amp, it was not in production yet.
The VR4jr again sounded nice and coherent,good bass, I do not believe any shot was added to cabinent, and cool imaging with rear firing ambient tweeter. Then switched to the Ref 3's with same gear and demo CD. Imaging was spectacular, exceptional tweeter with soundstage from forever and nice mid bass. Deep Bass MIA. Tough call but I'm a "Live Music" and Imaging addict, but luv bass. I went with the Ref 3's.

Six months later I received the Sub Amp and after Break in I had another new pair of speakers  The latest version 3.1 is supposed to be better but I have not heard them. One caveat to make them sing they need lots of current and some pretty good power supplied to the veins. The sub amp will sing on its own when activating the 2nd voicecoil. It is not a ported sounding deep punchy bass but a smooth strong taught tight delivery that will shake down to 22hz.
I would luv to hear the Timepiece and the Salk but have only been able to hear more mainstream products as opposed to individual designers. Like you mentioned unless you know others and can get a good demo it is hard to hear those products.

Good luck in your search with whatever you end up with

[skrivis]

Given a small room, early reflections off the room boundaries are likely to be an issue. A speaker like the SP Techs that strive for an even power response might sound best for you.

It's tough to tell what might work best. When I only had a small listening room, I stuck with what were basically satellite speakers. I figured the low bass was going to be screwed up by the room anyway, so I concentrated on what was left.

You might also consider something like the Fried Compact 7 if you can find a dealer near you. http://www.friedproducts.com/compact7.html

My old speakers were small Fried TLs and they did quite well in small rooms.

[Carlman]

OK.. well.. I've added yet another to the list, the VR4-Jr... I'll be taking a listen to that in the not-too-distant future.  It does bass well, and is a small floorstander.. I like the idea but not sure about it yet.  I wasn't overly impressed with the VR1 in my room so, I'm not sure if the VR4 will 'get it' for me.  We'll see..  MSRP's are in the same ballpark to the SP Tech's but the VR4's are still a bit more pricey.

I still haven't heard the Gallo Ref3's but am interested.  I need to make a demo cd to test these things at other places... it's not easy to get the time to do that...

Carusoracer,
I heard the exact opposite about the bass on the Ref 3's from an owner I spoke to yesterday.. he said the Ref 3's are good but not great on bass.  I haven't heard the VR4's in a while but I didn't think they were light in bass... but very balanced/flat throughout their range.  We shall see!

-C

[john1970]

Carl,

You might want to audition a pair of VMPS RM30s.  With the courtesy discounts offered by dealers they will definitely fall within your price range.  I auditioned a pair of RM30s and was impressed by their acoustics; I eventually ordered a pair of RM40s (which are more expensive) that offer bass to 24 Hz (-3 dB).

[mattburk]

Update on the speaker hunt....
Update on the speaker hunt....  

I've added the Gallo Ref 3 to the list... There's a pair at a dealer about a mile from where I work... should be fun as soon as I get free lunch to go play.  I like the way they look and the idea and technology behind them. I think there are some that really love this speaker and others that don't... I'll see where I fall after the demo.

I was sort of thinking of the Totem Hawk or even the Forest but I'm not sure where I'll hear them. Totem didn't see fit to indicate how to hear or buy them on their site.  

I still need to call Rick at Selah... and see what he's got cookin'...

I'm leaning away from the Salk's... They use 2 of my least favorite drivers and I just can't believe they'd be a match for my tastes... but I'm not going to turn down an audition if I can find one.  

I've asked Bob (SPTech) if he can send me a demo pair of Timepieces. I'll be sure to have a local meeting when that happens... hopefully in March.

Oh, and I spoke to Steve about his Sason LTD's... sound like very nice speakers but there's no way to hear them unless I go to see him.... or buy them with a 45-day money-back agreement. To me that's like buying a car and returning if you don't like how it drives... I'd rather just test drive it without the commitment.

So, I'm pressing on.... I didn't realize the list would grow so quick.

...

What two of the three are you speaking of?

[carusoracer]

OK.. well.. I've added yet another to the list, the VR4-Jr... I'll be taking a listen to that in the not-too-distant future.  It does bass well, and is a small floorstander.. I like the idea but not sure about it yet.  I wasn't overly impressed with the VR1 in my room so, I'm not sure if the VR4 will 'get it' for me.  We'll see..  MSRP's are in the same ballpark to the SP Tech's but the VR4's are still a bit more pricey.

I still haven't heard the Gallo Ref3's but am interested.  I need to make a demo cd  ...

When your friend listened to the Gallo's was the Ref3SA on?

[Carlman]

No, he wasn't running the amp to the sub... If I were going to do the Gallo's right, I'd add another TacT and do the crossover there also... would likely be a fun setup but I'm not going to that expense... nor am I going to the expense of buying the separate bass amp for the Gallo's...

I haven't listened to my hifi much lately...  I'm hoping to get a pair of demo Timepiece's from Bob at SP Tech sometime soon but I haven't heard anything yet... I'll compare those to whatever I can put together in the next month or so.

-C

[ehider]

I'd strongly recommend the Sason LTD Granite speakers. IMHO they would fit perfectly in a smaller listening area with impressive bass extension (for a two way design). One of the Sason's best features is they have custom tunable bass to suit any room. (In all actuality, I don't recall ever hearing another two-way speaker design that has been so successful in sounding so full range ). I recently had the Sasons on loan to evaluate and four weeks later I refused to give them back to the designer! The Sasons gave both my Legacy Whispers and my Epiphany 20-21s some serious competition (beating both speakers handily in some respects). They image beyond any other speaker I've ever owned (13 at last count).

The Sasons have now become my primary reference speaker. Based on their soundstaging abilities alone, I seriously think you may have to spend over $20,000 to get into this sort of transparency (with only a handful of possible contenders that may actually compete mind you ). I'm planning on putting the Sasons head to head against the $19K Kharma 3.2 Ceramiques in a couple months (which are renowned for their imaging abilities). Although I can't be sure that the Sasons will eclipse the Kharmas in imaging, I already know they will crush them in both dynamics and offer much more powerful bass capabilities. The Sasons have taken me to new levels of listening enjoyment and are "over the top" revealing. I’ve recently used them to easily evaluate everything from power cables to tube choices and even wall outlet comparisons!  Most importantly though, I cannot recommend any other speaker under the $10k price point higher than the Sason Granite LTD!  

[_scotty_]

Another worthwhile speaker for a smaller listening room would be
the Reimer Speakers McCullough GS. It has 35Hz bass response,93dB
efficiency and a stable 4ohm impedance characteristic. See link below
for details
http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrmoni&1147278338
Scotty

[Carlman]

I'd strongly recommend the Sason LTD Granite speakers...

Are you saying you liked them?  I've spoken to Steve and have not ruled them out.  They're on the top-end of (actually beyond) my original planned purchase price... I just wish I could hear them in person before buying.  A speaker that big, expensive, and special will be some work to handle... I only want to do it once.

Thanks,
Carl

[ehider]

Hi Carlman,

You (or any AudioCircle member) are always invited to come by my place and hear any of the audio equipment that I have on hand. If you are ever in Michigan please feel free to contact me     .

As far as many of the other speakers mentioned in this thread as potential choices, many (in my opinion) are at least two full levels below the soundstaging precision performance of the Sasons. It's not that those other speaker choices aren't solid sounding speakers (great recommendations guys!) but that the Sasons offer even more value. Although the Sasons are not in-expensive speakers, I really think that Steve (the designer) made a gross error by not holding the Sason's price closer to the $10k to $15k price point because they easily hold their own against many exalted designs IMHO. Note to Steve: My last statement does NOT give you "carte blanche" to raise the pricing to the appropriate level until everyone that isn't a doctor or lawyer can get them at their current pricing . I suspect that Steve's intention was to sell more volume at his current price (to offset a very small profit per speaker pair). His concept was that everyone would "get the word out" about how this new granite speaker offers the kinds of spectacular refinement not found anywhere near their current price point.

Unfortunately in the world of "High End" Audio, price usually does happen to be indicative of absolute refinement, especially when you are talking about how audiophiles who can afford speakers in this realm who are conditioned into thinking that "state of the art" capabilities come with an exalted price tag . I strongly suspect that Sasons will not only match or beat the $19k Kharmas but also will exceed Alon Wolff's new $23k Magico monitors (which are both considered by a lot of very experienced audiophiles as the best two way speakers at any price).  With that in mind, I think it will be just a matter of time before Steve is actually forced into the position of pricing the Sasons closer to $10k (at least)…damn crazy audiophiles, when will they actually learn that there are actually "state of art" speakers avalable below the $10k  price point