Nomad Audio at Steve Ks PICS

Scott F. · « **Reply #40 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 10:05 pm »

Oh, I forgot to mention, you guys that are in line to hear the Ronin's at the different Regional Circles (and DU down in 'ole 'Miss), I think you are really going to like them

sturgus · « **Reply #41 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 10:19 pm »

I would like to chime in and also thank Paul for bringing his speakers down for us to hear. They have a very relaxed and open presentation. This is a speaker you can easily listen to for long periods of time. I also think they sound better with tubes ( very unbiased opinion )

. Thank you Steve for the hospitality and thank Barb for putting up with us.
Sturgus

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #42 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 10:40 pm »

Hey guys,

Thanks again for having me Steve.

Eventhough I could only hang around for about 4 hours, I really had a good time, you are a great, inviting, knowledgable group of guys.

I laugh out loud every time I see this, but the name of the speakers is the Ronin, the company is Nomad Audio. The sheer quantity of references to "the nomads" in this post had me almost on the floor laughing, I might as well rename them now.

Maybe just a "Hi My Name Is:" tag right in the middle, what do you think, blue or red?

Steve's tube gear sounded great, The Ayre/Tube Pre/VTL combo sounded darn good to me. I wish the Niagara amplifier had some more hours left in it. I have built up 10 channels of UcD amplification over the last 2 years and that is the first one that I have had break. Oh well, it sounded ok for the 10 minutes it played for.

Have a good one,
Paul

JoshK · « **Reply #43 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 11:10 pm »

What happened to it? Did you hook it up to a tube preamp?

Scott F. · « **Reply #44 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 11:16 pm »

Quote from: PaulHilgeman

...I laugh out loud every time I see this, but the name of the speakers is the Ronin, the company is Nomad Audio....

Hey, I got it right.......well, part of the time

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #45 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 11:25 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 17 Sep 2006, 11:10 pm

What happened to it? Did you hook it up to a tube preamp?

No,

It was really weird. it was through my pre that I always use. One channel sputtered and died. It tried to click on 2-3 times and then that was it. Tried with no input, and with no speakers connected, nothing either time.

Josh,

You should hook up with the NY rave when the Ronins get up there. You like dipoles and have the WG in your Avro's, you would probably like the Ronins quite a bit. Not sure when it will be yet, but keep your eyes peeled.

-Paul

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #46 on:** 17 Sep 2006, 11:25 pm »

Quote from: Scott F. on 17 Sep 2006, 11:16 pm

Quote from: PaulHilgeman
...I laugh out loud every time I see this, but the name of the speakers is the Ronin, the company is Nomad Audio....

Hey, I got it right.......well, part of the time

Scott....Your post followed mine...I called them the Nomads in my post...

Sort of what I call the Straley cables....which are Reality Cables in reality....

Thanks for the Ronin info....looking forward to hearing them at a Rave..

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #47 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 12:16 am »

Hey LoneWolfny,

Do you own that KSA100?

The guy that is doing the review in StereoTimes of the Ronins has one as his primary amp. I heard it the other day. Fantastic, probably the best Krell I have ever heard.

-Paul

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #48 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 12:22 am »

Quote from: PaulHilgeman on 18 Sep 2006, 12:16 am

Hey LoneWolfny,

Do you own that KSA100?

The guy that is doing the review in StereoTimes of the Ronins has one as his primary amp. I heard it the other day. Fantastic, probably the best Krell I have ever heard.

-Paul

Yes Paul...Its in my collection, a Krell KSA-100mkII. Most say it was the one of the best Krell's made. A winter amp for me...Class A ....hot.
Chris

DeadFish · « **Reply #49 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 12:29 am »

Sorry I didn't get to this sooner, but thanks to everyone for help making this listening event happen.
An excellent hosting again, Steve (and Barb!), well appreciated and complemented by the fine time and listening, as all above have also said.
By all means Paul, thanks for going through the hassles of bringing your gear all this way to set up, as it was a fine treat! I didn't get much of a good listen to the Ronins on the class D amp, but listened well to them on the VTL's and I personally could offer no compaints to their sound on Vitamin T(ubes)!
Briefly, my take: I listened to the varieties of cuts put on which include, but were not limited to:
Brian Bomberg- 'Wood'
The Fairfield Four
Edgar Meyer w/ Bela Fleck & Mike Marshall ('Uncommon Ritual'? My notes got wet!)
Jackson Brown 'Solo Acoustic'
Pat Metheny/ Mehldau
The Bad Plus
Morphine 'Cure For Pain'
'Black Light Syndrome'
Out of all of these, I got the impression that the speakers were really fair and even on their frequency response from bottom to top. The bass playing on a lot of these cuts was firm and full without the sensation of extension or bloat. Nothing missing on how deep that fella in the Fairfield Four can sound, From Bomberg's standup bass to Morphine's electric, HOTCHA! No-doubt, part of this is a tip of the hat to the kind of tube sound the VTL's deliver, but the speakers handled noticibly well. Definitely a faster sense of delivery on some of these than when I replayed a few of these cuts to refresh me at home.
Similarly on the top end, nothing noticably missing at all, and I was pleased with what I was hearing.
Despite a sometimes-effort on my part to be analytical, I really depend on the feelings my unconcious mind gives me listening to stuff, and it threw out no red-flags for me, except on a less-than-stellar version of a song that accidentally got played. (so much for compilations of John Lee Hooker!)
I would have to say that these puppies gave a great soundstage to my listening, and quite credible by Paul's explanations on how the speakers were designed. Broad they played to a deep room. Like someone mentioned earlier, it would be nice to tinker with them in the same room again to try and salvage the first ten feet or so of listening seating. The front row in the pictures was not the best place to hear this setup, as there could be a hole in the middle. I think some tinkering might improve this in the room. Then again, with my personal speakers, close don't cut it and the best listening is typically 12-15' away, so I have no room to grouse. I get the impression that the Ronin's wouldn't be as limited as my 19's in being agreeable close-range...

Lest I forget, although Steve's DVD player combined with the tubed DAC sounded swell, that Ayre(?!) cd player was most excellent in sound, and sorry Steve, I prefered it!

Although I have have pledged my doomed soul to my Squeezebox at home, the Ayre did a right-fine job. If shopping this level of player, I'd listen again.
And on that note, regarding the speakers, if someone stole my Altecs up in the big room up stairs, and left the Ronin's in their place, I'd have to listen to them for a while before calling the cops!
I liked them a lot Paul; you did some nice work on these both fit-and-finish and soundwise. I wish you well with your venture with them and thank you very much for the opportunity to listen to them in our midwestern audio wasteland! And oh yeah, "Music For Two' was the name of the album of Fleck and Meyer I was trying to remember for you last nite, Paul. Check it ou, I think you might like it!

Best Regards,
DeadFish

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #50 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 12:58 am »

Thanks for the comments DF, It was a pleasure.

That John Lee Hooker album was "Best of Friends" There are some great cuts on it, some that stink, so much for compilations.

We also listened to:

Joe Weed - The Vultures
Supertramp - Brother Where You Bound, Cut 5. D. Gilmour on Guitar solo.

Ayre is the correct spelling. It is the CX-7e, and it is not as good as their top model, the C5-Xe (?), but too much $$$ for me, however, is really the only player of about 20 that I auditioned that I liked more, with almost no limitations on price. After the Ronins, it is my baby.

Once again, on the fit-and-finish, those are definitely sub par. They were made by an apprentice wood worker, as his first shot at me trying to reduce my workload a bit when building these things. Needless to say, that pair will never get to a customer, I am doomed to have them hang around for the rest of my life. They only have about 15 coats of lacquer as opposed to the usual 20, the midrange/tweeter driver holes are a bit too large, and one of the woofer is very slightly off-center. The finished wasn’t as laboriously buffed out as a result of these mishaps. In final form, they look like a a 1/16" thick coat of glass was poured over them. That is of course when they are gloss.

Oh yes, it was "Uncommon Ritual"

-Paul

P.S. You guys are tube freaks. Maybe I can work a tube into the crossover and call it the "Ronin - Gateway Edition" LOL

bpape · « **Reply #51 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 02:41 am »

I think everyone would take that as a compliment Paul - the tube freak thing.

As usual, there is never enough time. I would have loved to hear the Welborne Passive Pre with the VTL amps and the Ronins. And I'll agree, the Ayre is a very smooth sounding piece indeed. I'd also give my eye teeth to hear a KSA-100 on those speakers. The original couple years of Krell stuff is nice stuff - much better IMO than their new line.

I'm also going to have to pick up that Supertramp CD and listen to that cut on my system. It was just getting interesting.

Thanks again. Stop down any time.

Bryan

electricbear · « **Reply #52 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 02:23 pm »

I don't think there is anything I can really add. Everyone have already said it. Many thanks to Paul for allowing us to hear his babies and to Steve for hosting yet again another great get together. Chris you missed a good one.
Thanks again

alana106 · « **Reply #53 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 03:23 pm »

Thanks Steve for hosting, and including me another great night. The brats and company were the best. It was good to see everyone, and another thanks to Paul for allowing everyone to experience his great speakers and equipment.

Scott: I'm now on a quest to find that Jackson Browne acoustic CD...Enjoyed that cut a lot!

Scott F. · « **Reply #54 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 04:17 pm »

Quote from: alana106 on 18 Sep 2006, 03:23 pm

Scott: I'm now on a quest to find that Jackson Browne acoustic CD...Enjoyed that cut a lot!

Best Buy $13 bucks. The rest of the CD is just as good as the cut we played!

Enjoy!

alana106 · « **Reply #55 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 05:06 pm »

[/quote]

Best Buy $13 bucks. The rest of the CD is just as good as the cut we played!

Enjoy!
[/quote]

Thanks Scott!! I'll try to get by Best Buy tonight.

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #56 on:** 18 Sep 2006, 06:20 pm »

Quote

I think everyone would take that as a compliment Paul - the tube freak thing. Thumbs up

It was, that stuff sounded good.

-Paul

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