All right, already…..how does it sound?
Critical evaluation of how the XLC sounds has been long in the coming and I apologize for keeping y’all on tenterhooks. Work and family obligations had severely curtailed any listening time, and I really didn’t want to make any comments till I had some serious time with the XLC under my belt. Bear in mind that these are my observations and that your mileage may vary! For those interested, my front end comprises of a Marantz DV7600 universal player connected to a Marantz SR8400 receiver. RCA connections are AudioQuest Coral and digital are Vampire Wire Toslinks. Speakers are Sapphire XL L and R, XLC, NHT HDP2 for rears and an Adire Audio Rava subwoofer connected to the sub out of the receiver with Audioquest Sub X cabling. Speaker connections are using Gregg Straley's Reality cables for the XLs and XLC and Monster for the rears. The star of this review, the XLC was placed on a ½ inch Plexiglas shelf resting on my Loewe Aventos CRT TV in front and metal wall brackets on the back. The shelf was de-coupled from the TV and brackets using Bright Star IsoNodes. Also my room is 11X16 feet and the speakers are arrayed along the long wall.
Initial listening, before any break-in, found the XLC to be perfectly adequate. However, subsequent break-in allowed the true qualities of the XLC to emerge. Guys, this is important…..As the manual states: please allow adequate break-in time before you critically evaluate these speakers.
I am strictly ‘vanilla’ when it comes to my sound. I listen to music in 2-channel and will listen to 5.1 or higher only when the source is appropriately encoded. No Pro Logic 2 or matrixed surround sound for me! To appropriately test the XLC, I used the following DVDs: Dianna Krall: Live in Paris; Cirque du Soleil: Quidam, Pride and Prejudice, Dark City and a few multi-channel SACDs, namely Pink Floyd DSOTM and Bucky Pizzarelli’s Swing Live.
Watching DVDs, the first thought that springs to ones mind is how cohesive the sound stage is. The XLC is the perfect companion to the Sapphire XLs, having all of the characterestics that were much lauded in the XLs. The XLC has a smooth refined sound that is utterly beguiling. Instrument separation is beyond reproach and crystal clear. Even when pushed to high levels the XLC doesn’t lose its composure. To me however, it is the low-level detail that I find ultimately satisfying and even at low levels, detail is never compromised. What is even more remarkable is that the XLC also never sounds harsh. Smooth detail is the name of the game! Most of my listening was done with music heavy DVDs. I feel that most Center channel speakers can handle movie soundtracks. What separates the also-rans from the cream of the crop, is their ability to handle music. On both the Cirque du Soleil and the Dianna Krall DVDs, the XLC displayed its ability to hobnob with the best of ‘em. The delicacy was there in spades, yet when the occasion demanded, the XLC could really rock. Rhythm and timing were superior, the treble smooth and extended and the bass lightning fast. Piano is the one instrument that speakers have the hardest time reproducing. Piano notes were delivered through the XLC superbly, not anemic sounding but with body and substance. It also would be remiss of me not to point out that the tight mid-bass the XLC has, a quality it shares with the Sapphire XLs. No doubt, the work of the ScanSpeak sliced paper cone I love, with the SEAS woofers providing some of the additional ‘oomph’. Watching Pride and Prejudice, I was very impressed with the way the XLC handled dialog. There was nary a trace of sibilance in female voices or chestiness in male voices. Actually, the XLC handles dialog better than any other center speaker I have heard. Couple that with the XLC’s uncanny ability to maintain individual sounds in complex passages and you begin to see why the XLC is a very special speaker indeed. I am one of those sorry souls who analyze the sound quality of every movie they see. With the XLC in my set-up, I found myself getting lost in the movie ‘forgetting’ to analyze the nuances of the sound quality. To me, this is what it is all about….nirvana…the Holy Grail…or whatever you want to call it. Bravo Mike, you’ve hit this one way out of the ball-park!
