[DSK]

Yesterday I popped over to Hugh's for a coffee and to see what he had on the boil. I know the sound of Hugh's room and system quite well, having listened to many versions of his gear on similar visits over the last few years.

Hugh had made a couple of changes since my last visit. He now had an LF55 mkII in the system, feeding a pair of the new V-Sonic transmission line speakers. The latter are quite small floorstanders, despite the 8" Peerless driver, and I suspect WAF will be very high. I had auditioned the earlier Aksonics in my own system some time ago and overall was underwhelmed (see ... I don't gush over ALL Aspen products  ).

I had no preconceptions and sat down to listen to a few tunes. I only listened for about half an hour and was unfamiliar with the music played, so my comments here are preliminary impressions only. Also, we didn't swap amps so I can't be sure what aspects were attributable to the mkII amp and how much to the speakers.

These speakers really rock and can play very loud. The 8" Peerless really hits quick and hard, no bloat, no overhang and the bass tone and texture is superb. Unless you had a very large room, a subwoofer would not be required. IIRC Hugh mentioned that the F3 is ~36Hz and sensitivity ~90dB. We cranked it up and I searched for any signs of boom, loss of detail, compression etc without success. I hadn't heard a true transmission line before and was very impressed with the lifelikeness and throatiness of the bass.

Midrange and top end were excellent too, with wonderful transparency and immediacy. Leading edges are very quick and clean with no softening but also no harshness or edginess. This was particularly evident on enthusiastically plucked guitar notes, even at very loud levels, where the tonal detail and harmonics of the notes retained all their natural colour and energy with no glassiness or edginess at all.

The soundstaging and imaging were also very good with an excellent sense of the performers being in the room. Overall the V-Sonics seems to be a super clean, but not unnaturally so, speaker with a very exciting presentation. I have heard other speakers sound 'exciting' but with some edginess/harshness that became all too evident when the volume was raised. Not so with the V-Sonics. They sounded totally unrestrained and effortless and the transparency and freedom from any edginess gave me the impression of all the performers having been better mic'd.

These speakers have sufficient punch and dynamics to make a great (home) party speaker, but also the finesse and lifelikeness to be an excellent choice in a high end 2-channel system. The LF55 mkII drove them to very loud levels without breaking a sweat. I don't know whether the LF100 would improve things even further, or whether the easy impedance load and relatively high sensitivity meant that the LF55 mkII already had so much headroom that the LF100 wouldn't improve anything.

I'm very happy with my current speakers but, out of interest, I would love to hear the V-Sonics in my system/room one day for a longer and more thorough evaluation.



DISCLAIMER:

Every few months or so I drop in on Hugh for a coffee, a chat, and to catch up on what is going on in the world of Aspen Amplifiers. I enjoy Hugh's BS free attitude and total lack of sales pressure ... indeed, unless you thrust money into the man's hand and demand something, you will never hear the words "buy" or "sell" uttered. Another trait I admire in Hugh is his dogged determination to dig out extraordinary levels of performance from his components, by ultra refining circuit design rather than simply throwing in a bunch of expensive boutique parts. Owners are thus delivered a component that, out of the box, equals or surpasses the performance of much more expensive competition but can choose to wring out a few extra drops of performance with the addition of their favourite boutique parts.

Although I do like and respect Hugh, my buying decisions are based purely on performance. If there is a group of AKSAphiles who automatically buy Hugh's products without thorough audition and assessment against the competition, I am not a member. If I could find a better sounding component from another manufacturer, for the same (or sometimes significantly more) money, I would buy it in a heartbeat. And I can say without hesitation that Hugh wouldn't have it any other way.   

Frequent visitors to the Aspen circle may recall that I have written several glowing reviews of various Aspen components. The reason I add this disclaimer is to try to give readers an idea of my psyche and to allay any thoughts that I have any blind allegiance to Aspen, or any financial connection. My passion for (some) Aspen components is driven primarily by their performance, with pricing (an Aspen strength) a distant second. It is my excitement at finding such extraordinary sounding equipment that pushes me to share the news with others and to suggest that they put it on their audition list. As a result, I sometimes feel like (and possibly sound like) a raving newbie Aspen fanboy and I blame Hugh for that .... damn him to hell for making such great sounding equipment!!

END DISCLAIMER.

[gerado]

Now I have to go over.

Is the kettle on Hugh?

[AKSA]

Gerado,

Absolutely, phone is 9457 5591, ring anytime.  I'm feeling very pleased right now, just had a great lunch with my eldest daughter Soraya in Fitzroy.

The one blot on my horizon is that my great friend Russ has just bought a pristine 1996 Toyota Aristo in Japan, fitted with one of the all time greatest automotive engines ever built - the 2JZ 3 litre six.

Damn you to hell, Russ.  Nothing personal, but I will have to kill you for this car......   

Darren, many thanks for a fine review, you had me on the edge of the seat!!

Cheers,

Hugh

[SuperMart]

Ah Darren,

How do you do it? Everytime I read one of your reviews I find myself mentally ticking off the same boxes. I listened to this exciting combo at Hugh's bespoke sound lounge last Friday afternoon and if it wasn't for the fact that "Yes Dear" was waiting to serve the evening meal I would still be there now. I totally agree with all your observations and here are some of my own. Hugh's front end is an Onkyo CD player of indeterminate heritage and let's face it, it pales next to our respective Boulder modded Sb 2s does it not? And yet dammit the music pouring out of his system would suggest a front end of some pedigree - not the mongrel that Hugh is too tight to replace - let's be honest - Hugh only breathes in when it comes to matters non Aksa. For many years I ran a mobile disco with a pal of mine and I spent a lot of time and trouble in trying to achieve a loud and exciting sound. I found that the more exciting the sound the bigger the response from the punters. We used Klipsch Heresy Pro's and a genuine 120 watt per channel amp plus a sub and yet Hugh's latest LF55Mk2 and V- Sonics speakers produce a much more exciting and,significantly, more accurate sound at very high levels with a far greater level of "Boogie" than we were ever able to achieve. The setup makes you wonder how all this can be achieved. My guess is that Hugh is now able to "tune" the Life Force amps to achieve remarkable sonic results and that the V-Sonics design, crossover and Peerless speakers are all at the cutting edge of loudspeaker development. Suffice to say that the remastered Jackson Brown Greatest Hits double album had me jumping out of the listening chair and my order for a pair of V-Sonics is already in the Aspen order book - at least it will be when Hugh can remember where he left it.

My disclaimer is similar to yours and I would add that I have been a happy customer of three other AC manufacturers and I will be helping out Hugh at the RMAF later this year.

Cheers,

[AKSA]

Marty,

That was a riot - loved it, and particularly this:

...and my order for a pair of V-Sonics is already in the Aspen order book - at least it will be when Hugh can remember where he left it.

I've still not found it, I believe it's in the same place as my diary, the one Andy suggested forcefully I had to buy so I wouldn't keep missing coffee appointments with him!!  I do remember when he led me meekly into a Newsagent and I bought the very small, pocket sized diary.

Sadly I lost it about a week later.    However, I haven't forgotten any more coffee appointments...  I'm sure if I did Andy would never speak to me again!!

I take no credit for this brilliant loudspeaker.  I merely set the design brief.  It is the work of Laurie Menogue, no relation to Kylie, but he does make music so much better, a man of extraordinary ability and perseverance who has worked for Aspen tirelessly in retirement to produce this masterpiece.  Laurie, thank you very much!  (I'm hoping my second attempt at the crossover pcb will be the very last..... )  The results have been wonderful!!

Much of the credit for this loudspeaker is due to the Peerless division of Tymphany.  The 884 driver is truly state of the art;  I've never heard an 8" driver to compare, not even the premium Scanspeak drivers.

Efficiency is 90dB/watt/metre, nominal impedance is 8R with lowest impedance dropping to 3.9R, and while the 55LF drives it with aplomb it can produce such high SpLs that I would normally recommend the 100LF.

Actually, right now I'm listening to Nils Longren playing 'Keith Don't Go'.  Just sensational, about to enjoy Hugh Masakela......

Cheers,

Hugh

[Jens]

Sir Hugh - pray tell, what difference is there between the LF55 mark II and the first version?  aa

[kyrill]

the pws pcb?

[AKSA]

Hi Jens,

No difference electrically - just a double sided pcb!!  It should be called the LF55DS!!

I hope this did not alarm.....  it's no different to your single sided LF55, in fact!

Kyrill,

The power supply on this amp is simply an AKSA 55N+ version;  no trickery there either.

I will certainly let you both know if there is any improvement to the LF55.  Nothing yet, I assure you!

Cheers,

Hugh

[fajimr]

Note to myself (I don't have a journal either):  Need to find a conference in Australia so I can 'drop in' on Hugh for a coffee.

jim

[AKSA]

Jim,

I would sincerely love to enjoy a coffee with you - however, if you can't make it downunder, I will be at RMAF 11-13th October in Denver......

Hugh

[Seano]

I too have had the luxury of listening to the Vsonics with (I believe) the LF100 and the creaky Onkyo CD player (which performed flawlessly on the night- I have that effect on sensitive electronica due to my work or die approach to most equipment).

I just didn't say much here (see below) on this forum because I thought it might be a bit like preaching the wonders of petrol to Dick Cheney........so I spread the love about a bit.

I thought Darren was being a bit flippant when he mentioned the size of the Vsonics.  But I don't think he was I found them to be enormous but then I've never owned room dominating speakers - and I've only ever owned two pairs in the last fifteen years.  These are speakers for a house.......not an apartment.  How much WAF they have really depends on how well conditioned the said W actually is to large speakers.

As with Darren I'd never heard a TL design before...........so now I have a benchmark!! 

I too sampled the Vsonics last week....(thanks Hugh and Sri for your hospitality).  And I'd have to mirror LM's assessment.  They sound quite impressive......in fact, given my limited experience with loudspeakers, they probably are the most impressive speaker I've ever heard.

True, room effects and speaker positioning make comparisons of speakers somewhat moot but suffice to say that these Vsonics trounced my Krix Lyrix in virtually every way possible.  If there was one thing that was clear to me it was the strong belief that the speakers were too close together - Hugh's room just wasn't wide enough - and the 'soundstage' was congested for width.

Hugh's CD player was plugged straight to a LF100 as his GK-1 was off impressing someone else (dammit!!).

I had a go with them using some newly purchased CDs from Peter Gabriel and The Knife while Hugh tried out tracks from The Wonder Boys soundtrack (Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison).  My memory of the Vsonic is comprised of 'detail', 'speed' and 'bass control'.  And it was the bass control that had me interested.

Unlike LM I think they can rock - I tried The Knife track called 'Silent Shout', which is a spectacular slab of electronica that exploits a massive frequency range with rapid shifts between such frequencies, at a volume just shy of ear splitting and it is fair to say that they managed extremely well.  The low frequency crescendo was quite impressively delivered.  Deep floor shaking harmonics.....so cool!!  Tracks from Peter Gabriel's singles compilation such as 'Solsbury Hill' and 'Sledgehammer' were reproduced extremely well - tonnes of detail. Perhaps a bit too much given the mastering quality!  Hugh's response that it needed some tubes in it was probably on the mark......
[\quote]

[AKSA]

Hi Seano,

Very nice, 'The wonders of Gasoline to Dick Cheney'.  Exquisite, even.....

You heard the tall VSonics;  Darren heard the smaller VSonics.  Laurie built two variants to assess the effect of making the box smaller.

I'm very happy to tell you that despite being 40mm narrower and about 200mm shorter the smaller VSonics are indistinguishable sonically from the larger version.  There is no loss of bass, slam, or body, and if anything the imaging is a tad more focussed.  This means the smaller version with the greater WAF will be sold both as a kit and as a fully built speaker within Australia.

Thus the VSonics will be suitable for a wide range of rooms, and being front vented, work very well pushed right to the wall.  This was always the design intention so as to cope with small flats/apartments and wives who view speakers as domestic interlopers.....

The Onkyo Integra CD Player is actually very good quality, certainly much better than my old Denon 1015 Alpha, and has been kindly loaned to me by a fellow revhead and good friend, Rick, who is quietly laying down an imposing carbon footprint in his turbocharged 4 litre Ford XR6.  I confess to a raised eyebrow when, during a recent dignified demonstration, the rear wheels broke traction at 50mph on premium blacktop!  Impressive indeed, though a bit naughty......

Production PostScript:

Laurie and I have poured huge resources into the crossover of the VSonics.  At the eleventh hour - this usually happens with product development - we've found that the pcb needs modification, and so we are working on reliable sourcing of all components, some flexibility in component size/packaging, and this will require another pcb to be made, this time in Thailand where I have found the quality markedly superior to anything local or Chinese.  The instructions are well underway, but photography is yet to be done, but it won't be too long.  Just HOW long, I cannot say, I keep hearing those deadlines whoosh past and my ears are hurting......

Sean, have you fixed your Range Rover??  You really should get stuck into it, you know!!

Cheers,

Hugh

[DSK]

...I thought Darren was being a bit flippant when he mentioned the size of the Vsonics.  But I don't think he was I found them to be enormous but then I've never owned room dominating speakers - and I've only ever owned two pairs in the last fifteen years.  These are speakers for a house.......not an apartment.  How much WAF they have really depends on how well conditioned the said W actually is to large speakers...

  Sean, perhaps Hugh can chime in with the actual measurements but although reasonably deep, the V-Sonics were barely wider than the 8" woofer (which has the sides trimmed off to allow a narrow baffle) and only about 3 feet tall. When seated, the top of the speaker was at or just below eye level. Most decent standmount speakers are wider and taller (on stands) than that. I was actually amazed at the scale of sound coming from such a small floorstander.


EDIT: Hugh posted the above post at the same time as mine ... all is clear now!   

[raptor]

It seems like Hugh's local customers have all been descending upon him to sample the delights of the V-Sonics. I had a quick half hour listen to them nearly two weeks ago and I liked what I heard. The CD that Hugh played was the Dali test CD, through the contentious Onkyo Integra, a Swift GK1 (I was lucky and it was back from loan duties) and my LF100 Mk II. I heard the larger version, and what impressed me the most was the bass; it was detailed and accurate and was not at all monotone.

I have front ported bass reflex speakers and I find it hard sometimes to differentiate the pitch of low bass notes. (ageing ears don't help either ) The V-Sonics let me hear every note distinctly and clearly pitched. Mid and high frequencies were good as well, but it was the bass that really struck me.

Next time that I call around (soon I hope Hugh) I will take my own CDP with me as I thought I could hear some background noise from the Onkyo; as you can infer I am also of the opinion that it is not up to the quality of the rest of the equipment Hugh has.

I haven't posted my impressions of the LF100 MkII yet, but I will do so in the next week. I have had it for about three weeks now and I am very happy with it.

Cheers,

Neil

[Seano]

Seems we've been confused by Aspen's ever convulsive but evolutionary approach to product development.....long may it continue!!

I do recall Hugh saying at the time of my hearing the 5th (?) prototype that he and Laurie had tinkered with the idea of having the front baffle only as wide as the woofer frame........

As for my Range Rover project..........let's just say that it is suffering from the same affliction as the AKSAdac   not dead...........just sleeping

[gerado]

I spent a few hours on Friday afternoon at Hugh's listening to the new V sonics with LF55 and Hugh's old CD player no pre. He left me alone to do as I liked for some time while he looked at a friends component.

My intention was to cycle through a number of passages I knew well from a variety of tracks to see what these new speakers did well and what they did not.
As a reference I own GK1 and LF100 as well as Cary tube amps and DALI MS5 speakers (brought back to life by Ron's magical custom crossovers ). I have also been fortunate to sample a reasonable number of top end hyper expensive speakers in the last year  or so. These include Tanoy westminster royal, JM lab grand Utopia, Flagship model from Wilsons as well as a number of custom multi array speakers dominating rooms from floor to ceiling. Needless to say with electronics to match these sort of obscene price brackets. Even so still far from perfect, and price certainly did not  guarantee to enjoyment. Impressive yes.- but this is another topic

I found myself instead listening right through the cds having a good time rather than "evaluating" the V sonics. The V sonics disappeared not drawing attention to themselves.  Jen's CD which I know very well ( a credit to you Jen for your fabulous choice of tracks) was a memorizing experience.I was not left wanting more base, or better soundstage or detail or a sense of atmosphere and occasion. I was just left satisfied.
I have trouble analysing and describing what I hear, but no trouble recognising  when I come across something special. The V sonics are certainly special. They may not go as low as the  westminsters or have that  huge sound of the JM Labs , but what they do is deliver a very balanced thoroughly enjoyable musical experience.
And I am not even compensating for their price!

And thank you Hugh for your hospitality.

Theo,
My pleasure, welcome any time, and thank you for your very positive comments!!

[Jens]

Hi Gerado,

Thanks for the roses for my CD

I'm sure the V-Sonics does it justice!

Actually, I'm working on a second CD. Track selection is slow work, because I want real music that goes to the heart as well as high technical standard, but it's progressing steadily

I'll make sure to send a copy to Hugh when I'm finished!

[gerado]

Great to hear that Jen,
waiting to see what you come up with