[PaulHilgeman]

Hey All,

Where are they now, and how are they sounding? 

-Paul

[bpape]

Hi Paul.

I have them.  I picked them up from Bill at Scott's.  Right now they're in my dedicated room and they sound pretty darned good.  I want to listen a little more down there and then bring them upstairs in a larger space.  I have some equipment to break in and need to do that downstairs and don't want to handicap the sound of the Sentinels with green equipment.

Bryan

[steve k]

Bryan,
Can I get them next????
steve

[PaulHilgeman]

Sounds good,

What are they being run on?

BTW, to all, if anyone down there is interested in purchasing that particular pair at a VERY fair price, send me an e-mail or PM.

-Paul

[bpape]

Sure Steve - we'll figure something out.

Paul.

I'm running an SB3 with Bolder PS->MHDT Labs Paradesea-> Modded Korato KVP20 -> Odyssey Stratos Mono Extreme SE's.  Pretty Schweet. 

Bryan

[PaulHilgeman]

Sounds like a good combo!!!

[Vapor Audio]

I had the opportunity to listen to the Sentinels for a couple hours last night at Bryans place - thanks for having me over Bryan!

There were moments during listening where the Sentinels were extremely enjoyable.  They do the leading pluck of acoustic guitar incredibly well, I don't think I'd ever heard that level of dynamics on a string pluck.  They also had the ability to totally fill in a deep and wide soundstage, but they needed some volume or the stage had trouble filling into the middle of the room.  The Seas poly cone mid certainly isn't lacking for detail either, and never sounded strained running OB.

That's the good, and honestly there's a LOT of good in these speakers ... here's the less good   During listening Bryan and I commeneted that they're voiced "right on the edge".  They can be a bit fatiguing, and are certainly very revealing.  We listened to a lot of different material last night, a few tracks - John Mayer for instance - was just painful.  The bass also gets pretty thin on any rock recordings. 

The Sentinels aren't a speaker for everybody, certain musical tastes could make them sound pretty hard.  But if you want a supremely detailed and open sounding speaker that does well-balanced recordings very very well, they certainly deserve a look. 

[bpape]

I would just add that they're very revealing not only of what's driving them and feeding them, but also of the source material itself.  They're not a forgiving speaker of older rock, overly hot upper mids (especially), no deep bass type recordings.

That said, with good source material not overly hyped but more natural (including some rock stuff) they sound excellent.  They're very extended in the bottom end, they image very well, they're extremely dynamic, etc.  They do like a bit of power and they definitley like to play louder rather than softer.  In all fairness, they were set up a bit farther apart due to my situation than they would normally be optimally so I take it as praise that they could fill in a fine center image most of the time.

For the record, my system is:

Moded Korato KVP20 Tube Pre with VH OIMP output caps and RCA Blackplates
Odyssey Stratos Mono Extreme SE's (fully tricked out by Klaus)
SB2 with Boulder PS feeding MHDT Labs Paradesia using WE396A tube.
(Hardly a bright sounding system)

If I was a person who listened to only 'audiophile approved' recordings and/or my primary interests were Jazz, Folk, Classical, Acoustic, etc. - these would be an outstanding choice.  The one thing, as Ryan said, that they have an issue with is material that is really boosted in the upper mids/lower treble.  I don't think I'd categorize it as a fault as much as just being mercilessly revealing.

Bryan

[PaulHilgeman]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the feedback.

Scott's review is now on-line:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0907/nomad_audio_sentinel.htm

As to upper mids, lower trb.  All I can say here is that it is hard to pick how to voice a speaker, if voiced to really make 38 special and Van Halen sound great, you wont take that last step in purity, body, texture etc. on the really good recordings.  I have always felt that painting yourself into a corner like that is not a good practice, and prefer my speakers just to tell the truth.

Hope you all have a great Labor Day!

-Paul

[bpape]

Agreed Paul.  It's very difficult to make a speaker accurate and somewhat forgiving at the same time. 

I've dropped the Sentinels off with Steve K as of yesterday.  He's in process of reconfiguring some things as he has a new pair of beastie tube mono amps coming early next week.  I'll be very interested to hear the Sentinels on an all tube system that also has the power reserve to really get them up and running.

As I said, overall, I think they're an excellent speaker and a very good value.  As for 'rock-n-roll', they'll definitely get up and go - which a lot of accurate speakers won't do.  They're just not going to sugar coat the recordings in any way.  Just out of curiosity, are you considering a paper version of the Sentinels as you did for the Ronins? 

Thanks for making these available for this mini tour.  It's always nice to get an opportunity to listen to a special product like this in your own system, in your own room. 

Bryan

[PaulHilgeman]

This pair is for sale:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=46904.new#new

You can save on shipping!

-Paul