Hi Phoenix,
Most of us know what a lower cross over can do especially for voices. I think that the promotion he has done with the Mini will pay dividends long term, it takes time but all the people who got the deal I am sure will be prolific in voicing what they think of them.
I hope you're right.
Another thing he should try is another version of the mini aimed at the lower end of the market as a way of getting people introduced to Sp Tech. Once people are happy with the cheaper version and know the gains that can be made from the more expensive lines they tend to trust the manufacturer and just buy them and of course the higher end versions have more margin in them. They need to be cheap to make and give a good idea of what they can expect in the fully blown versions.
I agree, and Bob may have plans to do something like that down the road.
When I get mine I will put a dollar value on what I think they are worth compared to other gear I have owned like the Meridian 5500's they were very nice but were clinical and not as involving as they should have been.
I'd have ordered a pair of Minis, too, had they been sealed. I really need a sealed version for my intended application (bedroom system), but I was sorely tempted.
I wish Bob had been able to figure out how to do solid wood front panels earlier, meaning at the earlier pricing scheme. What I would
really like to see is Bob take what he's learned (wood front panels, new crossover parts, internal wiring) into a time machine, go back about 4 years and then compare the two versions of the company at this juncture. I think the differences between now and the time machine-amended version of "now" in terms of growth and acceptance would be startling. I'm not sure how they
couldn't be.
My mini's will hopefully tide me over till I get back on my feet financially after which it will be revelation time or maybe the grand if the room is large enough.
What's the grand / grand master? I haven't discussed it with Bob... didn't know a different Revelation was in the works. I had to go to the SP Tech website to see what you were referring to.
If you haven't heard the 'standard' Revelations, you may reconsider seeking more after doing so. I was haunted by their sound for 3 years after hearing them at the 2004 RMAF, and what I heard this year was even better. I understand different things can be done to allow for even more power handling, greater sound reinforcement, etc., but from the perspective of tone, dynamics (macro and micro, as well as visceral), and musicality (defined by me as realism), the Revelations stand alone among the speakers I've heard. That's especially true at anything approaching their price point.
There were a few
truly exceptional speakers in Denver; for instance, the Acapella Triolon Excalibur loudspeakers were amazing IMHO. But they were also $170,500 a pair, and as was/is the case with every other speaker I've heard, the bass didn't have the authenticity afforded by the Revelation's proprietary T-line.
Judging by their size, they probably require a room the size of a basketball court to sound their best, too. Not likely a problem if you can afford $170k speakers, but I don't fit that description.
I may be wrong about this (self study isn't my long suit), but I still maintain I'm not a bass freak, at least not by my definition. That said, it's bass that serves as the foundation upon which the rest of the aural spectrum is built. The more real the bass sounds, the greater the odds the rest of the presentation will be life-like. Consequently, when you combine the accuracy of the Revelation's T-line from the lowest octave through the lower mids with the seamlessness of Bob's crossover, you're left with a sonic picture of unprecedented accuracy IMHO.
I believe that's precisely what moved renowned speaker-hater Jim Merod to tears while listening to one of his own BluePort Jazz label CDs.
I hope Bob goes on to make a very good living from Sp Tech, not much more you can ask from life but to do something you really enjoy and gives other people so much pleasure.
I couldn't agree more. For now, all the rest of us can do is sit back and enjoy the show... and sounds.
