This weekend I had the honor and privledge of several things. One being to give the new LS9's as well as the LS6's a listen. Another being that I was able to meet some really fine people including; Danny Richie, Arthur Smuck, Gary Dodd, Marvin Bolden, James Darby and Russ..
People, I am no reviewer nor am I very good with expressing my feelings in print, but I'll try as I feel that I would be doing all of you interested in the LS6's, LS9's or to be honest....ANY of Dannys speakers, a disservice
by not at least trying to express what I heard and saw this past weekend. I've heard many very good systems and I also believe my system is no slouch...well that was before this weekend.
I left Austin Friday afternoon and drove on up to Fort Worth, checked into our hotel and soon we were on our way to Mr. Smucks house. Upon arrival Arthur and his fine family treated my family as though we were old friends even though they had never even met us. After some fine introductions Arthurs beautiful wife soon began waving food under our noses and we couldn't resist, but I was on a mission, I wanted to hear the LS6's! I shoveled my food down as quickly as possible as I just could not stand to wait much longer, I HAD to see his room and I HAD to hear those LS6's. Arthur didn't disappoint.....as soon as we were done eating he drug me upstairs to his wonderful music room and he was prepared....music was already playing, the system was warmed up and ready to go! As soon as I stepped into that room I knew I was in for a treat, what I didn't know was how big of a treat was soon to come.
The sound?? Geez, where do I begin? Dynamics....holy sweet crap!! I just knew he had to have some 12" subs hidden somewhere, I just couldn't find them. Speed? Yes, very very fast with no mushiness or boominess(are those two really words??) what so ever. Imaging? Oh yesss, now this is no lie, I thought Art had somehow rigged up other speakers off to my sides and even behind me. I asked him to stop it in mid-song and asked him if this was the case. He assured me it wasn't and even though I couldn't find any other speakers I'm still suspicious!!
My wife had to hear this, I promptly went down stairs to retrieve her, she did the same thing....where are the surrounds? Subs?? She was floored as well. Clairity, depth, width, transparency and just about any other audiophile word you can think of....well, it is all there and in spades! Arthur and his wife have done a fantastic job with that room and his equipment choices are top of the line, but no room and no components can do what I heard without a fantastic speaker on the end of the line and that is exactly what I heard......I went back to the hotel that night grinning from ear to ear.
The next morning I was on my way to Northern Texas to meet the famous Danny Ritchie and hear the LS9's. Danny was a real pleasure to meet as well. He struck me as a real "down to earth" kind of guy, honest, no B.S. and he absolutely knows what he is talking about. Of course sitting right smack in the middle of his living room are those monsterous mono blocks built by none other than Gary Dodd, and ohhhh what magnificent Big Blue Beasts they are!! Let me just say this, pictures do them absolutely no justice!! And guess who was standing there? Yep, Gary himself. It was great meeting Gary as well, he seems like a really nice guy. Ok, lets cut right to the 9's....WOW!! My first thoughts were, they are BIG!! Beautiful, mesmerizing. Standing there like a tribute to the now gone World Trade Center buildings, I was in awe. How did they sound? Well, just like the 6's....only better. They seemed to have more detail, more transparency....just more of everything. Please don't misunderstand me, the LS6's were/are fantastic speakers but the LS9's were even better as I'm sure we all expected. Now, if your room is to small for the LS9's then by all means, get the 6's you WILL NOT be disappointed, guaranteed.
As I mentioned in the begining of this post, I am not a reviewer nor good at expressing myself or what I heard with mere words alone. What I can tell you is that both of these speakers are great speakers. Yes, they are big...very big, but I like big speakers. They are smooth from bottom to top and I heard no boomy or sloppy bass coming from them at anytime, even on the drum tracks. They offer up lots of detail but didn't seem bright or lean at all, vocals, both male and female were rendered wonderfully. Imaging was very strong with a big wide sound stage, expansive in all directions, especially depth. I was able to move around the room and still get good sound and even imaging! Very impressive indeed.
The LS9's were hugely impressive in every way as I mentioned the 6's were above, but even more so. In listening to them they were brutal yet delicate at the same time, I would close my eyes and the sound was glorious, a rock solid image, tons of detail, transparency and all the other goodies....then you open your eyes and
!!! They they are in all their glory, they can't be missed as they are huge! IMHO, big beautiful beasts, just like Garys mono blocks. Ok, just one more thing and then I'll try and quit gushing; Dynamics....holy sweet mama did they have dynamics! I remember reading in a thread here somewhere on AC that some dude was saying that it was "impossible for little ole 6.5" woofers in a line array to dip into the 20's", he then stated something to the effect of "the laws of pysics must be different in the state of Texas", well I have some information for that dude, he best get his ass on down to Texas as those fricking 9's were shaking the concrete foundation of Dannys house!! They absolutely dip down into the 20's, wayyyy down into the 20's and I'm willing to bet down into the teens!! I am not kidding, those with weak bowels need not apply.
Those speakers were wonderful and I can't wait to get mine now, I have absolutely no doubts anymore, I have made a wise purchase. Now please keep in mind these were just the proto types of the LS9's, the ones that will be coming from the Great White North(Custom Concepts version) will most likely have what I would guess to be in the range of somewhere around 10-20% more due to quite a few factors such as thicker heavier cabnets, outboard cross overs, upgraded cross overs, no-res through out, higher quality wire, cap upgrades etc. In other words, I CANNOT WAIT!!!! A word of warning to any and all speaker mfgs in the $5-25k range...Watch Out, there is a serious storm on the horizon...and IMHO it is the Perfect Storm!!
Thank you to Danny and Arthur for allowing me into their homes. It was great meeting all of you, I enjoyed it immensely. Gary, I still want a T-shirt!!
Sincerely,
John
PS-I want to make it clear that I have no hidden agenda or motive. There is nothing in this for me except being able to hear the speakers that I plan to buy. I have never previously met, in person, any of these fine people. I have "met" most of these guys via either right here on AC or in the case of Arthur and Marvin, I met while they were reviewing my cables.
A few "inside jokes" for this weekend: Speaker H, 15 kitties in the freezer, I promise no more HUGE "The Bomb" bean & cheese burritos(sorry about that guys!
), the case of the disappearing shrimp.......
