Well, I have had the Ronins for about a month, and I believe they are broken in now, so it is time to comment on the sound. My system is now as follows:
Stock SB3, power via CI Audio VDC-SB
Lite DAC 62 (DAC 60 mod'd by Pacific Valve)
Odyssey Candela
Odyssey Stratos
Nomad Ronins
Gronenberg Quatro ICs
Kimber Kable Kwik 12 (in-wall speaker cable)
A few years ago, I made some major changes to my system that were based on aesthetics (WAF) and convenience (SB3 - I hate dealing with jewel cases). The resulting system just didn't have any magic for me, and I quickly lost interest in audio. This year, I decided I was either going to get out of two channel audio all together, or revamp my system in an attempt to re-capture the magic. Well, I chose to re-capture the magic, and the Ronins were the final step in my system overhaul.
I had a very specific sound that I was going for, and the Ronins deliver that sound exactly. I also wanted a system that could play all types of music well (this was an issue when I had the Maggies), including poorly record music. I am very pleased to say that CDs that used to sound lousy on previous iterations of my system now sound pretty darn good. I no longer have to limit my two channel listening to well recorded CDs, and all genres (country, metal, classic rock, etc.) sound at least decent, and good recordings sound great. I am noticing details that I never noticed before. Subtle sounds from triangles and tambourines are now clearly audible, with a natural and long decay. I hear odd things, like singers taking a breath of air before belting out a note, fingers touching guitar strings before the string is actually struck, and an occasional errant noise in the background (oops?). Imaging is outstanding, to the point where some musicians sound like they are in the next room, or even outside my house.
I am going to avoid reviewing the Ronins directly, partly because I don't have nearly enough experience to compare them to other speakers, and partly because I view the Ronins as part of a complete system overhaul, and not as a single item upgrade. Suffice it so say that I am extremely pleased with the performance of the Ronins. Also, they are great looking, and Paul was a pleasure to deal with. And, yes, I did re-capture the magic. Actually, I believe I exceeded my expectations.
Up next - room treatments.
