I made the trek to GR for some serious listening and on the way back bogarted a seat at Arts house for an evening with the CLS9s. Besides the great tunes of Dannys smaller offerings there was NOTHING that could prepare me for the total expreience at Arts. The workmanship, finishing, shine and visual statement the CLS9s make everything else Ive seen insignificant. The room layout, size, and furnishings are the most inviting and yet pulse raising. The equipment is the finest on earth- MBL CD, VAC pre, and Vac Phi 300 and 3+" thick lighted Stands, The very fact he chose the CLS9s for his reference speakers is a testament unto itself. The funny thing is the CLS9 is the star of the show not in terms of shear size but the incredible fit and finish. At first I was taken by the size. I have heard big speakers before and have always been a bit perplexed as to why the owners choose to live with the size and cost when an add on sub and the mid sized floorstanders or montors would equal the presentation, scale, and output. Some very expensive floorstanders from many different companies feature this common combo (usually a 7"/tweet or MTM sitting atop a base of 2 10" or a variation of the sort) the soundstage is limited by the monitor and isnt any bigger in scale as what we are all used to with our own systems, even big planars do this. The CLS9 is a totally different in presentation, the visual size of the CLS9s is insignificant compared to the auditory scale of the presentation. If you can envision a Imax screen of at least 15' H * 25' wide with its curved aspect that is as close as I can describe the scale of the auditory presentation of the CLS9s- Positively tremedous, a different animal towering above and beyond the size of the speakers. The walls and boundaries are totally obliterated- World Class!
You might not think you need the extra capabilities at the extremes or the huge radiating area of the planar array until you experience the dynamic swings the LSs can do. Even at normal listening levels the increase in microdynamics and eyeblinking cymbal shots are uncanny and an experience even long time listeners can't fathom. Everything comes out of the blackness with an ease an effortlessness. Everything is rich and 3D, bigger than I even thought possible. You owe it to yourself to audition these any way you can. The value for this unique perspective and performance is unmatched. I have not heard anything that does the things the CLS9s do. Well thats all I can say.
