[Flashman]

Up for sale is a pair of Odyssey Lorelei speakers ($1550 plus shipping from zip 29681) that I recently purchased as an upgrade to my (original) Klipsch Forte speakers, circa 1987.  The reason I am selling is that the output of my source component, a modified Olive Musica wireless music center, is 1Vrms vs. the standard output of a CDP at 2Vrms.  Simply stated, using the wonderful Red Wine Audio Signature 30.2 integrated amp at 30 watts per channel with the Olive as source, I just don't get enough output to properly drive the Lors.  (Otherwise, a 30 watt amp paired with a CDP would drive the heck out of the Lors.)  I am really saddened because I love the look and sound of the Lors and had researched them thoroughly on the Odyssey AC forum before my purchase.

If you are interested in reading a thorough review of these speakers, check out the following from Srajan Ebaen of 6 Moons http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/odyssey/lorelei.html

Also, cruise over to the Odyssey AC forum and read the raves from Lorelei speaker owners.  They are passionate about these speakers and rightly so.

The cherry-finished speakers are about two-years-old and come with the original shipping boxes.  They have rubber feet, installed by the original owner who didn't want to put the spikes on them (the spikes were not sent to me).  They are cosmetically perfect.  I purchased the speakers earlier this month from Paul Hilgeman at Nomad Audio, who had received them from the original owner as a trade-in for a pair of his speakers.

Thanks for looking.  The photo below is from the original owner of the pair I now have.

[satfrat]

Have you tried talking to Red Wine Audio about this problem? Quite honestly, 30 watts should power the Lorelei's with no problem and there may be another solution besides just dumping the speakers. I have no idea what it might be but it would seem to me that if you really like the speakers, then try and explore a way to use them in your application first. of course if you already have, then this post is pointless.  First thing that came to my mind was a Burson Buffer,,,, might be worth mentioning to Vinnie. 


Cheers,
Robin

[IronLion]

Yeah, a Burson buffer or a transparent preamp if you like the sound of your current setup.  Of course that involves another power cord and pair of IC's.  You could also maybe try one of the TVC passives that offers some amount of gain to cut out the extra PC. 

[IronLion]

Come to think of it, first thing I would look into is if Vinnie can modify the Olive to put out 2v. 

[John151]

Quite honestly, 30 watts should power the Lorelei's with no problem Cheers,

Not sure that I agree with that statement.  The Lors seem to benefit from monster amps upstream (e.g. Odyssey Extreme Monoblocks).  Keep in mind that this is a 4 Ohm speaker!

[satfrat]

Quite honestly, 30 watts should power the Lorelei's with no problem Cheers,

Not sure that I agree with that statement.  The Lors seem to benefit from monster amps upstream (e.g. Odyssey Extreme Monoblocks).  Keep in mind that this is a 4 Ohm speaker!

Sorry but you're wrong on both accounts. The Lorelei's are 6 ohm / 89 dB, 30 watts should be more than enought to run these babies. Yes they do like 150-250 watts but I wouldn't go any ligher than that. I've had mine hooked up to 500watts and it wasn't a good match for the 7" Scan-speaks. You gotta realize that all you have here is a 7" and a 1" set of drivers. Check the specs on them,,, 150watts max on the 7". No,,,, 30 watts is more than enough to run these speakers and Vinnie would be the one to talk to about making this happen, please blame the Lorelei's  John151. 


Cheers,
Robin

[John151]

don't blame the Lorelei's  John151. 


Cheers,
Robin

Not blaming anyone, or anything, so lighten up and don't be so defensive!   

[satfrat]

don't blame the Lorelei's  John151. 


Cheers,
Robin

Not blaming anyone, or anything, so lighten up and don't be so defensive!   

Sorry bout that, wasn't meant to be defensive,,, more so to correct inaccurate info concerning speakers that I do know something about. But to sooth any misconceptions, I modified myself. I hope this'll be satisfactory. 

Cheers,
Robin

[Flashman]

Thanks all for your thoughts.  After much deliberation, I have decided to sell the Lors.  Here's why:

1) When building a system, I start with the amp, then move to the source and then speakers.  Some folks do it differently and start with speakers.  No right or wrong here, just preferences.

2) Regarding integrated amps, I was a solid state guy, then moved to a tube amp and have now settled on the Red Wine Audio "off the grid" sealed lead-acid battery approach.  I just upgraded my Signature 30 integrated amp to a Signature 30.2 amp.  I am really pleased with the amp and it is the cornerstone of my system.  It features high current and can really crank, so it's not a wimpy 30 watts.  It almost approaches that elusive tube sound with awesome detail.

3) Regarding source, I also went the Red Wine Audio battery approach with a modified Olive wireless music center.  Vinnie Rossi upgraded the unit to a 750gb hard drive -- more than enough room for my CD collection burned in FLAC mode -- and also converted it so it could run on an external battery for up to 24 hours, clearly enough for critical listening  .  I love the flexibility and sound of the Olive, but, and here is the crux of the issue, its output is 1 volt vs. the 2 volts for a conventional compact disk player.  In the end, that means I am sacrificing output for other qualities that I have come to appreciate in the Olive.  Please believe me that the Sig 30.2 is NOT the problem here.

3) In my minimalist zeal, I have decided I don't want anything in the path of the Olive and Sig 30.2 except for speakers.  I am totally "off the grid" and intend to stay that way.  Now then, Vinnie IS building a battery-driven tube preamp that will be available but will also be very pricey (perhaps as much as $3K but I don't know Vinnie's final decision on this matter).  So, at least for the moment, I have decided not to add anything in the path to the speakers.  Just my preference.

4) Enter the Lorelei speakers, which I researched assiduously.  These are flat out awesome speakers.  But they are also less efficient at 89db@6 ohms than my modified Klipsch Forte speakers at 98db@8 ohms.  When I plugged the Lors into my system, I had to really crank the volume *on some songs* to get reasonable SPLs.  Now, what do I mean by *on some songs*?  Well, when I burn CDs to the Olive, there are some songs that are lower in output than others.  I think it is how they were originally recorded.  At any rate, it just made it frustrating for me to have to crank the Sig 30.2 all the way up to get decent volume, again, on some songs. 

5) Given my choices (maybe not yours) of building from amp to source and not wanting anything in between my speakers, I have reluctantly decided to sell the Lors.  I appreciate the thoughts, passion and concern from all of you.  Truly.  That is what made me want these speakers in the first place!  But after much thought, it is time to move on to another solution.  For now, the Klipsch are back in and I can live with them for the moment.

all best, Flashman a.k.a. Michael

[bunky]

Quite honestly, 30 watts should power the Lorelei's with no problem Cheers,

Not sure that I agree with that statement.  The Lors seem to benefit from monster amps upstream (e.g. Odyssey Extreme Monoblocks).  Keep in mind that this is a 4 Ohm speaker!

The Lorelei's sound wonderful with my 80 wpc Sonic frontiers SFS80 tube power amp  and my BAT VK60 60 wpc tube power amp

 

[miklorsmith]

Agreed, those are not good enough reasons to sell your speakers.

[mjosef]

I think they are good reasons enough to sell the speakers. His alternative is what...rebuild his whole upstream electronic system? Obviously the speakers are not efficient enough for his source/amp set up...the speakers may be someone else's nirvana, but like the man said, its not cutting it in his set up.
Looks like higher efficient speakers are need in his system, 94+dB. min.

[miklorsmith]

Before selling, there must be valid reasons.  Compelling argument has been presented that they should be kept.  In order to validate sale, sufficient justification must be presented.

It's possible such rationale exists, I'm simply stating it hasn't yet been fully developed.

[satfrat]

Personally i'd like Michael to start a thread in the Red Wine Circle explaining his situation and just see what brews. Even if he's set on selling, it may help someone else down the road that runs into the same problem,,,, ever think of that Michael? I just think he's giving up way to soon. I can't believe Vinnie would design his components only to work with only 98db speakers. That would surely limit is market and I know damn well the Lorelei's should be working here,,, unless a preamp is a necessity.  Then again he may simply not like his speakers and that's definitely reason enough to sell them. 


Cheers,
Robin

[gongos]

Buy a Speltz Autoformer.

[satfrat]

Buy a Speltz Autoformer.

Good idea!

[Airborn]

In order to validate sale, sufficient justification must be presented.

Says who???   What do you (or anyone for that matter) care about the reason why someone wants to sell his speakers?  It seems from Flashman's explanation that he has given this much thought and the justifications are good enough for him, so again, why is it anyone else's concern??

[mjosef]

Ok, so where can I go to validate my parking ticket? 

[WGH]

I know how Flashman feels, my shop JBL's never sounded right until I fed them with a 125 watt amp. Someone is going to be happy with a new pair of Lorelei's.

Whatever happened to the Zu love fest? Seems like the Druid's would work as a replacement, they are Srajan approved.

Wayne

[maxwalrath]

Buy a Speltz Autoformer.

Good idea!

Great idea!