[lonewolfny42]

werner52....

Glad to read you finally got the Mini's "hooked up"...
Thanks for the photo's....even the inside of the port...I think thats a first...

Happy listening.....

[werner52]

lonewolfny42 - I felt inquiring minds might be interested in a behind the curtains photo.   Glad you enjoyed.

[mcullinan]

Can we have more impressions on the sound please and thanks!
Mike

[Val]

werner, do you move them forward when listening critically? In the photo the stands seem to be flat against the front wall.

[werner52]

mcullinan - To me smoothness is it's strongest feature, maybe it's the mundorf crossover.    Tonally on the upper band I'm impressed, it is revealing but does not have a shrill to it, nor sibilance like some tweeters.  When I say true to the source, imagine if you will that where you are right now you hit a cymbal, that is what the Mini sounds like (flat, reality), versus you putting a mic to it, amplifying it then hitting the cymbal (enhanced).  Some may prefer more "air" up top, I believe that will probably be more source/system dependent, as some of the material really opened the top end on the Mini's.  Bass wise if you like to feel your bass in your shorts, your asking too much from these bookshelfs, they are only spec'd to 42Hz so don't expect miracles.  The lower frequencies eminate wide and slightly behind the speaker. I used to have IRD monoblocks that I may ask a friend to bring over to try with the Mini's to see the difference with amplification.

Val - Here's a better photo of angle.  They are out 12" (I'd prefer more, however I received a frown from WAF, plus have small children that like to run around, even though they are on sound anchors I have to compromise).   

For you AC/DC  heads.  The Mini's handled them beautifully, imaging was spot on with a huge soundstage.  I kept waiting for the spit from Brian Johnson to land on me while he was belting out the lyrics.   

[WOR Radio]

How are the weekend listening sessions going?

I think people are "biting at the bit" to hear more about your experiences!

[react]

if anyone can review these Mini's comparing other well-regarded monitors, that would be great.
Specifically of interest to me are the current Merlin TSM-MXe monitors, one of my favorites. If I could audition these Mini's firsthand in my rig against the Merlins, I certainly would. Are demo's available??

[werner52]

WOR Radio- Sorry, had some family things last week.  After some extra listening, I would have to say these speakers are in a word "raw."  There is not a "trademark sound," what I hear is true to source/life.  Nuances, deepness into the recordings, I'm starting to really enjoy the practical ghosting these monitors do letting the music just flow.  Vocals sound true with lyrics having a clearer pronunciation to them.  For the video game Call of Duty 4, loading a magazine in the M4 carbine then letting loose on it was scary real.   I'm sure many can live without a sub with the minis, I'm probably what would be termed a basshead (albeit a clean, tight basshead), for me the sub will religiously accompany my minis.

react- Sorry, can't help you with that request.  If your up in North Dakota some time let me know.

[phoenix_rising]

if anyone can review these Mini's comparing other well-regarded monitors, that would be great.
Specifically of interest to me are the current Merlin TSM-MXe monitors, one of my favorites. If I could audition these Mini's firsthand in my rig against the Merlins, I certainly would. Are demo's available??

Hi React,

Hopefully BBChem will chime in. He previously owned some MERLIN TSM-M so he should be ale to give you a reasonable comparison. Needless to say he no longer owns them and has mini's.

Below is a link to his review thread:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=48470.msg434506#msg434506

Phoenix

[bbchem]

 



Ok, I will chime in, I don't like to compare another company's products on specific forums but I will since I no longer own them.
The Merlins are very very good monitors which kept my attention for a long time relative to my Loudspeaker Attention Span Deficit disease. I was very impressed by the overall sound in most areas, but the ability for me to hear and feel like the event unfolding as a live or natural one was still missing as I found in so many of my others on my list. Mind you you may feel different, but I was always looking for that one sound that makes me stop analyzing and keeps me listening without constantly calling attention to itself for some distraction.  So far the Minis have done this. No small feat! I have lost the interest in pursuing others at this time, and if I could afford speakers in the 10k region I would probably compare the SP TEch to some others on my short list. But for now, I love them and still have a hard time imagining that something could really deliver a much better sound. Thats my 2 Cents for now.
 

if anyone can review these Mini's comparing other well-regarded monitors, that would be great.
Specifically of interest to me are the current Merlin TSM-MXe monitors, one of my favorites. If I could audition these Mini's firsthand in my rig against the Merlins, I certainly would. Are demo's available??

[lonewolfny42]

bbchem....

But for now, I love them and still have a hard time imagining that something could really deliver a much better sound. Thats my 2 Cents for now.

I know a speaker that I'd bet would sound better....a larger SP Tech....

I'm looking forward to comparing..... I hope Bob has my Mini's ready soon... 

[react]

werner52, phoenix_rising, & bbchem, thanks for your input-- it certainly helps.

I'll look forward to more user reviews as they pop up (hurry up guys!!!), and hope to hear them firsthand sometime soon...

[werner52]

Just finished watching National Treasure 2 and one of the highlights of the evening was the wife "NOT" asking me to turn up the volume so she could hear the dialogue.  Even with a dedicated 5.1 she continually would request the volume be turned up particularly the center channel as she couldn't pick up what people were saying.  Now with a 2.1 setup, with the Time Piece Mini's, it didn't even come up throughout the movie.  Bob, thank you!  

[Karsten]

Actually the human voice is very dynamic, so speech recognition is good test to perform on a system. And yes, the SP tech speakers is passing that test with flying colors

Regards,
Karsten