[DavidS]

I have been talking to Duke about a pair of his new Cloud chasers to replace my Druid 4's (plenty of clouds to chase on west coast of British Columbia so concept appropriate).  I run my speakers with a 300b set that I am well attached to so looking for high eff speakers.  My listening room is 18x25 so pretty average although has a nice bowling alley / home theatre set up that is most conducive to good sound.  What I like about the Druids is the dynamics and tone, what I don't like is the unrealistic sound that comes at you from the almost single driver point source that is the druids and the lack of full range detail.  I run them with a subwoofer so while sound is pretty full it is hit and miss depending on the source.  I know that no one has cloud chasers so this is a flying leap if I go there... but wondering if there is any storm chaser experience (bipoles) or if anyone has compared Zu's or other high eff single driver type speakers with Duke's other speakers to give me a feel for what I might get if I go down this path.

Good variety of music and movies - got Neil Young's Rock and Roll Never Die - man that guitar roars as I type, but lots of 50's jazz, as well as Wilco, blues, americana stuff, even some Sunday morning classical and opera. 

David

[Duke]

Hi David,

Well I was hoping someone besides me would post here. 

I used to make a chunky stand-mount speaker called the Stormbringer.  Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere posted these comments on Audiogon:

"AudioKinesis (Duke) is making some outstanding product. We recently got in a set of his Stormbringers for a customer of ours. I set them up at home and I have to say, I was quite unprepared for how good these speakers are! Of course, price is always a driving concern, but setting that aside for a moment (the Stormbringers are **very** reasonably priced), they were playing well out of their league, being very detailed, extended, relaxed and with a good portion of wallop thrown in. While not the last word in bass, they were clearly making it in the upper 20s and could shake the room. Again, they are very easy to drive, and while on paper not as efficient as our ZU Druids, they **couldn't** have been far behind! I think a lot of that has to do with what part of the curve you rate your efficiency from. An excellent speaker by any standard, if you pick up a set, just get in the car and **drive** before Duke comes to his senses :)"

I did not claim bass extension into the upper 20's for the stand-mount version of the Stormbringers; more like upper 30's or lower 40's.  I have talked to Ralph about his statement, and he insists they shook the room on a note that he knows to have a fundamental in the upper 20's, but then my speakers are fond of his amps.  'Twas the S-30, which puts out increased power into an impedance peak, and I'd tuned the box fairly low so the boost from his amp interacting with the impedance peaks would extend the bass instead of making it boomy.  The standmount Stormbringers were priced at $2600 a pair. 

Ralph again:

"For quite a bit less than the ATCs, I think one would do better with a set of speakers from AudioKinesis. We had a set in recently and they were spectacular as well as reasonably priced."

And, once more:
 
"If you are on more of a budget, the ZU Druid (the new version) is not bad; I found that while the AudioKinesis was not *rated* the same efficiency, that it *behaved* as if it was just as efficient, but with greater bass impact and more definition."

I claimed 93 dB efficiency for the Stormbringers. 

I don't think Ralph would mind if you gave him a holler.

Though not a stand-mount, the Rhythm Prisms would be the approximate equivalent in my current lineup.

Duke

[PhishPhan]

David,

Have you sold your Druids yet? I'd be more than willing to take them off your hands for a reasonable price.

Bill

[DavidS]

Duke - thanks for getting the discussion going.  Duke is a pretty excellent communicator, has even discussed driving his speakers to my house for a demo (950 miles away!).  There has been a mostly great discussion about high efficiency speakers on audiogon and was hoping someone might have experience with both Duke's speakers and the Druids before Duke got in the car.  That said some of my best audio acquisitions have been of the flying leap variety.

Bill - my Druids are sitting in my living room...had a new cd I picked up yesterday the Bird and the Bee - A Tribute to Hall and Oates spinning last night sounding wonderful.  You can PM or email me if you want to get me moving towards owning Cloudchasers faster than I am currently moving.

[jsaliga]

Duke is a pretty excellent communicator...

Indeed he is.  Anyone who could coin the phrase "crossover kung fu" gets a big  in my book.

Seriously though, I have learned a lot from Duke's writings and he has increased my appreciation for both the art and science of loudspeaker design.

--Jerome

[Clio09]

When I first started on my new speaker journey my three finalists were:

1. Zu Druid
2. Audio Note AN-E (kit)
3. Audiokinesis Stormbringer

The first two I had already heard, but not in my system. My criteria was to find a speaker that was comfortable close to a front wall. I called Duke and inquired about the Stormbringer. After explaining how they were flexible as to room placement, much to my surprise he drove them to me (not sure if it was 950 miles, but it was far) to hear in my system and let me audition them for a length of time to compare to my Spendor 1/2e speakers.

I likened the Stormbringer more to the Audio Note than Zu, both in sound and of course design as they are both monitors. I liked the Zu Druids, but the upper end was a little too much for my tastes. The Stormbringer were smoother and in my system produced enough bass (much more than I heard the Zu produce) for my tastes. I think Duke is conservative with his specs so Ralph's comment on the bass does not surprise me. Of course my Spendor speakers were never the last word in bass. IMO, you don't buy a Spendor Classic Series speaker for bass, you get it for the mid-range. While the Stormbringer did not possess the same mid-range magic, I felt they were more tonally balanced and definitely extended further into the low end. What I was not prepared for was the natural timbre produced by the Stormbringer. This really was the deal breaker versus Spendor, and this coming from a nearly 15 year Spendor listener.

Since then I upgraded to the Jazz Module. Duke again drove them too me for a listen. They are better than the Stormbringer, especially in the bass, but I would have been happy had the Stormbringer stuck around. If Duke says the Prism are in the same league as the Stormbringer, then at their price they have to be one of the best speaker deals in the industry.

At the moment I am using the 35 watt Music Reference RM-10 MkII to drive the Jazz Module. I also use 70 watt VAC Auricle Musicblocs. I suspect each puts out less than their rating into 12 ohms, but nonetheless both love these speakers. I can drive the VAC amps harder and get higher SPLs, and although you would never think it looking by looking at them, the Music Reference amps have some cajones too.

[DavidS]

Clio - thanks for the comments - enjoyed the read. 

Agree with the Druids top end - it is almost unlistenable.....with the wrong amp.  But with 300b there is a magical transformation.  I have a 6K class A amp that is a beauty with my Harbeths but has me running for cover with the Druids. 

I think Duke is comparing the cloudchasers to the jazz module (correct me if I am wrong).  What are your impressions of the jazz modules.  I might not have enough power with 8 watts for them.

Jsaliga - looking forward to reading about your experience with your new speakers once they arrive.

David

[Clio09]

David,

When I die I want to be cremated and placed inside one of the Jazz Module cabinets. Might affect bass response though.

I can't see myself getting rid of these speakers. Its a shame Duke can't get the TAD drivers anymore. Really phenomenal sound. I have people leaving my place shaking their heads. You have to understand that I don't have the best listening room, far from it, but from hearing the sound coming out of these speakers you would never know it.

Bass is nicely extended and everything sounds smooth from top to bottom. Having owned Spendor Classic Series speakers I grew accustomed to that smooth sound. The Spendor 1/2e was a little too polite in comparison. The Jazz Modules can be bad boys on occasion.

There was one thread here where Duke mentioned a Jazz Module owner who sat so near field to the speakers that with arms extended one could touch them. That was me in an old diagonal configuration. I'd have to say no more than 4 ft. tweeter to ear and the speakers maybe 5.5 - 6 ft. apart. Even in that configuration the speakers could really do nothing wrong tonally. Imaging was very acceptable too. Even Duke was surprised and commented how he always felt that short a listening distance wasn't the ideal set-up with his speakers. It made him rethink distance recommendations.

I have used an 8 watt EL-84 amp on these speakers with fine results. They can stretch to 100 db SPL easily in a small - medium sized room. That is all I really need. I think you could be fine. The Cloud Chasers look more like the Dream Makers, but sound wise could be a nice substitute for the Jazz Module. I'm going to try and make it to the Lone Star Audio Fest. Hopefully I'll be able to hear them.