[standub]

TAD room





Tyson - What more can I add?  Best sound at show on the first day, and not by a little.  In fact, thinking back on the last couple of RMAF's, this might be the best I've heard at any show, any year.  $37k?  I'm sure I could sell my spare kidney to someone....

Yeah some great sound coming out of this room, but again for $37k there were other systems sounding about 99% of this that are a lot cheaper.

[standub]

GR Research/Dodd

The super Vs are awesome, and I normally hate most high sensitivity drivers.  Also other large speaker companys can maybe take some notes on room treatments from Danny.  I was not a big fan of the imaging of theses, not sure if it was dipole or the room treatments, not quite my cup of tea.

[jtwrace]

I was a big fan of the imaging of theses, not sure if it was dipole or the room treatments, not quite my cup of tea.

I'm a bit confused.  What isn't your cup of tea?

[standub]

I'm a bit confused.  What isn't your cup of tea?

Haha, opps forgot a NOT in there.

[Russell Dawkins]

TAD room



All I can say is holy shit!!!! Dynamics and pop like you wouldn't believe!!!! Whatever track we walked in on had drums dynamics that made you feel like you were shot in the chest. Wow....

Now we're listening to Tyson's reference. Sweet violins and heart breaking emotion here. These speakers are the real deal. And the front end is pretty damned amazing as well. Don't think of these speakers as 'bookshelves' think of them as floorstanders on pillars and steroids. Bold sound great bass control, sweet midrange.

Very detailed sound in ani difrancos vocals. Yet not analytic at all. Can you tell that I really love this room? Pretty sure this is my favorite thus far. Very emotionally connecting presentation I don't feel like there's anything they are doing wrong honestly. Perhaps not as warm sounding as some of the Daedalus speakers, but certainly not sterile either.

Tool sounds very rockin!!!! No fear or anxiety with the huge dynamic shifts and great control overall. BUY THIS SYSTEM NOW!!!!!! Even out of the sweet spot some of the round the room effects are really circling my head. Amazing simply amazing.

Tyson - What more can I add?  Best sound at show on the first day, and not by a little.  In fact, thinking back on the last couple of RMAF's, this might be the best I've heard at any show, any year.  $37k?  I'm sure I could sell my spare kidney to someone....

All this enthusiasm for the TADs (basically Pioneer's supreme effort), and the other uniformly ebullient reviews I've seen over the years, got me curious to find out more about the designer, Andrew Jones, so I found this informative interview done only two weeks ago:
http://tinyurl.com/62v7byl
Reading that led me to this low end Pioneer speaker model which he also designed, and which I now intend to check out for household duties. At $149/pr I can afford them!
http://www.stereophile.com/content/pioneer-sp-bs41-lr-loudspeaker

[doug s.]

First sound/AMR/Daedalus.







Sounds is full and delicious. I really like the great job of setup. Sweet sound and no hint of congestion or yuck despite the lack of treatment this is one of the more balanced and controlled rooms we have been to. Emmanuel always does a great job with setup. The Athena's sound worlds different than the Modwright room. I would say my preference is more towards this rooms sound if I had to make a choice.

Tyson - It's official, I DO like the sound of the Athenas better....    Especially using input #2.  Emmanuel will get the joke, even if you other plebs don't 

i bet you like these better, because the use of a single tweeter prowides better focus.  the ulysses, w/its two offset tweets, doesn't get the treble focus as well, i suspect.  having never heard either of these, it's all speculation on my part.  i'd certainly love to hear them, as well as hearing their sc-823's, at 97db-efficient, and 35h-20khz +/-1.5db...

doug s.

[fsimms]

I wanted to hear what the buzz about the Daedalus was all about.  Most of the Daedalus rooms didn’t float my boat but I really loved the First Sound room.  Now I know what the buzz was about.

Bob

[vinyl_guy]

Serious audio Daedalus and galibier TTs.







Overall I liked the sound quality. Speakers were definitely to close to the wall. Sound was somewhat congested. Volume was pretty low, but what do you expect from 1/2 watt.

Tyson - Good tone, beautiful speakers (gorgeous woodwork), but were dynamically compressed.  I heard the same thing at Pez's house with his SET amps hooked up to the Ulysses.  These are efficient speakers, but they need more juice, IMO.

I thought this room had good sound, but agree with Tyson that the Ulysses were under powered (only 1 watt) even though they are 97db speakers. Tom's Gilabier TT is not only gorgeous to look at, it does vinyl playback as well as any table I have heard. It had the Talea tonearm and Dynavector XV-1 cartridge. I listenened to side one of the 45 RPM remastered Rumours album and heard all the details in the percussion that are missing on the original 33 1/3 pressing. I got goosebumps listening to it. We then played Cowgirl in the Sand from Neil Young's 1971 Live at Massey Hall album. This is an exceptionally well-recorded live album and it was another goosebump experience.

[vinyl_guy]

Daedalus/bolder/modwright/first sound.







Sounds very nice in here. Speakers are properly distanced from the wall and the sound is much more easy than the previous Daedalus room. Tweeters on the Daedalus are a touch lacking in certain ways. Not very huge on detail etc, but not offensive.  Overall I love how natural it sounds, but then again many will think that I'm a bit biased as I usually like/love Daedalus setups. Not much to say other than this sounds very nice.

Tyson - The room this year sounded good, but not as good as it sounded on Saturday last year.  Tonally they sounded very nice.  In fact my notes are effusive about how nice they sound from a tonal standpoint.  After hours a couple of changes were made and they started to snap in to focus a bit more.  Will have to revisit this room on Sat or Sun.

Tyson - the ever-gracious Wayne!  In fact, both Wayne and Lou are great guys and awesomely fun to hang out with. 

This was my 7th straight RMAF and I have spent a lot of time in Lou's room each time. I bought my first pair of Daedalus speakers at the show in 2006. With out a doubt, this was the best the Daedalus room has sounded. I cannot think of one negative or drawback except NO VINYL this year. As Tyson said, the tonality of this system was 2D4. Great sysnergy between the Modwright KWA 150 SE, the First Sound Pre, the AMR DAC, the SB Touch modded by Wayne, the Ulysses and the BOW (subs). After show hours Lou played the live version of DSOTM from the new remastered release and its sound was simply amazing. It was a "you are there" experience. Very real and natural sounding with great dynamics. Lou's speakers are a delight to one's ears, tonally accurate and never fatguing. Clearly one of my top 5 rooms.

[vinyl_guy]

i bet you like these better, because the use of a single tweeter prowides better focus.  the ulysses, w/its two offset tweets, doesn't get the treble focus as well, i suspect.  having never heard either of these, it's all speculation on my part.  i'd certainly love to hear them, as well as hearing their sc-823's, at 97db-efficient, and 35h-20khz +/-1.5db...

doug s.

The Ulysses tweeters are not offset. The offset tweeters are in the Daedalus DA-1.1s. The Ulysses image better than the DA-1.1s (pinpoint imaging in fact, as well as any speaker I have heard), but the 1.1s have a wider sweet spot and fill the room with sound and a stable soundstage anywhere in the room. Both are tonally very accurate with great dynamics.

Laura

[doug s.]

The Ulysses tweeters are not offset. The offset tweeters are in the Daedalus DA-1.1s. The Ulysses image better than the DA-1.1s (pinpoint imaging in fact, as well as any speaker I have heard), but the 1.1s have a wider sweet spot and fill the room with sound and a stable soundstage anywhere in the room. Both are tonally very accurate with great dynamics.

Laura

i understand the tweets on the ulysses' are not at angled offsets like the 1.1's, which are not in the same plane, but are actually canted a few degrees from each other.  but, w/the ulysses, there's clearly still two of 'em offset on the front of the cabinet even tho they're in the same plane, unlike the single tweet on the athena's.  i wonder how the ulysses' would sound w/a single tweet instead of the pair.  perhaps you might lose a db or so of efficiency and another couple db's of ultimate spl, but i wonder if they would have better focus.

in any ewent, as i have said before, it's mere speculation on my part as to why tyson would prefer the smaller athenas, as i have never heard either, tho i would love to...

doug s.

[Scottdazzle]

Scott,
Soundsmith speaker images?  Make/model?  Thanks!
 

The Firefly and the Monarch. Both very fine.

[Bill Baker]

I have a pair of Ulysses in route to our showroom now. They will be paired up with some very fine gear (further details to follow). I spent a fair amount of time with the original DA1 so I should be able to provide some insight on the differences between the two designs.

Unrtunately, I did not get a chance to sit down and listen to any of Lou's speakers this year as I was quite busy with our room but I don't need to hear them at a show to know how good they are. At least I was able to see Lou and Wayne (Boulder Cable) on Wednesday night as we were all there quite early.
I don't think I have to tell what great guys these two are.

[input 2]

Pez, Tyson,

Just registered and the system will not allow me to do any PM's.
Can you email me at my website.

Best Regards,
Input 2

[Pez]

FYI new members are restricted from sending PMs.  I can't remember the exact number of posts you need before you can pm.

[input 2]

Can't respond to your pm.
Can you send your email via pm?

[Daedalus Audio]

i understand the tweets on the ulysses' are not at angled offsets like the 1.1's, which are not in the same plane, but are actually canted a few degrees from each other.  but, w/the ulysses, there's clearly still two of 'em offset on the front of the cabinet even tho they're in the same plane, unlike the single tweet on the athena's.  i wonder how the ulysses' would sound w/a single tweet instead of the pair.  perhaps you might lose a db or so of efficiency and another couple db's of ultimate spl, but i wonder if they would have better focus.

in any ewent, as i have said before, it's mere speculation on my part as to why tyson would prefer the smaller athenas, as i have never heard either, tho i would love to...

doug s.

Doug,
using one tweeter isn't really an option as we would have to pad the woofers which I am loath to do. it would drop the sensitivity a solid 2+db also.
we really don't lose imaging because of the dual tweeters, the crossover and mounting of the tweeters are critical and they do function very well as a point source.

the sonic difference between the Athena and the Ulysses is primarily a function of the cabinet shape and size as well as the porting and has very little if anything to do with one vs. two tweeters. this point was pretty clearly shown when comparing the DA-RMa & Ulysses.

 the Athena functions almost like a sealed cabinet and hence is a bit tighter in the mid bass and vocal range, which affects the nature of the imaging.  when you hear the two models in the same room with the same system they are very close and the differences I describe are fairly subtle.  essentially the Ulysses has a bigger, wider, deeper sound with more bass extension whereas the Athena has a tighter slightly more controlled sound.

thanks,
lou