Incredible vocal reprodution. Very accurate, detailed and fluid mid and high range sound reprodution. Very good imaging for their size. Attractive and well constructed cabinetry.

For my use as surround speakers I haven't experieced negatives. For main speaker use a sub would be required most likely in order to add full sunding base response. Due to their accuracy in sound reproduction the weaknesses source componants and electronics driving them may be more apparant than with other speakers.

After over 10 years since I purchased my KEF C65 I decided to purchase a surround system for a modest home theater seteup. I did not want to compromise music as this remains my main use for my sysytem. I extensively auditioned low-mid end speakers from Mirage (OM 10's, Klipsch), B&W , Paradigm Studio Series, and the Monitor Audio Silver 9 series. I enjoyed the sound of the Monitors and the Paradigms especially, but I became concerned about the listener fatigue I experienced after longer listening sessions.

As I stepped up price/budget-wise to check out some higher end models the Vienna line stood out for me as providing the vocal and musical smoothness detail and imaging I was looking for without any of the fatigue I experienced with other speakers. I found myself drawn again and again to them and sound they produced despite the fact the line cost more than I intitially had inteneded to spend. One main reason for this I believe is the silk tweeter sound of the Vienna's vs the qualities of sound in the metalic tweeter's of most of the other' speakersI auditioned.
In this class of speaker, B&W 805's and Sonus Faber Concertino's were also strong contenders. I ultimately felt the Vienna's provided the best sound and value combination for my needs.

Similar Products Used:

KEF C65 speakers

silky highs, smooth midrange, highly detailed presentation, surpising bass, beautifully built, and totally musical.

Sometimes the bass it a tad boomy

At the time I was looking at purchasing a pair of bookshelf speakers I had auditioned such notable products as B&W N805, B&W CDM1SE, Sonus Faber Concertino, Paradigm Ref Studio 20, and I owned a pair of Paradigm Ref Active 20's for a couple of weeks. I would have loved to have gotten the N805, but the cost difference between them and everything else was too much. In addition I was not particularly satisfied with the rather thin sounding tweeters of the B&W's. The Paradigms were better to my ear in the highs but they didn't have the ability to really move me as music should. They also lacked the buttery midrange of the B&W's. The Sonus Faber Concertinos were the closest in sound to the Haydns, but they had a more apparent discontinuity between woofer and tweeter with slightly brighter highs. The Viennas, on the other hand, are exceptionally well integrated between woofer and tweeter with full and silky highs.

Enter the Vienna Acoustics Haydn.

The Haydns had everything I associate with hi-end audio, they were smooth, detailed, wonderfully built, and they could convey the subtle details that most speakers in this price range overlook. They are a tweakers delight since you can change the sound with a slight change to their location or any of the associated equipment and accessories. They can handle the muscle of my Mac MC-150 and the likes of a Bryston 4B-ST or Krell KAV-300i.

If these speakers were to have a weakness, and it's tough to fault them at their price point and given their size, it would have to be their bass. The Haydns are a ported design and they can take on a slight boominess in the bass but this can easily be controlled by the right amplifier.

Anyone looking for a pair of truly musical speakers should audition the Vienna line. If you want to know what Vienna Acoustics loudspeakers sound like, take a pair of Thiels and drive them with a Cary tube amp, then you'll have a Vienna!

BTW, after spending 6 months with these speakers, I went out and bought a pair of Vienna Mozarts for my reference system.

Current Associated Equipment:

Vienna Acoustics Haydn
McIntosh MC-150
Nakamichi MB-8
Creek OBH-10
AudioQuest Diamondback interconnects
Monster Cable speaker wire

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm Reference Active 20, Kef Q10, Paradigm Mini-Monitor V1, and many other small floorstanders.

I do agree with the reviewer Robert Poole. It is a real bargain. Never underestimate a speaker of its size. I highly recomend them to a lot of mini-monitor enthusiast.

Just wanted to let you all know my experience with my new speakers.
I auditioned the entire Vienna line along with Sonus Faber, Hales Transcendance, and B&W CDM1s. I really wanted satellites for a variety of reasons. All of these are good speakers but I think the Haydns offer the best imaging, smoothest highs, and greatest transparency of them all.

Adding a REL Acoustics StrataII subwoofer makes a very good speaker into an amazing system. The REL is the most musical sub I've ever heard. Simply turning it on opened up the Haydns dramatically. It's almost as if some unseen shackles were removed giving the speakers an openess and depth that wasn't there without the sub.

I am using the system for stereo and home theater. I'm currently demo'ing the Vienna Acoustics Maestro center channel and it too is outstanding. I watched Mimic and Gattaca and with the REL and Viennas, it was an amazing experience.

The really interesting thing is that I traded in a pair of DefTech BP10s which I had for about 6 years. I always liked them for HT and didn't mind them for music. Until now. I can only say that it is as if someone removed all of my CDs and replaced them with new versions. When listening to my records, I have a sense that I've heard this music before, but now I'm listening to a new or at least re-mixed/re-mastered version. It is THAT dramatic. The BP10s had no imaging, muddy mid/bass, and sound that came from everywhere and nowhere. I was shocked at the difference.

So, I thought, I may have gained in stereo music what I'll be missing in HT. Again, not true. Voices now cut through the mix and lows are truly explosive without ever being muddy or ill-defined. Movie tracks, which always seemed harsh and abrasive to me, sound silky smooth with the Viennas soft dome tweeters. And the bass...goes without saying that the sub has opened up new avenues of low end.

Driving all this is Acurus/Amfi electronics which are actually going back as soon as my Rotel package arrives. $2100 for the RSP980 processor, RB985 5x100 amp, and dolby digital decoder. I can't wait to hear these speakers with the electronics.

I had always believed the BP10s to be a good compromise between the needs of HT and stereo. I now realize that a really good speaker system is a really good speaker system, regardless of the source material. And yes, the converse is true. If you're in the market for new speakers, I encourage you to check out Vienna Acoustics. I have some more listening to do...

BTW, Haydns - $895/pr.
Maestro Center - $1000
REL Acoustics Strata II - $1195

I just bought a pair of Haydn's last night after trying out several pairs. I listened to the Audio Physic Step, Linn Tukan, Aerial 5, Dynaudio Audience 50 and Dynaudio Contour 1.3. I had narrowed my search to the Aerial, Audio Physic and Dynaudio Contour. I can definitely appreciate the quality of the Aerial and the Dynaudio, but was left feeling that at best I would need them both to satisfy all of my listening needs. The Aerial had very pleasing mids and highs, but not much on the low end. The Dynaudio was a strong, full-range speaker and was fun to listen to with some of my "louder" music. As far as the Audio Physic goes, it was great to listen to (perhaps better than both the Aerial and Dynaudio). The only problem is that it may be too fragile for some of my needs.
I'm really happy that I found the Haydn, and that the salesman was honest enough to talk me down to a speaker that was 1/2 the cost of the alternatives (he also sold the Audio Physic)! It's extremely versatile and forgiving of my less-than-perfect room and gear. Even better, it will work for me if I ever decide to try HT. Vienna apparently has a decent home theater line.

I strongly recommend this speaker to anyone who wants a quality, big speaker sound but doesn't have the space. I also picked up the Velodyne HGS10 to accompany them. I still need to spend some time dialing it in, but so far so good!

When I decided to build my new system, the most difficult decision was to select speakers.
I auditioned different flavors of B&W, Paradigm, Lynn, NHT, M&K and even Boston Acoustics and few others.

Vienna Acoustics outperformed all them clearly and by any account. They are absolutely transparent! Frequently during auditioning I just forgot why I'm there and enjoyed. Absolutely recommended for both audiophiles and Home theater. They are especially good when listening to musical 5.1 media which started to appear - DTS CD, DVD DD with intensive musical content and, in future, DVD audio.

Final note - if you're up to these speakers, rush to buy them! They obviously belong to the next price category, and as soon as they'll establish their name in US, their price almost sure will jump significantly.

I used the Haydn as a surround speakers in my H/T setup. I think Vienna Acoustics made two version of Haydn, one with a tweeter driver from SEAS, and the other with tweeter driver from Scan speak, also called Haydn signature.
Like its bigger brother, the Haydn features exceptional built qualify and finishes. The rosewood finish I got, I think, is the most beautiful among the surround speakers out there. It also have the same woofer as the Mozart but the Haydn I got has different tweeter.

Sound quality is in line with its big brother : exceptional clean and detailed. The image and bass on the Haydn is somewhat limited when compared with the Mozart perhaps because of its bookshelf size.

Overall, Haydn is an excellent speaker and it performs well in a H/T setup. A marginally 5 stars.

I have had the Haydns for six months now in my Manhattan office.These are super sweet sounding speakers - better than anything else in the price range (or less) that I listened to. They possess adequate base, exceptionally good mids and crystal clear highs. Pricey (at $900), but like a piece of fine furniture, well worth it.

Great sounding stereo. Fabulous bass as well as higher sounds.

None

Great Stereo, eat your bens

Similar Products Used:

None

Clean, clear, crisp; suprisingly full soundstage; generous bass

Might be on the warm side depending on equiptment;

As we all know, sound coming out of the speakers veries depending on the overall equiptment and setup.

My Haydn is mated with Rotel RB 981 amp, Rotel RCD 995 processor and Yam. basic CD changer. All of these gear connected to Monster Cable HTS 2500 PowerCenter. Interconnects are Cardas Crosslink and speaker cable is Audioquest Type 6. The setup is the usally triangle shape in a medium size room. As you can see, this is farely a basic and economically setsup.

If you're a fan of blues, jazz, classical or anything acoustical in nature and you are in the market for a bookshelf size unit, look no further.

Partricia Barber's Cafe Blue album is an excellent benmark test for any speaker. Haydn can manipulate the instruments with clear and precise accuracy. Soundstage is never muddy. Haydn really produce female voices like D. Krall or P. Barber very well.

Classical really excells on the Haydn. Excellent separations, even in highly scored pieces. You can hear and feel the tone and texture of each instruments. There is nothing like listening to haydn symphonies on the Haydns. I wonder how would Haydn sound like on Mozart or Bach.

Haydn is very similiar to Sonas Faber Conerto. The Concerto is brighter and clearer. Haydn has better mids and bass. Either way, both will perform better with a sub. I'm planning to add the New M&K VX 100 later on.

Overall, the Haydn is an excellent speaker. Haydn produced a full and large soundstage, not the narrow small feeling that you get from other bookshelf size speakers. A good value.

Similar Products Used:

Sonas F Concerto