Dynamics Treble Clarity

Soundstage (compared to Magnepan, but its'''' still pretty good)

goestoeleven mentions that these speakers were too large? They were the smallest speakers I have ever auditioned, and some of the best sounding too. I also had them in my home system for a week-long audition, and was very impressed, especially considering their size and price. I can''''t give them 5 stars, because they are not full-range, and they try to go lower than they really should. Bass tended to be boomy and a little loose in my room/setup, even after trying several different positions. But the rest of the range was very nice, indeed. The highs are effortless and crystal clear, but they lose in detail and soundstaging to Magnepan MMG''''s (the other speakers I am currently auditioning at home). Try to listen to these hooked up to some decent electronics. The store where I first heard them had them connected to a Marantz integrated, and they just weren''''t that great, but when I had the dealer switch them to a Bryston 3B amp, they really came alive. After much thought, I decided to go with a pair of the larger Magnepans, but if size and appearance is a concern, these should be on your short-list. I think they would be even better if you cut them off at 100Hz with an active crossover, and fed the rest of the signal to a good sub-woofer.

Similar Products Used:

Polk RT2000p NHT 2.2 Magnepan MMG Magnepan 3.6

I have to tell you, I had a well-burned in pair of these in my house over a weekend (tied to a B&K Ref 30 and 7270 amp), and I was in absolute disbelief in clarity, headroom, imaging, and realism. I played Dire Straits over and over again... I just couldn''t get enough of how I could hear Mark Knopfler''s fingers across the fret board of his guitar. For relatively small speakers, getting down to 45 Hz seemed more than adequate (especially if paired with a decent subwoofer). Unfortunately for me, they failed the "wife test," as they were just too big for hanging seven of them in my living room. Sucks for me, because these were amongst the BEST SPEAKERS I''VE HEARD AT ANY PRICE (and I''ve listened to a lot)! You shoul be able to pick these up for under $900 / pair -- they are a steal!