1) System synergy or balance

These towers speak with one voice. There is no etched treble (ala B & W, Thiel). There is no bloated/one note punchy bass (ala Wilson Audio and many others).

2) Midrange magic

The Trans. Eight retains the Hales Revelation Three's neutrality and adds improved clarity via lower distortion drivers.

3) Build quality

As in , built like a (very beguiling) tank. Yes, they are heavy, but the pain results in much gain.

4) Bang-for-the-buck

At the prices I see for these on the used market, their purchase is a no-brainer. As far as I'm concerned, many of the newer designs still don't match the Trans. Eight's--particularly in the system-synergy department.

1) They are HEAVY.

2) The steel grills can be a major pain to put back on. Leave them off.

3) They need a lot of power to sound their best.

4) They also require a large room to avoid over-powering bass. (For smaller rooms I recommend the Transcendence Three or Five systems.)

Having been a happy owner of a pair of Hales Revelation Three's, when I saw a pair of Transcendence Eight's for sale on audiogon I had to check them out. I was lucky in that the owner lived within a few hours driving distance from me, so I was able to audition them before purchasing. I liked what I heard, and made them mine.

So, having owned them for several months now, one may ask how are they? Well, in a word, glorious. All of the strengths possessed by my old Revelation Three towers are there in spades with the Transcendence Eight's. The bass is even more controlled, yet it extends even deeper than the Rev. Three's 30 Hz. The midrange magic is still there only with added clarity, but the biggest improvement is in the treble region. Where the Rev. Three's could become a bit edgy at high volume levels, the Transcendence Eight's tweeters ride the high decibel crest like a professional surfer on a killer wave. These speakers know how to rock.

Also, their macro and micro dynamics are stunning--as is their imaging capabilities. It's hard to believe that these big towers can handle sound-staging like they do. But the most important strength exhibited by the Trans. Eight is its synergy from driver to driver. These speakers speak with one voice, and a most neutral voice it is. There is no high end etching nor is there the bloated low end one sometimes finds with bass-reflex designs. Yes. Paul Hales has made me a believer in acoustic suspension. It's really a tragedy that Hales Design Group went belly up.

Similar Products Used:

I've heard the Wilson Audio Sophia's, B & W Nautilus 802's, 804's and 805's. a set of large Thiel's (I can't remember the model), and the Revel Salon's. My prior speakers were Hales Revelation Three's.

Dynamics,Transparent,very realistic

None

Goose Bumps,Chills,Goose Bumps,Chills. All I can say about these speakers is WOW. Best speaker i have ever heard period.

Similar Products Used:

Genesis V,Infinity IRS Beta,Legacy Focus,Genesis APM1,Joseph audio RM50si,Odeon,Aerial 10t's, Silverline Sonatas,Sonus Faber Extrema,Carver Platinum,Wilson 5.1,Genesis 1.1

Soundstage

For the last couple of years, I have been searching for an upper-end speaker system. I have auditioned the Wilson Watt Puppy, Legacy Whisper, Avalon Eidolon, Vandersteen V, Revel, Meridian DSP 6000 and some others I can't remember. On rare occasion when listening to a speaker for the first time, it is only necessary to listen for five seconds before realiazing that the speaker in question is something very special. The T-8 is one of those speakers. The longer I listened, the more I appreciated what I was hearing.

The overall impression is that the sound is very clean and clear. The speakers develop a remarkable soundstage with rather precise imaging.

The driver integration between woofers, midrange and tweeters is exceptionally seamless. Best of all, the speakers disappear as discrete sources of sound and the music smoothly fills the area around and between the speakers.

The bass is exceptionally tight and clean and very powerful for speakers of this size. Their midrange would be hard to beat and the highs are clear and very detailed. The ability of these speakers to reproduce the human voice is uncanny, especially on solos.

Their sound is not as cold as the Watt Puppys, generally clearer and with better bass than the Whisper, not as dry as the Eidolon (which is no slouch, but needs the megabuck Spectral gear to effectively drive it) and, to my ears, easily beats the Meridian and Vandersteen overall.

The can generate plenty of sound, but do not have the ability to completely take over a room the way some of the very large, very expensive speaker systems can.

Cabinetry was good, but not on a par with the Eidolons (which could qualify for a prominent spot at Smithsonian.) The medium size of these speakers made them somewhat unobtrusive, a valuable quality.

These speakers are a (if not THE) top contender in their price range and compete very favorably with speakers twice their price. If you fail to personally audition the T-8's before you buy any speakers up to about $20K, you will probably be better off not listening to them at all after you have bought something else.

Outstanding imaging, dynamics, soundstaging, truth of timbre.

do not play as loud as other speakers and are pretty hefty.

Wow what a speaker. These baby's image like a champ. Images are stable and lifelike. They have proper height and focus. soundstage is wide and deep. voices are nicely fleshed out. did I mention that these speakers disappear nicely. The real strength of the speakers is their natural presentation of voices and instruments. Violins sound like violins. You can hear the hand and sticks impact on drums. You can actually hear the air move around the instruments! These speakers are the real deal. Also, these beauties really shine on tube gear. I am running them on a pair of C-j Premier 8A's, premier 16LS Dodson DAC, sony cdp-x7esd and Cardas Golden reference cables. The sound is gorgeous and stunning. The only thing that comes close that I have heard is the Revel Ultima Studio's which retail for twice the price. Too bad Hales has gone under, I am sure their were a lot of speaker manufacturers glad to see them go!!

Similar Products Used:

eggleston Andra's, Infinity RS1B's

WOW!!!! I bought these speakers without ever hearing them based on an audition of this speaker's little brother, the Transcendence Three, in my system. When these beautiful monsters showed up (420 lbs. shipping weight), I was told by everyone to let them burn in for 200 hours before listening. This was agony! After about 150 hours I broke down and listened. I was STUNNED!! I sat frozen in my chair, incapable of changing from cut to cut or CD to CD to impress myself like I was prone to do when listening to the components instead of the music. The sound was so musical, so detailed yet not etched and EVERY frequency range seemed in balance. Bass was powerful, detailed and deep. The midrange was to die for and the treble detailed yet sweet. My soul was stirred again, my foot was tapping again -- I was listening to the heart and soul of the music. I feel like that nebulous goal I had been striving for has finally been achieved. I haven't heard the really top shelf speakers like the Wilson Grand SLAMM, but compared to other $10,000 speakers I auditioned (e.g., Genesis APM-1s, B&W Nautilus 801s, Vandersteen 5s) overall, these speakers just made music better and are the best speaker I have ever heard! My former speakers, the B&W Matrix 802s (which I loved) couldn't hold a candle to these speakers. I know tastes vary, but if you are looking for a speaker in the $10,000 retail range, you owe to yourself to give the Hales T8s a listen!!

The Transcendence 8 (T-8) loudspeakers are the new reference that other loudspeakers will be measured against. Paul Hales has risen the bar for what can be done in loudspeaker design, mixing musicality and accuracy. The T-8 is a three-way sealed box design featuring a Vifa metal dome tweeter, 5” magnesium midrange, and two 10” aluminum woofers. The T-8’s have huge dynamics and sparkling wonderful highs. Its most spectacular attribute is its coherency. The T-8’s have electrostatic speed with a huge soundstage, along with pinpoint imaging. It also has the most natural timbre in a loudspeaker. In my opinion the T-8’s offer a more musical experience than B&W 801’s, Revel Salon’s and Avalon Eidolon’s. In today’s speaker market the T-8’s would be well worth $20,000 but at $10,000 there a steal!

Soundstage, Soundstage, Soundstage

I must have missed them

I stopped by an Audio shop that I hadn't been to before, I told the staff that I was looking for a new speaker pair in the 8-12k range. Said that because of the wide range of music I listen to I need a dynamic speaker but I have always admired the sound of a good electrostat through the middle.

He sat me down in front of a pair of T-8. Wow... So far, the watt puppies v6 were the closest to getting the resolution of an electrostat, and still are by the slimmest margins (I mean slim) however the T-8 were SO close in this regard but were much more pleasant to listen to... I can't put my finger on what was more pleasent about them, suffice it to say the T-8's were very smooth and non-fatiging. The resolution and detail far surpassed the 802's in my opinion.

Now, lets get down to soundstage. I have NEVER heard any system soundstage like this. This speaker completely raises the bar on all my expectations. I was actually looking for side speakers and seriously considered that someone was playing a joke on me. But, these were the only speakers playing.... It didn't even sound like they were turned on from the listening position. And don't think because it was a wide soundstage that it wasn't precise. I have heard many systems that sound good, but nothing like this.

In conclusion, the watt's have a very slight edge on detail/resolution but are fatiguing in comparison. In every other catagory these speakers beat any other dynamic speaker I have heard under 20k. I have not heard the Dunlavy offerings yet, should be an interesting comparison there.

Bring a good recording when you demo these and you will swear that you are at the session if you close your eyes.

Similar Products Used:

Wilson Watt Puppy v6, B&W 802 Nautilus

I heard these speakers and was very impressed! I just heard a Hales prototype at HiFi99 in Chicago at a WHOPPING $20.000 TO $30.000 price range and can honestly say that this is the most awesome speaker I have ever heard! Hales is a very agressive compeny with many great thing to come!!!

Can you say "a steal"?! I had auditioned some of the most highly reguarded loudspeakers on the market (i.e. Revel Salon, Wilson Watt/Puppy, and the Avalon Eidolon) and was ready to buy Avalon until I heard the Transcendence 8's at my local high-end store. They had the speed and coherence of electrostatics/planers combined with the slam of cones. The highs are fast, clean, and non-fatiguing. The midrange is world class, and the bass is the best I have ever heard. They also possess a quality best described as texture or density of image. They allow you to feel the body of the artist(s) or the instruments not just hear them. There are other speakers out there which can provide some of the characteristics of the 8's but not the whole package. In comparison the refinement of the Hales made the Revels sound like mid fi and the Wilsons sound annoying. The Avalons were close but ultimately they just didn't have "it". The Hales do have "it"! Besides, the Avalons are $21K. For that same $21k I got my T8's AND the Krell 250m monoblocks. If you are in the market for the best speaker out there I highly advise seeking them out.
p.s. I promised Chris at Buzz Jensen's Sound Advice I would give him a plug!