small footprint/blend nicely with decor, soundstage, imaging, price.

slightly colored mid - but we're gettin a bit picky here.

one of the easiest to listen to speakers I’ve ever heard. and when you think about what you paid relative to similar sounding stuff, it really puts a smile on your face. very adequate bass, huge soundstage, and excellent imaging and detail. efficient, and easy to play on a bunch of different gear (they will sound better on some systems obviously, but they do well on a wide variety of stuff). unloaded them after a few months when I decided to take another stroll on the high end treadmill, but this was one piece of equipment I hated to see go. Held their value for resale very nicely.

Aloha,

My system:

Ah! Tjeob 4000
Audio Refinement Complete int amp
Kestrel Hot Rods (bi-wired)
DH Labs wiring

I've had the Kestrels for just over a year now, and I must say I'm very pleased with them. My intent was to build a system that finds a balance between detail and musicality. The Kestrels fit very well into that design. Not overly analytical or dry, yet plenty of detail to keep me interested, yet at the same time conveying a good sense of the emotional quality of the music. A fine meeting of the heart and mind, in my humble opinion.

With this system I've lost all compulsion to run around all over the place trying to find that "right" piece of gear, aka audiophile nerosa. I'm eminently satisfied with what I've got, the journey has reached its end. Often the driven quest for perfection can of itself be in-perfect. In that light, I'm very please where I am.

Of course, audition the speakers yourself and see what you think, but keep in mind that there's no substitution for a home audition.

Also, the folks at www.goldmanaudio.com were very good to me, prompt, knowledgeable and fair service, I'd recommend them to anyone who doesn't have a Meadowlark dealer in their home area.

Also, Meadowlark itself is a great company, don't hesitate to contact them with any questions you may have, I've found them to be most friendly and informative. You not only get a great speaker, but a great company as well.

As Meadowlark says, It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing!

John

Transparency,imaging,size

dull sound,weak bass

I was not to fond of these speakers. Their sound was rather dull. They never got me intrested in the music I was listening to. There was not a good sense of air with these either. I don't know,maybe I was expecting too much. I saw a number of good reviews,seemed like a speaker I might like,but they just disappointed me. I am sure there are a lot of people that like these,just read the other reviews here. In my opinion, there are other speakers out there that are just more fun to listen to. Ones that got me more invovled in the misic.

Similar Products Used:

vandrsteen,joseph audio,coincident

I have had the Kestrals for about 1 month,and the sound just keeps getting better and better. The soundstage seems to go outside and around the speaker area. The imaging and clarity are superb. I don't see how you could do much better at twice the price.

While I don't own a set, I have been auditioning a lot of equipment on a dealers pair the last two months. These little things are flat out stunning. The source equipment included an Enlightened Audio Design 2000, and the new Plinius 2150 integrated amp, both excellent pieces. The one area where the Kestral Hot Rods excel the most is soundstage presentation. It is just awesome how much space they portray. At about $1500 I don't believe they can be bettered, and I've irritated a lot of dealers listening. They are quite dynamic as well. The only reason I do not own a pair is I can only afford one pair of speakers (at least good ones) and since the Kestrals are, after all, two ways, they won't really blow the windows out of the house. Listening to jazz or opera is nice but every once in a while it's time to annoy the neighbors two blocks over. These really are quite an achievement and as I said, at the price break, likely unbeatable.

These speakers are astounding. I have auditioned as many speakers in the same price range as I can find, including B&W CDM1, 805, and DM603 version 2, plus various models from Tannoy, Linn, Canton, KEF, Dynaudio, Paradigm, Klipsch, Mission, and Monitor Audio. Of all these speakers, the Meadowlarks are the only ones I can live with long-term in this price range. The sound is open and spacious, without the artificial brightness that seems to come with open- sounding moderately priced speakers. The soft dome tweeter has none of the metallic ringing sound that seems to creep into most metal domes at this price point. Voices are tough to reproduce, but Meadowlark Audio seems to have done a good job with this simple two-way design. The bass is remarkable - I assume the result of a carefully crafted transmission line in a well braced enclosure. The Kestrels have an effortless, non-fatiguing quality that I found in no other speaker at this price. I knew that the Meadowlarks were great when I realized that I stopped thinking about how the speaker sounded and started noticing how the music sounded. I can't remember this happening with any other speaker in this price range. After meticulous auditions at many audio shops, I have come to the conclusion that nothing at a price I can afford will beat the Kestrel Hot Rod so I ordered a pair in just the finish I wanted. I listen to Classical music and some jazz, and tend to seek the most natural sounding equipment I can afford. My listening tests were conducted with an NAD 218/118 combo using DH-Labs interconnects and speaker wire. (Agreed, it's not class-A electronics, but it is the level of equipment that is likely to be used with a pair of speakers listing for $1500 per pair.) This is a 5-star product if ever there was one.

Some detail was missing on the top end. For instance Triangle/bell notes on Loreena McKenitt mummers dance could not be heard

I have made it a mission to replace my aging 1978 vintage TangentTM1's (Kef t27 tweeter and B200 midbase). I have been looking for many years and have only recently found speakers to tempt me. All in the $2500.00 range. The Kestral hotrod speakers are in almost every way superior to any thing I have heard, especialy tonal balance and they maintain balance at low levels good for those late night listening wind down sessions. This is often overlooked by reviewers and manufacturers.
They do seem to miss some detail at the high end. Some things simply cannot be heard at all even compared tp the older t27 tweeters.
I haven't written them out because they were paired with very warm tube equipment and they are nicest sounding speakers I have heard. The make you want to stop and listen.I need to hear them with my setup.
I am still testing them against Triangle Antals which are more dynamic and fun with lot's of energy but are not as musical or very good at low volume. Coincident and Vandersteen 2ce's are also on my list.

Off the list are any B&W not clear in the treble range. Totem just not quite right souunding at this price. Lynn Ninka not as clear although were interesting until I heard the Kestrels and do a better job on upper treble.

Naim nait2
rega planet (earlier version which I prefer)
rega Planar 3 and rb300 with rega cartridge.

In summary these will not disapoint if you audition them despite my slight critisism. Very tempting speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Triangle Antal, Lynn Ninka, Vandersteen 2ce

Great degree of transparency, warm non-fatiguing sound, accurate bass, natural sounding high end

Bass extension could be lower although at this price range it provides excellent coverage of the bottom end.

I auditioned these speakers with a friend of mine who is a sound engineer and producer. He was looking for speakers in the 1000's range and the salesman recommended the Kestral HR after listening to a pair of Shearwater HR. The immediate difference between the two were extended bass in the Kestral and less transparency. The reason the Kestrals have a better bass extension is probably due to the Kestral being auditioned in a smaller listening room or it was placed better. The transparency of the Shearwaters was not matched by the Kestral, but darn close. A VTL preamp was used with a Conrad Johnson amp. The combination of these three components created a synergy that created a non-fatiguing enjoyable musical (not just sonic) experience. We played Thomas Dolby's Aliens ate My Buick, some classical selection, and some German progressive Techno. The sound of the Kestral was warm and refined, I actually said to myself that these speakers probably cannot handle Techno. I was wrong. These speakers provided a warmth and detail to the sound without giving Techno that club sound (overbright highs and booming bass). I much prefer that sound to the Polk RT200p's that I own. Although I still fel that the POlk RT200p's are more dynamic and has a more defined mid-upper bass and extended low end than the Kestrals when the Polks are placed correctly. Overall an impressive speaker whose strength lies in its transparency and faithful reproduction of sound.

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 2C, JM Lab, Linn, Meadowlark Shearwater Hot Rod, Polk RT 2000p

SMOOTH HI-END,TIGHT BASS,VERY MUSICAL/FATIGUE FREE SOUND

TO THE REVIEWER WHO CLAIMED THE HIGHS WERE "MUTED" I WOULD
IMAGINE HE WAS USED TO HEARING METAL ALLOY TWEETERS WHICH
AT TIMES PRODUCE GREAT DETAIL BUT SOUND LIKE ALUMINUM
FOIL BEING CRINKLED IN YOUR HAND.THE LARKS ARE ANYTHING
BUT MUTED...AND THEIR NATURAL LIQUIDITY OFTEN CONFUSES
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT USED TO HEARING THIS..REMEMBER MUSIC
IS REAL...AND SHOULD SOUND REAL. ALSO, TIME AND PHASE
CORRECT SPEAKERS, WITH EACH FREQUENCY ARRIVING AT THE EAR
AT THE SAME TIME, AVOID THE "BRIGHT" TWEETER PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER SPEAKERS(HENCE YOU DON'T HERE THE
TWEETER FREQUENCY FIRST).IF YOUR SOURCE RECORDING HAS FLAWS
THE FIRST ORDER CROSSOVER WILL REPRODUCE TMEM. BUT TO EACH HIS OWN I GUESS. I AUDITIONED b&w AND ALTHOUGH THEY LOOKED
GREAT THEY SOUNDED AS ONE REVIEWER STATED: "LIKE AN OIL
CAN." (SOME PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THIS SOUND). TO BE FAIR,
HIS REVIEW WAS DIRECTED AT ENTRY-LEVEL b&w 600 SERIES,
WHICH CAN NOT BE APPLIED TO THE WHOLE b&W LINE (THEY DO
PRODUCE NICE SPEAKERS...BUT WHO HAS $2500-10000 TO SPEND.
IN THEIR APPROPIATE PRICE CATEGORY THESE LARKS ARE VERY COMPETITIVE...AND MY EARS DO GIVE THEM THE EDGE OVER COMPARABLE b&W...AND MAYBE EVEN THE VANDY 2CE...BUT LISTEN
FOR YOURSELF.

Similar Products Used:

VANDY,B&W,THIEL,MAG

Excellent tonal balance, one of the best midranges I have heard at any price range, silky highs

A little weak in the low bass and the very high treble

Just got these speakers after an exhaustive 4 month search. Following was the Kestrel's main competition, in order of how much I liked them:

1. Vandersteen 2ce Signatures
2. Spendor 1/2
3. Silverline Audio Panatella MKII
4. B&W CM4
5. Dynaudio Audience 42
6. Thiel CS.5
7. Linn Genko
8. Alon Capri

In the end, I sat in Mark Silver's Soundscape shop in Santa Rosa, CA and went back and forth for 2 hours between the Vandys and the Kestrels. Jeez, what a tough decision. I changed my mind many, many times. Both are great speakers and I highly recommend that you A/B these speakers if you are shopping in this price range and love natural reproduction of music.

The Vandys had slightly more bass on the bottom end and appeared to have a more uniform tonal balance across the entire range. I also agree with the prevailing opinion about the Vandys - that Richard Vandersteen has succeeded in producing a speaker that does not have any one large flaw, but that any individual compromises are small and spread amongst several traits. I listen to a lot of acoustic jazz and female vocals. This is what sold me on the Kestrels. While Diana Krall sounded great on the Vandys, she made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on the Kestrels. The QUALITY of piano, female vocals, hi hats and bass were outstanding. You could hear the air around the hi hats, the complexity of the attack and decay of each individual piano key strike. Yow!

The Kestrels' bass was a bit small in the shop, but I was listening in a HUGE room. My home listening room is much, much smaller (900cf, 11'x 11'). In my room the bass is fine. And if I ever need that bottom end wallop, I can get a nice sub to match. That was really the final decision maker.

My system: Creek 5350SE integrated amp, Tara Labs speaker cable and interconnects, Rotel 991AE CD player.

Similar Products Used:

See below