build quality, cabinet appearance, crisp & clear highs

NO BASS, ONLY SUITABLE AS SURROUND SPEAKERS IN MY HOUSE

When I first took them out of the box I was very impressed with their appearance, and build. I liked the spikes, and the biwiring availability.

However, when I hooked them up I could not believe what I heard. While there were good mids, and crisp/great highs, there was absolutely no bass!!! These speakers just do not have the ability to produce any recognizable bass. Their 6.5 inch size woofers are the reason. The Aerogels do produce good mids though. I can not use these as anything other than surround speakers in my HT system. They do a very good job of this -- do great with any surround sounds movies produce in dolby digital.

If you want great stereo speakers that are an overall package, meaning they can put out the full range of sounds than do not buy these. If you will use them in home theater set-up, as fronts with a subwoofer, or as surround speakers, than they are acceptable.

In summary, I now have an $850.00 pair of good-looking, good build quality surround speakers. I have had them about 3 months now, so they should be broken in by now. I have yet to hear any improvement in bass -- with multiple changes in positioning, wiring, etc....

Equipment: Parasound AVC2500 pre/pro, PArasound HCA2205 amp, PSB Stratus Gold i fronts, Pinnacle Classic Gold Center, PSB Subsonic 3i sub, Nordost Super Flatline Gold speaker cables (biwired)

Similar Products Used:

PSB Stratus Gold i, PSB Stratus Bronze i, Paradigm Studio 100s, Wharfedale Valdus 500s, Infinity Sigma Speakers

Clear and crisp sound. Beautiful cabinet.

Insufficient bass.

These are beautiful speakers. They sound clear and the highs are very crisp. It seems to lack bass but I have a M&K V125 which use with Yamaha 995 reciever, Marantz CC-48 CD player and Panasonic A120 DVD. I have the 77c for center also and they match very well. I bought the 775 from a guy advertise on Ebay for 850 and I think it's a good buy.

Similar Products Used:

DCM CX-7

Extraordinary imaging, transparent midrange, smooth and airy top end. Amazing ability to convey tons and tons of detail with the right electronics and cables. Gorgeous in rosewood.

MUST be bi-wired to sound their best. Very good at making rotten electronics sound even more rotten than you could imagine. Grills are sexy but really need to be off for the speakers to sound their best. May force many owners to upgade their gear (hated THAT!).

Have been living with these for awhile. Bi-wired their performance is sublimely musical, detailed, articulate and their imaging capabilities are nothing short of stunning.

I'm truly mystified about the reviewer who said they have no bass. Sounds to me like he had them connected out of phase. I did just that and got the same result. Even the Mission owner's manual caution users about this...did he read the instructions???

DH Labs, MIT Terminator 2 bi-wire and Analysis Plus cables work splendidly with these speakers. I'm currently using Analysis Plus Oval 12 cables running in a shotgun biwire configuration (two stereo cables per speaker, one cable carry leads for negative bass/treble and one cable carrying the leads for positive bass/treble) and the performance of this speaker with those cables and Bryston amplification is nothing short of jaw dropping. Bass is full, not tubby and these speakers are capable of revealing an amazing amount of bass detail. This speaker has one of the lowest levels of distortion in the lower frequencies of any speaker I've ever heard. It isn't a rap speaker but for just about anything else, they're not lacking in any but the deepest reaches of bass.

I've even used these for a bit (replacing a pair of 774's I use for mains in my HT system) and biwired with the MIT T-2 cables hooked to a midline Pioneer Elite A/V receiver and their bass is still full, deep and details when used full-range.

Set up and driven properly, this is one of the most musically natural speakers I've heard in the $2000 price point. Audio Advisor currently has a supply of these speakers in rosewood for only a $1000 a pair. I might spring for another pair and keep them on hand in case I wear out the ones I have!

Recommended!

Similar Products Used:

Mirage, Definitive Technologies, Boston, KEF, B&W