Great detail, very open and airy...female vocals and classical a strength

Slightly lean on the bass

These speakers are incredible. I've had them home for 6 months now, and they don't stop amazing me. I liked the Dynaudio's better, but for nearly half of the price, these Soliloquy's are fantastic. I'm running them with a McCormack micro line/micro power drive, a McCormack DAC-1, with a Phillips 960 as the transport. All Audioquest cables are used. These speakers have an air about them that I've never heard before in a speaker (save the 85,000 Dynaudio Evidence, and the 60,000 Burmister speaks). The soundstage and presentation is incredible...voices and instruments seem to just hang there. Great sound, my only complaint would be that they could use just a slight more on the low end, but for 2K, I can't really complain too much.

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Contour 1.8mkII, Dynaudio contour 1.3mkII

Transparency, detail, wide soundstage

Earlier this year I bought a new system, and selected each component and connection based initially on reviews from Audio Review... I feel it's my turn to provide some feedback.
I've always believed speakers, more than any other component, are the key good sound, and I auditioned too many in the $1,000 - $2,500 range to list here. The Soliloquy 5.3's won the audition, closely beating out a pair of Vienna Acoustic Mozarts that cost about $600 more.
The Soliloquys produce both gorgeous sound and visual appeal - the fact that my wife would allow them in our living room was a huge plus. They're built in North Carolina, where there's a great deal of pride in woodwork... the cabinet is beautifully crafted, the finish luscious. And talk about solid, they're 80lbs apiece. They look and feel more like high quality furniture than an audio component.
I've bi-wired the Soliloquys to a Sim Audio Celeste I-5080 integrated amp using Analysis Plus Oval 12 gauge speaker wire, and used a Pure Silver Sound Quartet inteconnect between my amp and Harman Kardon CD player. After the break-in of this system the sound, particularly on well-recorded CD's, is simply breathtaking. I've never heard such a rich, detailed "lifelike" 3 dimensional sound from a system that came in under $5,000.
By the way, I bought the demo floor model Solioquys from Acoustical Magic, a great dealer in Kirkland, WA for only $1,700, and they were already broken in about 50 hours.
These speakers reflect quality workmanship from the spikes up. The sound they produce is phenomenal. For under $2,000 a pair, you should seriously consider them before buying anything else.

Nice soundstage

Bass shy and muddy vocals

So much great has been written about these speakers by various professional reviewers...it just goes to prove that it all boils down to personal tastes. I really wanted to like these a lot as I am trying to find something to pair with a tube amp. Yes they did soundstage and image well, but they simply were not MUSICAL in the way that my Vandersteens are. Perhaps I did not position them correctly. They just sounded dry and lean and I immediately found myself preferring the rich and balanced tones of the 2Ce's. Maybe that's why the Vandys have been a Stereophile recommendation for so many years. Also, it seemed that vocals were muddy and unclear, to the point that singers were actually hard to understand sometimes. I am not saying that this is not a nice speaker, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen 2ce, Silverline Sonatina

Superior cabinet craftsmanship and price/performance value. Excellent overall sound quality and frequency response

Need fairly high power and volume levels to demonstrate capabilities

Stunning design and cabinet craftsmanship. 80lbs. each. Spike system superior in design and execution. Dynamic and articulate sound reproduction. Soliloquy products offer high end performance at reasonable cost.

Similar Products Used:

Compared to products from Joseph Audio, Meadowlark, Totem, Dynaudio, Mission

These speakers are so unbelieveable, I heard these speakers on some tube gear called vac witch has been around for a long time, But I wasn't crazy about these speakers, but not quick to judge the speaker. I tried these speakers with different set ups and they are one hell of a speaker. I heard them with an Aragon amp 8008 with a vac pre amp and a cj cd player and the sound was good, it was an over all 4 star rating, then I heard it with the sim audio Intergraded amp i5080 and that was a 5 star rating. Sim audio is a lot faster or stable and it was alot less wattage than the aragon amp. I have now the sim audio amp w3, thanks to the i5080 I was blowned away by the sound that I winded up buying the w3 amp.Good bye tubes. These speakers when hooked up to the right gear, they have such an open clean characteristics about them.

If you dont have an amp with a good damping factor beware these speakers need control, other wise there great and they deserve a 5 star, they are quick and if you don't have an amp thats fast, stable. If it does't have good control wich most amps don't [but sim audio does] then you will be an unhappy person. I really reccomend Sim audio with this speaker, I haven't heard anything better out there for the money. And I had a ton of different set ups to go by. If you have the rite amp you will know it, these speakers can bottom out if the amp is not quick. With sim audio it did a great job, also aragon. But you have have to be a little careful with the aragon amp. If your not doing block parties than this is a speaker for you, and yes its very dynamic and easy to drive.

I listen to all different types of music mostly world music new age, blues, jazz,pinkfloyd,some classical, and relaxing music. And if you did't buy a nice set up and this is at your budget try what I have and email me back. These speakers play all types of music wonderfully. Oh by the way the build quality is out standing, 80 pnds a each and the spikes are so great to level out I haven't seen speakers out there that cost five grand with spikes like this. GreshmanAcoustics charged me a hundred dollars for there spikes. Well this speakers get 5 stars on my book. Thanks solilioquy Highly recommended.

Similar Products Used:

GermanmanAcoustics avant garde rx20 Celestion a3 speakers,Alon Lotus,ALON #2 speakers, I am more pleased in hearing these speakers than the ones I listed. The soliloquy 5.3 are more realistic in the upper highs and mid vocals, Bass is fine also.
My SET UP IS;
NAIM 3.5 CD PLAYER WITH THE FLAT CAP POWER SUPPLY.
PREAMP IS THE KRELL KRC3.[READ MY REVIEW ON IT UNDER KRELL PREAMPS].
AMP,SIM AUDIO W3
GERSHMANaCOUSTIC SPEAKERS AND SOLILOQUY 5.3 WITH MONSTER CABLE SIGMA RETRO SPEAKER CABLE AND BALANCED XLR. GREAT CABLES. Im going to do a review on them also.

Sound, build, looks, manual, customer service, warranty

Shipping cartons may leave speakers vulnerable to damage in transit. Be careful when mail-ordering.

The Model 5.3 is an absolutely stunning sounding (and looking) speaker for the money. I'm driving my pair with an Audio Refinement Complete integrated amp (50 wpc) using Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker wire (I'm not bi-wired yet, but I will be soon). The speakers are about 3' from the back wall and about 8' apart and 8' from the listening position. Toe-in is very mild -- about 10-15 degrees. The soundstage is wide and deep. The sound is natural, fluid, warm, crisp, luscious. I listen to a lot of 50's/60's jazz (Blue Note, Impluse!, Verve, Columbia, etc.) and on good recordings you feel like you are in the room at the session or concert. (Don't expect miracles on crappy recordings.)

Break-in is key. I have around 450 hours on my pair and they are still improving. Be aware that the speakers have some "issues" they need to work through before they're ready for serious listening. At around 100 hours or so, I got the "bass spike" described in the Bound for Sound review. It was nasty, let me tell you, but it went away in about a day.
A special word to those (like myself) who have their 5.3's shipped directly: For whatever reason (handling by shippers, packaging at the factory), Soliloquys are susceptible to damage in transit. My initial pair arrived with a 1.5" dent in the front corner of one of the speakers. I was informed by Soliloquy that other purchasers have experienced similar problems. The folks at Soliloquy couldn't have been nicer about it, though, and they shipped me another pair (much better packed) before the shipper had even picked up the damaged pair.

Make no mistake about it, this is a serious speaker. If you don't believe me, check out Stereophile, Bound for Sound, and Audiophilia.com. For the Steophile review, check out:

http://www.pcreprints.com/eprint/soliloquy/

I agree with Stereophile that with a well-matched amp and a quality recording, you can experience the live event in the comfort of your own listening room.


System:

Audio Refinement Complete integrated amp
Rega Planar 25
Ortofon X5-MC phono cartridge
Musical Surroundings Phonomena phono stage
Pioneer DV-525 DVD player
MSB Link DAC III
Harmonic Technology Cyber-Link copper digital cable Harmonic Technology Truth-Link RCA interconnects
Analysis Plus Oval 12 speaker wire

Similar Products Used:

Phase Technology 7T, Polk Audio RM3000

smooth full-range response, articulation, high and mid-range, very compatible with SET amplifiers, great value

not the final solution for earth-shaking bass (but really, the bass is very good)

associated equipment:

Ah! Tjoeb! 4000 cd player
Cary SLP-94P pre-amp
Cary 572-3 SE mono block amps
TMC yellow and white interconnects and speaker cables

These speakers were part of a system makeover I commenced a year ago, since all three of my kids are now old enough to understand "don't touch that!" and act accordingly. I knew I would move to SETs, and I wanted speakers that would work well in my great room which measures about 20' by 26' with a cathedral ceiling at the end where the stereo resides. I chose these based in part on reviews here and in the press. Since I was working full-time and going to school part-time, I had little time for in-home demos, and the nearest Soliloquy dealer was quite a ways away from my home north of Chicago. I did audition some Maggies, Martin Logans and B&W speakers (don't remember the model #'s but the M-Ls and B&Ws were in the $2500-3000 range), and while I liked the 1.6s best of the rest, they clearly weren't going to give the dBs with SET amps one needs to viscerally enjoy the music.

My previous speakers were Canton minis with a C-V subwoofer, together with a Bryston 3B amp, a HK Citiation 25 preamp and a Phillips CD player. While decent, the whole system was old and clearly in need of upgrading. The speakers came first, and I was thrilled with the improvement. They are of first-rate build quality, solid as a rock and with beautiful workmanship. The rosewood veneer is very attractive and the metal spikes work perfectly (they will drill holes in maple flooring however).

The sound is natural and lush, the highs articulate, the mids very full and resonant. The sweet spot is larger than with many other speakers, and the sound spectrum is fully covered. While bass is not tailbone-pounding, it is there down to the 35-40 Hz area just fine. With my 20 watt Cary amps I cannot turn the volume past 9 o'clock without hurting my ears. I listen to rock, jazz, classical and just about anything besides disco. Everything sounds great on these, and it works with solid-state amps like my old Bryston well too. Power handling capacity seems quite high. These speakers are tremendous value (especially if you buy them used) and superb without regard to price.

Similar Products Used:

many

Excellent midrange and soundstage! Build quality is top drawer as you can imagine from a company in NC (where they make all the furniture in the U.S.)

None for a midsize room like mine at 21'x15'

I was planning to spend up to $4,000 on speakers during my audio rebuilding project. I travel all over the country so I did extensive auditioning of speakers in that price range, including Dynaudio 3.0, 1.8's, Vienna Acoustic Beethoven's, Sonus, Aerial's and all the B&W's through the 803's, etc. well you get the idea.

A friend suggested I listen to the Soliquy products and I was amazed at the soundstage, The Best! The Beethoven's would have won out if I didn't hear the Soliquy 5.3's.

My wife and I listen to very different (diff. from each other) types of music. I can tell you that the 5.3's sound excellent with vocals, acoustic, jazz, classical and light rock types of music.

I got the wow factor from my wife when she first heard the difference between the NHT's (which sounded great, but sloppy bass).

The bottom line don't be an audiophile snob (which is the direction I was headed because I had the money)! Don't waste your money, give the 5.3 a listen, I am sure you will agree!

Similar Products Used:

Sansui, NHT's

euphonic, nice finish, value, well constructed.

bass could be tighter, speakers need room for placement

An alternative to the more expensive Dynaudios and Proacs. Really a great sounding speaker and good value. What's not to like? It does nothing overtly wrong. Nice smooth, pretty sound. This speaker doesn't torture you, just lulls you with beautiful music. Not overly sweet or veiled. Not overly detailed, sterile. Quite balanced, great all around performer.
Won't demand much from your amplifier, very benign impedence curve. Good with tubes, good with solid state (I've tried both.)
If you like your speaker on the extremes of the sound spectrum, you may find things to fault this speaker. But, for those who want your music without the audiophile grief, give these a try. For the music, straight up.

Amp: Cary 300sei, Denon AVR-3300, Anthem Int 2
Source: Sony dvp-s9000es SACD player
Cables: Synergistic Research, DH Labs, Stealth
Accessories: monster power conditioner, sennheiser hd580

Similar Products Used:

proac tab 50 signature, proac 1s, proac 1sc, proac 2.5, dynaudio 1.3

See older review below

ditto

Having lived with these speakers for over a year, I find my original review somewhat misleading. These speakers are only lean *way* out into the room (more than about 5ft). Closer to the wall, they get thumpy. 

I eventually decided they were not right for my narrow room (152 inches), asymmetrical room.

The bass sounded quite good with the speakers along the short wall, but it was hard to get a good left-right balance between the speakers (I liked them about 7 feet apart) at all frequencies, even with sonex at the reflection points. This was especially annoying with mono recordings, where it was hard to get a defined and centered image. The room is asymmetrical, and as these speakers put out lots of treble energy into the room, that was a problem.

Along the long wall, the balance was much better, and the imaging and soundstage could be breathtaking. However, with this arrangement it was not possible to find a position for listener or speakers where the bass was not thumpy, and center focus was still not as good as I would have liked.

Soliloquy does have a warning in their FAQ that the "warm" bass balance of the 5.3s can overwhelm smaller rooms. You can also see this in Stereophile's frequency response measurements (a bass boost of about 5db at about 100Hz.)

I eventually traded up to Dunlavy SC-IIIs (sealed box with a lot of felt to create a more controlled sound radiation pattern).

I still think these are excellent speakers, but they are very room sensitive and need much more space than their compactness might lead one to believe.

Similar Products Used:

Ariel; Dunlavy; B&W