Safar
New Member
I was on a look out to setup a small monitor system, and took this opportunity to drive around for auditions. Just thought of noting here what I heard during the last few weeks.
Of course the first stops were at the most available gears. B&W 685 book shelf speakers was the opener. Unfortunately, the store didn't have a stereo amp to try with. So I settled for a Pioneer Elite receiver and Marantz UD player. Impressive sound for the size of the speakers. The speakers tries to be very agile and the presentation is very crisp. decent bass, high end seems to be little harsh. Performed well for soft rock and Rock n roll. I would categorize these for specific genre speakers than generalist. Did I enjoy music ? Not really, but since the electronics are not a stereo setup, I cant comment much.
Next stop was at the Paradigms. I was looking for studio 20, but the demo room had he bigger stuff, studio 100. We setup with a Macintosh high end amp and Arcam CD Player. Demo tracks started with an impressive guitar solo, with an exciting timber. But as the music flew more dynamic, the studios started become more shy. The sound I heard was very dry, not the paradigm sound I liked with their entry level Monitor series. Yes, the sound stage was big, expansive and filling the large demo room. but for me, not musical. Though, I will prefer them for my home theater if I need. Played a witchy lady track from eagles, which is my reference for auditions. I missed the excitement and engagement I had from my Focals.
Went on to the next dealer who stock Naim and Dalis, as I wanted to hear the combo. setup the Zensor 3, Zensor 5, and Icon 2 with a Unitilite, Nait 5i / Rega Brio for a shoot out. The zensors share a similar characteristic with B&W 685 & Paradigm studio. But they have a more engaging sound. Preferred the Zensor 3 over 5 for its slightly more engaging sound and better sound stage. The Ikons I will put in the specialist category. As the demo room owner mentioned, they are good for jazz and classical. I couldn,t differ to agree after auditions. Did I hear the magic, the answer was no. The Zensors are decent speakers, and I put them above the 685 and Studios. But of course not the game changer. Bass response was really impressive.
The same dealer had the wharfadale Denton special edition. We tried them with a Jolida tube amp. Good speakers, very warm sounding, old school sound. again, no magic
Next was the longest of all auditions so far. One dealer who specializes in HiFi, not home theater. He deals with almost all brands. I went there for Dynaudio. We set up the Dynaudio Focus 110 with with Octave Tube Amp, integrated. Source was streamed from a music PC. Here is the first time I heard a significantly different sound on my recent auditions. They are love at first hear. Focus 110 is the generalist speaker I bet on. They play pretty wel every thing we tried from Jaaz, to rock and to electronic music.smooth , detailed, and very composed. Stays in control all time. no harsh edges, one music note blends with other pretty smoothly. (I am sure the high end tube amp plays its role here). Warm sounding, very expansive sound stage. I ended up playing the full tracks. Music was so good, I missed to analyze the imaging. Any that didn't matter.
Next was the Sonus faber entry level, Venere. All electronics stays same. They opened beautifully with the flesh vocal track, tequila sunrise from Eagles. First thing you notice, is the Vocals. Vocals are so organic and very realistic. With instruments started playing, the mid range dominates. and we tested them with some electronics and fast numbers, they preserver their original characteristics. It still emphasizes the mid range, noticeably, rest of the music suffers. They don't catch up the speed to resolve. It is a good speaker for what is is made for. I park them in specialist category. Not my type for sure.
I wanted to hear the Vienna Accoustic haydn grand, but the demo room had the bigger brother; Mozart grand. anyway, In loudness they are comparable with the rest of the monitors we tried. I am not patient to keep the secret for the end. These stays my current favourite on the auditions so far. I dont remember the audiophile characteristics to note here. The music was so good that I went on playing my favorite tracks. This was the best rendering of my reference track (Witchy lady by eagles) so far for any speaker / electronics combo. This one beat my frame of reference with the focals. The music was very easy flowing, not tiring, highly engaged. And they dont go extra loud. I needed such a speaker for my current apartment. Beautiful creation!!
Next stop was at a neighborhood home theater shop, which has a dedicated B&W setup for stereo. This one was a PM1, with Rotel 157X Integrated and Classe CD player. They did a lot of things correct to the technical terms of HiFi. Stereo Imaging, Sound depth, Instrument separation, and a wide sound stage. They did very well with an orchestra performance. But the sound signature was not the one I was looking for. They, in fact had the same sound signature of the lower 600 series.
That is a stop for now, Vienna tops the list. an I will be continuing with the PMCs, Harbeth, ATC, and the Guru Junior in my next round.
Of course the first stops were at the most available gears. B&W 685 book shelf speakers was the opener. Unfortunately, the store didn't have a stereo amp to try with. So I settled for a Pioneer Elite receiver and Marantz UD player. Impressive sound for the size of the speakers. The speakers tries to be very agile and the presentation is very crisp. decent bass, high end seems to be little harsh. Performed well for soft rock and Rock n roll. I would categorize these for specific genre speakers than generalist. Did I enjoy music ? Not really, but since the electronics are not a stereo setup, I cant comment much.
Next stop was at the Paradigms. I was looking for studio 20, but the demo room had he bigger stuff, studio 100. We setup with a Macintosh high end amp and Arcam CD Player. Demo tracks started with an impressive guitar solo, with an exciting timber. But as the music flew more dynamic, the studios started become more shy. The sound I heard was very dry, not the paradigm sound I liked with their entry level Monitor series. Yes, the sound stage was big, expansive and filling the large demo room. but for me, not musical. Though, I will prefer them for my home theater if I need. Played a witchy lady track from eagles, which is my reference for auditions. I missed the excitement and engagement I had from my Focals.
Went on to the next dealer who stock Naim and Dalis, as I wanted to hear the combo. setup the Zensor 3, Zensor 5, and Icon 2 with a Unitilite, Nait 5i / Rega Brio for a shoot out. The zensors share a similar characteristic with B&W 685 & Paradigm studio. But they have a more engaging sound. Preferred the Zensor 3 over 5 for its slightly more engaging sound and better sound stage. The Ikons I will put in the specialist category. As the demo room owner mentioned, they are good for jazz and classical. I couldn,t differ to agree after auditions. Did I hear the magic, the answer was no. The Zensors are decent speakers, and I put them above the 685 and Studios. But of course not the game changer. Bass response was really impressive.
The same dealer had the wharfadale Denton special edition. We tried them with a Jolida tube amp. Good speakers, very warm sounding, old school sound. again, no magic
Next was the longest of all auditions so far. One dealer who specializes in HiFi, not home theater. He deals with almost all brands. I went there for Dynaudio. We set up the Dynaudio Focus 110 with with Octave Tube Amp, integrated. Source was streamed from a music PC. Here is the first time I heard a significantly different sound on my recent auditions. They are love at first hear. Focus 110 is the generalist speaker I bet on. They play pretty wel every thing we tried from Jaaz, to rock and to electronic music.smooth , detailed, and very composed. Stays in control all time. no harsh edges, one music note blends with other pretty smoothly. (I am sure the high end tube amp plays its role here). Warm sounding, very expansive sound stage. I ended up playing the full tracks. Music was so good, I missed to analyze the imaging. Any that didn't matter.
Next was the Sonus faber entry level, Venere. All electronics stays same. They opened beautifully with the flesh vocal track, tequila sunrise from Eagles. First thing you notice, is the Vocals. Vocals are so organic and very realistic. With instruments started playing, the mid range dominates. and we tested them with some electronics and fast numbers, they preserver their original characteristics. It still emphasizes the mid range, noticeably, rest of the music suffers. They don't catch up the speed to resolve. It is a good speaker for what is is made for. I park them in specialist category. Not my type for sure.
I wanted to hear the Vienna Accoustic haydn grand, but the demo room had the bigger brother; Mozart grand. anyway, In loudness they are comparable with the rest of the monitors we tried. I am not patient to keep the secret for the end. These stays my current favourite on the auditions so far. I dont remember the audiophile characteristics to note here. The music was so good that I went on playing my favorite tracks. This was the best rendering of my reference track (Witchy lady by eagles) so far for any speaker / electronics combo. This one beat my frame of reference with the focals. The music was very easy flowing, not tiring, highly engaged. And they dont go extra loud. I needed such a speaker for my current apartment. Beautiful creation!!
Next stop was at a neighborhood home theater shop, which has a dedicated B&W setup for stereo. This one was a PM1, with Rotel 157X Integrated and Classe CD player. They did a lot of things correct to the technical terms of HiFi. Stereo Imaging, Sound depth, Instrument separation, and a wide sound stage. They did very well with an orchestra performance. But the sound signature was not the one I was looking for. They, in fact had the same sound signature of the lower 600 series.
That is a stop for now, Vienna tops the list. an I will be continuing with the PMCs, Harbeth, ATC, and the Guru Junior in my next round.
