will be going in for the new Rethm Saadhanas Version 3

I thought i should share with others what i was telling Arj the other day. Ever since i moved to Lyrita Audio amp with Slagle's transformers, the Liveline speaker cable would not work at my place. I would find the Rethm speaker cables to always sound better. The other day a friend had come over and we were experimenting with the Livelines again. This time we heard it without the bass module switched on. The Livelines clearly were superior to the Rethm speaker cables. That's when it dawned on me that i needed to increase the bass vol levels when i use the Livelines to take care of the more information. In this hobby one always learns.
 
This time we heard it without the bass module switched on. The Livelines clearly were superior to the Rethm speaker cables.
Oops. I thought you liked purist approach to audio. With more crossovers points wouldn't signal degrade ? When I said mechanically extending lower range I guessed the need to make 'main' driver little bigger (7"). Sorry about that.
Need to learn more about innards of rethms speakers. Their design and implementation is unique. I like their idea of rounded minimum baffle area and recently holed version one, so they must have thought about every aspect of speaker design including crossover. Any link for design aspects of the speakers ?
Thanks
 
Hi Hiten

There is some stuff on 6 moons. Else i suggest write to Jacob. He will be able to give you the correct answers. The Rethm Saadhanas have a powered bass unit which operates more like a REL sub. The single driver continues to operate full range while the lowermost octave is filled in by the bass module. In the old design the Lowthers probably operated in the range of 60Hz to maybe 14-15000 Hz. The new one i think will probably operate from around 130-150 Hz to maybe 18-20000 Hz. So its load on the lower octaves will be less, thereby giving it more linearity. This is just a guess. I may be wrong.
 
Hi Prem,
I visited Jacob of Rethm in Ernakulam recently and had the opportunity to listen to a Rethm demo system (North Star CDP + North Star DAC -> Rethm Gaanam Integrated tube amp -> Rethm Maarga speakers) in a listening room designed by him.

Not sure about the new Saadhanas, but the system with Maargas did not have the pace, finesse, dynamics and fluidity that I heard in your system. The new drivers are not a slouch but your Lowthers are incredibly fast and difficult to best when it comes to speed and also resolution. Guess the drivers on the Saadhana v3 will be better since the Saadhanas are higher up the Rethm chain.
 
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Hi Santhosh

Thanks for the inputs. I know you had mentioned it earlier to me. Now lets hope for the best.
 
Prem, i probably have got the first unit of saadhana v3 few days back. But, i've been travelling and didnt get a good listen yet. Waiting for your comparison between your current version and the newer one. I have not heard the older version, so not much of help to you with a comparison either. But it definitely outclasses the maarga.
 
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Took the plunge today. The new Rethm Saadhanas are on order. Should have them end of next month.

Congratulations on your new purchase!

I will be honest here. I never got an opportunity / focussed on to listen to non conventional box speakers. Recently got the Strada (for a totally different reason - relocation to Mumbai and there is really no space for anything other than wall mount speakers). I was not expecting anything extra ordinary but after having heard them for few months, I am not too sure whether I can buy a mass market box speaker any more. The Stradas are that good to my ears. It took more than 2 weeks to get used to the idea of no box coloration but now it feels like freedom!

That also means I am yet to enjoy electrostats, omni directional speakers and much more!!

Would love to listen to your current speakers at your convenience :)
 
I have not heard the older version, so not much of help to you with a comparison either. But it definitely outclasses the maarga.
Congrats Vea, thats good to hear. Appreciate if you can share your listening impressions and differences between the two speakers.
 
Vea, will let you know what i think of the new one when i get them.

Satmumbai, you can drop in anytime.
 
vea,

Congrats on your Saadhnas! So you went for a stereo set up eh! Is it paired with the Gaanam amp?

Thanks Titus. Its paired with the Gaanam amp and an Ayon CD2.

Congrats Vea, thats good to hear. Appreciate if you can share your listening impressions and differences between the two speakers.

Thanks Santhosh. I dont have the ears to critically compare it to the Maarga. But what I felt during my short listening was the difference in scale. The Saadhana sounded huge and three dimensional compared to the Maarga. The real difference i think is in the bass. The Maarga felt a bit thin compared to the Saadhana and can be compared to regular boxed speakers in terms of bass. But the Saadhana can go deep like a quality subwoofer. Otherwise, i felt both had the same tone and character.
 
With the Maargas, as far as bass goes, my main gripe was that it seemed a bit slow. The bass felt a bit lethargic.
Also while the soundstage had very good width, it didnt have the depth to go with it. But resolution, tone etc were very good.
 
Thanks Santhosh. I dont have the ears to critically compare it to the Maarga. But what I felt during my short listening was the difference in scale. The Saadhana sounded huge and three dimensional compared to the Maarga. The real difference i think is in the bass. The Maarga felt a bit thin compared to the Saadhana and can be compared to regular boxed speakers in terms of bass. But the Saadhana can go deep like a quality subwoofer. Otherwise, i felt both had the same tone and character.
Thanks Vea, I too don't have the ears to hear the Maargas and predict how the Saadhanas V3 would be :) . I really liked the previous iteration of the Saadhanas and it would only make me happier if the Saadhana v3 sounds better than v2. I have heard from a FM in Cochin that one of his friend also upgraded from V2 to V3 and prefers the V3, which is very positive.
 
Hi Santhosh

The Saadhanas you heard at my place had the Esoteric Transport+ Esoteric DAC as the source. That according to me would have made a big difference as to what you heard at my place and what you experienced at Jacobs.
 
I had taken my ayon cd player to Jacob's and heard it with the saadhana. I thought it sounded better than Jacob's Northstar cdp+ dac combo, to which Jacob also agreed. Without doubt the Esoteric would do wonders in the set up.
 
vea, I wish you had set this up earlier. I would have loved to come over for a listen! Especially piqued to see the difference the Ayon makes.
 
Have delayed going in for the new Saadhanas. The present system is playing at a fairly decent level. Decided to enjoy it for a few more months before taking a call.
 
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Hi Prem, not intending to hijack your thread.

Could you please write in brief about what DACs have you used with your Esoteric transport and their syenergies? I suppose you have an Esoteric VRDS 10, is that correct? With which DAC?
 
Hi ranjeetrain

I had the Esoteric P70. It was their flagship transport till about 2008. The P70 is pretty much the equal of the current P01 transport for cd playback. For DAC, I have had the Levinson 30.5, the EAD 9000 Pro and the partnering Esoteric D70. I liked the EAD 9000 Pro the best. The Esoteric D70 did all the hifi things best but the EAD was more musical. From a transport perspective you cannot get much better than the P70 for cd playback but the D70 can be definitely improved. I was thinking of actually purchasing a Prism Audio top of the line DAC to go with the Esoteric transport. But then i went vinyl.

The VRDS 10 is a very very basic outdated model. There's no comparison with the currently available Esoteric transports.
 
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