Hi, am adding a short note as there seems to be a lot of mis-information posted on this site RE the Audio Physics Steps. I have Step SLEs (the signature version) and they are superb. There is NOT a second version with a Seas woofer: the woofer took Joachim Gerhard - the designer - 3 years to design, and there is only one version of this highly specialized driver; also, it is run full range, a very tricky task indeed. 35-50 watts of high quality tube power is the ideal match for them, not more (they should not be pushed!), as they have limited power handling capabilities. Gerhard has long since left Audio Physics (now makes speakers under the "Sonics" moniker), so all of these comments apply to the original Steps - I have heard the newer ones and they have nothing in common, in any way, with the originals. The originals are hard to find, and MUST be used with the original tripod stands; but if you do find them you will not be disappointed in their sound, so long as the rig, and set-up, are up to snuff.

Terrific! Transcription of voice is wonderful, treble is fair, rythm is excellent, and bass is more dipe and wide that you would expect for a speaker of this size.
Be careful though, this speaker has its own personality: it's not neutral. It's very sweet, like silk, but it's never dark or too soft.
It seems that I have the mk2 version of these, with SEAS woofer. I've been listening it with Bryston pre-amp and DIY pure class A power amp, with WM8741 DAC.
I would recommand it warmly! Never heard any other speaker with so charming voices.

Imaging, soundstage, clarity. very classy veneered finishes, excellent build quality

fussy about position. the stands are hopelessly unstable but I bought some old wrought iron 15lb weights to rest on the frame bottoms which hasnt adversely affected the sound and means that the dog or the children cant topple them. I gather they arent being made any more, though a new, much more expensive standmounter (the Brilon) is soon to be released. A pity, hard to think what ive tried at the price point that comes even close.

I have Step SLEs in yew. they are truly exceptional little speakers. their size belies the room-filling sound (my listening room is at least 7m by 5m). they have a wonderfully broad soundstage and pinpoint imaging. Clarity is a real strength, treble is excellent, midrange veers towards the lean but is nevertheless entirely satisfactory, and bass is condiderably better than one has a right to expect (though I do also use an audio physic Luna subwoofer). The set-up is crucial, and putting them along the long wall of a room works much better. mine are about 3.5m apart, closer ruins the effect. they really do disappear. they are very revealing of source inadeqaucies and probably do need more current than my 35wpc valve amp can provide, especially with pink floyd and the like. Beautifully finished, they are even quite domestically acceptable.

Similar Products Used:

Moved from Proac Studio 100 (warmer, more prominient and perhaps more appropachable midrange, but for treble, bass, imaging, clarity the Proacs didnt come close. I tried loads of others including Neat

Steps are very fun to listen to. Very lively great staging if a bit small but they disappear. Good bass from a small speaker. I also owm ProAc One SC's which are more open and accurate in the mids to my ears and play with a but more solidity a higher levels. The ProAcs need good tubes and quality CD player. ProAc's also take forever to break-in, no bs here, my One SC's were too bright at first, but now 3 months of cranking has almost completely mellowed them out, almost too laid back on some stuff. Jay's Audiolad gear probably played into his opnion on the One Sc's, I had the Audiolab integrated for about two weeks, it was a disappointment with the ProAc's, replaced with an Anthem 40 watt tube and magic! Anyway, the back to the Steps, great little speaker but not as good as the One Sc overall.

The version I have is Step SLE ( biwire, better cross network, more expensive). I used to have Thiel CS1.5 and ProAc 1SC. I like Step SLE better! Great image and sound stage, detailed and natural sounding, not as bright as Thiel and ProAc. With audiophile CDs, they sound terrific, and unlike ProAc, they still sound very good with less perfect CDs.
System: Audiolab 8000CD, 8000S, AudioQuest Ruby interconnect, Nordost Supper Flatline biwire.

I listened to the Steps with a Krell KAV500i and Krell CD player. The boxes have good bass for their size, but overemphasized. Highs were OK. Imaging was not good at all in that setup, very blurry.
I would not buy them, there are better ones for the money.

Beautiful clear midrange, sounds fantastic with vocal music. Punchy attack and tightly controlled bass.

Very unstable stands. Lacks real deep bass. Relatively fussy about positioning.

(I have the Step SLE's in a beautiful dark Mahogany finish.) When you get them positioned correctly (which does take a bit of fiddling), they produce a remarkable sound for their tiny dimensions. They sound super sweet with vocal music and when cranked up a bit they really rock too, producing a remarkably good amount of nicely controlled bass. The depth of bass extension is, compared to their big brothers slightly lacking, but in a smallish room and positioned not too far from the listener, they produce a very satisfying result. I'd rather trade off extension against accuracy and tightness any day...

The revelation for me was adding the Audio Physic Luna subwoofer to the mix... the deep bass was there but not "in your face", the soundstage opened up in a remarkably 3 dimensional way, and each instrument and performer, particularly in classical recordings, became pinpointable.

Partnered with at least 50 watt amp (they aren't very sensitive), a good musical subwoofer and in a normal sized room, you will not be dissapointed.