The DIVA--DS from Cadence A class in its catagory and beyond.

Ihave been using these speakers for the last six months and am exposed to nuances never before experienced.The usual boxiness at the low end is totally absent and the inexperienced and lay would attribute this quality as lack of Bass.The experienced, though, would be thrilled to hear a very natural, thumping bass delivery.The speakers excelled in every department when properly set up after fine tuning the room acoustics.Early ground reflections have caused some anxiety for myselfdue to a hard reflective floor.This not only caused problems at the low end (upper bass suckout) but sounded hard on over bright recordings (upper mid enhancement). Putting a carpet directly in front of the speakers put the sound in its proper perspective. Once these were ironed out my listening pleasure has increased tremendously. The image is very wide and the music seems to pour out from beyond the boundaries.
This certainly considers an audition before deciding on anything else and I am sure it will make you stretch your budget to accomodate them in your home.

In my view, these speakers suit moderate to larger rooms, and need powerful amplification. 50w valve p/ch or 100w solid state being a minimum.

I'll be brief.

Suits a larger room, doesnt like to be near a corner, a freestanding speaker that needs hefty amplification.

You can expect a powerful beautiful sound, but dont even think about it if you have a small room, or a low power amp.

I'm running it with seventy watt class A valve monoblocks, and despite their normal(ish) sensitvity (88.5db into 8 ohms) that is a good indication of what you will need to get the air moving from these speakers.

As a previous reviewer stated, you have to be very careful where/how you position these speakers. Near field monitors these speakers are not. Fullsome, enveloping, goosebump giving, YES! So, put them on your short list, but try them at home first

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The Cadence DS is a 2 way speaker (with the sandwiched Kevlar bass driver from Eton ). It is exquisitely finished in "plantation certified" teak veneer and look attractive enough to make one run his hands over the smooth rounded sides. The cabinet is 29 mm thick and the speaker tips the scales at 24 kg a piece (28 kg shippng wt) - which was enough to give me a solid backache when I unloaded the boxes from my car and carried then three floors up and set them up.
This was the time - 6 months ago - when I still had my Hafler with a passive preamp as my main amp. I connected these up and I was rewarded with a smooth sound which was more musical than my B&W CDM1s.

These seakers were free from the usual boxiness and improved with burn-in. The spurious panel vibrations were absent ( one tap with the knuckle was sufficient proof enough).

The fun started when the X-ACT and the X-A1 came into the system.

I have already given the basic description above, and there’s no hiding the fact that the speakers are fantastic. The imaging and the bass depth and definition is absolutely fantastic. On Dave Grusin's Migration - Track 14 - you can feel the cymbals far to the right of the speakers. The speakers are fast and with a modern musical amp like the X-A1, it is sure to set your feet tapping.

Also, with the CD that came along with HFN&RR April 98 Issue - with Anthony Michealson playing the clarinet in Mozart's Concerto for Clarinet K622, the woody lower tones from the clarinet appears in the central sounstage with marvelous body and texture. The bi-amping certainly helps. The midrange and highs were sweet and very open with good spread. With my listening chair drawn quite close to the speakers (about 6 ft), you are perched on the edge of the stage with everything seeming to be happening around you. You are transported to the venue.

A couple of days later, listening well into the night, I dropped the Dire Straits - Alchemy in to the CD tray revelled in between the thousands of people around.

One must try out this speaker - taking pains to set it up carefully - and match it well with the other components and try it out. The cables should preferably be Van den Hul hybrids - for they seem to have a synergy with these speakers and the MF X-A1.

These speakers are expensive at 1650 GBP but are definitely worth it. I bet at that price range, you can blow away most of the competition with the sound and the finish.

Debopriyo Datta
Calcutta, India

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Speakers : Cadence DS
Amplifier : Musical Fidelity X-A1 (previously Hafler DH220 with a passive preamp)
D/A : Musical Fidelity X-ACT
Digital cable : Van den Hul Videolink 75
Interconnects : Van den Hul D102 III Hybrid
Speaker cables: LF : Van den Hul Snowtrack Biwire (shotgunned)
: HF : Kimber 4TC
CD Transport : Philips CD931 (with a CDM9 transport).