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Review 1 of 2
Price Paid:
$0.00
from factory workshop, Ol Summary:
This review is for the Continuum 1.5; I don't know what Continuum Ii is.
I discovered these speakers rather fortuitously, as I worked with a friend of the designer in Colorado. When it came time for me to upgrade from my old (ca. 1990) Infinity Studio SM30s, I tried a few high-end models, including Dynaudio, B&W, and Pro-Ac. None of these were very impressive in my set-up, which was admittedly mid-fi at the time. They might be good with Natalie Merchant's voice (Pro-Ac) or with acoustic jazz, but they all sucked with 1970s rock, the bulk of my listening. The B&Ws in particular were awful; they sucked the life out of the music. (I don't remember which models of B&W I tried, but they ranged from about $1,000 to way over $10,000.)
I was pretty much out of speakers to try in the area, so I wasn't sure what I might be able to audition next.
I knew Roy's speakers were expensive but decided I might as well hear them, since his workshop was on the way home. He gave me a tour of the facility and then brought me to a listening room for a demonstration. I wound up spending hours there, listening to both the industrial-looking Continuum 2s and the cleaner-looking, marble & wood Continuum 1.5s.
I told Roy how disappointing the speakers I had heard so far were with rock, so he threw on some Doors and said, "Don't be afraid to turn it up." And it was great. These speakers sounded good from low volumes to insane volumes. I think he was using an Edge amp. What's more, they sounded more believable than all the others. I listened to some of Yes's Fragile and noted listening fatigue was zero. On the contrary I wanted to listen more. Roy suggested Medeski, Martin, and Wood and I heard the attack of the drums with such speed as I had only previously heard live.
Roy explained about how he took care to "time-align" the drivers so that they became seamless: you can't tell which drivers are reproducing which instrument. And this makes it so the whole band is playing in synchronicity; you don't hear all the pieces separately and then patch them together in your mind. This really does make for a more realistic, less fatiguing experience.
And to be able to turn it way up was good, too.
So when I finally got my IRS refund I went for it and I haven't regretted it for a moment.
Since then I've been on a quest to upgrade the rest of the stereo, but I have no desire to replace these speakers. They still sound great and they look nice, too, if you like the modern art marble enclosure.
I think speaker selection is largely a matter of taste. People who enjoy B&W speakers probably won't like these. But if the other critically-acclaimed speakers don't sound that great to you, you should check out Green Mountain Audio. And it may be that people who listen to mostly small, acoustic ensembles should look elsewhere, too. But if you like rock, classical, and generally lusher music, you should check these out if you get the chance. Roy has really done his homework and his speakers, while not cheap, certainly represent a great value compared to their competition.
FYI: Today I'm using the speakers with:
BAT VK3i pre-amp
B&K amp
AudioQuest Viper balanced interconnects
Audio Magic speaker cable
Marantz CD63SE CD player
Dish Network PVR (w/Sirius radio) Strengths:
Little listening fatigue
Ability to play loudly
Bandmembers sound in sync with each other
Depth of soundstage or precision of image, depending on placement (you can't have both with these speakers) Weaknesses:
May be difficult to find
Don't image as well as the best (the Pro-Acs did a nice job of this)
Not the last word in the deepest bass Similar Products Used:
Infinity SM30
Dynaudio Contour
B&W (various)
Martin Logan (various)
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5 of 5
