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Review 2 of 3
Price Paid:
$299.00
from Audio Advisor Summary:
I have owned these loudspeakers for a little more than a month, and have found them to be good performers with all types of music, but perhaps best suited for home theatre.
Right out of the box, good build quality is evident. They are weighty, enclosures tightly constructed, with good fit and finish. The front panel is made with 1.3 in. MDF, and they are well-braced internally. I particularly like the apparent quality of driver construction. With the covers removed, the units display a "jewel-like" appearance to me, with the woven kevlar 6.5 in. woofers, and the two small ports.
I have used these with both a H-K AVI-200 II, and an ESS amplifier with Onkyo P-301 preamplifier. Signal sources primarily VCR, and Phillips CD-921. These loudspeakers are not "rockers". They seem to be happier with the lower powered HK, approximately 100wpc into their 6 ohm load. Even at similar volume levels, The ESS, with its 250wpc into 8 ohms, seems a little much for them. The Onkyo is superior to the preamp section of the H-K, so I'm using it in conjunction with the HK amp section.
These speakers do a good job with lighter classical, such as harpsichord, but larger works with heavy transient bass are difficult for them at anything above moderate levels. Having said that, they do pretty well with classical pipe organ, since the low frequencies are not transient in nature. I find the balance to be as described in the previous review, with the highs and mids good, but somewhat overpowered by the low end. This is not displeasing to me, and perhaps explains my preference for them in HT use.
Imaging is good, with the speakers well away from the rear wall, and toed-in to intersect the listening plane at its center. Depth of image is very good. On home theatre, their ability to fill the wall with sound exceeds that of my magneplanars, which surprised me, but is their only point of superiority over them, and only with HT.
Overall, I am well-pleased with these small, but capable speakers, and would recommend them as a good all-around choice for music and HT use. Strengths:
Constuction, imaging, versatility. Weaknesses:
Power-handling, frequency balance. Similar Products Used:
A long time ago, but DBX SF-1500, and Hafler DH-355
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