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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$4500.00
from http://www.nomad-aud Summary:
*****NOTE: I have NO AFFILIATION with Nomad Audio aside from being an extremely happy owner of the Ronin speaker.*****
I feel honored to be the first to write a review on one of the very best speakers the market has ever seen PERIOD. I have heard enough speakers and have listened to about every single transducer type available to this day to know that the Ronin will "easily" compare to "anything" out on the market, price is no option. I have been a diyer for a long time now, in dire search of the ultimate speaker and ultimate components to mate to the speaker. Amongst the years, I have heard a great many speakers including the Joseph Audio Pearl, B&W lineup, Dynaudio lineup, JMLabs lineup, various Magneplanars pure ribbons, Acoustats, Quads, Edgar Horns (10K pair) and various diy based designs including some Dick Olsher designs, the Linkwitz Orions, Selah Audio, and Dennis Murphy based speakers. Aside from these auditions and owning some of the above, I have tested and listened to about every single transducer that goes into these speakers. At the time that Nomad Audio came out with the concept of the coaxial based open baffle design that uses a sealed woofer-sub, I was in a place of feeling that it was impossible to find something I could really enjoy and live with. I simply could not find a single speaker or system match-up I was fully content with and basically the white flag was in the semi-lifted mode. I guess I was asking for too much since all speakers represent a compromise and I was not willing to accept the compromises that were leaving me wanting something more, something different, etc. As soon as I heard about the Nomad Audio design, something inside of me had a spark. It's difficult to explain and it sounds about as much like the many various voodoo based audio products on the market. I would refer to it as an instinctual feeling, a breath of hope and life. I decided to let my instinct take me and make the purchase of the Nomad Audio Ronin without having heard them. When the gorgeous bamboo wooded Ronin arrived, my instinct was immediately awakened even further as the moment I turned them on, I was absolutely astonished and blown away by the sound. This was the very initial reaction I had to them...WOW!!! I really could not believe they sounded this good. How good did they sound? Lets just say that I listened until my wife went to bed and had to stop at some point. I'll just say it was a healthy 8 hour listening session:). They say that speakers need to be "broken in". Well, I like to believe that a speaker is broken in when it can pass the 3 hour "critical" listening test that no other speaker before the Ronin was able to do. Since this day, I have listened to the Ronin a LOT and no, they do not get any better...they simply stay the same and never leave me without a feeling other than musical bliss. At this point, I am sure those reading my review are thinking, "what's this guy on???". In case you did not understand what I meant by my statement about the Ronin staying the same, it is the most critical aspect about them. What this means is that they are not some speaker, amplifier, preamplifier, cdp, etc. that gives some wow factor for a while and goes away. This is a mainstay speaker that, with its own compromises, is capable of making these compromises lay at rest while the music continues to play without fatigue and without any hint of questioning how the speaker can be improved or changed or, etc. The element that I feel this speaker does to produce timeless musical delight is the "absolute" balance. Nothing in the spectrum stands out and at the same time, nothing is subdued. Because of this balance, it leaves the listener with no fatigue and the ability to reproduce extreme volume levels without feeling any sense of strain on the speakers nor the ears. My ultimate speaker in the world of speaker compromises has finally been found and the only thing I can imagine that would be able to surpass a dynamic transducer based speaker is an evolution of transducers making it possible for top notch designers to put to use in the best possible way.
If you are looking for a speaker that will bring you excellent neutrality, transparency, convinceability, and a balance that enables you to listen hours on end, price no option, definitely find a way to hear this speaker. Strengths:
The ability to reproduce the recording accurately and at the same time, the ability to provide a musical experience that is breathtaking for countless hours. The ability to make studio recordings sound like they are live recordings.
-Effortless
-Can be used as reference speakers in a critical high end music studio
-Ability to achieve excessive volume levels and remain clean
-Balanced
-Convincing (see above regarding studio recordings sounding live)
-Most compromised speaker ever heard
-Makes "hi-end" also sound like pure music
-Too many strengths to list...I feel that I am being redundant Weaknesses:
Doesn't have the Maggie lower midrange-doesn't have 15" subs-doesn't have 102db sensitivity...
You get my point...it will not have the virtues of "different" kinds of speakers (i.e. panels, horns, etc.) but it will give you the best compromise of these diifferent types.
No weaknesses to speak of. Similar Products Used:
See review part of some of the speakers I have heard in the past...
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