Price Paid:  $3500.00

Summary:
I am not sure what the situation is with Pantophil (review below), but the only thing I can think of is that he has an ulterior motive, or the Khites he had were defective. Besides the bass speed he mentions, just about everything he states is the antithesis of these wonderful speakers. I have lived with them for almost a year now and can state without reservation that they are the finest audio transducers I have ever owned. I listened to many products in my search and these came out on top every time. I have seen quite a few live performances in my time and the Talon''s come closest to the real event of any speaker I have heard. All I can say is don''t use these reviews to form an opinion of any audio product (including mine), but go and listen for yourself and YOU make the decision. If you give Talon a fair chance and don''t like them, fine, but don''t use these reviews to make a decision as to whether or not you should even listen to them.

Strengths:
Pinpoint/holographic imaging; very open, honest, and realistic upper frequency presentation, without being etched or harsh; crystal clarity; midrange smoothness and realism; extremely fast bass; very dynamic; astounding bass response for such a small speaker (flat to around 40Hz, NOT 90 as the previous reviewer states)

Weaknesses:
Smaller vertical soundstage than some of the other speakers I listened to (but this is really being nitpicky)

Similar Products Used:
Sonus Faber, Reference 3A, Merlin, Revel, Wilson, Soliloquy, B&W, JM Lab, Piega, Triangle, Verity, Silverline, and a few others that escpae my memory right now

Price Paid:  $3200.00

Summary:
Very strange speakers. They are amazing in some respects (treble and bass speed) but sound awful in other areas (especially midrange and lack of anything below 90 Hz). I bought the speakers because I liked the beautiful treble and overall dynamics. The midrange was weird, but that was supposed to change once the speakers brak in. Well, I put about 700 hours on them and the improvement was very slight; the thickness anl lack of refinement was still there. I finally gave up and decided to sell them. When you buy any of the Talon products, be sure you not to pay more than 50% of the retail value. The resale value is very, very low - 25-30% of the retail value. I don''t know the reason for that, perhaps the fact that most of the dealers were selling new Talon speakers for 40-45% of retail value, and Talon did not seem to mind. Perhaps that''s what they''re really worth...

Strengths:
Total lack of aggression, rich tonality, very nice treble; no hash or glare. Tight bass (but rolls off at about 90 Hz). Can play loud.

Weaknesses:
The midrange has a flaw that on most recordings, especially rich in tonal character, makes the speakers UNLISTENABLE. The upper mids are nonexistent and what''s left is thick and full of resonances. The midrange lacks refinement and detail. The bass is quick but has no extention at all. Speakers Dynaudio Contour 1.3, Platinum Audio Studio 1, Sonus Faber Electa Amator I an II or even the Concerto go much lower and sound more powerful. Very narrow (although deep) soundstage. Finish is not what you would expect from a $4000 speaker. Another weakness: very poor resale value.

Similar Products Used:
Sonus Faber Electa Amator 1 and 2, Concerto, Dynaudio 1.3.

Summary:
This is a follow-up review, 11 months down the road and still very happy with these Khites. I recently switched out all my interconnects for Audio Magic silver cables and these speakers took all that detail without revealing any harshness. The fellow below who bought a set to create a HT with a pair of Khorus speakers as mains is right on -- these monitors make a great pair of main speakers. They are the secret value in the Talon line since they deliver such a similar sound as the big daddy Khorus. I mated my Khites up with the ROC sub to get that last two deep octaves, and they blend very well. While it really does take 250-300 hours for Talon speakers to break in, and they keep getting better up to 500, the long wait is worth it (they don't sound too shabby after 80 hours, either!).

Strengths:
See all the previous reviews

Weaknesses:
see previous review

Similar Products Used:
see previous review

Summary:
I purchased the Khites to use them as rear and center channel speakers together with the Khorus as mains. The speakers as a package produce a full-bodied, room filling sound, with excellent speed and dynamics. I find myself spending too much time watching the movies :-).
What's amazing about the Khites is how similar they sound to the Khorus. They have the same rich and dynamic tonal balance, with the same "black" background and no harshness anywhere in the spectrum. In absolute terms they lose to Khorus in two areas: 1) The bass doesn't reach near as deep as the Khorus, although I was still able to get 45 Hz at -3dB with my RadioShack SPL meter. 2) The Khorus' highs seem to be extended a little higher with a little more detail, probably due to the super tweeter that the Khites don't have. I didn't really notice any differences in the midrange reproduction; both have the same rich and often seductive tonality, perhaps with the Khorus being a touch more articulate.
My living room is 32 x 24 x 19' so the Khorus was an obvious choice. If I had a little less space I think I could live happily with the Khites as my mains.

Strengths:
Great timbre and fantastic speed. Perfect match with the Khorus in my home theater setup.

Weaknesses:
They look very nice, but the finish could be a little bit better.

Summary:
I was in the market for high quality small speakers and it took me numerous hours of dealer auditions and home trials before I could finally make up my mind. I guess I listened to almost everything below $5,000, currently available in NYC. Eventually it all came down to Shamrock Audio Eire against Sonus Faber Electa Amator II. Both were great speakers, with the Fabers excelling in detail retrieval and midrange fullness, while the Shamrocks were capable of reproducing very deep soundstage. I think I would have gone with the Fabers, hadn't I stumbled upon the Khites. I took them for a home audition and really liked what I heard: very, very smooth sound with rich tonal balance, detailed but not "in your face" top end and deep soundstanging. Listening to the Khites everything sounds big and full-bodied. There's nothing thin about this speakers, perhaps because the upper mids and lower treble are not as prominent as with most other designs, all that nasty smearing in the treble is gone, and what's left is great, unobstructed detail. All of that brings you closer to the music and allows for long hours of fatigue free listening. Don't get me wrong, the Khites won't put you to sleep: the dynamics are great and bass is very tight and reaches pretty low. If you add a fast and musical sub, it will make for an excellent full range setup. Talon makes their own sub, but at $4,000 it seems overpriced and was way beyond my budget anyway so I went with a REL Storm III and couldn't be happier. The integration with the Khites is seamles; no boom or bloat whatsoever; drums sound so very lifelike - tight, dynamic and full of energy. All in all I'm very happy with my Khites, and by not going with the Fabers I was able to save enough to get the REL sub with a real wood veneer which almost matches the finish of the Khites.

System used:
Bryston 7ST monoblocks
Joule Electra LA 100 MkIII preamp
Wadia 830 CD player
REL Storm III sub
Cables are Kimber KCAG interconnects and 8TC speaker cables

Strengths:
Musical, well balanced and harmonically rich presentation with excellent soundstage depth and great dynamic capabilities.

Weaknesses:
Supposedly a long break-in period. Mine came as dealer demos so I didn't have to worry about it.

Similar Products Used:
A lot of small speakers in the sub $5,000 range, eg. Sonus Faber Electa Amator II, Shamrock Audio Eire, Merlin, Spendor, JM Lab.