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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$2295.00
from AV123.com Summary:
My first impression was that these things are heavy, very heavy. (94 pounds each, but over 315 pounds together when shipped) It works out to over 60 pounds of packaging for each speaker. It’s a good thing that the driver helped me with them. I would have never been able to get them up the stairs myself. So then, I remove the crates. Then I removed the box, then the other box, then the formed packing, rubber like Styrofoam, then the soft cloth that both speakers were wrapped in. Oh look they sent me soft white gloves. I presume these are for moving them around. So now, to the speakers themselves. OMG are these things beautiful. Strike that. Not just beautiful. Make that stunningly beautiful! Throw in a few more experlatives that this simple minded guy can’t think of and it still doesn’t cover how fantastic these babies look.
This seems like a good place to state what equipment I am using. It’s a Yamaha RX-V2500. Just a receiver but does make it to 130 wpc with no problems. All music was listed to in Pure Direct mode. This means, no sub and no processing. The CD-R is a Yamaha CDR-HD1300. All music was played back from its internal hard drive. Movies & TV were direct from the local cable company.
I get them set up. Nothing special just put them where the Infinities used to be. Turned on the receiver and CD-R and played away. The Mini’s were set to the recommended starting point of ½ power to the powered woofers crossed at 80Hz.
The first thing I noticed was that the highs were not as bright as the Infinities. I was shocked seeing as the Infinities have a sharp roll off at 14 kHz and the Mini’s have about a 3db hump from 15k to 20k. As perplexed as I was, I still moved on. I played Chicago’s Greatest Hits and was very disappointed. The mids sounded like there was a sheet of plastic over them. Where were my highs? How can this be? These things cost 4 times as much as the Infinities! Please say it isn’t so. I thought, "This is my last upgrade ever."
I turned it all off. Moved them from 14” from the back wall to 26” away. Then I turned the base output down to ¼. Turned on the receiver and recalibrated the whole 7.1 system, resetting all EQ’s to flat when done. These actions helped, but I still wasn’t happy with the sound I was getting. I left the system running at -30db while I ran a few errands. It took me about 2 hours to get back. They seemed to be opening up a bit. Hope began to return. Maybe I WILL keep these after all. The mids were sounding clean and clear. The imaging was better than the Infinities ever gave me. Then I grabbed the camera to take a few pics. Took a few with the covers on, and then pulled them off to get a few more. WHOA! What the heck? Put them back on & pulled them off again. The sound was night and day. Suddenly all the highs were there. The thrill was back!
I put in Phil Collin’s Greatest hits. His voice was crisp and clear. Base was punchy and tight. Not over powered at all, but plenty of it. I started to get into the music. So much so that I forgot to take notes during most of them.
I had to turn up the volume a little more than I used to, to get to the same level. But the Yammie didn’t seem to mind one bit. NO SOUND WAVES WERE CLIPPED IN THE MAKING OF THIS REVIEW.
Next up was a movie. The Fantastic 4 just happened to be starting on one of the HD channels. This was a good chance to see how well they integrate with the rest of my 7.1 system. So, switch from Pure Direct to good old DTS (EX or ES?) mode. They matched well with the rest of the Infinities (Primus 150’s & C25). I set the MKIII 15” Titanic sub to be crossed at 60 Hz and left the mains at full range. (Picked “both” for base output) I was impressed with how well I could hear the dialog without turning the volume up to high levels. It seems like a match made in heaven for a “calibrate by ear” guy like me. I promise to pick up a db meter soon and do it right. But the movie sounded great. Well, up until the cable went out. We had major T-storms last night. Oh well, had to put on more music. Poor me. (Back to Pure Direct)
Played more Phil. Groovy kind of love, Hold On, Take Me Home. The drums sounded perfect.
Then Genesis: His voice seemed to hang in the air like a ghost walking around my room. “Did he just turn his head there?” Oh man is it clear. More than just clear. More than just smooth. It’s an eerie feeling like I wasn’t alone in the room.
The next morning; I put on my wife’s favorite cable channel, soft rock for a couple hours. Then, Pop’s favorite, the country cannel. I think I could learn to like them now. Too bad that Pure Direct won’t work for the cable music. I’ll have to read my manual to see what I’m doing wrong there.
Back to the CD-R and Pure mode. Boston’s Amanda seemed to envelope the room. The Eagles sounded better than ever. Kansas Leftoverature reminded me why I like that CD so much. But I got lost in the moment and forgot to take notes. Then some Stone Temple Pilots. Yes, Close to the Edge. The highs, the lows, the voices, the instruments, all sound very natural. Nothing is missing, and nothing overpowers the others. How many times can I say that they are clear and accurate?
Then I put in Jefferson Airplane & Air Supply. More of the same results. Aerosmith’s Dream On had all the excitement I remembered and more. How about some Ozzie? No More Tears rocks! I could hear every click and tick of the music box on the opening track. Ozzie offering the little girl some candy made me want to run to the schoolyard to pick up my little girl. And I don’t even have a child!
Next up, Nora Jones. WOW! Can I say smooth again? I could tell when she was smiling. This is crazy.
OK, now comes the RUSH. CD number one is to be played loud. As I recall, the original LP said, “For best results, play at maximum volume. So I turned it up to -10db. I was not disappointed. When Working Man came on, I was yelling, “Go Alex, go!”
Then Billy Joel, The Stranger. The piano sounded better than I’ve ever heard it.
Deep Purple’s Smoke on the water. Foreigner’s Hot Blooded and Cold as Ice, The Cars, Pat Bennitar, Styx, Steve Miller, and Led Zeppelin all sounded fantastic. I have a whole new appreciation for Spira Gira as well.
So, all and all, I’m very happy. Looking forward to the HT package to come out.
Strengths:
Great imaging. More than fair price. Finally got that planner sound that I love so much without the lack of dynamics that often comes with the lower priced models.
Great base. The 8 ohm resistance means that I can drive them with my receiver until I pick out the amp I want. Fantastic build quality and finish! Weaknesses:
They are a little heavy to be moved around easily. Similar Products Used:
Infinity 360's,
Magnepan 1.6's
Totems
Ushers
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5 of 5
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