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TIU
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Sat Dec 17th, 2005 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 7147 |
| Occupation: | | | Interests: | | | My real name: | | | My CD Player: | | | My Turn Table: | | | My Amp/s: | | | My Speakers: | | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#1 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 12:20 am |
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Laurie Anderson is sitting on my bed singing to me this evening. Earlier Tom Waits popped in. 
Basically, I am gobsmacked by these little sealed boxes. I don't know if it's because they are in a small, quiet bedroom, mounted on a solid wall, or because they have an Audio Innovations amplifier powering them. They are sublime and emit this beautiful warmth and richness that makes me not want to leave the room. The bass is rich, goes amazingly deep and never faulters, not for a millisecond. The bass also appears very distinct and easy to follow but still sounds at one with the music. It gives this glorious warm and inviting tone to the music and to vocals in particular, rather like an old analogue tuner when it's tuned to a very strong Radio 2 signal. Vocals are very much 'in the room', spookily so.
They are playing tapes from a Yamaha tape deck at the moment. I hope to receive a Sony cdp soon and then see how they perform with that source. I have bare wired them to the Alto (both have single binding posts which simplifies things) with old 'speaker cable I had lying around. I'm not sure what brand it is but it's that white insulated copper type with a black line on one side (79 strand?). Seems fine to me so I don't see the need to upgrade it at present. I do need to buy an i/c to connect the cdp when it arrives. Funny thing is, if I buy a new basic one from RS, it will cost me more than the 'speakers.Last edited on Thu Jun 21st, 2007 12:30 am by TIU
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earl of sodbury
HiFi Dealer Wammer
evil foo pusher
| Joined: | Wed Jul 20th, 2005 |
| Location: | In Fantile, North Korea |
| Posts: | 10006 |
| Occupation: | meat beater | | Interests: | stuff | | My real name: | Paul | | My CD Player: | Stello CDA320 | | My Turn Table: | | | My Amp/s: | Cairn 4808 | | My Speakers: | Triangle Naia | | Trade Status: | I am in the HiFi trade |
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#2 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 02:37 pm |
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Those look better than decent TIU, good to see they sound it too - right result 
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murray johnson
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Tue Feb 28th, 2006 |
| Location: | Centralia |
| Posts: | 6016 |
| Occupation: | Wastrel | | Interests: | Chanology | | My real name: | names are for tombstones | | My CD Player: | | | My Turn Table: | | | My Amp/s: | | | My Speakers: | | | Trade Status: | |
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#3 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 02:45 pm |
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£15 !!! he saw you coming!
glad you think they are ok. they were a pretty well regarded speaker in their day.
real wood veneered 'prison' cabinets too by the looks of them.
Last edited on Thu Jun 21st, 2007 02:47 pm by murray johnson
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Glens of Antrim
Moderating Wammer
| Joined: | Sun Jul 24th, 2005 |
| Location: | Norn Iron, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 2292 |
| Occupation: | Breeding Flying Pigs | | Interests: | Pulling Out Nasal Hair | | My real name: | Esme Weatherwax | | My CD Player: | MF X-Ray/X-10/X-PSU/X-DAC | | My Turn Table: | | | My Amp/s: | MF Nu Vista/X-P200 | | My Speakers: | Triangle Altea esw | | Trade Status: | |
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#4 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 02:45 pm |
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| Very nice looking boxes - enjoy!
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kingsxfan
Founding Wammer
| Joined: | Wed Jul 20th, 2005 |
| Location: | Wirral, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 2960 |
| Occupation: | | | Interests: | Music & Film | | My real name: | Phil | | My CD Player: | | | My Turn Table: | | | My Amp/s: | | | My Speakers: | | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#5 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 03:11 pm |
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God I owned a pair of these years ago  used to good effect with my old NAD 302 amp and NAD turntable, haha!
I ended up blowing the tweeters on these quite a few times driving them far too hard with loud heavy metal. Cost me all of £25 to replace them with a new pair heh-heh! A ferro-fluid design if I remember correctly.
Enjoy
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TIU
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Sat Dec 17th, 2005 |
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#6 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 04:15 pm |
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£15 !!! he saw you coming!
Is this your cynical self Murray? ;) That's a good buy, isn't it? Especially regarding their condition.
'Prison cabinets' ? Were they made by Patrick McGowan?  :lmao:
Ferro-fluid design Phil? Don't know the technical details and can't find much about them TBH. They are heavy for such small boxes and surprised me when I first went to pick one up.
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murray johnson
Super Wammer
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| Location: | Centralia |
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#7 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 07:56 pm |
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For £15 they are a very good buy.
The cabinets would have been made in either HMP Dartmoor or Channings Wood both of which have very good woodworking shops.
Ferro fluid is a brown sticky Ferric liquid put into the gaps of tweeter magnets which can give the tweeters higher power handling and a smoother response..
Last edited on Thu Jun 21st, 2007 07:59 pm by murray johnson
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Anthony
Veteran Wammer
| Joined: | Mon Jan 9th, 2006 |
| Location: | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
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| Occupation: | | | Interests: | potato + oil combos | | My real name: | ^ | | My CD Player: | changing | | My Turn Table: | Technics / Rega / Ortofon | | My Amp/s: | changing | | My Speakers: | JPW AP2s | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#8 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 09:42 pm |
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very nice 
I was really impressed with the JPW AP2s I bought for my brother in law , lovely things. sounds like the Sonatas aren't bad either esp. considering the price.
i wonder how much the tape player is adding to the overall warmth. a lot i would guess.
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yoda900
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#9 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 11:02 pm |
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Well done, £15 a bargain that will give many hours of enjoyment.
These are good speakers and the Minims, the smaller ones are just as fun.
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TIU
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Sat Dec 17th, 2005 |
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#10 Posted: Thu Jun 21st, 2007 11:56 pm |
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Hi Yoda, on ebay presently there is a pair of Minims. If I didn't bag these I was going to go for them. I expected the Sonatas to attract some bidding but obviously not. Sometimes a seller not going to town on a detailed listing is a distinct advantage.
Anthony, I suspect you are right about the tape deck. I think I have warm, analogue-liking ears.
MJ, it seems appropriate they were made in a prison after the nature of my meeting in the street with the seller. I'm sure I looked over my shoulder before handing him the readies. It felt really weird. They are very well made and solid. I'm enjoying this second system more than my main one with the Revolvers at the moment.
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ob1
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Thu Jan 11th, 2007 |
| Location: | Outside....Norwich, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 5738 |
| Occupation: | Landlord | | Interests: | boxing | | My real name: | Elvis | | My CD Player: | Mark Levinson | | My Turn Table: | one of this day..... | | My Amp/s: | Chapter Audio | | My Speakers: | Audio Physic | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#11 Posted: Fri Jun 22nd, 2007 09:35 am |
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| for a price of bottle of house wine and a pint of beer in my pub....bargain.
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Nawty
Experienced Wammer
| Joined: | Wed Apr 18th, 2007 |
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#12 Posted: Fri Jun 22nd, 2007 11:26 am |
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Sonata's were my very first speaker
I had some wonderful times with them including my first WTF was that moment when Pink Floyd appeared to be coming from everywhere around me
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icehockeyboy
Veteran Wammer
| Joined: | Sun Aug 14th, 2005 |
| Location: | Nottingham, United Kingdom |
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| Occupation: | Professional curry eater and loo roll tester | | Interests: | beer cognac whisky wine beer | | My real name: | Craig | | My CD Player: | Is a Squeezebox+Theta dac | | My Turn Table: | Under my bed | | My Amp/s: | Classe CP47.5, Lyngdorf SDA2175 | | My Speakers: | PMC FB1+ | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#13 Posted: Fri Jun 22nd, 2007 04:24 pm |
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ob1971 wrote: for a price of bottle of house wine and a pint of beer in my pub....bargain.
You charge £15 for house wine.....in a pub............you robbing git!
The house wine at Hassop Hall (v posh country house hotel/restaurant) is only that!
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ob1
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Thu Jan 11th, 2007 |
| Location: | Outside....Norwich, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 5738 |
| Occupation: | Landlord | | Interests: | boxing | | My real name: | Elvis | | My CD Player: | Mark Levinson | | My Turn Table: | one of this day..... | | My Amp/s: | Chapter Audio | | My Speakers: | Audio Physic | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#14 Posted: Fri Jun 22nd, 2007 05:04 pm |
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icehockeyboy wrote: ob1971 wrote: for a price of bottle of house wine and a pint of beer in my pub....bargain.
You charge £15 for house wine.....in a pub............you robbing git!
The house wine at Hassop Hall (v posh country house hotel/restaurant) is only that!
may be my place is a lot posher 
Not really, my langudoc house is £11.95 + 1 pint of Chang Thai lager = £14.95
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cjm
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#15 Posted: Sat Jun 23rd, 2007 09:53 am |
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The Sonatas are terrific little speakers. I had a pair I passed on to a friend who wanted a straighforward hifi setup. She got the Denon DM31 initially and loved it, but as she belts out music on the second floor or her large victorian house and listens downstairs in her ground floor kitchen (duh????), I suggested a Pioneer A400 to give more power. So that's the setup she's had for a couple of years and she hasn't looked back. Even at high volumes, those sonatas sound refined, musical and, as you said, do a surprisingly good bass delivery.
I love the description of the system you've 'cobbled' together - cheap speaker wire etc - and it's a great reminder of just how good such a system can sound, without in any way breaking the bank. Modern equivalents won't IMO inevitably improve upon that sort of setup. Enjoy!
Chris
Last edited on Sat Jun 23rd, 2007 09:54 am by cjm
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syep2001
Veteran Wammer
| Joined: | Fri May 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | Plymouth, United Kingdom |
| Posts: | 1575 |
| Occupation: | SHA Building Surveyor | | Interests: | Hifi, Music, Cars, Photography | | My real name: | Simon | | My CD Player: | Meridian 206DS/SB3/EAD | | My Turn Table: | Linn LP12/Basik/P77 | | My Amp/s: | Sugden A21a | | My Speakers: | Proac Response 1SC | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#16 Posted: Sun Jun 24th, 2007 02:12 pm |
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Like them....try an AP2 ;)
Similar, but far and away better!
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TIU
Super Wammer
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#17 Posted: Wed Jun 27th, 2007 08:26 pm |
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These smaller ones are ideal for the room size simon. Anything larger would be too much I think. I have a Sony CDP-591 now (sorry no pics yet, I don't have a digital camera and if I did my Mac doesn't have USB to upload them) courtesy of Rory and UPS. The brighter sound I was expecting is not too prominent as the overall balance is just right.
It is difficult to sum up how this little system sounds. In the main I am amazed and really really surprised. It's the bass actually, it's incredible and not expected at all from such small boxes. Listening now to Peter Gabriel and I hear lovely deep, smooth and tuneful bass at moderate volume and then POW, it goes even deeper and more glorious. I keep looking at them on the wall to figure where it's all coming from. I just haven't noticed this with my main system which has bags more treble detail (more hi-fi?) and bass but not this impact. Also with these JPWs the vocals leap out over the top of everything and grab you by the short 'n' curlies. I am hearing music more like it was heard in the studio, I'm pretty sure of that.
I would love someone to call round and hear these because something has clicked into place to create a magical experience. I have been to Tony's a few times and been gobsmacked by that 'being there' sound, and attended bake-offs so I have heard very expensive systems, so I know what to strive for. With these speakers and the Alto I have achieved something quite extraordinary. As I said before, maybe it's a special synergy of large drivers (for the cabinet size) in closed boxes, a rather special little amp, the smaller confined room with only one door and small window (far more intimate) and rock solid wall mounting to allow the JPWs to perform to their best.
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Aural Flea
Super Wammer
get me out of here!
| Joined: | Mon Jun 12th, 2006 |
| Location: | Black Country |
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| Occupation: | | | Interests: | | | My real name: | Kevin | | My CD Player: | Sony XA20ES | | My Turn Table: | NAS/hk>RB250>BenzMC20 | | My Amp/s: | TAG McLaren PA10; Acurus A250 | | My Speakers: | DeccaVolt | | Trade Status: | I am not in the Hi-Fi trade |
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#18 Posted: Wed Jun 27th, 2007 09:28 pm |
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Hi Gary
That lot does sound interesting.
Maybe we can get together some time - if you can put up with Stourbridge Scum that is - at least I am not a Yam-Yam  anyway...
Kevin
Last edited on Wed Jun 27th, 2007 09:29 pm by Aural Flea
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TIU
Super Wammer
| Joined: | Sat Dec 17th, 2005 |
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#19 Posted: Wed Jun 27th, 2007 10:55 pm |
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| Hi Kevin, I'd love to hear your Systemdek. If you came here you'd have to make friends with our over-excitable dog. If not, all you'll hear is her loud barking. I have relatives in Brierley Hill, just off Hillfields Road, so know some of the area. Maybe move to PM to arrange a meet? My college course ends next week so that will free up some time.
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Aural Flea
Super Wammer
get me out of here!
| Joined: | Mon Jun 12th, 2006 |
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#20 Posted: Wed Jun 27th, 2007 11:01 pm |
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Cool, give us a shout when your time is your own and we can set something up
PS You just about drive past my house to get to your in-laws, if you use the Ring Road ;)
Kevin
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