solidsblog: handsome small speakers and other stuff...

[SSM]

I made a couple of deprecatory comments about Naim this week, but they were deliberate red herrings. Today was supposed to be Super Wednesday where I head down to the Salisbury Shop to turn myself into a Naimite by getting the NAIT XS, then come into the Tent and 'fess up that I have succumbed; to the delight of my Naimite wam mates.





Even got the celebratory avatar ready...











During the closing minutes at work I was surfing the net, clicked on an audio news site and saw this



Primare's spanking new I32 integrated. It's so gorgeous! Squeeee!!!

I haven't been a fan of the I30 (a dull listen IMO) but this I32 uses new proprietary amp technology (UFPD, wotsit?) that promises "instantaneous rise time". Sounds like a potent performer.

Now I just can't bring myself to plonk down the plastic for the XS. Not until I get an earful of this I32 at least. By May 2011, my amp fund would have snowballed to reach its £2.2k rrp (which is also the same time I'd get the Flatcap XS PSU for the NAIT XS, if I do buy the XS now), so maybe its best to suffer for just a while longer for the prospect of owning an even more sstonking integrated amp.

OMG I was so pumped to celebrate this Xmas with my XS.


Watch this space in May...

[SSM]

The return of an old favourite???

I had demoed the Arcam FMJ A28 with B&W's awesome CM9 before I bought mine and noticed how well it gelled with the Nautilus tweeters. The treble was so informative and airy! (The same cannot be said for when I heard the Cyrus 8XPd with the CM5 early last year. Shrieking hell.)

This new tangent had me wondering if I should get my first-ever pair of Nautilu'd B&W to play with. One thought led to another, and I remembered my beloved speaker brand of 2005-7: good old PRaTty Epos. I did practically the whole series - els3, M22, M5 (twice), and M12.2(twice). Perhaps the M12i can come home to solidschateau for a while.

Then I browsed the Epos site and saw this:



Epos has a new range out - the EPIC. Squeeeeee!!! Featuring the first-ever proprietary soft dome tweeter in Eposian history. About time!!! I never found much to fault with the midrange and bass performance of the M series but reckoned the metal tweeters prevented Epos from achieving high-end treble quality. Now, after reading the specs, I'm just about ready to buy me an Epic blind. Love the chic black baffles of the Epics; very understated and macho like my SCM11s. The 30cm tall Epic 1 is sweet, while the larger Epic 2 is a bit dowdy at 40cm. The floorstanding Epic 5 looks great at 92cm tall and may represent a saner alternative to Harbeth's teensy P3ESR.

It's feeling like 2005 all over again at solidschateau!


SS

[SSM]

pps: if the Epics do come home to roost, the first artist I'll play through them is SADE (whose record label is Sony/Epic!)

This new Epos so has my name on it.

[droodzilla]

Hey Solid, look what I just bought:



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

They are Harbeth Compact (yes, really!) 7ES-3s, and I will be collecting them from London next month. Tune in mid February to see if these big bullies beat the small but perfectly formed P3ESRs.

If they do, I will of course tender my resignation from this thread :-)

P.S. Those Epos Epics look way bad-ass!

[SSM]

Congratulations on the purchase of your new wine cabinets, Drood! I am sure they will increase your listening room's claustrophobic factor.
(ps: I've seen those accompanying stands somewhere before too. Ah yes, the pot-holders for my boss's bonsai plants at his patio.)


After due consideration, I have to say I'm not heading down the Harbeth route. Will definitely have a play with the Epos Epics this summer before recasting the net for more precious small speakers.

Ya the dowdy speaker man alright! I am sure your incoming sasquatches will sound the biz and blow Bach's organ to such hideously Gothic proportions the vampire bats will come to roost in your attic. Enjoy!


SS

[droodzilla]

Thanks for the kind, yet gently mocking words Solid. It looks like I've finally settled down with Harbeth, and that I will love my speakers even if they bloat to the proportions of the laughably named Compact C7s. I'm sure my head will be turned from time to time by the pert tweeter of the latest mini-monitor, but I intend to remain faithful to my Harbs now, til Death us do part. Sounds like you still have some wild oats to sow before you tie the knot, and I look forward to the vicarious thrills of watching your further exploits on this thread.

Best Wishes
Nigel

P.S. The stands were included in the sale. Ironically, they're called "Something Solid" :-)

[It Cost How Much!?!]

I now have some of these little fella's from Spendor...


A bit too warm and cuddly for me thou... so back to my fav small speakers...



Surely THE best sounding small speakers ever

[matt2007]

Very happy with my Totem Arros but always wondered whether the Model 1/sig would be even better, anyone here got experience of them

[SSM]

Surely THE best sounding small speakers ever

There's a saying that speaker choices truly reflect the owner.

I'm sure they make nice sounds, but yours don't look good naked with the grill off.


SS

[SSM]

Very happy with my Totem Arros but always wondered whether the Model 1/sig would be even better, anyone here got experience of them

Mmm Totem Arros. I read somewhere that Diana Kralls uses them too.
Lovely slim floorstanders, you have good aesthetic tastes sir.

No idea about the Model One's abilities but could have a sneak listen if I do a Totem tour. I have the Rainmaker on my 'someday' list coz it looks a lot like an Epos.


SS

[It Cost How Much!?!]

These look good, but sound zzzzzzzz

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Or maybe Magico, if your flush from your annual bonus?

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Really nice looking Penn Audio

[SSM]

Thanks for the kind, yet gently mocking words Solid. It looks like I've finally settled down with Harbeth, and that I will love my speakers even if they bloat to the proportions of the laughably named Compact C7s. I'm sure my head will be turned from time to time by the pert tweeter of the latest mini-monitor, but I intend to remain faithful to my Harbs now, til Death us do part. Sounds like you still have some wild oats to sow before you tie the knot, and I look forward to the vicarious thrills of watching your further exploits on this thread.

Best Wishes
Nigel

P.S. The stands were included in the sale. Ironically, they're called "Something Solid" :-)

Some Solid indeed! I've got sexier and more muscular legs than those toothpicks.
Oh well, you will have something to remember me by when your final Harbeths slowly drag you down into the abyss of senility. Farewell!




btw our SA1 friend Iggy at the other side has just taken up ADM9.1 ownership and is raving about their superb neutrality. That is spurring me to consider having the Neutron 5 as a summer fling. You had the 5, are they really as bass-light as your previous description said? Maybe they are just exhibiting ultra-tight control in the LF region. The Neutron IV I had was like that - no added bass bloom at all, yet I wouldn't call it lean.


cheerSS

[It Cost How Much!?!]

Having just seen this rack on the Firestone site, I so want one to go with my Firestone USB DAC and power supply

http://www.firestone-audio.com/

[droodzilla]

Solid, take dowdy Uncle Droo's advice and settle down with a nice, homely speaker... before you fritter away any more of your life on this unending quest for increasingly hardcore small speaker action. But if you insist...

I don't remember saying the Neutron Vs were bass-light. In fact I don't remember thinking they were bass-light either. It's a while ago, and auditory memory is notoriously unreliable, but I remember thinking the bass was rather good. Not earth-shaking, but more than adequate in my small listening room. Overall, the sound from these black beauties was very well balanced, and pleasing to my ears. They were *annoyingly* good, given their low price. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I kept the SCM7s instead of the Neutron Vs. The former are definitely more neutral than the latter - or more accurate - but I feel less purist about such matters nowadays, so that factor would weigh less heavily in the balance. They're excellent little speakers, and a bargain at the price. Does that help :-)

That's an excellent thread Igglebert started on the WHF forum, but I have to ask: what possessed you to slum it and post a reply?!

Cheers
Nigel

[mikedefacto]

how about these SSM, cute enough?

[SSM]

Thanks Uncle Drood. So the Five is not bass-light then. Wonderful. Selling the Neutron IV was one of the biggest regrets of my audiolife and I can make amends by getting the Five.

btw to my ears the AVI house-sound shares much with the Spendor's than it does with Harbeth's (I chose the Neutron IV over the S3e in 2006, but both shared similar traits). I could happily slum with the Five while bypassing the SA1 (Tipocan price has just rocketed to £1399) and searching higher up the rung for my next hardcore tiny speaker fun.

If you or anyone else know of any 25cm high mini-monitor that makes a sound like B&W's CM9, please alert me!


cheerSS


ps: yeah, I surprised myself by posting on that site. That's the mag that gave Arcam's stunning A38 amp three stars while the screeching 8XPd got the full set.

[SSM]

how about these SSM, cute enough?

The phase plug and side profile are delectable enough. But the front veneer - AACK! Is that the Sushi-Rice Mat Finish?


SS

[matt2007]

SSM have you considered the Dali Mentor Menuet - only 25cm high