I've been running a valve amp of some kind for the last 7 years or so and have tried lots and lots of speakers. I have also been a big fan of Royd speakers for a long time and always have a pair to play with. A couple of weeks ago a friend wanted to borrow my ANs to see how they sound in his room... He still has them...
He lent me a mint pair of walnut Royd Apexs. Ok I though, dropped them in the system, that old Royd 'freedom' showed through straight away but they were a bit wayward in the bass - which to be honest isn't what I have experienced with them in the past, I always found them a bit too cautious in the bass when used in other systems/ rooms.
Anyway, within ten mins I had played with positioning and some chopping boards - cripes!! These are good! Only 15w oh EL34 to drive them but somehow sound more comfortable and fluid than the recent LVs and my ANs. Must be just that initial 'Royd' hit I always get... Hmm a couple of weeks later of listening to them and I have bought a tatty pair from Bandit Pilot for 75 quid. Spent an hour trying to clean them up as they looked like they'd been stored in a workshop or something. They are still marked but look ok and of course... They sound brilliant.
Think very balanced and even handed with puzzlingly deep bass albeit sitting in the background slightly a bit like how LVs present their bottom end. The texture and definition is bob on and its vibrant too. ZZ Tops la Grange sounding really punchy, Solid and under pinned. The midrange can blare slightly but a bit of tube rolling manage to polish this out so now voices and guitars stand forward without being obvious or detached. Normally Royds can have a coarse but exciting top end - imlike to call it enthusiastic! But, combined with the Art amp and nice tubes, it's delicate, shimmery and remarkably refined somehow.
I treated myself to some of Jason Mrazs earlier stuff (5 quid each at HMV at the mo) and also a random purchase of 'the Brazilian funk experience'.think 70s porn music with a south American / Austin Powers twist. I can't stop listening and finding myself squeezing a track on in between the family being in and out of the living room and staying up late to get an hours listening in.
I get my ANs back later, should be interesting. I think it will be close!
If you have valve amp and looking for a cost effective reasonably attractive compact floorstander, look no further. You need to give them some width and I have around 2ft behind them but if you get them right I am confident they embarrass some modern expensive speakers. If my mate comes to sell his mint examples, I'll be snapping them up!
He lent me a mint pair of walnut Royd Apexs. Ok I though, dropped them in the system, that old Royd 'freedom' showed through straight away but they were a bit wayward in the bass - which to be honest isn't what I have experienced with them in the past, I always found them a bit too cautious in the bass when used in other systems/ rooms.
Anyway, within ten mins I had played with positioning and some chopping boards - cripes!! These are good! Only 15w oh EL34 to drive them but somehow sound more comfortable and fluid than the recent LVs and my ANs. Must be just that initial 'Royd' hit I always get... Hmm a couple of weeks later of listening to them and I have bought a tatty pair from Bandit Pilot for 75 quid. Spent an hour trying to clean them up as they looked like they'd been stored in a workshop or something. They are still marked but look ok and of course... They sound brilliant.
Think very balanced and even handed with puzzlingly deep bass albeit sitting in the background slightly a bit like how LVs present their bottom end. The texture and definition is bob on and its vibrant too. ZZ Tops la Grange sounding really punchy, Solid and under pinned. The midrange can blare slightly but a bit of tube rolling manage to polish this out so now voices and guitars stand forward without being obvious or detached. Normally Royds can have a coarse but exciting top end - imlike to call it enthusiastic! But, combined with the Art amp and nice tubes, it's delicate, shimmery and remarkably refined somehow.
I treated myself to some of Jason Mrazs earlier stuff (5 quid each at HMV at the mo) and also a random purchase of 'the Brazilian funk experience'.think 70s porn music with a south American / Austin Powers twist. I can't stop listening and finding myself squeezing a track on in between the family being in and out of the living room and staying up late to get an hours listening in.
I get my ANs back later, should be interesting. I think it will be close!
If you have valve amp and looking for a cost effective reasonably attractive compact floorstander, look no further. You need to give them some width and I have around 2ft behind them but if you get them right I am confident they embarrass some modern expensive speakers. If my mate comes to sell his mint examples, I'll be snapping them up!
