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View Full Version : Listening session this Sunday, Sept. 16th



curtis
09-14-2007, 11:36 AM
This is mentioned elsewhere in the forum, so I thought I would start a dedicated thread.

Listening session this Sunday, Sept. 16th in Manhattan Beach.

you are welcome to drop by for a listen to some bookshelf speakers and a couple of subwoofers. We can also plan on getting some cheap mexican food again.

For the speakers, you know I have my Ascend Sierra-1's, we also plan to have:

Outlaw BLS (I have them on loan)
Kef 201/2 (courtesy of Home Theater Doctor)
Usher Be-718 (courtesy of Home Theater Doctor)
Dynaudio S1.4

Subwoofers:
Hsu VTF-3MK3 (mine)
JL A Fathom F112 (wish it was mine)

PM me if you are interested

BradJudy
09-14-2007, 12:36 PM
I missed this before, otherwise I would have sent you some demo music to play with. Oh well, maybe next time.

curtis
09-14-2007, 12:57 PM
You can still send it. :D

curtis
09-15-2007, 10:50 PM
Here is a teaser!!
http://changpics.smugmug.com/photos/196136048-M.jpg
http://changpics.smugmug.com/photos/196136033-M.jpg

BradJudy
09-16-2007, 08:12 AM
Looks like a fun and interesting line-up.

BradJudy
09-17-2007, 09:55 AM
How did it go?

curtis
09-17-2007, 12:10 PM
We had a great time chatting. Cheap mexican food is always good too. The group is kind of split between HT nuts and audio nuts. When playing music, you could tell that the HT guys lose a bit of interest....but wake up when a HT clip is playing. :)

Some people have asked, and I have sent out some emails, here are my brief impressions:

All the speakers we listen to were very good. A lot of preferences would come into play when choosing any of them.


The highs of the Usher Be-718's were very nice I would have to say, at this point, they are probably my favorite speaker out of the bunch. Bass response seemed to be lacking when compared to ther others, but when paired with the F112 or VTF-3.3, it didn't matter....they sounded very good to me. I also like the way they look the most. I still have them and will do some more listening with the Sierras before returning them on Wednesday.


The Dyn S1.4's are a bit on the warmer side of things, bass seemed less punchy or tight to me when compared to Sierras, sometimes making the mids not as clean, but overall, very well balanced. I think at least a few if not most liked this speaker the most overall during the session. The look is kind of bland compared to the others. Should have tried this one with a sub.


I didn't lke the tonal quality of the Kef 201/2's as much as the others. I thought at times the highs or upper mids did not sound right at time...maybe over emphasized. They do have LF and HF adjustments on them, but we left them stock. They did seem to image the best of the group.


I think that most were surprised that the Sierras were able to hold their own with the group at anywhere from the 1/3rd to 1/5th the price of the more expensive speakers. I think the bass characteristics were the best of the group. Maybe a bit more forward than the Usher. Instrument seperation seemed the best to me. They did not play as "big" as the Usher, Dyn, or Kef....of course, they are also smaller.


The Outlaw imaged very well in comparison to the rest of the group, also the bass was surprising for its size. Well balanced tonally. When it came to more dynamic music, the sound was compressed compared to the other speakers. Personally, I am not fond of the metal grille. It was the smallest speaker of the group.


We also did some listening to the JL Fathom F112 and my VTF-3.3, but really can not get a whole lot of the comparison. The subs were not calibrated equally, and in totally different locations in the room.

BradJudy
09-17-2007, 02:00 PM
Sounds like fun. I got to hear the big Usher Dancer series speakers at the last RMAF, but not the smaller monitors. I don't think I have heard those particular models of KEF or Dynaudio either, and I definitely haven't heard the Outlaw.

Good stuff - it would be neat to check out the Usher, but $2500 for a pair is a lot of cheese.

curtis
09-17-2007, 02:58 PM
Yeah...the "Tiny Dancer" is new...just on the market for a few months. I would imagine it would be at RMAF this year.

A lot of cheese is right! $2500/pr for the Ushers, $5000/pr for the Kefs, and $3000/pr for the Dynaudios.

BradJudy
09-17-2007, 06:32 PM
Ouch, I didn't realize those KEFs were that expensive.

I'm looking forward to hearing some good stuff at RMAF, but the companies usually show their top of the line floorstanders and the more affordable options usually don't get much play. Salk's new $1500 floorstanders are on my list of things to check out - his other work has been great, but more more expensive.

I'm curious about the SVS $1k monitors that should be out next month.

curtis
09-17-2007, 06:54 PM
Oh yeah...a lot of curiosity about the Salk Songtower and SVS MTS line. Fortunately, I know one person that has the Salks and we have heard a fair amount of speakers in common.

curtis
09-17-2007, 09:14 PM
OK.....just spent some time comparative listening to the Era Design D5, Outlaw, and Sierra here at home with another forum member. The D5 for a B&M product is very good, we both thought it was better than the Outlaw....better detail and dynamics, nicer cabinet. The Sierra is a step up for the D5 in detail/transparency. The bass on the Sierra continues to be better than like size speakers in extension and quality IMO. The D5 is a great B&M value.

What is interesting is the Usher Be-718. It does not play as deep as the Sierra, but has a fuller sound. The detail seems to be there, but it is different because of the fullness. BTW, I have been saying that it is $2500/pr....retail is actually $2800/pr.

Quinn
09-19-2007, 08:59 AM
Any other forums have postings by other participants in this session?

curtis
09-19-2007, 09:54 AM
Any other forums have postings by other participants in this session?
Just a couple sporadically posted at AVS...

the Dynaudio owner thinking the Sierra was very close to the S1.4 and that it was a great value.

Another where someone else said he liked the Dyn over the Kef...but the Kef imaged the best.

Blutarsky
09-11-2011, 12:35 PM
Very informative. I should do a test drive with a pair of Sierras. I don't see the NrT version listed for sale though.

Blutarsky

curtis
09-12-2011, 01:19 PM
Very informative. I should do a test drive with a pair of Sierras. I don't see the NrT version listed for sale though.

Give them a call to order the NrT version.