Hello Guys,
I am new here, but I wanted to share some reviews I wrote for AudioWeb.
I hear AudioWeb isn't doing very well, and didn't want these to be lost forever.
I spent a good deal of drunken time writing them, he he.
I have owned all the things I have written about, and my writing reflects MY honest experience with them only.
As always, your mileage may vary.
HELP, someone get a fire extinguisher .... Here come the flames, OUCH!
a/d/s/ - ADS Technologies: L 2030 Telarc Monitors
I first saw these at Magnolia Hi-Fi in Seattle. They cost 5 grand a pair in the early 80's. They are the size of a refrigerator, weigh 340 lbs each, and have 2-14 inch woofers, 6 dome mids, and 1 dome tweeter. I got them from a friend in Seattle, we traded around. They are musical, but dont image. Like ALL big speakers, and I have owned many, they just cant seem to get out of their own way! My friend Mark and I had some fun! I had 4 Hafler 500 amps that I bridged into mono.1500 watts each amp! We bi-amped the big bruisers from Boston, and I put on 1812 overture cannon shot from mfsl! Before the mains cooked, and one of the woofers gave its life, it was awesome! Do you remember going to circus as little boy when cannon went off? It felt like Mark and I were being punched in stomach! If you want oohs and ahhs from your friends, and want to blow peoples minds, find a set of these. ADS customer service is excellent, although they did ask how we blew up their woofer. Recommended, if you can live with its flaws!
Optimus - See Radio Shack: PRO LX-7
This is a done over review, the first one didnt post. I liked these a lot better than the LX-5. They have a wide stage with no depth, no extreme highs, decent bass, and can play pretty loud. They are just ok, nothing to write home about. Linaeum tweeter is the 90,s version of the Heil air motion transformer, good but flawed! Linaeum tweeter has peculiar plastic coloration, evident on sound of jingling keys, and other transients. I had fun with em and gave to my kid. He had psb alphas, but woofers died due to rap music, and Metallica fried the tweeters! After a week with these speakers, he asked if we could take em back and fix the PSB,S !!!!! MY Kid can hear after all!!!!
PSB Speakers/Lenbrook Industries Ltd.: ALPHA
I rescued these from a pawn shop! Best 75.00 I ever spent. I could not believe how much bass I was hearing from so small a woofer and enclosure. The Imaging is not world class, and they are a little bit colored, EH? But that bass and sheer musicality! They romp and stomp! Alas, they are no more! They sacrificed their woofer to my sons rap music, and his Metallica clipped the big Kenwood KR-X1000 and wiped the tweeters! He has been the same since! They now have big time competition from of all people,SONY! Yes friends, DARE to listen to the Sony MF515 speakers. They are selling at Best Buy for 125.00 each! They are a floor standing 3 way tower. They have 2-6.5 inches, a 3" mid, and a sweet dome tweeter. They are open, warm, have bass, and are very good! I am going to stick my neck out, and my audio reputation as well, and grant CULT status to them. If I had to choose between the alphas and the Song, I hate to say this, But I would go for the Sony's! Recommended if you prefer a smaller speaker!
Quad: ESL-63
If you can live with its limitations, probably the best speaker ever made! It wont sound it best with careless placement or poor electronics, although it can sound decent with less than optimum placement and electronics, and lull you into false satisfaction! You have no idea how good it is until you play! The best amp I ever used on them were Mesa Prototypes, the fathers of the Baron amp. In second was the Moscode 600 hybrid. Some amps that also sounded good were Quicksilver tube, Audio Research D-76, and a MFA tube amp. I very, very highly recommend the Quad 63
Spica/Div of Parasound Products, inc.: Tc50
I was just becoming an audiophile in the late 70;s, and I read a review of this saying the image had too much depth!!! Of course, I went out and bought them! I was not disappointed. I had Spicas, and a modified stereo 70 Dynaco Tube amp, and Bruce Moores Audible Illusions Uranus Tube preamp. I also had a family that was just starting. Man, those were the days. I really would still recommend these if you can find them.
Acoustat: 8
The model 8 is 2 model 4 stacked one above the other. Each speaker has 2 transformers, one for each model4, and you hook amps to these. I used 2 TNT 2000 amps per side/ The speakers a 7.5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. They sucked in my room! I wound up donating them to the Pacific Northwest Audio Society in Seattle, where I used to live. They had bass, I will say that, Kick ass electrostatic bass, with enough area to move some air! I dont wish to dog these speakers, as dipoles, they are room dependant, and they need a huge room, which I didnt have. I will reserve judgement
Acoustat: TNT 2000
This amp is a bully! It is 250 wpc, all mosfet, super headroom and a damping factor that says"I am the boss" to your speakers. It is a super bass amp in a bi-amped system, or in a system that on the warm side. Do not use it with thin sounding speakers! It gets real open when its left on. On the Celestion Sl6, which is warm and images wildly, it is hard to beat! The combination of CelestionsAlmost perfect copper dome tweeter, exhibiting perfect pistonic movement, as verified by laser beam, and the TNT amps control produce quite a sound. You can pick these up on the used market. I paid 200.00 for mine! Recommended, IF you have the right speakers!
APT-Holman: APT-HOLMAN PREAMP
This is tom holmans classic design, and in its day,was highly regarded. Its smooth, and quiet and mellow sounding. But the reason I like it so much is it has an adjustable control to reduce the stereo separation so one can place their speakers wider apart than usual. This is KILLER in a big room. and will produce a sound stage that goes wall to wall ,WITHOUT a hole in the middle! I used the apt preamp with 2 bridged apt amps, driving Electrovoice Interface D's 10 feet apart in a large room! Please read reviews. The sound was stunning!!!! It sounded like the University of Michigan marching band was in the room! Hail to the victors!! Recommended!
APT-Holman: Power amplifier
After Tom Holman, the man who gave us THX, rocked the audio world with his preamp, His APT corporation introduced a 100 wpc power amp. This amp is still pretty decent, and does nothing really wrong. It has a bridging switch in it so you can run a pair of these to get more power. It should be readily available on the used market for cheap! The apt pair together was picked up by a friend of mine here in Tampa in paper for 225.00!!!! he has b&w 802 in large room, and now he is able to place his speakers wider apart thanks to pre amp control! It sounds great! Be warned!!!!!! Amp does not have bright glaring super detailed, or shall I say bright sound! Recommended.
AR/Acoustic Research: PS 2262
You can go down to your local Sears to get these! Before you do, search the internet, and Sears will match the lowest internet price, and take em back if you dont like em! But you will. First of all, they are a brand new design, using all new drivers. They use 2 long throw 6.5 woofers, and an amazing silk dome tweeter. They are 91 db efficient, and will handle 200 watts rms. The crossover supports bi amp AND bi wire! And yes Fred, they COME WITH SPIKES! All this for 269 a pair!!!! They are EXTREMELY 3-Dimensional, with a soundstage that is very nice. The stage has excellent depth, and the sound is very up front, which is unusual. Several speaker manufactures create depth by sucking out the midrange. Remember BBC dip anyone? This gives a laid back sound with depth, but it robs music of its immediacy. The 2262 will put a close miked female vocalist in your lap, and have you reaching for your zipper! And still have depth for days! I had a neighbor come over and listen, and he kept looking on the back panels for extra drivers! The tweeter is not harsh, and it has excellent transient response. Angle the speakers in at you, and get em wide apart in an equilateral triangle. Take the grills off, and leave em off. They sonically disappear!!! I am going to go into my review of the Sony 515 speakers and amend it. These Blow them away. This is a TRUE audiophile speaker, at an affordable price. YOU simply must hear these in your home! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!!
Audible Illusions: Mini-Mite
This is a musical little all tube preamp amp from the early 80's. It is a Bruce Moore design. It is very liquid in the midrange, decent up top, and a little loose in the bottom. It images very well, excelling in its correctness with images outside the plane of the speaker. DO NOT turn it off before you turn your amp off. And be sure to turn it on first, wait a few seconds, THEN turn on amp or you will be sorry! This preamp amp has a lush, romantic musical sound. If you are curious about tubes, you should be able to find one of these cheap today!
Audionics of Oregon: BT-1 PreAmp
If you can find one of thes, snatch it up! I used this with its matching cc-1 power amp, and man what a warm rich sound! The pair runs hot, and the amp will burn your hand! But its as close to tubes as it gets! Man, I remember several Cold nights in Seattle, staying up late listening to this pair! I wish I would have never sold them. I dont know if the preamp amp or amp was responsible, so use em together and enjoy! Highly recommended!!!
Celestion: Sl-6
Back in the early 80's, a company in England, using a marvelous new tool for loudspeaker design, set out to build a better speaker. Aided with a laser beam to study the behaviour of drivers, they created a speaker known a SL6. They built entirely new drivers based on this research, and the worlds first copper dome tweeter was born! They published laser photos of their tweeter showing almost perfect piston motion over much of the audio range. They quickly followed with an updated version of sl6. the sl600. The sl600 used a aluminum cabinet, cost way more, and had a changed crossover point to accommodate the American demand for transparency, or shall I say Brightness! I have owned both, and sl6 is better. If you can find a pair used grab em! They are stunningly 3 dimensional,and teamed with the Sunfire sub, produce a sound that will blow almost anything away! If you want a warm, rich sound that has depth and imaging beyond the walls, you want Sl6. Be warned, you Must use 16-18" stands, even with if you use them with sunfire woofer! If you go to 24" stands they wont do their thing! The SL6-Sunfire sub combo will produce a Hi-End sound to die for. Especially by today's standards! Just think, find a used Sunfire woofer for 700.00, and Sl6 for 400.00 and that's it! What could you possibly buy to match this combo overall? Kick ass bass, images coming out of the walls, seamless integration, layers of depth, transparency w/o brightness, warmth, long term listenability, etc. Use only with transistor amp though, use of a powerful tube amplifier can produce excitement and stimulation that you may not be able to handle!
Celestion: Sl-6
Back in the early 80's, a company in England, using a marvelous new tool for loudspeaker design, set out to build a better speaker. Aided with a laser beam to study the behaviour of drivers, they created a speaker known a SL6. They built entirely new drivers based on this research, and the worlds first copper dome tweeter was born! They published laser photos of their tweeter showing almost perfect piston motion over much of the audio range. They quickly followed with an updated version of sl6. the sl600. The sl600 used a aluminum cabinet, cost way more, and had a changed crossover point to accommodate the American demand for transparency, or shall I say Brightness! I have owned both, and sl6 is better. If you can find a pair used grab em! They are stunningly 3 dimensional,and teamed with the Sunfire sub, produce a sound that will blow almost anything away! If you want a warm, rich sound that has depth and imaging beyond the walls, you want Sl6. Be warned, you Must use 16-18" stands, even with if you use them with sunfire woofer! If you go to 24" stands they wont do their thing! The SL6-Sunfire sub combo will produce a Hi-End sound to die for. Especially by today's standards! Just think, find a used Sunfire woofer for 700.00, and Sl6 for 400.00 and that's it! What could you possibly buy to match this combo overall? Kick ass bass, images coming out of the walls, seamless integration, layers of depth, transparency w/o brightness, warmth, long term listenability, etc. Use only with transistor amp though, use of a powerful tube amplifier can produce excitement and stimulation that you may not be able to handle!
Hafler: 500
I had a pair of these, bridged, driving ADS speakers. See review of mine! They are powerful, but they are just average, nothing special! They just didnt do much for me, and they are ugly piss gree too! I liked the smaller hafler better, and I really didnt like that either! Not recommended!
JBL Consumer Products: HLS-810
I have been accused of being a JBL hater, and I dog the L-7! Those of you who follow my reviews know what I value in a speaker. I am not looking for much, really, I want the midrange of the OLD quad ESL, the high end of the plasma tweeter, the midbass definition of B& W 802, and the imaging of the Celestion SL-6. And then, I want the low bass of my old 24" Hartly in my fireplace! And of course, I want the efficiency of my old Western horns too!Now, on to the review! I found these for 100.00 a pair, brand new. I was familiar with the reviews of the HLS-610, but they werent on sale for some reason, and I went for the 810. It waas impossible to compare the two up at Best BUy on really questionable electronics, etc. I got em home, and removed my celestion SL-6, and sat down to listen. I was impressed! THey are an 8" two way, using what appears to be a horn with a small dome tweeter. To people who know whats going on, JBL is using a technology developed by Electro-Voice called a director. They introduced a couple of speakers using this technology in the 70's! If I recall, they made a 3-way with directors on both the midrange AND tweeter! These are much sought after by collectors and knowledgeable audiophiles! The reviewer of these speakers, Julian Hirsch, said the image was perhaps too big!~!!! E-V, in the owners manual for the Interface D-( please read my review) mentions that at the time the Interface D was made, it had the BEST horizontal AND vertical dispersion they had ever measured in their huge anechoic chamber. And, for a big speaker, it imaged pretty well. So, having owned and stupidly letgo of a set of D's, let me say I am not into hocus pocus! The 810 is using a director to control its tweeter dispersion and it works. I LOVE this speaker. Why they ever discontinued these is beyond me. They image really well, they are warm and rich, they play loud, shake a small room, are an easy load for any amp, and are pretty efficient. They have made me put my Celestion SL-6 away in the closet! They sound so good in almost any position, because of the controlled dispersion of the director , that a lot of you will NEVER find out how good these really are! BUT, those of us who know how to tweak are in for a REAL suprise! This is a truly GREAT speaker JBL. I cant wait to get into the crossover and replace those shitty caps! I URGE anyone getting a pair of these to get em out at Least 14" from rear wall, and 16-19" off the floor. They are voiced rich, so if you have a big room, you can put em WAY out from rear wall and REALLY get the third dimension! They Just dont have that last degree of wrap around behind you imaging that the SL-6 does, but neither does anything else. But they are oh so close! Midband transparancy is a subtle thing. I want my speakers warm and rich, not thin and bright! And I like a BIG sound. The 810 are very musical speakers. I was told by someone at JBL that they were proud of the HLS series, but they didnt sell!!! Some consumers thought they were UGLY!! Imagine that! But to us true audiophiles, theres something very beautiful about controlled uniform dispersion, mated to a low coloration, powerful 8'driver! When I remove the grill to reveal the director, my hat is off to the good people at Electro Voice who pioneered this technology, and hats off to JBL for ressurecting it! This speaker will most likely blow away what most of you have, if you give it the care in setup and electronics you gave your so called "audiophile" speakers. I am using Krell KSA-100 amp, and krell preamp, levinson flat speaker cable, and monster interconnects. Run, dont walk, and grab up a pair of these masterpieces, before they are gone! Absolutely Recommended!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: L-7
This is the second review of these speakers. I am re-writing this review to explkain how comitted to these speakers I was. I even was so sure I would like them, i bought the matching center and surrounds!!! I tried everything possible to like them, including cables, interconnects, Many HIGH QUALITY amplifiers, both tube and transistor. I rearranged my room, tried sound traps, sonex, etc. They are bright, hard, fatigueing, dont image, have a tweeter that constantly calls attention to itself, have a peculiar plastic coloration, and they just plain suck! I value long term musicality, and they just dont have it! Yes, I read the review in audio magazine, and based on that and a 875.00 price tag, i got em. MAIL ORDER ! I wish I had listened first!! I got lucky, and sold em to a kid who brouhgt over Metallica,, and I bi-amped with my 2 Krells and left the room. He loved em. I had 5 other inquiries ffrom the Tampa newspaper ad offering them for 650.00 EVERYONE who came over was disappointed in the sound and imaging. If it werent for the stupid kid, I would still be stuck with them! They are built ok I guess, and will last for a long while. Too bad, unfortunately they will be around to pollute the ears of our children!!!! I begged the mail order company to give me credit and let me return them! NO WAY !!! I have been flamed for writing my original review of these, so be it. The person who flamed me writes in his review, he tried these with receivers, and they sounded good! Then he emails me for dogging his speakers and critisizes my Electronics. GO FIGURE! Absolutely, Positively, and Surely NOT RECCOMMENDED!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: MR 26
The JBL MR26 is one, if not the worst speaker I have ever heard or owned. I bought on closeout and fooled myself into thinking that my kid would want them if I didnt, or I could sell them, wich I cant! They are a bookshelf 6.5 inch 2 way with that god awful titanium tweeter of JBL. You notice they dont use that in the new line, thank god. These speakers give a new meaning to thin and bright, they have absolutely no bass at all, even up against a wall and on floor! Whoever is responsible for this design should be shot before he pollutes the ears of our children! Perhaps they are voiced for video, But they sure suck for music. I have tried to sell them, until people hook them up, and then they say they will get back and dont! STAY AWAY!!!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: MR Center
I found this little center channel speaker on closeout at Montgomery Wards. I has 2 -4" drivers, with a titanium tweeter in the center. The woofers use neodynim magnets. WHOOPETY DING, but this aint my first rodeo! The speaker has severely restricted dynamics, and is ineffecient. It has a peaky sounding high end that calls attention to itself too much. It is ok on voices, but it makes a system sound small and puny. If you can live with that awful tweeter, it could be ok in a real small apartment or bedroom. Not REccommended.
Kenwood: kr-x1000
If you want a good receiver with balls, here it is. THX certified, good tuner, musical, although veiled. But hey, its a receiver. Heck, it sounds better than a lot of seperates, but is no match for the good stuff
MESA: Baron prototypes
This is kind of a prequel, sort of like the new Star Wars. In the early 80's, I ran across Randy Smith, owner of Mesa Engineering, maklers of the famous Mesa Boogie tube guitar amps. Randy and I hit it off and I was amazed to find out he listened to his pro sound stuff, being an audiophile. "Hell yes we listen" he said, a little upset that I could ask him such an insulting question! He told me of getting someone to play a live synthisizer through an amp as he soldered and changed caps! I knew then that Randy Smith was truly one of us!!! He asked me about the audiophile speakers of the time to find out what his potential fiture customers might own. Then the next time we spoke, he went out and bought them all!!! He sent me several mono tube amps, with 6550 and 6L6 tubes. After several of these, I stopped asking him what he was doing so as to avoid any psychological preference I may have been harboring. I much preferred the 6l6 tube. Several of Seattles top audiophiles listened as well. After a couple of years, and a several pissed off FED-X workers, we both agreed it was right. I owned Quad63 and B&W 802 speakers. I played Linda Ronstadt and she sounded so real I Caught myself unzipping, and I dont mean a file!!! On the 802's, The Image was so large it was scary! I honestly thought I was losing my mind, so I went to bed, got up, called my friend Mark over to listen and he said" Man, What a sound, its huge". The Late Bob Pennington, A jazz musician, music teacher, and famous Seattle area audiophile, who owned quicksilver amp and Vandersteens, was seen tapping his toes during a late night listeninmg session! He and his wife, who taught piano heard a piano recording on the quads hooked to the Mesa Prototypes and tears filled her eyes. They were the best amps I ever owned or heard. I havent heard a Baron as I now live in Florida and I sold them to a friend as my addiction to Cocaine was beginning to take over my life, and I did not want such good amps to wind up in a pawnshop! All the horrors of drug addiction are behind me now, but I still daydream about all my nights with the mesa and the quad63! If the Baron is 1/2 the amp its ancestor was, you gotta at least hear it!
New York Audio Labs: MOSCODE 600
Having owned quad 63 speakers, and Celestion SL6's, I have a pretty good handle on imaging and transparancy. One day, my good friend Mark who owns Seattles best stereo store called and said he had the ONLY Moscode west of the Mississippi! A MOscode is the name given by the Tube God Harvey Rosenberg, to a hybrid topology using mos-fets and tubes. It uses tube inputs, mosfet outputs. It easily does 250 rms into 8 ohms and is a great match for quad 63 or the celestion SL6. The ONLY amp ever to sound better on the quads were the Mesa Prototypes! I heard it on vandersteens and it sounded good too. It leans more to the tube sound, without the slowness and mush if you know what I mean. AND, you can play with the sound by just changing input tubes!!! Highly reccommended
Onkyo USA Corp.: m-504
YES, I got seduced at circuit city by the big power meters and the green backlighting, and the wood sides, but the sound aint there! Balls aplenty. Good bass, lots of control, but I found it very irratating. I used it with JBL L-7 speakers, what a dreadful combo!!!! Talk about hard and bright!!! On the Celestion SL-6, it was better, but a Sony receiver imaged better! Hey, dont laugh! The sony has sent more than one amp packing! The SL-6 image shut down as soon as the 504 hooked up. I cannot reccommend this amp, sorry! Yes, its pretty. But it dont sound that way!
I am new here, but I wanted to share some reviews I wrote for AudioWeb.
I hear AudioWeb isn't doing very well, and didn't want these to be lost forever.
I spent a good deal of drunken time writing them, he he.
I have owned all the things I have written about, and my writing reflects MY honest experience with them only.
As always, your mileage may vary.
HELP, someone get a fire extinguisher .... Here come the flames, OUCH!
a/d/s/ - ADS Technologies: L 2030 Telarc Monitors
I first saw these at Magnolia Hi-Fi in Seattle. They cost 5 grand a pair in the early 80's. They are the size of a refrigerator, weigh 340 lbs each, and have 2-14 inch woofers, 6 dome mids, and 1 dome tweeter. I got them from a friend in Seattle, we traded around. They are musical, but dont image. Like ALL big speakers, and I have owned many, they just cant seem to get out of their own way! My friend Mark and I had some fun! I had 4 Hafler 500 amps that I bridged into mono.1500 watts each amp! We bi-amped the big bruisers from Boston, and I put on 1812 overture cannon shot from mfsl! Before the mains cooked, and one of the woofers gave its life, it was awesome! Do you remember going to circus as little boy when cannon went off? It felt like Mark and I were being punched in stomach! If you want oohs and ahhs from your friends, and want to blow peoples minds, find a set of these. ADS customer service is excellent, although they did ask how we blew up their woofer. Recommended, if you can live with its flaws!
Optimus - See Radio Shack: PRO LX-7
This is a done over review, the first one didnt post. I liked these a lot better than the LX-5. They have a wide stage with no depth, no extreme highs, decent bass, and can play pretty loud. They are just ok, nothing to write home about. Linaeum tweeter is the 90,s version of the Heil air motion transformer, good but flawed! Linaeum tweeter has peculiar plastic coloration, evident on sound of jingling keys, and other transients. I had fun with em and gave to my kid. He had psb alphas, but woofers died due to rap music, and Metallica fried the tweeters! After a week with these speakers, he asked if we could take em back and fix the PSB,S !!!!! MY Kid can hear after all!!!!
PSB Speakers/Lenbrook Industries Ltd.: ALPHA
I rescued these from a pawn shop! Best 75.00 I ever spent. I could not believe how much bass I was hearing from so small a woofer and enclosure. The Imaging is not world class, and they are a little bit colored, EH? But that bass and sheer musicality! They romp and stomp! Alas, they are no more! They sacrificed their woofer to my sons rap music, and his Metallica clipped the big Kenwood KR-X1000 and wiped the tweeters! He has been the same since! They now have big time competition from of all people,SONY! Yes friends, DARE to listen to the Sony MF515 speakers. They are selling at Best Buy for 125.00 each! They are a floor standing 3 way tower. They have 2-6.5 inches, a 3" mid, and a sweet dome tweeter. They are open, warm, have bass, and are very good! I am going to stick my neck out, and my audio reputation as well, and grant CULT status to them. If I had to choose between the alphas and the Song, I hate to say this, But I would go for the Sony's! Recommended if you prefer a smaller speaker!
Quad: ESL-63
If you can live with its limitations, probably the best speaker ever made! It wont sound it best with careless placement or poor electronics, although it can sound decent with less than optimum placement and electronics, and lull you into false satisfaction! You have no idea how good it is until you play! The best amp I ever used on them were Mesa Prototypes, the fathers of the Baron amp. In second was the Moscode 600 hybrid. Some amps that also sounded good were Quicksilver tube, Audio Research D-76, and a MFA tube amp. I very, very highly recommend the Quad 63
Spica/Div of Parasound Products, inc.: Tc50
I was just becoming an audiophile in the late 70;s, and I read a review of this saying the image had too much depth!!! Of course, I went out and bought them! I was not disappointed. I had Spicas, and a modified stereo 70 Dynaco Tube amp, and Bruce Moores Audible Illusions Uranus Tube preamp. I also had a family that was just starting. Man, those were the days. I really would still recommend these if you can find them.
Acoustat: 8
The model 8 is 2 model 4 stacked one above the other. Each speaker has 2 transformers, one for each model4, and you hook amps to these. I used 2 TNT 2000 amps per side/ The speakers a 7.5 feet tall and 4 feet wide. They sucked in my room! I wound up donating them to the Pacific Northwest Audio Society in Seattle, where I used to live. They had bass, I will say that, Kick ass electrostatic bass, with enough area to move some air! I dont wish to dog these speakers, as dipoles, they are room dependant, and they need a huge room, which I didnt have. I will reserve judgement
Acoustat: TNT 2000
This amp is a bully! It is 250 wpc, all mosfet, super headroom and a damping factor that says"I am the boss" to your speakers. It is a super bass amp in a bi-amped system, or in a system that on the warm side. Do not use it with thin sounding speakers! It gets real open when its left on. On the Celestion Sl6, which is warm and images wildly, it is hard to beat! The combination of CelestionsAlmost perfect copper dome tweeter, exhibiting perfect pistonic movement, as verified by laser beam, and the TNT amps control produce quite a sound. You can pick these up on the used market. I paid 200.00 for mine! Recommended, IF you have the right speakers!
APT-Holman: APT-HOLMAN PREAMP
This is tom holmans classic design, and in its day,was highly regarded. Its smooth, and quiet and mellow sounding. But the reason I like it so much is it has an adjustable control to reduce the stereo separation so one can place their speakers wider apart than usual. This is KILLER in a big room. and will produce a sound stage that goes wall to wall ,WITHOUT a hole in the middle! I used the apt preamp with 2 bridged apt amps, driving Electrovoice Interface D's 10 feet apart in a large room! Please read reviews. The sound was stunning!!!! It sounded like the University of Michigan marching band was in the room! Hail to the victors!! Recommended!
APT-Holman: Power amplifier
After Tom Holman, the man who gave us THX, rocked the audio world with his preamp, His APT corporation introduced a 100 wpc power amp. This amp is still pretty decent, and does nothing really wrong. It has a bridging switch in it so you can run a pair of these to get more power. It should be readily available on the used market for cheap! The apt pair together was picked up by a friend of mine here in Tampa in paper for 225.00!!!! he has b&w 802 in large room, and now he is able to place his speakers wider apart thanks to pre amp control! It sounds great! Be warned!!!!!! Amp does not have bright glaring super detailed, or shall I say bright sound! Recommended.
AR/Acoustic Research: PS 2262
You can go down to your local Sears to get these! Before you do, search the internet, and Sears will match the lowest internet price, and take em back if you dont like em! But you will. First of all, they are a brand new design, using all new drivers. They use 2 long throw 6.5 woofers, and an amazing silk dome tweeter. They are 91 db efficient, and will handle 200 watts rms. The crossover supports bi amp AND bi wire! And yes Fred, they COME WITH SPIKES! All this for 269 a pair!!!! They are EXTREMELY 3-Dimensional, with a soundstage that is very nice. The stage has excellent depth, and the sound is very up front, which is unusual. Several speaker manufactures create depth by sucking out the midrange. Remember BBC dip anyone? This gives a laid back sound with depth, but it robs music of its immediacy. The 2262 will put a close miked female vocalist in your lap, and have you reaching for your zipper! And still have depth for days! I had a neighbor come over and listen, and he kept looking on the back panels for extra drivers! The tweeter is not harsh, and it has excellent transient response. Angle the speakers in at you, and get em wide apart in an equilateral triangle. Take the grills off, and leave em off. They sonically disappear!!! I am going to go into my review of the Sony 515 speakers and amend it. These Blow them away. This is a TRUE audiophile speaker, at an affordable price. YOU simply must hear these in your home! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!!!!
Audible Illusions: Mini-Mite
This is a musical little all tube preamp amp from the early 80's. It is a Bruce Moore design. It is very liquid in the midrange, decent up top, and a little loose in the bottom. It images very well, excelling in its correctness with images outside the plane of the speaker. DO NOT turn it off before you turn your amp off. And be sure to turn it on first, wait a few seconds, THEN turn on amp or you will be sorry! This preamp amp has a lush, romantic musical sound. If you are curious about tubes, you should be able to find one of these cheap today!
Audionics of Oregon: BT-1 PreAmp
If you can find one of thes, snatch it up! I used this with its matching cc-1 power amp, and man what a warm rich sound! The pair runs hot, and the amp will burn your hand! But its as close to tubes as it gets! Man, I remember several Cold nights in Seattle, staying up late listening to this pair! I wish I would have never sold them. I dont know if the preamp amp or amp was responsible, so use em together and enjoy! Highly recommended!!!
Celestion: Sl-6
Back in the early 80's, a company in England, using a marvelous new tool for loudspeaker design, set out to build a better speaker. Aided with a laser beam to study the behaviour of drivers, they created a speaker known a SL6. They built entirely new drivers based on this research, and the worlds first copper dome tweeter was born! They published laser photos of their tweeter showing almost perfect piston motion over much of the audio range. They quickly followed with an updated version of sl6. the sl600. The sl600 used a aluminum cabinet, cost way more, and had a changed crossover point to accommodate the American demand for transparency, or shall I say Brightness! I have owned both, and sl6 is better. If you can find a pair used grab em! They are stunningly 3 dimensional,and teamed with the Sunfire sub, produce a sound that will blow almost anything away! If you want a warm, rich sound that has depth and imaging beyond the walls, you want Sl6. Be warned, you Must use 16-18" stands, even with if you use them with sunfire woofer! If you go to 24" stands they wont do their thing! The SL6-Sunfire sub combo will produce a Hi-End sound to die for. Especially by today's standards! Just think, find a used Sunfire woofer for 700.00, and Sl6 for 400.00 and that's it! What could you possibly buy to match this combo overall? Kick ass bass, images coming out of the walls, seamless integration, layers of depth, transparency w/o brightness, warmth, long term listenability, etc. Use only with transistor amp though, use of a powerful tube amplifier can produce excitement and stimulation that you may not be able to handle!
Celestion: Sl-6
Back in the early 80's, a company in England, using a marvelous new tool for loudspeaker design, set out to build a better speaker. Aided with a laser beam to study the behaviour of drivers, they created a speaker known a SL6. They built entirely new drivers based on this research, and the worlds first copper dome tweeter was born! They published laser photos of their tweeter showing almost perfect piston motion over much of the audio range. They quickly followed with an updated version of sl6. the sl600. The sl600 used a aluminum cabinet, cost way more, and had a changed crossover point to accommodate the American demand for transparency, or shall I say Brightness! I have owned both, and sl6 is better. If you can find a pair used grab em! They are stunningly 3 dimensional,and teamed with the Sunfire sub, produce a sound that will blow almost anything away! If you want a warm, rich sound that has depth and imaging beyond the walls, you want Sl6. Be warned, you Must use 16-18" stands, even with if you use them with sunfire woofer! If you go to 24" stands they wont do their thing! The SL6-Sunfire sub combo will produce a Hi-End sound to die for. Especially by today's standards! Just think, find a used Sunfire woofer for 700.00, and Sl6 for 400.00 and that's it! What could you possibly buy to match this combo overall? Kick ass bass, images coming out of the walls, seamless integration, layers of depth, transparency w/o brightness, warmth, long term listenability, etc. Use only with transistor amp though, use of a powerful tube amplifier can produce excitement and stimulation that you may not be able to handle!
Hafler: 500
I had a pair of these, bridged, driving ADS speakers. See review of mine! They are powerful, but they are just average, nothing special! They just didnt do much for me, and they are ugly piss gree too! I liked the smaller hafler better, and I really didnt like that either! Not recommended!
JBL Consumer Products: HLS-810
I have been accused of being a JBL hater, and I dog the L-7! Those of you who follow my reviews know what I value in a speaker. I am not looking for much, really, I want the midrange of the OLD quad ESL, the high end of the plasma tweeter, the midbass definition of B& W 802, and the imaging of the Celestion SL-6. And then, I want the low bass of my old 24" Hartly in my fireplace! And of course, I want the efficiency of my old Western horns too!Now, on to the review! I found these for 100.00 a pair, brand new. I was familiar with the reviews of the HLS-610, but they werent on sale for some reason, and I went for the 810. It waas impossible to compare the two up at Best BUy on really questionable electronics, etc. I got em home, and removed my celestion SL-6, and sat down to listen. I was impressed! THey are an 8" two way, using what appears to be a horn with a small dome tweeter. To people who know whats going on, JBL is using a technology developed by Electro-Voice called a director. They introduced a couple of speakers using this technology in the 70's! If I recall, they made a 3-way with directors on both the midrange AND tweeter! These are much sought after by collectors and knowledgeable audiophiles! The reviewer of these speakers, Julian Hirsch, said the image was perhaps too big!~!!! E-V, in the owners manual for the Interface D-( please read my review) mentions that at the time the Interface D was made, it had the BEST horizontal AND vertical dispersion they had ever measured in their huge anechoic chamber. And, for a big speaker, it imaged pretty well. So, having owned and stupidly letgo of a set of D's, let me say I am not into hocus pocus! The 810 is using a director to control its tweeter dispersion and it works. I LOVE this speaker. Why they ever discontinued these is beyond me. They image really well, they are warm and rich, they play loud, shake a small room, are an easy load for any amp, and are pretty efficient. They have made me put my Celestion SL-6 away in the closet! They sound so good in almost any position, because of the controlled dispersion of the director , that a lot of you will NEVER find out how good these really are! BUT, those of us who know how to tweak are in for a REAL suprise! This is a truly GREAT speaker JBL. I cant wait to get into the crossover and replace those shitty caps! I URGE anyone getting a pair of these to get em out at Least 14" from rear wall, and 16-19" off the floor. They are voiced rich, so if you have a big room, you can put em WAY out from rear wall and REALLY get the third dimension! They Just dont have that last degree of wrap around behind you imaging that the SL-6 does, but neither does anything else. But they are oh so close! Midband transparancy is a subtle thing. I want my speakers warm and rich, not thin and bright! And I like a BIG sound. The 810 are very musical speakers. I was told by someone at JBL that they were proud of the HLS series, but they didnt sell!!! Some consumers thought they were UGLY!! Imagine that! But to us true audiophiles, theres something very beautiful about controlled uniform dispersion, mated to a low coloration, powerful 8'driver! When I remove the grill to reveal the director, my hat is off to the good people at Electro Voice who pioneered this technology, and hats off to JBL for ressurecting it! This speaker will most likely blow away what most of you have, if you give it the care in setup and electronics you gave your so called "audiophile" speakers. I am using Krell KSA-100 amp, and krell preamp, levinson flat speaker cable, and monster interconnects. Run, dont walk, and grab up a pair of these masterpieces, before they are gone! Absolutely Recommended!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: L-7
This is the second review of these speakers. I am re-writing this review to explkain how comitted to these speakers I was. I even was so sure I would like them, i bought the matching center and surrounds!!! I tried everything possible to like them, including cables, interconnects, Many HIGH QUALITY amplifiers, both tube and transistor. I rearranged my room, tried sound traps, sonex, etc. They are bright, hard, fatigueing, dont image, have a tweeter that constantly calls attention to itself, have a peculiar plastic coloration, and they just plain suck! I value long term musicality, and they just dont have it! Yes, I read the review in audio magazine, and based on that and a 875.00 price tag, i got em. MAIL ORDER ! I wish I had listened first!! I got lucky, and sold em to a kid who brouhgt over Metallica,, and I bi-amped with my 2 Krells and left the room. He loved em. I had 5 other inquiries ffrom the Tampa newspaper ad offering them for 650.00 EVERYONE who came over was disappointed in the sound and imaging. If it werent for the stupid kid, I would still be stuck with them! They are built ok I guess, and will last for a long while. Too bad, unfortunately they will be around to pollute the ears of our children!!!! I begged the mail order company to give me credit and let me return them! NO WAY !!! I have been flamed for writing my original review of these, so be it. The person who flamed me writes in his review, he tried these with receivers, and they sounded good! Then he emails me for dogging his speakers and critisizes my Electronics. GO FIGURE! Absolutely, Positively, and Surely NOT RECCOMMENDED!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: MR 26
The JBL MR26 is one, if not the worst speaker I have ever heard or owned. I bought on closeout and fooled myself into thinking that my kid would want them if I didnt, or I could sell them, wich I cant! They are a bookshelf 6.5 inch 2 way with that god awful titanium tweeter of JBL. You notice they dont use that in the new line, thank god. These speakers give a new meaning to thin and bright, they have absolutely no bass at all, even up against a wall and on floor! Whoever is responsible for this design should be shot before he pollutes the ears of our children! Perhaps they are voiced for video, But they sure suck for music. I have tried to sell them, until people hook them up, and then they say they will get back and dont! STAY AWAY!!!!!!
JBL Consumer Products: MR Center
I found this little center channel speaker on closeout at Montgomery Wards. I has 2 -4" drivers, with a titanium tweeter in the center. The woofers use neodynim magnets. WHOOPETY DING, but this aint my first rodeo! The speaker has severely restricted dynamics, and is ineffecient. It has a peaky sounding high end that calls attention to itself too much. It is ok on voices, but it makes a system sound small and puny. If you can live with that awful tweeter, it could be ok in a real small apartment or bedroom. Not REccommended.
Kenwood: kr-x1000
If you want a good receiver with balls, here it is. THX certified, good tuner, musical, although veiled. But hey, its a receiver. Heck, it sounds better than a lot of seperates, but is no match for the good stuff
MESA: Baron prototypes
This is kind of a prequel, sort of like the new Star Wars. In the early 80's, I ran across Randy Smith, owner of Mesa Engineering, maklers of the famous Mesa Boogie tube guitar amps. Randy and I hit it off and I was amazed to find out he listened to his pro sound stuff, being an audiophile. "Hell yes we listen" he said, a little upset that I could ask him such an insulting question! He told me of getting someone to play a live synthisizer through an amp as he soldered and changed caps! I knew then that Randy Smith was truly one of us!!! He asked me about the audiophile speakers of the time to find out what his potential fiture customers might own. Then the next time we spoke, he went out and bought them all!!! He sent me several mono tube amps, with 6550 and 6L6 tubes. After several of these, I stopped asking him what he was doing so as to avoid any psychological preference I may have been harboring. I much preferred the 6l6 tube. Several of Seattles top audiophiles listened as well. After a couple of years, and a several pissed off FED-X workers, we both agreed it was right. I owned Quad63 and B&W 802 speakers. I played Linda Ronstadt and she sounded so real I Caught myself unzipping, and I dont mean a file!!! On the 802's, The Image was so large it was scary! I honestly thought I was losing my mind, so I went to bed, got up, called my friend Mark over to listen and he said" Man, What a sound, its huge". The Late Bob Pennington, A jazz musician, music teacher, and famous Seattle area audiophile, who owned quicksilver amp and Vandersteens, was seen tapping his toes during a late night listeninmg session! He and his wife, who taught piano heard a piano recording on the quads hooked to the Mesa Prototypes and tears filled her eyes. They were the best amps I ever owned or heard. I havent heard a Baron as I now live in Florida and I sold them to a friend as my addiction to Cocaine was beginning to take over my life, and I did not want such good amps to wind up in a pawnshop! All the horrors of drug addiction are behind me now, but I still daydream about all my nights with the mesa and the quad63! If the Baron is 1/2 the amp its ancestor was, you gotta at least hear it!
New York Audio Labs: MOSCODE 600
Having owned quad 63 speakers, and Celestion SL6's, I have a pretty good handle on imaging and transparancy. One day, my good friend Mark who owns Seattles best stereo store called and said he had the ONLY Moscode west of the Mississippi! A MOscode is the name given by the Tube God Harvey Rosenberg, to a hybrid topology using mos-fets and tubes. It uses tube inputs, mosfet outputs. It easily does 250 rms into 8 ohms and is a great match for quad 63 or the celestion SL6. The ONLY amp ever to sound better on the quads were the Mesa Prototypes! I heard it on vandersteens and it sounded good too. It leans more to the tube sound, without the slowness and mush if you know what I mean. AND, you can play with the sound by just changing input tubes!!! Highly reccommended
Onkyo USA Corp.: m-504
YES, I got seduced at circuit city by the big power meters and the green backlighting, and the wood sides, but the sound aint there! Balls aplenty. Good bass, lots of control, but I found it very irratating. I used it with JBL L-7 speakers, what a dreadful combo!!!! Talk about hard and bright!!! On the Celestion SL-6, it was better, but a Sony receiver imaged better! Hey, dont laugh! The sony has sent more than one amp packing! The SL-6 image shut down as soon as the 504 hooked up. I cannot reccommend this amp, sorry! Yes, its pretty. But it dont sound that way!
