Wes_in_VA
Super Member
I just picked up these Talisman's from jjohnson. I've had enough time with them to throw out some initial thoughts.
I believe these are the first version.
First, they're really nice looking speakers. Very British for sure and obviously solid build quality (heck, they survived a car accident just a few minutes from Jeff's house when my van was rear ended at a light!). They're smaller than I expected even though I had read all the specs. I like that since they're going in my quite small (~12' x14') listening room.
I purchased these to replace my Def Tech BP2000's as they were just too much in that room. They're now in a quasi- home theater setup in our basement. I had been running a pair of Epicure 11's in that system and I really love those speakers. I like that the Ruark's can be biwired/biamped since I really wanted to play around with running my Eicos into the high end and my Parasound SS amp into the lows, since I've never played with that concept.
I first plugged them up with just the Eico HF 20's (running as mono blocks). In that setup the Ruarks were really good, but they lacked just the tiniest bit on the low end. The bass was *there*, and it was detailed, but with no oomph. The little Epicures definitely had them beat in that department.
They were also not as good at presenting the 3 dimensional midrange that I love in my Monitor Audio RX8's, but I wouldn't expect them to.
I actually gave thought that maybe they wouldn't be around all that long.
But then I decided to play with the "biamp".
Now we're talking.
Whole different sound. It gives the bass that little extra bit that it needed, and it's overall more 3 dimensional. With this setup these speakers could be fine in a much larger room, but they're really excellent in my space.
I think I've going to be able to comfortably pare down to one system in the mancave now and I'm pretty excited about that. Before I liked having the tube system and the SS system since each had their merits, but I really feel like this is the best of both worlds. I think these Ruarks will be around for a while.
I believe these are the first version.
First, they're really nice looking speakers. Very British for sure and obviously solid build quality (heck, they survived a car accident just a few minutes from Jeff's house when my van was rear ended at a light!). They're smaller than I expected even though I had read all the specs. I like that since they're going in my quite small (~12' x14') listening room.
I purchased these to replace my Def Tech BP2000's as they were just too much in that room. They're now in a quasi- home theater setup in our basement. I had been running a pair of Epicure 11's in that system and I really love those speakers. I like that the Ruark's can be biwired/biamped since I really wanted to play around with running my Eicos into the high end and my Parasound SS amp into the lows, since I've never played with that concept.
I first plugged them up with just the Eico HF 20's (running as mono blocks). In that setup the Ruarks were really good, but they lacked just the tiniest bit on the low end. The bass was *there*, and it was detailed, but with no oomph. The little Epicures definitely had them beat in that department.
They were also not as good at presenting the 3 dimensional midrange that I love in my Monitor Audio RX8's, but I wouldn't expect them to.
I actually gave thought that maybe they wouldn't be around all that long.
But then I decided to play with the "biamp".
Now we're talking.
Whole different sound. It gives the bass that little extra bit that it needed, and it's overall more 3 dimensional. With this setup these speakers could be fine in a much larger room, but they're really excellent in my space.
I think I've going to be able to comfortably pare down to one system in the mancave now and I'm pretty excited about that. Before I liked having the tube system and the SS system since each had their merits, but I really feel like this is the best of both worlds. I think these Ruarks will be around for a while.
