MxStYlEpOlKmAn
04-05-2003, 05:37 PM
TODAY WAS AWESOME! My Dad said on a rainy saturday (which it was) we would go to Tweeter. So....we went to Tweeter! I heard the following speakers
Martin Logan Prodigy speakers, from the smallest to the biggest.
Klipsch Speakers
Mcintosh Amps
B&W speakers
Definitive Technology speakers
Mirage
B&K Amps and Receivers
and some more
I will reveiw what I thought of some them below (short reveiws since I only listened to each of them shortly)
Martin Logans are first up. They were driven by a B&K amp and Pre-Amp:
I really liked the biggest model, they had superb highs and clear mids. The bass although punchy was not the lowest or the loudest. This speaker is for someone in their mid 30's or 40's; as it does not play very loud (atleast I didn't think it did) and it is very accurate. Only problem I saw was that once you left the sweet spot thats it, you left it and it sounded terrrible.
Klipsch Speakers, from Entry bookshelfs to Top of the Line towers, I ran these at first with a Denon 3802, then with my receiver the Pioneer Elite VSX-41:
With the Denon, The Klipsch TOTL towers were etchy on the highs but had clear midrange and a good amount of bass. I really liked this sound and didnt find it all that bright - but then again I wasn't listening to these speakers with rock music (since I didn't choose the music, Tweeter did) The Klipsch were great none the least, I thought the bookshelfs for what they cost were no better than my Polk RT35i speakers. Klipsch Entry level speakers are a joke, their Top of the Line speakers are awesome in some sense, but no better than any Polks I have heard. With the Pioneer Elite the Klipsch TOTL towers were clear in the highs, and had a more defined midrange with punchier bass. I was really surprised as the PE cost (retail) 300 less than the denon. I was really disapointed with how the Denon sounded overall and I am now glad I didn't buy it.
(I heard these speakers at Sound Systems down in Charolette)
B&W ran by a Mcintosh Preamp, Amp:
The speakers weren't all that much better than the Klipsch for what they cost, I am not sure what model they were, but they had the tweeter on top with a black glass like case housing the midrange with a rectangular bottum, they had a clear midrange, EXCELLTANT highs and punchy tight lows. They sounded better than Klipsch in all aspects but the B&W's didn't slam them. Overall for the Price I'd rather buy a pair of Polk LSI 15's with an Adcom amp and PE receiver as a preamp, haha. It was awesome overall, the Mcintosh amp was HUGE, nothing joking about that amp, it was definetely a monster! Probally the cleanest sounding amp I have heard.
Next up is Def Tech, I was watching Signs with this setup, it was being ran by a Denon 4802. I was VERY impressed with this setup. I loved the sound, the Center channel was an absolute monster, with tilted drivers firing upwards and drivers fireing forwards the soundstage was absolutely awesome. Voices sounded crisp and clear, and sound from the center was where it was supposed to be. The mains, lord, the TOTL def tech speakers are worth ranting about, I have never heard a speaker setup such as the TOTL def tech's that fillled up a room with that much sound. I couldn't believe it literally, it was simply mouth dropping! Probally the best speakers I heard all day, if I were to build a dedicated Home Theatre system in my future house Def Tech would be my ticket. I love the sound, totally effin awesome!
Now, on to the Subwoofers!
At sound system I heard Velodyne's TOTL, and some Def Tech subwoofers and a Mcintosh subwoofer.
First up, Mcintosh sub.
The mcintosh subwoofer can not be blown, when you turn it up the interal amp turns the mcintosh down, it sounded flat and I didn't like it, for 2,000 dollars I would of rather have bought a tire, terrible in my opinion. It was just flat, no volume but it had very low exstention.
Next up, Def Tech subs.
Unlike their speakers, their subwoofers blow, well for movies they would work well, but for music, their not near accurate. Their boomy and loud in a sense. I just wasn't impressed with their subwoofers, they just seemed boomy and loud like a blown car audio subwoofer, nuff said.
Next up, Velodyne TOTL.
They had a small Velo for 1,500. They also had a huge one for 700.
The big one, although loud was not nearly accurate. If you turned it up it was sorda distorted. The salesman which unlike most CC workers knew what we was talking about, said the big Velo was his favorite subwoofer. In my personal opinion it was lacking in many ways.
The small sub, however is a TOTALLY different story. It was accurate, it had that bottum end, and it was loud. It held its own ground overall, being 1/4 the size of the bigger Velo, it put the bigger velo to utter shame. It was hilarious. It shows size does not matter all the time in subwoofers. However, for 1,500 or so (don't remember the price exactly) I would rather have a bigger subwoofer, with a bigger driver from a different company; because obviously there would be way better subwoofers for that price. IMO.
Now.......Back to Tweeter (in the reveiw)
First up, Mirage.
I gave mirage a quick listen, nothing specail here, etchy highs and muddied midrange, quite disgusted by how it sounded really.
Next Up, Boston.
Sounded a whole lot like Polk. Although I favored the Polk's as they have way way way way better bass than the Boston's. IMO. The highs were a tad better than the Polk's but not near as exstended as my RT35i's go. Overall I would rather have Polk, but that is just me.
The kicker, While listening to the Martin Logans, I asked the manager while he was in there if they were going to carry Polk LSI since they were dropping Klipsch. He told me that they would not carry the Polk's as they sounded alot like the Boston's. He also said that they would pick up the Yamaha line since they have horn tweeters also. Now from what I heard, the Boston's weren't all that much better than the RT line that i have heard, there is no way the LSI series dosn't smash the Boston's. I think he is speaking more as a manager trying to sale something rather than a person judging a speaker. IMO. Well I am out, I thought I would share my audio adventure with you people. I hope you enjoyed my reveiws. Short, but I didn't get an exstended listen on anything.
Martin Logan Prodigy speakers, from the smallest to the biggest.
Klipsch Speakers
Mcintosh Amps
B&W speakers
Definitive Technology speakers
Mirage
B&K Amps and Receivers
and some more
I will reveiw what I thought of some them below (short reveiws since I only listened to each of them shortly)
Martin Logans are first up. They were driven by a B&K amp and Pre-Amp:
I really liked the biggest model, they had superb highs and clear mids. The bass although punchy was not the lowest or the loudest. This speaker is for someone in their mid 30's or 40's; as it does not play very loud (atleast I didn't think it did) and it is very accurate. Only problem I saw was that once you left the sweet spot thats it, you left it and it sounded terrrible.
Klipsch Speakers, from Entry bookshelfs to Top of the Line towers, I ran these at first with a Denon 3802, then with my receiver the Pioneer Elite VSX-41:
With the Denon, The Klipsch TOTL towers were etchy on the highs but had clear midrange and a good amount of bass. I really liked this sound and didnt find it all that bright - but then again I wasn't listening to these speakers with rock music (since I didn't choose the music, Tweeter did) The Klipsch were great none the least, I thought the bookshelfs for what they cost were no better than my Polk RT35i speakers. Klipsch Entry level speakers are a joke, their Top of the Line speakers are awesome in some sense, but no better than any Polks I have heard. With the Pioneer Elite the Klipsch TOTL towers were clear in the highs, and had a more defined midrange with punchier bass. I was really surprised as the PE cost (retail) 300 less than the denon. I was really disapointed with how the Denon sounded overall and I am now glad I didn't buy it.
(I heard these speakers at Sound Systems down in Charolette)
B&W ran by a Mcintosh Preamp, Amp:
The speakers weren't all that much better than the Klipsch for what they cost, I am not sure what model they were, but they had the tweeter on top with a black glass like case housing the midrange with a rectangular bottum, they had a clear midrange, EXCELLTANT highs and punchy tight lows. They sounded better than Klipsch in all aspects but the B&W's didn't slam them. Overall for the Price I'd rather buy a pair of Polk LSI 15's with an Adcom amp and PE receiver as a preamp, haha. It was awesome overall, the Mcintosh amp was HUGE, nothing joking about that amp, it was definetely a monster! Probally the cleanest sounding amp I have heard.
Next up is Def Tech, I was watching Signs with this setup, it was being ran by a Denon 4802. I was VERY impressed with this setup. I loved the sound, the Center channel was an absolute monster, with tilted drivers firing upwards and drivers fireing forwards the soundstage was absolutely awesome. Voices sounded crisp and clear, and sound from the center was where it was supposed to be. The mains, lord, the TOTL def tech speakers are worth ranting about, I have never heard a speaker setup such as the TOTL def tech's that fillled up a room with that much sound. I couldn't believe it literally, it was simply mouth dropping! Probally the best speakers I heard all day, if I were to build a dedicated Home Theatre system in my future house Def Tech would be my ticket. I love the sound, totally effin awesome!
Now, on to the Subwoofers!
At sound system I heard Velodyne's TOTL, and some Def Tech subwoofers and a Mcintosh subwoofer.
First up, Mcintosh sub.
The mcintosh subwoofer can not be blown, when you turn it up the interal amp turns the mcintosh down, it sounded flat and I didn't like it, for 2,000 dollars I would of rather have bought a tire, terrible in my opinion. It was just flat, no volume but it had very low exstention.
Next up, Def Tech subs.
Unlike their speakers, their subwoofers blow, well for movies they would work well, but for music, their not near accurate. Their boomy and loud in a sense. I just wasn't impressed with their subwoofers, they just seemed boomy and loud like a blown car audio subwoofer, nuff said.
Next up, Velodyne TOTL.
They had a small Velo for 1,500. They also had a huge one for 700.
The big one, although loud was not nearly accurate. If you turned it up it was sorda distorted. The salesman which unlike most CC workers knew what we was talking about, said the big Velo was his favorite subwoofer. In my personal opinion it was lacking in many ways.
The small sub, however is a TOTALLY different story. It was accurate, it had that bottum end, and it was loud. It held its own ground overall, being 1/4 the size of the bigger Velo, it put the bigger velo to utter shame. It was hilarious. It shows size does not matter all the time in subwoofers. However, for 1,500 or so (don't remember the price exactly) I would rather have a bigger subwoofer, with a bigger driver from a different company; because obviously there would be way better subwoofers for that price. IMO.
Now.......Back to Tweeter (in the reveiw)
First up, Mirage.
I gave mirage a quick listen, nothing specail here, etchy highs and muddied midrange, quite disgusted by how it sounded really.
Next Up, Boston.
Sounded a whole lot like Polk. Although I favored the Polk's as they have way way way way better bass than the Boston's. IMO. The highs were a tad better than the Polk's but not near as exstended as my RT35i's go. Overall I would rather have Polk, but that is just me.
The kicker, While listening to the Martin Logans, I asked the manager while he was in there if they were going to carry Polk LSI since they were dropping Klipsch. He told me that they would not carry the Polk's as they sounded alot like the Boston's. He also said that they would pick up the Yamaha line since they have horn tweeters also. Now from what I heard, the Boston's weren't all that much better than the RT line that i have heard, there is no way the LSI series dosn't smash the Boston's. I think he is speaking more as a manager trying to sale something rather than a person judging a speaker. IMO. Well I am out, I thought I would share my audio adventure with you people. I hope you enjoyed my reveiws. Short, but I didn't get an exstended listen on anything.