You have great taste two of the worlds highest performing compact speakers!
Here is the tale of the tape:
Vivid is a much more advanced design with a whole host of innovative techniques which eliminate any cabinet colorations,
Vivid uses identical materials for both drivers which offers a fantastic degree of coherence and makes the speaker sound very seem less.
Vivid is almost 4db efficient and works well with small amplifiers.
The Vivid is a faster more transparent speaker.
The Dynaudio does have a slightly creamier midrange, both speakers through an enormous sound stage, both speakers have deep tight tuneful bass.
In my opinion the Vivid is the new reigning champ in compact loudspeaker design, once you hear a pair you will be hooked, in some ways these little speakers can be compared to the most expensive reference speakers around.
The only caveat is the look, which is controversial personally I think they look stunning in person but it does take time to embrace their ovoid look.
Lawrence Dickie is one of the true geniuses of loudspeaker design and the Vivid is a masterpiece. |
Thanks for your response. It was what I expected to hear. I am a jazz lover and thus might still opt for the creamy midrange. And as you note, I'm not sure I can get used to the look of the Vivids. The c1s in Cherry with the silver stands will look great. Having said that, I may still audition the Vivids. If I am totally blown away, I may change my mind. I'm thinking of pairing the speakers with the Naim 200/202 separates and Naim cd5xs. Thanks again. |
Readers need to be aware that audiofreakgeek is a Vivid dealer and has a financial interest in all of his recommendations.
His comments should be taken with a grain of salt.
IMO |
Dealers are always touting their own gear on this website. I feel Audiogon should censor the dealers that do that. |
Does Vivid have a website? |
Taters, did you try to google it? It's the first website it finds... |
As good as the C1 is, the Vivid wins this time. Very fast and transparent speakers. |
I own C1s and liked the Vivid B1s when I heard them at CES, other than the looks. But for me, for the money, the C1s were the better choice. |
If you're near Montreal, the 1.5s will be playing at the Salon Son Image the first weekend in April. |
Thanks for your responses. I can audition the speakers in the New York area. How long have you had the C1s? To my ears, they are amazing speakers which create great intimacy. I see you have Simaudio electronics with the C1s. I know that's supposed to be a great combo. I'm thinking of Naim separates and Naim cd player. |
I heard them both in my local stores, the new C1 MKII and Vivid B1. They were driven by different components but i was quite familiar with dealer's setup. somehow i think they sounded similar in some ways: thin body style but with outstanding layering, image size is smaller than average, tight and tuneful bass, smooth mid/high with exceptional neutrility and timbre accuracy.
Even though C1 MKII is in another league compared to the original C1, i have to say Vivid brand simply makes better speakers than the Dynaudio Confidence line. Vivid does slightly better in all aspect except for the bass(vivid bass sounds real but its so different compared to conventional type woofers), most importantly, vivid sounds more real and natural.
frankly speaking, i have heard so many hi-end setup,i like Swiss made electronics, they just sound better. as for speakers, i think Vivid is on my top list. But i think finding a matching amp and a set of cables with Vivid is quite difficult(because of its thin body sound style), maybe high current/wide bandwidth valve would fit |
In what aspects is C1's bass better than Vivid's? Or are they equal and just different? |
The Vivid range has to be some of the most ugly looking speakers ever made.
In fact I almost root for them to sound bad, so I would never have to consider buying them. |
I was considering similar options to you but went with the Vapor Audio Cirrus instead. I had heard the Confidence C1 many times as a good friend owns a pair, and like them a lot but ultimately find them lacking resolution and the soundstage can be a bit 2-dimensional at times. The Vivid I think is more resolving than the Dyn, but it's downfall in my mind is that it can be a bit forward and edgy ... play the wrong track too loud on the Vivid and it can be a painful experience.
Another friend of mine here in the Seattle area recently bought a pair of the Vapor Cirrus, and it took one day of listening to know that's the speaker I wanted! He has an excellent room and gear, and the Cirrus was simply amazing. It has the richest tone of any speaker I've ever heard, just layers of harmonics that most speakers just wash over ... and it's also as resolving, fast, and transparent as anything I've heard. They're gorgeous too, and built like a tank. I just received my pair about 2 weeks ago after a bit of a wait, but haven't hardly come out of the listening room since. I'd highly recommend you send them an email, and see if they're right for you. |
Wonder how Cirrus stacks up against the new Volent VL-2 SE...I guess I'll find out in few days :-)...sorry for getting off track |
If you're talking about hearing them at RMAF, shoot Ryan at Vapor an email. I talk to him just about every day, he told me that he isn't exhibiting but will be there with a pair or two of speakers. I bet he could setup a demo for you. |
Doc77 - Please forgive the partial hijack of this thread. I am very interested in the Vapor Audio Cirrus. Would you mind sharing your system details, what kind of music you listen to, and whether or not you feel the Cirrus goes deep enough to do right by large scale music, e.g., a Mahler symphony. Thank you in advance for any info you are willing to share! |
No problem, right now I'm using an Ayon Crossfire integrated amp. My only source is the computer audio server running into my Weiss DAC2, which goes straight into the Ayon. And I have a BPT conditioner for the DAC and computer. I have a good room, 18x28 with 10' ceilings and proper treatments, and 2 dedicated power lines. I listen to stuff all across the board, from chamber music to Iron Maiden. That's one thing that really strikes me about the Cirrus, it can do everything well ... many speakers just fall apart of rock or other 'busy' music.
The bass is full and deep, there's not enough of it to shake the room however. But it's enough that my pair of JL Audio subs sit there turned off 99% of the time. Just played Fanfare for the Common Man this morning and it has no problem reproducing the bass drum with proper fullness and tone, and it with just enough energy to make your leg hairs tingle. In my room it seems like they extend into the high 20hz range, based on some pipe organ recordings I know well. |
Doc77 - Many thanks. The info you shared is quite helpful to me. |
Branislav:
B1's bass is not weak but a little thin, still, its a 3 way and it goes a little deeper and smoother than C1 MKII. the "perceived" sound of B1's bass to my ears was incredibly clean and without any sort of cabinet resonance. While Dynaudio uses a traditional woofer with wood cabinet, generally, it gives a little more decay |
I personally vote for the Vivids. All models are smoothly enough and sounds extremely natural! Sound spectrum are very coherent from top to bottom. They are one of the best in this aspects. But they can sound totally different with different components, placement, cable etc.
They are very sensitive in placement & can sound plenty bass, or can do no bass at all, or even boomy. So different audiophile can experience differently, depending on how you get along with them! |
I tried the Vivid Audio V1.5 at my living room and fell in love. Just... I lack the lower octave. I'm considering adding a subwoofer to complement them. Would you say this is a good option?
My living room is 30m2.
I also tried the Vivido Audio B1 but the bass was completely out of control and the dynamics was exaggerated: always having the need to turn the volume up and down during the same piece.
The B1 had much more detail than the V1.5... and I would by them if it weren't for these 2 problems...
Nuno |
