I recently picked up a set of these speakers via Audiogon and I must say that they are a dramatic improvement over my Sonus Faber Electa Amator II's.
From what I understand, Carl M. designed these (and had them in production) before the Grand Reference Exoticas, so in effect, they must have served as an acorn to that mighty oak.
This is my first experience living with a ribbon tweeter, and it has been really enjoyable. The bass is very strong too. It has only been a few weeks, but so far so good. This is not much of a "critical analysis", however, I felt inclined to dig up this old thread and add some of my experience so far:
1. Although imaging has not been as tight or defined (soundstage-wise) as the Electa Amators, I have found the speaker to have a lot more detail in actual presentation of instruments. This is specifically found in strings.
2. Distance from the back wall has made more of a difference than side wall when it comes to image presentation.
3. The speaker grills must be taken off. This is usually the case with most speakers (in my experience), but I just felt it had to be noted.
These are just a few pedestrian observations in the few short weeks that I've lived with the speakers, but as I mentioned earlier, the pleasure of swapping them out with the Sonus Fabers has been a definate "upgrade". Are these the kinds of traits that characterize ribbon tweeters? Detail and accuracy over soundstage presentation?
Having never lived with planars, electrostats, or speakers of that nature, am I just now experiencing what ribbons have to offer?
Recently I was in a hi-fi store, and I walked into a room where some of the Piega P10's were playing. To me it sounded very bright and harsh. Maybe they were just breaking in, or there were other factors afoot, but if that was my first experience with a ribbon, I would be tempted to dismiss them outright. Fortunately, living with the Alon Exoticas has really piqued my interest in what ribbons have to offer.
Hah, I can only speculate as to what the Exotica Grand Reference must sound like. Must be an other-worldly experience.
-Jake
From what I understand, Carl M. designed these (and had them in production) before the Grand Reference Exoticas, so in effect, they must have served as an acorn to that mighty oak.
This is my first experience living with a ribbon tweeter, and it has been really enjoyable. The bass is very strong too. It has only been a few weeks, but so far so good. This is not much of a "critical analysis", however, I felt inclined to dig up this old thread and add some of my experience so far:
1. Although imaging has not been as tight or defined (soundstage-wise) as the Electa Amators, I have found the speaker to have a lot more detail in actual presentation of instruments. This is specifically found in strings.
2. Distance from the back wall has made more of a difference than side wall when it comes to image presentation.
3. The speaker grills must be taken off. This is usually the case with most speakers (in my experience), but I just felt it had to be noted.
These are just a few pedestrian observations in the few short weeks that I've lived with the speakers, but as I mentioned earlier, the pleasure of swapping them out with the Sonus Fabers has been a definate "upgrade". Are these the kinds of traits that characterize ribbon tweeters? Detail and accuracy over soundstage presentation?
Having never lived with planars, electrostats, or speakers of that nature, am I just now experiencing what ribbons have to offer?
Recently I was in a hi-fi store, and I walked into a room where some of the Piega P10's were playing. To me it sounded very bright and harsh. Maybe they were just breaking in, or there were other factors afoot, but if that was my first experience with a ribbon, I would be tempted to dismiss them outright. Fortunately, living with the Alon Exoticas has really piqued my interest in what ribbons have to offer.
Hah, I can only speculate as to what the Exotica Grand Reference must sound like. Must be an other-worldly experience.
-Jake