Anyone hear the Caravelle speaker and not like it?

Most should be very happy with the bass from the Caravelles. I have never heard a speaker of this size, put out such prodigious bass, with slam, extension and speed as the Caravelles. Man, am I glad I purchased these babies last year. I knew this was going to be the case when others got an earful. You won't regret spending the $5k. The Caravelles can go tete a tete with speakers costing much more. As far as a "competent independent reviewer?" I'm sure Srajan, from 6moons will write a more cogent, detailed, review than my own. Bottom line? He's going to say what I heard; just a hellava lot more eloquently. Guarenteed!! peace, warren

For the money, I would check out the new Gallo Nucleus Reference 3, it's been getting rave reviews. I've listened to it at my local dealer and can't believe that they cost only $2500.

http://www.roundsound.com/reviews.html

It is certainly possible to get very low bass (SW range) out of a small box. I happen to have a set of Dynaudio Gemini speakers which are MTM configuration using woofers with cones that are only 3.75 inches in diameter. (The voice coils are 3 inches, so these drivers have power for their size). With moderate equalization they go to 20 Hz, which I would not believe if I had not measured it. What they will not do is pump out high, or even moderate SPL with this kind of LF extension. There simply is not enough cone area.

If you do not listen at high volume I would have no doubts, relating to size, that the LF performance of the Caravelles will satisfy you.

The speaker is excellent. The only problem is that we are having trouble keeping up with demand. Right now we are out of speakers and stands. Srajan at 6moons got the last pair out of this production run for the upcoming review.

This is a complex speaker and is difficult to manufacture. We don't just "pop them out of the oven". They might look simple, but they are hard to make. The one-piece cabinet construction is very demanding, and the piano black finish takes time, and the stands are very very hard to manufacture.

There is already a waiting period for the next production run. There is a strong possibility of 2 different versions of stands now, so that we can streamline the production. The "wrought iron" looking stand is super hard to make. They will be available, but there could be some pricing adjustments, based on the stands.

We're doing the best we can. We designed for best sound, but unfortunately not the ideal ease of manufacturability, so we can't produce them like cookies. Sound quality took precedence over ease of manufacture. We wanted only the best. This means we can't make them as fast as other designs could have been made. They are all individually hand-made right here in the US, by our factory people, with alot of care and workmanship. We have a very high threshold of quality control, and rejection and re-doing takes place if it is not perfect. This takes time.

It's a very strong contender, and at a reasonable price, but there will be a wait for them, at least in the short term. Virtually every pair out there has replaced very high end floorstanders(some costing 10 times the price of the Caravelle, with very well-known and respected names), and a few top quality monitors. The bass is probably the benchmark of depth and quality for monitor speakers, and rivals or beats many floorstanders. But even though the bass gets alot of the talk, it is the sound quality of the rest of the spectrum that is the true mark of this speaker. It produces a very lifelike sound with great ease, and has large soundstage, disappears completely, and images fantastically.

At this point, it is a "boutique" product, and the attendant waiting periods for such items exist. It's not a mass produced item.

We're working on the issue. With the demand I see right now for these speakers, it's likely that they will be in a back-ordered situation for awhile. We'll probably have to make some kind of ordering lineup, and ship in that order when we have completed units.

Basically, we're not Sony or Phillips with huge production facilities, and we are a relatively small high-end company with a line of very well made products. In the case of the Caravelle, we can't make them fast enough right now to meet this kind of demand.

If you are interested, please call me or email me to discuss getting on the list.

I wish I had a thousand Caravelles in the back room right now. But I don't.

Tom Lyons
Starsound Technologies

I have an odd shaped room. It is about 22'x 13' kind of an L shape open on 1 side to a stairwell. The area I listen in is about 13' of the 22'. The remaining part (behind the listening area) is the dining room. I am hoping I will get the bass I need.

If he has an average to medium sized room, I assure you he will not lack for deep bass, dynamics, or sense of scale. I don't own these, but a friend of mine does. So I feel comfortable making this claim. A highly musical speaker.

Oz

I have never heard these speakers nor have I read a thorough review by a competent independent reviewer. The only concern I would have to satisfy before I would consider a purchase is their claimed ability to deliver full bass (at realistic listening volumes). These are small boxes and I know of no reason why they should be any different in that regard than other small boxes. If deep bass is important to you I'd want to listen to them first, or be prepared to integrate them with a sub.