Clearwave Symphonia 72R Speakers

I have a set, I have had them since November. My first experience with Clearwave speakers was when my friend brought his Minuet M72's over and I was very pleased with those, I think they are a great speaker. Note: I experienced a bit of a bump in the mid-bass, but I didn't spend any time with placement; my friend says it is not an issue for him.

When I first received the Symphonia 72R's I wasn't thrilled with them, even a week later I was thinking that I would take the M72's over them. They were more detailed in the upper end but they lacked warmth, weren't coherent and to my surprise lacked the bottom end I was expecting.

When I knew I was going to be gone for awhile I would turn on the satellite radio and turn it up. Doing so made a noticeable difference in a short period, but I have found that they have continued to break in months later. The last thing to settle in for me was the warmth I was wishing for, but over this time I gained all the aspects I lacked early on; I find them well balanced.

The last decade I did a lot of buying and selling and the last couple years not so much, I would like to settle into an enjoyable system as I can not do the buying/selling of the past. I am very pleased with the Symphonia 72R's and feel I will enjoy them into the future, absolutely no regrets.

Right from the start I found the RAAL driver being used to be amazing and I continue to feel that way. It has taken some time for the Accuton's to settle in.

A side note, I also greatly enjoy watching TV with these, far more than anything else I have owned.

thanks for informative post on this speaker. I was kind of curious about these and it looks like other than kits, Clearwave's finished products are fairly new so there is not a lot of info. They use good drivers and the speakers look pretty good too.

Jed became quite well known by the DIY crowd with his designs and has decided to enter the speaker market himself. Besides quality drivers, Jed uses very good cross-over parts as well.

I own the 72Rs, they are the best speaker I have heard with the exception of the $46k Proac Carbon 8s. They are that good.

Have the Clearwave owners or listeners heard other Accuton-driver speakers such as Kharma 3.2s and thought they were similar? I like the out-of-box imaging from the Accuton.

I haven't had any other experience with speakers using Accuton drivers.

Hi Rgs92,

I'm not sure where you're located, but there are pairs available for audition here. One of my dealers carries a mid/upper level Marten speaker (which as you know feature Accuton drivers), so comparisons could be made when you pay him a visit. Though, he's in Long Island, NY.

Best Regards,
Jed (owner- Clearwave)

"05-07-12: Rgs92
Have the Clearwave owners or listeners heard other Accuton-driver speakers such as Kharma 3.2s and thought they were similar? I like the out-of-box imaging from the Accuton."

I have Salk SoundScapes which also have RAAL tweeter with Accuton midrange. I know what you mean about enjoying TV much more. They really make an mazing difference.

Jedk, I did listen to the 72R at the RMAF 2011. I was disappointed with the sound of both the SoundScapes and the 72Rs at that show. Since I don’t think I heard either well I won’t make much of a comparison, but I do think the tight and powerful bass of any SoundScape speaker makes a large difference in the sound.

Bob

Hi Bob,

Thank you for the feedback and thoughts. Without it designers can never improve. I wish I was in the room when you were there, so we could address the strengths and weaknesses of the room loading the bass frequencies correctly and to your taste. Unfortunately, I was only in the room for less than 1 day to speak to fellow audiophiles, because I had other obligations in Denver that weekend. So I don't think we crossed paths.

One of the design objectives for the Symphonia 72R was as follows-- Use the ceramic Accuton midbass driver for frequencies including bass up to the tweeter's frequency transition. I've found the 2.5way format yields a very coherent transition between midrange and bass frequencies with a very fast transient response.

The trade-off versus the use of a subwoofer in a 3-way for the lowest frequencies is the extension into the very low end and sensitivity. In other words, Iron's law dictates a much larger box volume coupled with a larger area driver, or much lower sensitivity to dig below 30-35hz. For the S72R, I chose an average sized bass reflex box but the result is higher sensitivity using the selected dual 7" bass drivers. These are all trade-offs to meet my design goals. In the right sized room, and properly positioned, I believe the Symphonia 72R will yield a very satisfying bass response. In my system, I'm driving them with a 60 watt integrated with satisfying results.

Best Regards,
Jed