Daedalus


All, there is some info here on some of Daedalus' larger models. Anybody have the DA-RMa monitor? I'm wondering if anyone has experience and any feedback on these.
Thanks
jimmy2615

Showing 13 responses by david12

Helpful replies, but still no response to the origonal question. I am seriously looking at Daedalus too and am considering the DA1.1 and Da Rma. I suppose nowone out there has the standmount speakers. I will be visiting the next RMAF, but am not sure which speakers Lou will bring.
I have had some E mail contact with lou, who has been very helpful. I am planning a trip to RMAF to hear whichever speaker he brings this year. I have a couple of questions for Daedalus experts:
Firstly, with a cluttered 20 by 20 ft room with the speakers, of necessity, about 18inches from music racks behind, should I consider the DA1.1 or Da Rama floor stander, both of comparable price. The Ulysses is definitely bigger and I would'nt get it past the management in my house.
I enjoy all musical forms, especially Opera I suppose, but really everything.
Secondly, I usae a 22 watt Viva Solista 845 SET at the moment, not necessarily for ever. There has been a lot of discussion about power requirements. Bound For Sound, an online magazine I have great respect for, claimed you needed power. Yes with 95db + sensitivity, they could be run on 10 watts, but with multiple drivers, they really responded and deserved, a lot of power, 200watts plus. If I get the Daedalus, it will probably be my last speaker, yes I know we all claim that, but I mean it, I think. So what is the ideal match to Daedalus speakers, integrated and tube, if possible.
Thanks for any opinions
A quick question to you Da-RMa users, any comment on the base? It looks ideal to me, but the specs give a range down to 38hz. I know actual experience of the base may bear little relation to what the specs are. Do you feel you are missing anything in the base department? Thanks
Rrsclyde Very helpful, thankyou. I am sorry to keep bashing on about the base, but, you say you use a sub, could you comment on the Da-rma's without the sub
Thanks to both of you, a misunderstanding, dodgealum. I was not planning to use a sub with the Da-rma, just wondering what sort of base I would get out of it, whether I would notice the loss of a bottom octave as comared with the DA 1. I realise the DA1 is a different line, but the Ulysses is too large to get passed my wife
Thanks Dodgealum, I've been waiting for the review for a while. I just wish reviewers would'nt prevaricate and just say they like a product or not. Seriously, just one more bit of encouragement to take the plunge when I come to RMAF in October. He seems to answer my question about the base, emphatically and thank goodness, someone else with the secret vice of loving Opera
Price is a consideration, but for me, size is more important. The Ulysses is'nt enormous by modern standards, it is still too big to get passed my eagle eyed wife. It is 4 inches taller, I believe than the DA 1.1. I would love to go for the Ulysses, it just is'nt going to happen, it would tend to overpower my room
Having just read the BFS review, I do'nt feel it is critical at all. The problem is, reading Stereophile, TAS or HiFi+, everything is perfect, the best thing since sliced bread. This makes the magazines pretty much useless. I think Marty's review is pretty balanced. He says all speakers, all components are a set of compromises. You can't have everything. He reports the Ulysses emphasises Efficiency and dynamic contrasts, perhaps losing out on base, because of the efficiency and phase coherence. He also says he can't remember such an efficient speaker, able to cope with such high power amplifiers.
From memory, the review is more favourable than the one for the DA-1
Having taken the plunge and ordered the Da-Rama's at RMAF last weekend, a slight change of direction and some advice please.
Hopefully the speakers are my last and yes I know we all say that, but I mean it, I think! The next question, is a last choice of amplifier, preferably integrated and preferably with tubes somewhere. The obvious answer would be Modwright and they do have an integrated on the horizon, hopefully.
My Viva Solista will do well for now, but in the long term? Some other thoughts were:

One of the Ayon push/pull integrated amps
LSA statement
Jadis DA30/50/88S
Moscode 402, which I very much liked at RMAF
Pathos Logos/Inpol
Accuphase a SS state design , but with tube like sound, to me
Conrad Johnson CA200

Has anyone any thoughts on a combination that seems to work really well? thanks David

Jazdoc, does that mean you use Modwright with your speakers? I liked them in both the rooms Daedalus speakers were in, though I thought the Da-Rama's sounded better. I am sure this was to do with room matching. I am not sure about the amps, they seemed to lack the tube magic I am used to, i.e tube colouration I am sure. That is why I was seeking views on alternatives
Barrelcheif, Say up to $10000, but preferably less, at a discount second hand.
Well, the Da-RMa's with, upgraded PolyCaps have arrived. Unless you look at the website often, you may not realise that Lou has been experimenting with an improved Crossover for some time. I think mine are the first monitors and he maybe working on a pair of Ulysses at the moment, but I am not sure.

I can not give a comparison with the origonal version, which I heard at RMAF last October, too long to remember. All I can say is that I am very happy with them. Just so effortless and dynamic, they sound natural and as Lou says, as near to a Live performance as I have heard from my system.

I had trouble finding speakers my wife could live with, not the sound of course, just the appearance. She teaches Art now, but trained in Interior design, so she is very hard to please. However she loves them. They look wonderful in the quartersawn oak finish we chose. Because of the low total height, they are very unobtrusive too.

So the speakers are a keeper as far as I am concerned.

I live in the UK. If anyone has been interested in the speakers, as I was, then send me a private message, if you would like to hear them
Dodgealum
For the moment I am sticking with my Viva Solista SET. It sounds great, though the base I feel would appreciate a bit better control. I went to audition an LSA Statement amp today, which was on sale 2nd hand. I have to say I was very dissapointed. It was noisy and lacked a natural, musical sound. I listened to an Ayon amp at the same time, now that was more like it. I guess I have been spoiled by tubes and will have to stick with them.
As for running in, Lou says it is less of an issue. They have been a test bed for the new crossover and are pretty well run in