Green Mountain Calypso Speakers vs Montana EPS -2

I've only heard the Green Mountain Calypso's. But I spent a good two days listening to them with all kinds of music. Amps were 70wpc tube monoblocks, so similar in power to your 2275 (which is a very nice sounding amp!).

Anyway, my listening notes remind me that the overwhelming feeling I had from the Calypso's was a feeling of naturalness and coherence. I tried everything from small jazz trios to huge sturm und drang Wagner extravaganza's, from metal and hard rock to folkie stuff. I did feel that the bass got a bit wooly at head-banger levels, but that was an amp issue, not the speakers.

Probably the best thing I can say about them is that they made me forget I was listening to recorded music. I kept getting sucked into my favorite recordings, and then at the end saying, oops, now what was I trying to nail down about the speakers with this?

My own speakers at the time were tri-amped Magneplanar 3.6s, which give a less grounded and much less natural presentation of the music than the Calypso's do. I highly recommend an audition of the GMA. They don't jump out at you in any particular regard, which means they don't start annoying you over extended listening sessions. I'm still kicking myself that I didn't buy them.

Hope this helps!

DF

Hi,
I'd recommend contacting Joe at JM Sound. He carries both speakers and knows them very well. He'll tell you straight up the strengths and weaknesses of both models.

I have owned the Continuum 3s by GMA and they are very clear with nice taut bass. The Calypso was the model below and was supposed to offer the same qualities for smaller rooms. I ran my C3s with solid state and am not familiar with Mac tube gear so I can't help you there. Not sure if PBN speakers come to life with tubes. I've heard various PBN models with kilowatt amps but I'll refrain from commentary as I never listened critically despite multiple informal sessions.

I have owned Callistos and currrently own C3s. I think DF nailed the GMA sound when he described it as natural and coherent. I have also owned several pairs of Montana speakers culminating with the model you mention. While Peter's speakers are very good, they cannot compete with Roy's. The EPS2s are musical and very easy to listen to but don't have nearly the resolution, timing and transient snap of any GMA design. I replaced my EPS2s with Callistos, if that tells you anything. I have never heard the Calypsos, but I can only imagine they are very similar to my C3s, but on a smaller scale.

Shakey