I live 3 hours from Chicago and would love to attend your symposium. I've been a follower/supporter of Dale Pitcher for many, many years. He's a genius. He is currently upgrading my Essence Super Gems as we speak. Also own one of his Essence amps. Please let me know when you have a date nailed down for the symposium. |
Agear, I appreciate being included on your list. It's an honor just to be mentioned between the same parentheses as those guys.
Duke |
Hi there. The "we" was initially Rx8man and I...and that expanded to inluded members of the Wisconsin and Chicago Audio societies. We had been shooting for sometime this summer, but the speaker makers we had chosen (SP Tech, Ridge Street Audio, Intuitive Design, Emerald Physics, Audiokinesis) were too swamped. Logistics, particarly location, still need to be ironed out. I hoping for something in the fall. You can see the thread created regarding this even on AC:
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=50144.0 |
Agear: When you say "we had been planning a speaker symposium.." who is we? Sounds like a great idea anyway and I would be most interested in any event in the Chicago region. |
I also agree with Mrtennis. The speaker game is fickle and prone to subjectivity. That being said, I would want to ask specifically what sonic attributes are missing in cone/box designs over planar/electrostat designs? Both schools now claim to have harnessed attributes of the other, etc. I too have been bewitched by planar designs in terms of their diaphenous, holographic, and spooky presentation. Coincidentally, I am also turned off by aggressively voiced and hyperdynamic (read "slam") box speakers that cause many a phile to oooo and ahhh at shows but do not accurately recreate the original event. I have found a speaker that traverses that razor's edge between both designs: the Intuitive Design Delta Summits. It sounds as if SP Tech does something similar (at least according to a good friend of mine, Rx8man). With that being said, we had been planning a speaker symposium to highlight smaller, boutique companies that were producing cutting edge technology like SP Tech, Intuitive Design, Ridge Street Audio, Audiokinesis, and Emerald Physics. It would be neat to bring in designs based on Gedde's waveguide thing (SP Tech, Audiokinesis, Emerald Physics) and compare them to the latest and greatest planar stuff...in addition to Intuitive Design, etc. Chicago looks to be the eventual location for this speakerfest... |
MrTennis, I agree with you that it would be better if there were 4 or 5 speakers audiophiles agree on and I agree that calling some speaker "the best" is an opinion. I do wonder if we added, "price not a factor" and "room size/waf not a factor" whether there might well be 5 (or 10 for sure) "favorite" speakers. I wouldn't want to list them, but, in another category, given my stipulations, I think a lot of people would grab the Continuum Turntable sight unheard. I know I would. |
hi tedmbrady:
you are correct concerning the significance of my partiality toward panel speakers.
my point is to suggest that in fact there are competitors for any speaker and that what is considered "good", "better" or "best" is so subjective that one could take a statement that a particular speaker is "best" as purely opinion and subject to discussion. |
No offense Mrtennis, but if you are against cone designs why are you posting on this thread? SP Tech are cones. Always have been. ??
The OP never stated they were the "best speakers", period. He just wanted a chat area for the small company and their speakers. This thread is about SP Tech owners, listeners and their comments, at least that's what the OP wanted. |
i am looking for speakers. i won't consider a cone design. i have 2 candidates, namely the analysis audio omega and the quads unlimited quads.
bot of these speakers are alternatives to the sps and therefore are competitors.
there are no best speakers. it's about perception and preference.
it s a shame that there isn't one or perhaps 5 speakers preferred by most "audiophiles". such a situation would make speaker selection much easier. alas, there are too many speakers and its hard to hear all of them. |
I own a complete 5.1 set of SP Tech speakers, with the top-of-the-line Revelations (w/ Ultimate Mundorf external crssovers) being the first to arrive (two days after Christmas). The huge Mundorf caps are finally near break-in (600 hours) and I am more than pleased with the result (understatement). Pat (rx8man) loved the sound he heard from my setup, too.
Next to arrive are three Continuum A.D's, each with external Mundorf crossovers One as center, the other pair as dedicated music surrounds). Bob should have those to me in the next 20 days or so.
I am in awe of what the Sp Tech design is doing for my 3500 cubic foot room. The dynamics, speed, leading edge transients, bass response, transparency (almost mini-monitor-like) and overall "sheer nakedness" (as reviewer/recording engineer extraordinare Jim Merod called it) are surprising me every day. I'm done for quite awhile with the merry-go-round called speaker evaluation. |
Spenceroo,
I'm sorta in the same boat. I recently ordered a pair of TP mini's unseen and unheard. I blame it on all the positive posts on the SP Tech Circle. I'm really looking forward to it. Now I'm in a search for a proper amp. Always something.
Gene |
Spenceroo, I agree that there are not many competitors to SP Tech that use waveguide technology.
KEF and Pioneer TAD Home Audio and Tannoy and Gradient and Nomad (and probably a few others that I can't remember offhand) use coaxial drivers where the woofer cone acts as a waveguide for the tweeter. The problem is, it's not physically possible to get an ideal waveguide shape (along with throat transition and smooth mouth flare into the baffle) with this format. Still, it's possible to get a significant improvement in radiation pattern control with a good coaxial configuration.
Amphion uses a fairly shallow, wide-pattern waveguide and I think they are pretty close, conceptually, to what SP Tech is doing - but Amphion does it in a much narrower cabinet and so they won't have good pattern control down as low as the SP Tech device. YG Acoustics uses an even shallower waveguide in their designs, so it's probably only a marginal improvement over a flat baffle.
For a while Earl Geddes was manufacturing and selling large-format 90-degree waveguide-based speakers here in the US. Geddes is the source for modern waveguide theory, and I believe the SP Tech waveguide draws on his foundational work. At the moment, Geddes' designs are being manufactured in Thailand for the prosound market and he does not currently have US distribution.
The Emerald Physics CS2 uses a 75-degree pattern waveguide for the high frequency section mated to a dipole woofer section via a DSP crossover, with bi-amplification required. The larger prototypes shown at RMAF 2006 and CES 2007 used a 90-degree waveguide.
Yours truly uses a 90-degree waveguide based on the work of Geddes. I think the SP Tech waveguide is 110 or 120 degrees, but otherwise what we're doing is conceptually similar - though we have different ideas about crossover points and a few other details.
There are several prosound companies (Genelec comes to mind) that use waveguides in the design of their monitors.
I'm sure there are others that I'm inadvertently leaving out. By way of disclosure, I either presently am or have been a dealer for several of the lines mentioned in this post.
Duke |
Oops,
Maybe I should clarify that statement and say that there's not many competitors with waveguide technology. |
Spenceroo
That's a bold statement your making
Once you reach a certain level it's all about subtle differenceS from one speaker manufacturer to another
IMO Sp tech has many competitors. |
Trsando,
The prices are listed on the SP Tech website (www.4sptech.com). As far as competitors, I'm not sure there are any. |
I tried to post this question last night, don't know if it's stuck in the q or censored (didn't think there was anything so bad about the question)....anyway, can someone tell me what these speakers cost and what their nearest well-know competitor might be? I guess I could buy a pair myself sight unseen (unheard) but it would be nice to have some idea of them. THanks. |
There's more info available on the Audio Circles website. There's a forum for SP Tech speakers there. Apparently some guys over there are planning on having a speaker party of sorts with a number of lesser known buy highly rated monitors. There's a thread about it in the Audio Central forum. |
I got a good dose of SP Tech Revelations at a friends house today (6 hours+)
You're not making a mistake, the SP Techs are something special.
I never heard speakers take the most complex, bombastic passages without breaking a sweat, remaining controlled, with NO distortion, under the most unimaginable conditions.
Listening to Cowboy Junkies "Whites Off Earth Now" was the baddest-ass I ever heard.
Long story short, a pair of Continuum A.D.'s will be on order in the very near future. |
I've heard SP Tech speakers several times, and I think they are excellent. In my opinion Bob Smith starts out with an exceptionally intelligent concept and then he really does his homework on getting the details right. In particular, he did a first-class job on the crossover... and imho 'tis crossover design what separates the men from the boys.
Duke
dealer/manufacturer |
musicfile, I totally agree. Even better, I am excited about great gear coming from Asia and Eastern Europe. |
Spenceroo thanks for your post
I think Sp tech is starting to make quite a name for itself - kudo's to them
The tide is turning...... out with the big brand name speakers and in with the boutique "low on the radar" speakers i'm excited with where Audio is headed |
Tboooe,
I haven't received my speakers yet. I'm not exactly telling people to run out and buy them. I'm just suggesting that people take a look at them if they're in the market for a new pair of speakers. SP Tech doesn't get much mention around here and I thought I'd stir the pot a little. I'm hoping some current owners will chime in and help out. |
spenceroo, have you actually received your speaker yet? If not, at this point are you recommending them just based on your interaction with the company? I am not trying to be argumentative but I just want to make sure I understand where you are coming from. I too am in the market for some monitors and SP Tech has been recommended. I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on how these speakers sound. |
