Persona 9h vs S3 mk 2

Smodtactical, we have the Kef Blades which are very good not as transparent and do not throw as focused a soundstage but they sound bigger with a more rounded deeper bass.

The Vimbergs sounded amazing at Axpona, it would be hard to tell if they sound better per say, they seem like they sound similar to the Personas with a richer overall but still highly detailed presentation, nor do they have as deep of a bass response but overall they were fantastic sounding and on our list as one of the standouts at that show.

We do like Rockport speakers but haven’t heard them in a while, don’t believe that would image as holographically and the transparency in the midrange isn’t as good as the Personas, but overall a great speaker company.

Also at Axpona the Wilson DAW were sounding really good.

Those would be our recommendations.

As per Mike it is doubtful he ever had a pair in his shop, if he did a quick drop and plop without due dilligence in setup he would probably not like them.

Also Mike pushes the hell out of Magico so why would he want to bring in a direct competitor that looks prettier, is more efficient, images with more holography, and in the case of the Persona 9H offers better bass in any size room with the built in subwoofers with Anthem Room Correction.

We are willing to bet he never had a pair in his shop and based his dislike on hearing them elsewhere. A dealer would be able to answer which amplifer and setups he used.

Food for thought.

As you are a Canadidan the Personas shoud be way less expensive in Canada for you. If you factor that vs the greater cost of many competitors you should strongly consider the 9H personally we think that if you invest in good electronics, source and cabling you will get fantastic results with the 9H.

When they are setup correctly they are smooth, image incrediibly well, have very tight bass and have incredible resolution.

Personally our setup of the T+A electronics, Aqua Hifi dac, Innous Statement plus good power conditioning and cabling is one pretty amazing system if you are in the East Coast of the United States you should come over and hear our demo system it is pretty amazing.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Persona dealers

It's almost 2:30 here in Portugal, and I just finished a 4-hour listening session. Are my ears bleeding? ... not even a little!

I listened to a variety of musical genres. Alternative rock (Fink, Shearwater), world music (Dead Can Dance), jazz (Mina Agossi, Cecile McLorin), classic (Berlioz), etc.
These speakers can play anything with ease.

 Now I go to bed with a smile on my face.

@audiotroy  Honestly the 9H is an incredible value (especially for dealer prices I am getting). I would say they offer up a lot of the detail and imaging that I heard on the far more expensive Contriva G2 (although the CG2 was definitely superior). The only thing that stops me from jumping on them is my lack of comfort with beryllium. I know its not necessarily toxic as a driver but I always have a fear of the driver cracking and spraying be atoms everywhere. If I spend car money on a speaker I just don't want to ever think about something like that.

Smodtactical 

You shouldn't worry at all about Beryillium cracking, exploding or anything like that. The only danger is in dealing with Beryillium is in the manufacturing stage. We have changed out the midrange driver and it is totally safe, Beryillium is toxic as a dust or gassous particle or any airborne fragment, that could be inhaled. 

A finished Beryillium driver is totally safe, we would not recommend that you eat one but your fears are unfounded.

Also as you are in Canda that is why your pricing is better, pretty sure that part of the costs are higher in the US due to transportation costs and probably US duties and customs fees which may be less with Nafta but most likely they add substantially to the US prices.

Also we wonder if the reason the Contriva G2  sounded better because it was on different gear perhaps? 

We has both the Polymer Audio Research a $68k loudspeaker with both Acuton's pure Diamond midrange and tweeters, in a 360 lb all metal enclosure with all silver wiring, and the Polymers didn't sound a lot better than the 9H.

We also listened to a $120k set of Kharma Exquisite Classiques and they were also very good, they weren't better than the Persona 9H either just different. 

The only issue we have with our current setup is that we want a bit warmer puncher bass but that may be possible with ARC Genesis. 

We haven't retuned our 9H in a while.

We find the marriage of the Persona with the T+A gear which is warm and very liquid with outstanding detail to be a fantastic combination.

You really should just get a pair there is nothing which can really better them for this kind of money.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Persona dealers

@audiotroy I think you are right. Also if I did it, I would get it completely blacked out. Would look amazing.

Wow thats surprising about the polymer speaker. I wouldn't say the contriva g2 is n ight and day better than the persona 9H but definitely a step up... but even that is a meaningless statement as you said since the contriva g2 was connected to WAYYYY better gear and in a way better room.

Any opinion on YG acoustics newer gear like hailey or sonja 2.2 ?