I have George's old D2s and they're probably my last speaker. With bass room correction (to lose the lower hump) and a bit of judicious frequency work (lowering usually) using the DSPeaker Anti-Mode 2.0 I have stunningly life-like performance with a flat frequency response that's full at 31Hx in my room, no sub (but no real loud volumes either). Define garbage, and since you've never heard a pair, don't bother. |
I have never heard them but they measure like garbage. https://www.hifinews.com/content/raidho-d-21-loudspeaker-lab-report |
Well we did not demo a Raidho and Borresen side by side. BUMMER IMO. Anyhow the Borresens are fantastic. The highs are even more airy - smooth and detailed than the Raidho's. We demoed the 01's - 02's and the 03's. Believe it or not but they are fairly close to each other as far as SQ. After owning the D1's - D2's - D2.1's and now the D3.1's I would say the 01's are between the D2's and 2.1's. Found out the the Borresens at the RMAF were prototypes with the 01's needing more fine tuning. Sure sounds like they have them dialed in now. Besides the highs being better the transients in the mids and lows are so much faster and more natural sounding. My only complaint with the Raidho's is in the highs. Sitting in the sweet spot the highs are killer - but stand up and you lose some highs. Doesn't happen with the Borresen's. But when you stand up the mids get more forward with the 03's. Off axis is great with both speakers. That said the Borresens had only a bit over 100hrs on them. After owning so many Raidho's I can say the tweeter will settle down after 350hrs. At around 650 hr the mids and lows settle down. Around 8-900hrs all of a sudden everything just snaps into place from top to bottom. IMO a tough but worth it break in. I would suggest for anyone looking for pre-owned stay away from low hour speakers if you really want what the Raidho's are known for. It's a very long and good story but with the D2.1's I had 4 brand new pairs. All took the same break in time frame which follows what I heard with the others as well. Will I get the Borresens? As of now not if I have to cough up more cash. But that could change with more hrs. on the Borresens. |
I heard the new Borresen speakers at RMAF 2018 and thought they sounded great (along with several other brands) but they did not trigger that well know audio related disease known as upgraditits. My more "modest" system continues to provide sonic joy! Perhaps prolonged exposure in a more controlled setting might yield a different result. I'm curious to hear your thoughts along the way, George... |
Tomorrow I'm going to a 'soft' Borresen speaker demo at my dealer. What I mean by a soft demo is with several other folks try to determine the best positioning. They are not broken in yet either. I'm not sure if he is willing to compare them to the Raidho's yet. My suggestion (I know it sounds stupid) would be to run 1 Borresen and 1 equivalent Raidho at the same time. The real demo will be in January when Mike and Lars are supposed to come. The speakers will be broken in by them. Note: I did hear the 03's right out the box and my first impression was pretty neutral. After about an hour they sounded quite a bit better. In a way I hope they aren't much better or different because I just got the 3.1's in May. The scary part is there will be no discounting with the Borresens. |
Nice to hear you are still digging your Raidho's, George! At one point I
was using a 70 watt stereo amp and while it brought that tube magic, at
louder volume the amp would sometimes distort on certain low bass notes.
I now use VAC 200iq mono blocs which handle the tonal spectrum with
ease and the sound is fabulous! |
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Raidho's will sound the best with good clean power. That said they sound wonderful even with lower powered amps. More power will give you better control of the music. Nothing earth shattering but just better. I went from the Octave V70se (70W) to the V110 (110W) when I had the D2's and later the 2.1's. Then I went to the Aavik U300 (300W) and at low listening levels it's hard to tell the difference. But crank them up and that's where the added power really shines. The Octave (tubes) fell apart at VERY loud listening levels. At anything level up to loud the Octave was really good. Glad I have the U300 because now I have D3.1's. |
I have the 2.0. I was told that 2.1 has better bass extension and dynamics, but the $15,000 upgrade is outrageous. I can get an excellent pair of speakers for that sum. I've been a loyal customer having owned the C1.1, D1, and presently D2, but there upgrade pricing is leaving me with a really distaste for this company. I'm thinking of abandoning Raidho altogether. Enter your text ... Same thing happened to me with my C3 speakers..I wont buy Raidho again,they change their lines way too often,bad money spent IMO |
Here is link about Raidho and their ceramic and diamond drivers. Be sure to read under the pictures. http://jlvalin.zenfolio.com/p730237376/h2be1e300#h15fd204e |
@dracule1 Where are you located? I was told by my local dealer the D2 to D2.1 upgrade was 8250 USD. 15000 sounds more like a D3 to D3.1 upgrade. I agree with your assessment regarding the sound quality of the D series. I would add the diamond coating creates a blacker background letting you hear more lifelike music. I disagree with your opinion of the cabinets. Mine are walnut burl and look a lot better than the standard piano black. That said I too own D2's and am driving them the Aavik U300 (started with an Octave V110 tube integrated). I finally heard D1.1's at Axpona. I also started with the D1's and from what I heard at Axpona from the D1.1's was faster transients. It also sounded a bit louder with an even deeper low end. Almost like someone removed grills from the front of the speaker. But I hate to compare what I heard at Axpona vs my system because one HUGE difference were the cables used at Axpona. The new Ansuz DTC cables are quite an improvement over my Ansuz Ceramics. I say that because I've had 2 demos of the DTC cables - the first was in my home when Lars was in town last October. Honestly the DTC power cord brought my system up to a whole new level. @2ndliner Another thing about Raidho is speaker placement. You want them at least 9ft apart - 3 or more ft from the walls toed in pointed toward your shoulders. |
What sets raidho apart from most other dynamic speaker manufacturers is their own diamond coated midrange/woofer drivers and planar magnetic tweeters. They are perhaps the most pure sounding drivers out there, rivaling the best electrostatic and ribbon speakers. They are fast and extended without being fatiguing over the long run, similar to a well designed electrostatic speaker without the limited dynamics. They image superbly. The cabinet of raidhos are nothing to write home about. It's your standard ported HDF cabinet with aluminum baffle which the drivers are integral part. However, there are very good competing designs out there, some costing less. Raidhos like power. Most prefer solid state with them, but I like a Bob Carvers tube mono locks on mine. You're not going to get Wilson or Magico level dynamics and bass punch with Raidhos. |
I have the 2.0. I was told that 2.1 has better bass extension and dynamics, but the $15,000 upgrade is outrageous. I can get an excellent pair of speakers for that sum. I've been a loyal customer having owned the C1.1, D1, and presently D2, but there upgrade pricing is leaving me with a really distaste for this company. I'm thinking of abandoning Raidho altogether. |
