Has anybody had experience with the Orions?

Thank you all for your interesting answers.

Regalma1, I hope somebody has them here in Mexico as well. I'll look into the forum.

Gregm, you're right. Live music was an overstatement, but being close to the source is my cup of tea. This implies neutrality, and dynamics ability with low distortion. If as you say, they remind you of horns, their dynamics have to be among the best for direct radiation speakers. After all, the cones are practically free to move in response to the coil's magnetic field! As for the bass, again you're right. Their -3 dB cut go down "only" to 30 Hz, which is more or less normal for their size. This is enough for me given my musical taste.

Glide3, you also seem impressed by them, specially for their accuracy. But what about the soundstage (width, depth, height), how good was it?

Ojgalli, adding the rear tweeters apparently it's a BIG improvement. It seems to be much more so than with conventional box speakers having rear tweeters. Could you please report us back when you test them?

Tarsando, could you be more specific? In what areas do you think the Magico's surpass the Orions?

Matt, thanks for the link. I'll read it thoroughly.

Regards,

Tarsando,

Here you go again, comparing apples to citrus type fruit. Not only are these two speakers continents apart in price, have you actually heard both of them?

Oz

Hello Jose:
I,m Carlos from Xalapa (friend with Raul); i don,t know if its of any interest for you but i own the Gradient Revolution which have open dipole bass and very similar in concept to the orions. i hear that Mr. linkwitz really takes his hat off with Jorma Salmi the Gradient designer.
Check out this study link, i think is fascinating:
http://www.gradient.fi/design/stereo/
Feel free to let me know if you want to come to Xalapa and check them out.
BTW: Congratulations on the Essential 3150 pre; i,ve heard it twice at Raul,s place, really state of the art.
Regards, Carlos Villarreal

Actually Jmaldonado you could probably build them for a very modest investment... The drivers are about 1,5k altogether. The xover is very complex for a lame diyer -- but shouldn't be a problem for you.
Mr Linkwitz only charges ~300 for the full technical design & schematics.

I owned various Thiels over the years and often listened to lots of others whenever hit by the upgrade bug. When I found the Orions I was cured. They are the best I have ever heard and the closet to the sound of real music, at least Classical - which is my primary interest. I have added the rear tweeter to mine and that kicked things up a notch, which is really saying something considering the level of the original. They have a very natural, open sound that some hi-fi types may not appreciate at first. Nothing jumps out at you as with many speakers but that is what makes them so satisfying over time. They reproduce music about as realistically as you can in a home environment.

Tim McTeague