Daedalus

OK, my DA-RMa's now have a good 2 weeks on them, probably a total of 150 hours or so. This isn't intended as an exhaustive review, just a quick addendum to my post above. In summary, I'm very pleased with their sound. I'm certain I don't have things optimized as far as room placement, sub x-over etc., but these guys really sound natural and musical. I've just left the sub's x-over at 36hz, with very minimal gain--I'm not a basshead by any stretch of the imagination, but for me with minimal supplement by the sub, the bass is fine, very tight & quick also.

The Micro Utopias that the DA-RMa's replaced are very nice in their own right, but the DA-RMa's just sound more like live music, less 'electronic' for lack of a better term. As I noted on a different site, the Micro Uotpia's excel at high end detail (even tho mine have been modded to smooth the top end out a bit), but I've found that I haven't lost any detail with the DA-RMa's, yet the overall resolution of the DA-RMa's is significantly better....don't know if that makes sense to anyone else, but its my best attempt at describing that particular phenomena :)! To me, part of the high end detail I heard with the Micro Utopia's was slightly obscuring other areas. The mids and treble with the DA-RMa's are to die for, with great resolution as noted, but NEVER fatiguing (completely in line with everything I've ever read about Daedalus spkrs).

Soundstage is bigger, more 'air' between instruments. Overall pinpoint imaging of instruments/singer within the soundstage is about the same I'd say--maybe a slight nod to the DA-RMa's due I'd guess to the better overall resolution throughout the frequency range.

I've swithched back and forth between my Cary SLI-80 integrated and my Pathos Classic MkII integrated quite a bit this weekend. Both are very good with the DA-RMa's, but my overall preference is with the Cary. I will say that the DA-RMa's easily let me hear differences in various NOS 6922's used in the pre section of the Pathos.

Again, I'm no reviewer :), and certainly don't have 'golden ears' (I can't tell you how many times I've spent $ on different cables/tubes, tweaks and really WANTED to hear a difference and justify the expense and couldn't!), but the above is my somewhat feeble attempt to provided what little insight I can about the DA-RMa's sound.

Happy listening!

Rrsclyde Very helpful, thankyou. I am sorry to keep bashing on about the base, but, you say you use a sub, could you comment on the Da-rma's without the sub

David12,

I listened for a while without my sub being switched on, and frankly didn't even realize it! Of course, once I turned it on I could tell it was contributing to the sound (remember I have it crossed over fairly low and with very little gain at this point), and yes I preferred the sound with it on, but the DA-RMa's were certainly not bass deficient (to my tastes) even without being supplemented by my REL.

Hope that helps some; of course IMHO with subs (and speakers too) your room and setup are going to have a huge influence on how well the spkrs and/or subs load the room in the bass octaves...

David12: In my experience if you have the choice it is better to go with a full range speaker than use a monitor and a sub. Proper integration of a subwoofer is tricky and compounds variables like room size, dimensions and construction. Even a good sub, like the Rel (I used a Stadium III for a while with my Harbeth Compact 7's) can be a challenge to work with. Lou's speakers are very coherent throughout the frequency range and I'd hate to see that compromised by application of a subwoofer. Your room, at 20 X 20 is fairly large and could easily take the DA-1.1's. Mine is 14 X 23 and open on one side and these speakers fill the room beautifully without overpressurizing the space. Rrsclyde, if you can't tell whether your sub is on or not you have probably got it set just right! I always mucked up the sound with my Rel trying to "hear" it--hey, I paid good money for it now let's hear this thing rock! Wrong approach. The best sub is the one you don't know is there. Hey Lou, how about some input for guys using (or thinking of using) subs with their Daedalus speakers?

Thanks to both of you, a misunderstanding, dodgealum. I was not planning to use a sub with the Da-rma, just wondering what sort of base I would get out of it, whether I would notice the loss of a bottom octave as comared with the DA 1. I realise the DA1 is a different line, but the Ulysses is too large to get passed my wife