Daedalus Athena
I am not a fan of Magico either, too dry and analytical for my tastes, though I can see the attraction. Daedalus work with SS and Tubes. The company has always, as far as I know, Demo'd the speakers with Modwright SS Power Amps, at Shows. I personally prefer the sound with Tubes, in particular my ARC REf 75SE, but each to their own. |
I’m a horn guy, but needed a box speaker for demoing my Galibier products. Most folks get disoriented when presented with a horn system and I needed to address this. After hearing my customer’s (jazzdoc) Ulysses, I began to explore them further. The Daedalus speakers in general will pass the amplifier’s sonic signature through. My auditions with solid state and hybrid amps were uninspiring and I was about to strike them off my list, but suspected it was the amplification. I finally plugged in some competent vaccum tube amps and was sold. The Athenas are a bit less sensitive than the Ulysses and you could get by with the right 300B amp if this were your leaning. I’d say 20 watts (or my NiWatt amp) would be playing it safely. The flip side is that the Athenas will handle 150 watts of solid state as well - as witnessed by an after hours session we held in Newport a few years ago. Someone asked how realistically they’d reproduce The Who. I put in my musicians earplugs and we let ’er rip. He was impressed. While I’d also say that the Ulysses have a BBC/Harbeth thing going, the Athenas are a bit more US sounding - a tighter, punchier bass. Family resemblance, but with differences. When presented with an option, I’ll always opt for the higher efficiency speaker. It’s more than about amplifier power. Lower sensitivity loudspeakers by definition, lose more energy (heating the voice coil). This in turn results in compression - irrespective of amplifier power. Lastly, you'll find Daedalus owners are not gear swappers. They've been through the process and once they arrive at Daedalus, they consider themselves done. The only reason I'd ever sell my Daedalus' would be to return to my first love (horns) - certainly not for any other box loudspeakers. Cheers, Thom @ Galibier Design |
david121,321 posts11-12-2016 12:58amI’ve heard Daedalus Athena V2 speakers with Zesto valve amps & thought they sounded natural and smooth, though I personally prefer my S5 Mk2’s which are just more involving and engaging, and give me more insight into the music. The S series is a bit more laid back in presentation, warmer & fuller sounding than the old Q series, though the S1 & S5 Mk2 are a bit more neutral than the Mk1 models. Paired with Vitus, Pass Labs, Absolare or Pass IQ amps & smooth, liquid sounding cables like Jorma, you can definitely get a more natural, liquid & relaxed sound which is easy to listen to. |
Thom, You've made some astute comments regarding the Daedalus. I've have listened to the Athenas only once but have heard the Ulysses on 3 occasions (twice with tube amps and once with the SS Mod wright). This speaker clearly was better sounding with the tubes driving it. Superior naturalness, emotional involvement, musical ebb and flow . In summary the presentation was noticeably more musically convincing/realistic. Thus my earlier post recommending high "quality " tube amplifiers of low to moderate power. Thom this just means that we probably share similar taste. Without question there are listeners who will definitely prefer a transistor amplifier (I get the impression that the builder himself likely prefers SS power). So once again it always boils down to a matter of taste. I agree also with the preference towards higher efficiency easier load speakers, they just make more sense to me. I appreciate the input and perspective of all of the participants here. Charles |
