Just got my pair of SB-C700s this Monday.
Decided to buy them because I was wowed every time I go to the Technics showroom in Osaka to listen to the SBR1s. Figure if the affordable sibling can give me a glimpse of the very neutral and detailed sound of the R1’s I’d be happy.
Placing them 60" away from the front wall like I do my Eidolon Diamonds and YG Haileys I find the whathifi’s review to be spot on. Bright, lean, and sometimes congested. Yikes.
I moved them upstairs and placed them where I had my living room speakers... much better at a mere 6" from the front wall but there was no image to speak of.
Took them back to the man-cave and placed them 24" from the front wall and away from the side wall and I was floored. The coherence and detail and imaging capabilities of the speakers are nothing short of amazing, not to mention that usable bass can go down to the 40s! Yes they are THAT picky when it comes to placement.
Placed on top of a 24" stand they pressurize the room nicely, throwing a huge wide soundstage. There is no lack of details, no smearing or growling. Just music with lot’s of confidence and class. It’s got details that rival my other speakers that cost orders of magnitude more, as minimonitors they are definitely NOTHING like those vintage Rogers LS3/5a that is colored with a "loudness" bass hump, gets nasal, congested, and can only play tacky crappy Chinese ballads by Teresa Teng from the 1980s. Yes I have an affinity for Focal, especially their Utopia Be line, but for a moment forget the Technics are sub-$1000 market price and listen without prejudice, they really got me to fall in love with them.
One thing though, the Technics HATE tube amps. Almost blew the Tenor 70s and sounded lean with my triode-modded SF Power 2. Didnt want to use my NP220s fearing that I might overdrive the speakers. I settled in with a freshly re-capped STAX 40W class A amp with huge amounts of current and am never happier. Yes they are that picky.
