Right up front you should know that these Sourcepoint 8s are used and have been modified with the GR Research Crossover Mods. According to the GR site/web, the mods are a straight replacement of components with higher quality ones. It also has an impedance trap to tame the impedance peak around 3k. The same trap was implemented in the 10s ME.
The speakers are in a 14x16x9 living room. On their original stands, 3+ ft from the side walls and about 6 ft apart. I won't go into my system or sources at this point (except in context) since I want to just tell you what I heard that changed. I will say that my current Speakers were/are Apogee Stages that I love. They are 3ohm and 83db.
After initial placement I listened to the 8s for about 3 hours with certain tracks (Hi-Res) from Amazon HD through Eversole DMP A6 into Denafrips Venus II 12th via I2S. I moved them around a little, but have not had time to integrate them into my room or with my Rythmik and SVS Micro subs. I can comment on components of the sound more so than the musical aspects.
First of all - the details are all there. The complimentary voices in James Taylor's song "Wondering" from Gorilla were distinctly there. Lesser speakers barely reveal them much less place them separate. The drum segment at about 3:20 into "Take 5" sounded substantially different than I have heard it before. It was more real and live and defined. Dire Straits "My Latest Trick" was full and perfectly rendered. The drum and bass in the first section of "The Spanish Moon" filled the room with the heft that it is intended to have and as the song becomes more complex and filled with all of the bandmembers entering the fray, the 8s still held everything together - or - should I say apart?
In general, the sound was big and wide and rich. I do feel that there is an overall downward tilt to the sound with the upper ranges slightly lower than I would like. That may just be a placement issue more than anything else. I can certainly understand how some think of the speakers as warm but I hear them as big. Even at this early stage, I can tell that their off axis sound will really suite my lifestyle. I am very pleased with the initial sound, but I need time to rewire my brain after years with the Stages and I need time to dial things in.
