Talon Khorus question

I own a pair of broken-in Khorus', and my experience with them mirrors Don's above. When I first fired them up, within a minute I turned to my friend sitting next to me and said, "They sound dampened." Obviously Don has had the same experience. What I've come to realized, as he did, is that the speakers lack the "halo" around the music (as first mentioned in Stuart McCreary's Stereo Times review). It's like listening to music in front of a jet black backdrop (if your other equipment is up to the task). It does take a little getting used to, but it quickly grows on you. I've found the treble to be very detailed and not at all rolled off. The Khorus' are a very detailed speaker with the tightest, most detailed low end I've ever heard. Music just has more texture to it. My previous speakers were NHT 3.3's, and I've auditioned a number of higher end designs from Martin Logan, B&W, Linn and others. As mentioned, they are very sensitive to associated equipment and cables. I switched a pair of interconnects once, and it was almost like changing a preamp or other component. And this is from a guy who had been skeptical about the differences mere interconnects could make. I'm a believer now. In short, I've found the Khorus' have delivered on their promise and left me very satisfied.

I am one of the lucky ones who have picked up the khorus's at the "used " market price. I have been totally touchred by the performance of these speakers. I had compared against B&W, Theil (7.2) , Audio Physics and have found nothing that compares to the lifelike presentation these reveal. The break in is critical and I believe most are not patient enough to burn them in properly. The speakers are the best I have ever had and I anxiously await coming home to crank these up and enjoy what I find to be the best music I have ever listened to. The Orchard bay Spikes designed for these are definitely recommended and combined with good gear literrally out class anything I have ever heard. The used market prices are like the stock market, and if you can take advantage of acquiring as such is nothing short of a good value! I could go on and on about their merits, but will simply close by saying that These are as good as it gets with the current technology deployed in high end speaker systems!!

Metaphysics -- randomness is clumpy, and this could indeed explain it. Avguygeorge -- I never claimed the Talons are better than any particular speaker. In my post above (apologies for the pedantry), you'll see that I only said I've found the Khorus do some things "right" and some things better than my last speaker (ML reQuest). I can't answer your question about whether the Khorus is "better" than the other speakers you listed. I've heard some of them but not all. As you know, each speaker has its own personality: What's "best" for one person won't necessarily be "best" for someone else. I personally crave speed, detail, and a holographic soundstage; the Khorus satisfy this craving better than any other speaker I've owned (including Martin Logan and Dunlavy) or auditioned. Some people don't like revealing speakers, and prefer a more forgiving or warm personality. For them, the Vandersteen 5 might be a "best" choice. Others may crave a slam speaker, and there are several excellent speakers that have more slam than the Khorus, and so on. For this reason, I don't think there is an overall "best" speaker out there. Music is just too personal. In any case, the Khorus is best for my present tastes, and this is what I was trying to convey in my response to Suchtan's question. Suchtan -- Thank you for the nice complement. I've heard Thailand is beautiful, and I would like to visit there someday. I hope some of the wild places and remarkable bird species are still left when I get a chance to travel around to that side of the planet. It's a shame you don't have the opportunity to audition the Khorus. As Avguygeorge cautioned, you shouldn't let manufacturer hyperbole influence your decision (all manufacturers hype their gear to some extent and cast it in the most favorable light). Do the Khorus represent a quantum leap in technology? I don't know. I think Talon is doing something right because the Khorus manage to do so many things so well. Are they faster than electrostatics? Can't answer this either. The Khorus do sound very fast. The Khorus' bass is decidedly faster and more detailed than the reQuest and other speakers I've heard. In the upper mid-range and top end, I'd say the Khorus and electostatics are comparably fast, though the Khorus is definitely more detailed there and seems to stop quicker (don't know how). In the lower half of the mid-midrange, I'd say the Khorus sounds a tad slower than the panels, but the Khorus are still very fast and IMHO are more detailed than the electrostats in this part of the spectrum too. In any case, if you want to know whether the Khorus might suit your tastes, I would suggest seeing if you can find somewhere to audition some of the more popular fast and detailed speakers like ML (or other electrostatics), Dunlavy, Thiel, or Joseph Audio. (I would caution that the Khorus are a bit warmer, more polite, and less analytical than some of these designs.) If you like this kind of sound reproduction, I think the Khorus would be a great buy at $6000-8000. However, I'm just one data point. As noted, each person has different ears and tastes, so you should read as many different objective reviews of the Khorus -- from people who have actually owned or spent time with them -- to help give you an overall sense of how they perform and what you can expect. It sounds like you are already doing this, and inquiring on Audiogon should give you some additional perspectives and a larger sample of informed data points (e.g., from Macm and Slagletj) to help you make a decision. Good luck on your quest. Don

Thanks for the additional info, Djjd. Based on my long-term memory, I was thinking electrostats might have a slight edge in the quickness department, but you would know better than I, having living with ML. Perhaps the Khorus' smoothness belies their speed. I agree that they are a little laid back, but I wouldn't call their sound warm (in my system, that is). But I can see how some who like a more "visceral" sound might think the Khorus' are a bit too smooth and polite. For those who've not heard the Khorus', if you're familiar with the sound of Sennheiser HD600 headphones, you have some idea of the laid back quality the Khorus' possess. Plenty of detail, but absolutely no harshness at all. I hope some of the comments posted here by Khorus owners help assauge the concerns I've read on the web that Talon doesn't live up to its billing. I can't vouch for the "100 times faster than traditional drivers" claim, but there is definitely something special going on here. Certainly worth an audition if you get the chance. I should add that Talon has an "X" version of the Khorus coming out soon. The changes will be cosmetic (and a heavier cabinet), with a MSRP of $18k. That may help explain why dealers and others have been selling theirs.

Macm, I concur with your assessment (I also have HD600's and have noticed some similarity). It was quite a change for me to go from the in-your-face ML sound to the more laid-back Khorus sound. However, I do find the music to be more relaxing and enjoyable now, and I can listen to (and appreciate) recordings that sounded too aggressive on the MLs. I wasn't suggesting the Khorus is a "warm" speaker by any stretch, just that it sounds a little warmer to me than some of the detailed but dry-sounding speakers. It was a relative comparison. In particular, in my system the midbass through midrange of the Khorus is harmonically richer than the MLs, without sounding unnaturally lush or gooey. (Ditto for the HD-600s.) The music seems more complete to me now, though it's still not "warm" in an absolute sense. As for speed, my ability to resolve subtle differences in transients is based on a pretty course filter: very slow, slow, moderate, fast, very fast. Most sharp transients (rim shots, woodblocks, initial pick of a guitar string, etc.) sound "very fast" to me on both the Khorus and ML. The only speed differences I hear are mainly in the bass (Khorus "very fast" v. ML "moderate") and lower mids (ML a notch faster or at least more vivid). Overall the Khorus sounds fast across the spectrum, while the MLs slow down near the bottom. If you don't mind my asking, what cables have you tried and which are you currently using with your Khorus? Don