RMAF Day One: Speakers Under $20K
Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2009, Day One—Speakers up to $20K
It can take a while to get a feel for the rhythm of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, in part because the show is so big and the general quality level of demonstrations so high that the normal audiophile’s instinct is to stop and listen carefully to, well, everything—which there really isn’t time enough to do.
My product category for RMAF is sub-$20k loudspeakers, and for my first RMAF blog, I’ll try to capture three highlights from Day One: first, some of the better high-priced speakers I heard in my category; second, some of the better value-priced speakers I heard in my category; and third, mention some not-really-new for RMAF models that were producing very good sound.
Speakers under-$20k: Higher-Priced Models
Eficion F300, $14,900/pair
From Eficion designer Peigen Jiang comes one of the most impressive debuts I’ve heard in a long time: the F300 full-range speaker offering a hybrid blend of Heil-type air motion transformer, ribbon, and dynamic driver technology. Loosely based on what I’ve come to think of as the Watt/Puppy configuration, the F300 is split into a top tweeter mid-range section that is coupled, via included Stillpoints feet, to a lower bass module. The top section features a forward-firing Heil-type air motion transformer tweeter, a rear-firing Raven-type ribbon tweeter, with a 6.5-inch non-woven carbon fiber mid-bass driver. The lower section features a 12-inch non-woven carbon fiber woofer. The sound: well-balanced, almost unbelievably dynamic, and blessed with blazingly fast transient speeds.
Naim Ovator S-600, $10,450/pair
I began my day with a pre-show press briefing on this fascinating loudspeaker, which features an impressive blend of advance technologies, including a main speaker cabinet that is decoupled from its own floor plinth (which doubles as a crossover housing) by a system of leaf springs, two very high-quality paper cone woofers with low distortion motors, a spring-isolated mid-range/high-frequency driver housing, and a so-called Balanced Mode Radiator (BMR) combo midrange/tweeter driver that—get this—features a decidedly high-end reinterpretation of NXT technology (although designer Karl Heinz Fink does jokingly say the BMR diaphragm features a “singing cardboard” diaphragm).
Raven Bard, $6000/pair
Raven is best known for its very high-quality ribbon drivers, but in the Bard desingers Kimon Bellas and Alan Hulsebus have given us a hybrid piston-driver/ribbon-driver stand mount monitor of exceptional build quality that is capable of a terrific degree of sonic finesse. The Bard feature two 5-inch Focal mid-bass drivers, a 1-inch square waveguide loaded ribbon, and an unusual laminated cabinet design with extensive (and quite artful) internal bracing, plus a venture-loaded slot-like port. The sound is beautifully balanced and serves up a remarkable amount of inner detail. Raven is a company to watch.
Rethm Maarga, $6995/pair
For RMAF, Rethm—best known for its beautiful single-driver/full-range speakers--showed the almost-finalized version of its striking new Maarga speaker, which offers a new take on the single-driver loudspeaker concept. The main top section of the Maarga houses a heavily modified Lowther full-range drive, while a pleasingly integrated lower section houses two powered 6-inch woofers in an enclosure that provides isobaric loading (actually, the Maarga on demonstration had just one woofer, but the final product units will have two). The upshot of this design is a speaker that preserves the singular sonic purity for which sthe best single-driver/full-range speakers are famous, but with a level of bass extension and power few others can equal.
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Comments
Greetings Mr. Martens!!
On behalf of the entire Raven design team, let me thank you for stopping by our room at RMAF and for the kind words on the Raven Bard's. Since the inception of the project, Kimon and Alan have been striving to bring to the market an absolute best in a small, two way system. We feel like we are pretty close to it with the introduction of the Bard's.
Having the opportunity to introduce the Raven Bard's to you was one of the highlight's of the show for us! It was very fortunate for us that when you came by, there happened to be a lull in the traffic at that time!! Hopefully, you will have the opportunity to listen to them once again at CES!
Thank you very much!
Nick Wingate Jr.
National Sales Manager
Raven Design Studios
Orca Design and Manufacturing
It's appalling that there should even BE enough speakers over $20k to merit that being the dividing line! For Pete's sake, we're in a recession of historical proportions, and for most people, spending $2k on speakers would seem extravagant, much less $20k...
Yes, my speakers cost more than $2k (a lot more). But would I think of purchasing them in today's economy? Not on your life... high-end audio needs to get real. The technology and manufacturing is in place to bring costs down and still get killer performance. That's what people can afford, and that's where attention should be focused, lest we keep encouraging companies to go higher and higher in price for fewer and fewer customers.
Too bad you missed the Odyssey room, they had a pair of floor standers that was one of the best of show for me at any price , for less than $3000.
I am not affiliated with Odyssey in any way.
Machinehead,
Actually, I did visit the Odyssey room and thought the speaker you've mentioned was pretty good. However, I was even more taken with some other offerings in the same general price class--most notably the Salk Songtower QWT (which also caught Robert Harley's ear) and the LSA Group LSA1 Statement monitors.
Speakers in the sub-$3K range constitute one of my favorite product categories, but since I'm familiar with what I regard as some of the classics within that genre (e.g., Magnepan MG 1.6, Usher Be-718, and others), I tend to hold newer products in the category to some admittedly high standards.
Best, Chris Martens
Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision
Too bad you missed the Odyssey room, they had a pair of floor standers that was one of the best of show for me at any price , for less than $3000.
I am not affiliated with Odyssey in any way.
I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Jiang's showroom (Eficion) a few months ago and was absolutely stunned by the sound of the F300s. At the beginning of the demo, he queued up a classical track on his PC/DAC source and walked to the back of the room. He had inadvertedly left the output levels a bit too high, and we were bathed in an opening triple forte crescendo. While this was a bit startling, I could hear absolutely no distortion or compression. The dynamic range of these speakers is easily among the best I've heard. Mr. Jiang quickly corrected the levels and went on to play some more subdued tracks. The last of these was an aria by Cecila Bartoli. I've been in love with the sound of this woman's voice for quite some time, and it was a wonderful experience to hear it rendered with such "in the room" presence.
While I appreciate affordable components as much as anyone, especially in this economy, I recognize that it is often a process of cost no object design leading the way to the eventual budget miracle as the technology trickles down.
Additionally, certain costly materials, and labor intensive processes dictate price points. Even now, not everything can be done by a machine. QC and finishing processes, not to mention the thousands of hours and dollars that go into development of a new product all add up. For the small entrepreneur who may only sell a few hundred versus tens of thousands, a higher price point allows them to recapture their costs and compete with the industry giants. Today's mainstream brands had to start somewhere.
Lets also not forget while we are taking manufacturers or reviewers to task, that the high end designs provide a standard against which to measure the lower cost transducer. I may not own speakers that cost as much as a condominium this year, but having heard some of the best efforts out there, at least I know what is possible.
So keep on covering and supporting both ends of the spectrum.
And to my fellow audiophiles - there is room for everyone, and plenty of great low cost product out there - so quit whining. :)
Nice speaker reviews, and I agree with Audioimage's comments. I would add that at long as you have your personal finances (and charitable contributions ;-) in order, purchasing the best speakers you can afford is nothing to feel guilty about. It is after all consumer confidence and spending that leads us out of recesssions.
Chris,
This LSA Statement Monitor has gotten great mentions from you for what, 3 years now? What's wrong with the LSA people? If I were them I would have sent you a review pair a long time ago. Seems they make good speakers but may be either timid or just dense.
M.D.,
Actually, the LSA people would love to get their product reviewed if we could find a review slot for them at some point in the future.
The problem, however, is that the Playback review queue is full to overflowing with worthy review products from mainstream companies such as Paradigm, PSB, Monitor Audio, etc. Given the very limited number of review slots we have, we felt we would best serve our readers by covering products that are more widely distributed (our thinking being that, all other things being equal, most readers would gravitate toward speaker systems they could readily go see and hear at a local or regional store prior to making a purchase).
Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision
That's too bad then Chris and allow me to throw in a "my bad" along with that. I'm sure there are a whole lot of companies that are in their situation. Time for the publishers to give you journalists more paper perhaps? 194,195 and 196 of TAS was on the skinny side. Personally I'm willing to pay a bit more for the extra content but I do understand that there might not be as many junkies out there like me. I think it's time for a market survey.
Anyhow it might be nice to give slot or two a month to some worthy start ups. Reviews have a great influence on distributors and you could be doing the manufacturers, distributors and ultimately us, the consumers a great service by providing us with more choices to be had locally.
Thanks for the reply by the way.