Living Voice Speakers
RGO -- Sat, 09/27/2008 - 15:07
Does any forum member have experience with these speakers. I know they are made in England and I have read some great reviews. However, there does not appear to be a U.S. distribution network. I believe they used to be imported by Bluebird, but apparently not anymore. Any info on the sound of these speakers would be appreciated.
I know that Roy Gregory, editor of our sister magazine Hi-Fi+, was at one time (and still might be) very high on the Living Voice.
I heard them sound very good at a show once with Chord electronics.
Bluebird distributes Chord electronics and at one time distributed Living Voice. Apparently their newer speakers are voiced with Kondo tube electronics.
I was searching all most a year for speakers to go with my Lindemann equipment. I was listening to all the usual suspects (Wilson Audio, Martin Logan, Isophon, Sonus Faber, Marten, Thiel, Wilson Benesch). Some were fine speakers (Sophia, Guarneri, Miles) but none off them grab me.
For me, music is a form of emotion. Most speakers sound way to overstreched in the higher frequencies for me.
Living Voice were the first speakers to really attach me to the music. Playing The Healer from John Lee Hooker sounded like the man was in my living room. Same with George Benson or Miles David. Listing to Solti directing Mahler's 9th Symphony, I really felt the pain in Mahler's life!
So while I'm waiting for my pair of IBX-R2, a pair of OBX-R2 is playing in my living room. Cabling is from Nordost.
First impressions. Big ugly boxes, they don't have the looks of a pair of Sonus Faber. Second the tend to react with the floor, if you have a wooden floor that's fine. If you have some form of carpet the box will sound dry in the midrange. Third, they can be very far apart from each other, 4 meters is fine. Fourth, since the tweeter is not in the center, there is a left and a right speaker.
After two weeks of intense listening I'm still happy with my Living Voice speakers. So you will either like it of hate it. You need to listen to a pair to see if you like the sound. I suggest to forget the entry one, the fun start with the Avatar.
One of the most musical speakers I have heard.
Hi RGO,
Roy Gregory's comments in past issues of Hi-Fi+ would definitely be a good starting place, and they've been extensively reviewed on other sites - 6moons for instance.
We stock Living Voice speakers, among a number of other "hi-end" contenders. The most interesting thing for us, and in regard to what I think is so compelling about the Living Voice range, the most defining, is this anecdotal evidence I offer for your consideration. We conduct client demos in a particular room off to the side of our store dedicated to hi-end two channel systems. Recently we had a client in who's been trying to decide between a number of speakers, the Living Voice's included. My colleague had been doing the demo with the clients music (Kings of Leon, Roxy Music, etc) which had been played over and over. I hadn't really been paying too much attention, but "Sex on Fire" came on, and I ended up sneaking in and sitting off to one side while the song played out. It had probably been the third or fourth time it had played, but this time, it seemed to mean something. More than just a bunch of words and a catchy melody. It had purpose. Drive. A sense of urgency. As if the Followhill's wanted to me to feel something. To get something. I guess you can see where this is heading... Even through a closed door in our demo room with me bustling round the store with other things on my mind, all of a sudden the music became intentional and I ended up sat in the demo room with the Living Voice's playing. They were up against stiff competition too, but it was pretty clear to me - and the client - that conventional "hi-fi-isms" couldn't readily be applied to what we were hearing. The only way to describe it was by using emotional and musical terms, rather than terms related to sonics. The client was smitten (though he can't decide on what finish to go for) and I was reminded once again of what is most enjoyable about this pursuit - having the music you love communicated to you in the fullest sense with the intentions of the composers, musicians and engineers intact.
But lets put this in context. The Living Voice's have their own particular strengths and weaknesses, and of course, they are not alone in that regard. We have other speakers that do things the Living Voice's can't, offering greater scale, weight, macro-dynamics, more precisely drawn images, that will play louder and with greater extension at both ends of the spectrum. But during the demo that particular day, none of the other contenders drew me or the client into the music as powerfully as the Living Voice's did.
However, I think nasvictor is quite correct in that as many people will love them, there will be just as many for whom "important" boxes will remain unticked. Which is why we sell other hi-end speaker brands, and hearing them first-hand is essential. However, if your concerns are more to do with the musicians ability to communicate meaning than the transducers ability to reveal the height of the rear wall of the concert hall, I think one could do far worse than to hear a pair of Living Voice's.
Good luck.
I have owned voicespeakers.com for many years and will let it go cheap.
let me know
Mike
I own a pair of Avatar2 for 6 years now. These are great communicators in terms of emotions and rhythms. They dont throw big pin-point soundstage nor go very low, nor are they super clear. What they do is to dive into the music in a very cohesive manner.
Pair them with sweet fast amps and you will enjoy the music that they make. To max out their potential, you can tweak them with Totem Beaks and place them on rigid low stands. Reduce vibration from the cabinet and be rewarded with better focus, tighter bass and even more incisive leading edges.
Good luck
If you like the sound of LV speakers you might also care to consider the UK Audionote range....perhaps one of the 'E' units. Art Dudley did a rather thorough review on these and they tend to interest the same type of listener as LV. I could live with eaither make, but actually bought the Audionotes (which are a mild update on the wonderful old Snell designs.)
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