Nola Baby Grand Speakers
Elliot Goldman -- Wed, 11/03/2010 - 13:47
I know these forums get a lot of opinions about a lot of different items and it seems every week there is a new "best" of something however for me there is only the ear test and whether the item in question passes that test. I have been in the Audio Industry fir a long time. I am a music lover and don't really care about the technology that makes it happen. I have learned that a technical advance does not always mean that we get a sonic advance. I have trouble understanding how so many speakers can be considered the best by the magazine and the fact that there is little or no interplay between the reviewing principles.
Electrostats, Planars, Di-Poles, Box, Horn etc all sound different and most people have a preference for what they prefer.
THis brings me to the Nola's. This is the speaker that for me seems to have evolved from all the speakers of my past It has "balls." It plays soft, it plays loud, it has great bass, it is fast, it is clear, it has great staging, dimensionality and space. It can layer out in 3D an orchestra in spades and at the end of it all make you want to keep on listening for hours. I have been listening to so much music lately because it is the one thing in my life that takes me away from the stress of eveyday.
Bruce's The Ghost Of Tom Joad, Lyle Lovett - Family Reserve, Bradford Marsailles Trio Jeepy, HRx recording of Britton, Avishai Cohen Live at the Blue Note...it doesn't really matter the Nola is a TRUE TIME Machine. One that really does take you back to the future. If you like the guitars and strings and micro dynamics its there. If you like drum shots, they are there and if you like to sing along you will just do it.
Try it on you might really like as much as I do.
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I've been fortunate enough to hear these speakers several times and I second everything Elliot says.
PS: Classical fans are in for a real treat when they hear the Britten "Young person's" work on these speakers.
elliott,
i've had a chance at Lyric to hear Carl's work and i agree, the shit is amazing.....i will admit though.. i have asked myself can't he sell his speakers a bit cheaper......buck market forces a bit; just an honest thought and one that i believe would bode well for the level of enjoyment that his products bring to the table......also i believe that TAS has been listening to your constant demand for more comparative reviewing dynamics between reviewers.....as folks seem to be indicating a desire to visit each others set-up. all the best.....i guess it don't get better than this eh! sunshine and good music while folks up north are bundling up (lol)
Hi Z,
I can't speak for Carl or the prices but I do know he uses really expensive parts. It is really hard to put any prices in perspective unless you know the cost of the parts and the overhead of the business. One must remember that all of these HE companies are small and but in small amounts. There really is no way most of these companies can buy parts in quantities lartge enough to make the prices come down in a truly siginificant manner.
I saw in the new mag that JV and HP both listened to the same thing. One hated it , one loved it. Alas we might actually start to see and understand what is really going on and maybe every product won't get a great review.
I know from talking to many people in the industry that the reviews seem to be meaningless as far as promoting any excitement anymore
Elliot,
I don't understand your review.
Elliot,
I purchased a pair of Baby Grands about a year and a half ago after hearing them at Lyric in NYC. As soon as I heard them, I knew these speakers were something special. I have them paired up with all YBA electronics (Passion CD, Passion Preamp, Passion Amp) - a match made in heaven. And one thing that everyone comments on is the versatility of these spreakers. They can rock. They can boogie. They can sing. They can swing. One of my favorite tracks to show off what these speakers can do is Patricia Barber - Too Rich For My Blood. This track shows the dynamic range of these babies.
These speakers do it all...and are worth every penny.
JP ,
I use the same track all the time. Amazing band and drummer. I listen to everything but the HRx tracks on my system just destroy me. The Britten's guide to Orchestra really shows what the speakers and electronics can do. Layers of informatio spread out like in a concert hall. WOW. I really like how they do small things like acoustic guitar and a string bass. They can rock for sure but its the "you are there" sensation on small things that slay me.
Carl and Marilyn will be here next weekend for n event. The weathers fine come on down!!!
JP,
See if you can find the Hadouck Trio Live A FIP. If you like Jazz these guys can bring it and the recording is world class. I also like the Patricia Barber Live in France , Norwegian Wood and White World tracks.
Enjoy
I've heard Patricia Barber both live and on 45RPM vinyl. "Too Rich for my Blood" is one of my favorites. Though I like some of her music, it is so heavily processed and amplified, even when I heard her live in a small jazz club in Boston, that it sounds different on every system I have heard it on and I don't know what it really sounds like. When I heard her, the drummer was front and center and the bass was amplified, just so that it could be heard. Her voice came from speakers above my head. Sure her music can be used to judge dynamics, but surely not to judge how accurately a system reproduces live unamplified acoustic music in a real space.
I find the Nola sound to be an acquired taste and to my ears, better on classical than it is on rock. I heard the Metro at Lyric and at RMAF and the Viper in Boston.
I agree with Eliot's suggestion to do some reviews based on listening impressions from a variety or reviewers. Great idea!
Disclaimer: I am a NOLA dealer.
I agree totally with Elliot & jprestal's comments. We're a new Nola dealer, having made the decision to take on the line after listening to the Baby Grands at Carl's factory (as well as having heard various Nola speakers at shows- not always the best environments to judge). He was driving them with a 30 watt / ch tube amp, of maybe 60's or earlier vintage. Amazing! What came from the speakers was real "music", no matter what we played. A couple months later, the Baby's arrived in our demo room and, every day since then, I get a big smile on my face as I discover anew what these speakers are capable of. Huge dynamic range, amazing transparency to the source, exceptionally realistic sound stage and imaging (true to the recording, not artificial) , and, as each review has pointed out- a totally seamless integration of the drivers.
I am generally a fan of Roy Gregory's (HiFi+) writing. I don't always agree of course but find that he, like the early HP, has a very effective use of language to describe what he hears. I can visualize ( or "aural-ize"??) exactly what he's describing. In his recent review of the Baby Grand, he states " In the face of a fashion for ever-higher definition and a grip that squeezes the very life from recordings, Nola speakers breath in an organic, almost live fashion." That's probably the best testament to these wonderful loudspeakers. How many of us have heard the supposed latest, greatest speaker but came away cold? The Baby Grand's will convince you that you are listening to MUSIC- whether it's rock, classical, jazz or techno. They don't over emphasize detail with a hyped-up definition and sanitize the sound so that you come away feeling that you heard something maybe impressive but totally lacking in emotion. They're not finicky in requiring amplifiers with huge reserves of power and current, but, of course, they respond to the best of electronics- tube or solid state.
Yes, the Baby Grand's are expensive. But Nola offers two more modestly priced versions- the Metro Grand Reference and the Micro Grand Reference- that deliver more than what you'd ever expect of the Baby Grand's virtues. As a dealer, such as with a reviewer, you perhaps should take my accolades with the proverbial grain of salt. But I was first and foremost a music lover. Do yourself a favor- go to your local dealer and listen to these very special loudspeakers. At the very least, you will recalibrate your own reference for great music reproduction that elicits "emotion", vs. what may temporarily sound "impressive".
I am preparing for ur event this weekend and so I get a chance top hear the speakers with completley differnt gear for a few days. I put a REF 5, REF 210, Dac-8 and Cd-8 ontot he sytem yesterday to get it dialed in for the ARC/Nola seminar on Friday evening and then we will have the McInstosh 2301 and 2300's on Saturday afternoon for the Mac seminar. The speakers are incedibly revealing without being bright or harsh. They will change a bit with the different electronics and sources but still retain their abilities. I kind of agree with the poster before about classical music but because of the ability to know what an orchestral set up is supposed to be. It is true that rock, pop and others can be anything and therefore it is sometimes hard to know what it should or could sound like. I prefer when I set things up to use acoustic music and classical as my final tests. I do not however feel that these speakers don't do justice to anything that i have played on them. They rock, they Jazz, they blues, they classical and they small and they large.
Could you write more about the Nola Grands, Elliot? You say it has "balls" and seems evolved from all conventional speakers of your past (so better than them, I am assuming?) When you say balls, do you mean cojones in the typical sense, or are you referring to the ball-bearing isolation base of the speaker that it is marketed with? I'm not sure which. It looks less ugly than the Grand Reference, to my eye, but still a bit of an ugly-duckling, if I am to judge by the photos on their website: does it look less ugly (or more attractive, if you prefer) in person? Is there a neutral grill-cloth available, to help the appearance? There's no gallery, just the single shots, and what I can google, online. Would it mate well with something like a Bryston, to bring out it's bass, or is it more resolving than that? I'm not sure about the Passion, but the YBA Signature at least would make most speakers sound good, at least those that don't require many watts in my experience. Anyway, I wanted your experience. You didn't mention any weaknesses, Elliot. Does it really get Trio Jeepy right? Tenor / Bass / Drums, fairly live sounding, if I remember, one of Branford's simpler, and better albums. You sell this gear, I take it. I've heard big McIntosh make Wilson's sound mid-fi, where formerly big Mark Levinson worked. So, I'm guessing if McIntosh works on them, they're pretty easy to drive? The big ARC gear seems well-regarded here. My main interest in new speakers is "live" sounding background music - sort of harp level, in volume, but typical chamber instruments, just recessed in volume, still sounding natural, if possible. Mostly music for reading, or up to a medium volume level, if I hear something interesting.
STAX,
from my limited time at lyric..i would have to say that these speakers are excellent at low levels and they do reflect the quality you feed them..but their main strength to me, is they do sound like live music......and given the listening parameters that you suggested as your core listening tastes.....i think you'd be a happy camper.......having said this i think there's a smidgen of truth to Peter's point above regarding Rock......although the funny thing is they can play loud and are dynamic when needed..they just don't exemplify the sort of rock kind of impact that say a Wilson-type sound exemplify......as we all know there's no universal solution in audio; but given your tastes and listening preferences...the nolas would put a smile on your face....well maybe Carl might have to make some asthetic adjustments to your chosen model (lol) just my 2cents
Guys,
These are Baby Grands not the Grands, I only heard the large ones twice a long time ago.
They do not have front grills. They do have removable side and rear cloths. I believe that this speaker does sound like live music and the of course the better the source the better they sound. I don't really know how to answer you as far as rock is concerned and I will try to go about the answer like this.
They play loud, really loud
They have excellent bass
They do not have the same bass as a Wilson but for me that is a a good thing not a bad thing. I never liked the low end of all the Wilsons except for the Max I have heard a few times in a very large room. I love the sound of the MCintosh 2300 tube amps on them and they play stuff like Floyd and Dire Straights such that all my rock friends and clients love them. I think rock becomes really subjective since there is no "absolute rock". I have beem to tons of rock concerts and no two ever sound the same and some venues sound way better than others and where you sit is so critical. I do think that these speakers would satisfy most listeners on rock. I think for my taste they do a better job than many of the highly rated speakers I read about and listen to mentioned in TAS.
The Trio Jeepy is just plain ...spooky with either the ARC REF 5 and Rf 210's or the Mc 2300 and 2301.
I will have my cds with me and promise to make them rock this weekend and agree with Elliot regarding Dire Straits. Plus, his comment below about the Britten HRX recording I'll also second.
If you like Classical I have been just blown away listening to the HRx recordings by Reference particularly the Britton through the PS perfect wav transport and either the PWD or the Dac 98 by ARC. This recording redefines what I thought was possible with digital and what I thought any speaker system could really do in my room. I suggest that you take a listen to this on whatever speaker you are interested since this is IMHO the state of the art.
I have not yet tried a Bryston amp on them however I really do like the amps. I have tried the ARC DS-450 and it sounded excellent on the speakers. Huge stage, great dynamics, excellent detailing and space.
I am not a blogger, tweeter or Facebooker. I have only this to say. Two years ago I saw something in Carl and NOLA I have not seen in maybe twenty years (and I have been doing this for 35 years). That was a relatively unknown product from a small, dedicated, experienced producer that clearly out-performs other like products, by a large margin, and a considerable lesser cost than other almost cost-no-object competitors. The perceived value when compared with products costing two or three times the cost of NOLA products essentially tips the scales and makes buyers out of perpetual shoppers.
These facts are proven by the sales Lyric has written in the last two months, of all NOLA models. And they ALL sell. The scary thing is that we are now selling two to four pairs of Boxers a week.
You guys can talk about audio and sound quality all you want. But the customers are voting with their dollars.
Staxguy,
I think if you sat down and listened to these speakers set up in a good room you would buy them. I don't know where you are located but I certainly invite you to come to sunny Florida and I will do that for you. In fact if you buy the speakers I will pay for subtract your airfare from the price.
Elliot
Elliot,
Thanks! I haven't travelled to/through the US since 9/11 due to the "ick, you're invading my personal space" factor, but I'll give it some thought. I checked out your website, and it looks like you sell some great brands. The computer geek in me was always impressed with the Merridian approach, and I see you carry that as well, which would be nice to check out. Now, on a lighter side, I can see taking off my shoes, and putting on slippers in a Japanese hotel or house, but at an airport, really!? :) Ah, I've never been to Florida, and winter is coming here - maybe I'll become a Canadian goose, and give you a visit.
Good luck with your BBQ!
Staxguy
Thanks Stax,
The weather is in the High 70's with little humidity for us this time of year. We have or Hi Fi show this weekend in fact.
If you are a computer guy we just finished setting up the PS perfect wav dac with the bridge today. I am not a computer guy but this is so cool. I loaded some CDs into my computer in a lossless mode and now over my network in the store I can play them through the PS and control the whole thing on my I phone.
That is cool!!!! In case you ahve not heard the PS perfect wav dac and transport it is really good without this ability. No one says you have to stay in an airport there are some amazing places to stay in down here. THier is a 4 seasons and ritz in Palm Beach and they are right on the beach and only 30 minutes away from here. There are also some really nice places closer to here in Fort Lauderdale and some excellent eating establishments as well.
When it gets down there in the single digits it will look a lot better to you. I have friends in both Toronto and Montreal and they come down all the time.
Come have a coffee ey!
Yup, the weather couldn't be nicer!
Hello Elliot,
It's been a while but my wife and I do plan on attending your event this weekend. Look forward to seeing you, Dennis and Carl (hung out with him at RMAF listening to the Metro Grand).
Regards,
- Syd
It will be a pleasure to see you
Thanks, Zead,
I'm setting my sights on Thorens TEP 3800 / TEM 3200's for the new leisure system, which would "visually" go with the Baby Grands, from what I'm looking at.
http://www.nolaspeakers.com/products/gifs/BabyGrandReference2-sm.jpg
http://www.thorens.com/uploads/pics/image-tem3200-4.jpg
They're 200W into 8 ohms,
400W into 4.
The Baby Grands are listed at 89 db sensitivity with a SMIDGEON of drivers:
each: 2 bass, 4 midrange, 4 high frequency (from the NOLA website).
Anyone know the drivers, and could -guess- (or Know :)) the power handling / power (W) needed of the Nola Baby Grands?
I might be off on the wrong track here, but the Thorens are as close now to "tube design" as I think I will let myself adopt, given my present technical understanding. The wood accents/finish on both the Thorens 3200's and the Nola's is pretty close to my media rack / holder, which my Dad made once I got a place to call home.
The other speakers under consideration are Quad 2905's (fixability/relability questioned, partial to tubes), and Magico Mini II's.
Solution electronics, which I've also considered, would be too bulky for my environment, as are other hi-fi choices (Burnmester etc.) my mind draws me to.
Thanks!
Staxguy
I was told this evening at Elliot's store that the Baby Grand's have been successfully driven by the little ARC VSI-60. Cowabunga!
Staxguy, You wrote above that your interest in speakers is for moderate volume listening, chamber music, realistic sounding and perhaps to read by with music in the background. You mentioned the Mini II's as possibilities. I can tell you that I used to read while listening to my system. Once I got the Mini II's, I can no longer listen passively, let alone read. The experience has become so involving that when I put on a cello sonata or small scale jazz piece, I just listen, absorbed in the music. The Nola should be less demanding of power.
Elliot, I see you are a Merridian dealer, and I glanced a look at what seems to be a 7200 in your online gallery! How does your Nola setup compare to what you'd hear from the DSP7200 / G08.2, say? How does it better it, and visa versa?
Just a quick question, if you have the Merridian gear setup, for a close/quick/off the ear comparison. Avoids ancillary upgrades.Just 3 boxes to unpack.
Staxguy
Staxguy,
As I mention in my post above, I have heard Carl drive the Baby Grand's with a 30 watt, 1950 or 60's vintage tube amp! They were just magical with that amp. We are currently driving them with the VAC Phi200 tube monoblocks that are rated at 200 watts in mono, and this is an excellent pairing both in power and, most importantly, in sonics. We have also driven them with the Phi200 in stereo mode, which gives you 100 watts/ch. This was more than adequate for virtually all listening, but I think that you'd want closer to 150 to 200 watts / ch if you intend to take advantage of the seemingly endless dynamic range of the speaker, especially in a larger room. The Silicon Arts Design ZL-200 monoblocks at 200 watts/ ch, solid state, is also an excellent match.
One of the great qualities of this speaker is that it does not need to be driven by a very short list of high performance/high current & highly expensive amplifiers. It's an easy load to drive and will perform well with a very wide variety of amplifiers. Having said that, of course, you want to try to use the best to be able to hear everything that these speakers are capable of.
I have not heard the Thorens 3200s, but, from what I can see, their 200 watt spec will be perfect for the baby Grand's.
Tom
I dont know the Thorens either, I have not heard it but if it is 200 watts per it will plenty of power. I have used the ARC REF 210's, the ARC DS-450 and the McIntosh 2300's so far on them and they all work perfectly. I have to say the Nola's and the Meridians are in different leagues,. I have never had sound of this quality in my sote with ANYTHING I have had in here before. Last night was ARC night and we drove the speakers with a REF 5, REF 210's, CD -8 as a transport only and the DAC-8. It was just amazing!
THis am I am on way to set them up with e Mac gear, Mac 2301, 2300's and a Mac Cd they are bring down, not sure which one yet.
Stax if you want to discuss this call me next week at the store and I 2will be happy to. I am in Tuesday through Saturday,
E
Stax,
as much as i love the quads, in fact my first serious foray was the "63's" i can no longer live with the limitation of quads, especially in this era of electrstatic-like cones. The nolas give quads plus...you really have to experience what seamless driver integration with dynamic ability really means. In fact, while the magico minis are definitely top-shelf you would be missing on their full potential because of your low-level parameters of listening...they just beg to be driven in order to show their stuff. The nolas...they just take you straight to the venue, and what is even more enticing about them..is non-audiophiles and all get the wow factor right away.........as per your amp direction....if i were to suggest, i'd say spend less on amps and invest in some really highend cables and some fine wine because the only problem your going to have is background listening might soon become a thing of the past.....maybe sunday niagara can enlighten you somemore on his weekend experience.
Guys,
We played the speakers with McIntosh 2301 and 2300 power amps on Saturday, We used ARC REF5 and REF 210's, CD-8 as a transport and DAC-8 on Friday evening. Sunday I used the REF 5 with the McIntosh 2300's.
I used both the PS PWT and DAC-8 as transports with the DAC-8 as well.
The cabling was MIT Oracle Matix for interconnects and speaker cables and we also used MIT power cords ( on most but not on the ARC since I did not have 20 amp IEC connectors andMIT power bar and strip.
THe sound was really like being there. The sytem does not bring the orchestra into your room it takes you to the orchestra in the hal it was recorded. I have never been as happy with the sound in my store.
Thanks to all the listeners who attended
Guys,
I would just like to clarify with some facts:
The pair of Baby Grands reviewed by Roy Gregory were 2 1/2 year old demos,owned by our UK distributor. Before delivering the speakers to Roy they were upgraded to latest specs by our distributor. Both the midrange drivers and the ribbon drivers were replaced with current versions. Roy complained that the finger tightened gold plated binding post nuts on the Raven tweeters, that are used for the wire connections, could be further tightened with an improvement in sound quality. I just wanted to illuminate the fact that the speakers were not shipped directly from our factory. Anyway, due to the open baffle construction, it is very easy to hand tighten these connections should a customer wish to at any time. We have had no reports regarding this situation from any of our distributors, dealers or customers.
The Nola product carries a 5 year warranty. All models are field repairable--often by the consumer himself as only simple hand tools would be required. Complete speakers are never shipped back to the factory. Reliability has been so high that we do not have a service department.
The drivers in dealer demos are covered 100% as we know that under retail conditions, sometimes an accident can happen.
I beleive it was Zead that posted a comment about Nola pricing. Let me say that I believe we offer the best "real value" in hi end loudspeakers today. Our concept of value includes the real cost of manufacture. That is we do not say what do you think we can get for this when setting a price. For instance, one Raven custom true ribbon tweeter made in the USA costs us 3 1/2 times the price of a pure berilyium dome tweeter. The Baby Grand uses four Ravens per side.
Then there is the cost of the custom hand-made Alnico magnet midranges, the external crossovers with Mundorf Silver/Gold/Oil caps, hand wiring only, the Nordost monofiliament jumpers included, the 16 pairs of solid copper binding posts, the hardened steel and aluminum ball bearing isolation system, the true piano rosewood finish, etc. You know, when the Baby Grand was introduced, the price was $55,000. Today with substantial increases in the cost of Alnico and the Ravens, we have absorbed the cost increases and held the price at $55,000. So it is an even better value now.
The Baby Grand provides a gentle load for amplifiers. It is 8 ohms over most of the range with a minimum load of 4 ohms and a maximum phase angle of 30 degrees. While it is easy to satisy the amplifier quantity requirements, they still require the best in electronics to show what they can do interns of resolution, transparency, bass response, dynamics and soundstaging.
I hope this sheds some light on the subject.
Cheers,
Carl
It was a pleasure meeting you, Carl.
Hi SundayNiagara,
Please respond to info [at] nolaspeakers [dot] com so that you can identify yourself as I would like to Thank You.
Cheers,
Carl
I take my hat off to Elliot and Carl for putting on a fantastic three day event this past weekend. The various ARC/MAC/MIT/PS Audio based Nola systems that were demonstrated were among the most realistic sounding stereo systems I have heard in the many years I have been in this hobby.
The food, wine, drink, jewelry show (for women) and cigar rolling (for men) was the icing on the cake and made the event all the more enjoyable. My wife and I had a great time.
Thanks!
- Syd
Hi, Guys,
It sounds like you had a wonderful workshop, this past weekend: sad, I missed it! I'm glad to hear CM of Nola respond to the posts here: it shows some care and concern, and it's great! I'll look on his website, for updated specs!
I had one burning question, though: what tobacco did you roll? Cuban (I usually enjoy Montecristos when I smoke), Dominican, Honduran, or some local variety? Here in Canada, Cuban cigars are preferred, though perhaps because Cuban vies with Mexico, after the USA, for our tourist dollar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMoSpYElPHg&feature=related
Though I gladly passed on the jewelry show (Dunhill lighters say, are more my thing), I'm sure I missed out bigtime on the cigar demo, and on all those Nola systems. Wow. I hope some of you managed to find that perfect cognac in sound, and in drink...
Regards,
Staxguy
PS, what was the standout setup of the weekend? Anyone try using an ARC amp to light his/her cigar? :)
"PS, what was the standout setup of the weekend?"
There was no real standout setup with the Nola's, just (very slightly) different flavors.
I'll let Elliot weigh in on the cigar question, but I imagine is was Dominican as Cuban is still contraband in the U.S.
Sorry guys I dont smoke. The huys rolling were Cuban but I have no idea what they rolled. Sorry
I just hope everyone enjoyed them!
Thanks Carl,
for taking the time to address our concerns.....keep up the good work...by the way it looks like you need a Vancouver rep so staxguy can see what so great about your work
Hi Zead,
We do have a Canadian distributor. It is Clark hertz of Clarity Audio in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
He can be reached at : clarkhertz [at] hotmail [dot] com
Cheers,
Carl
Stax,
The jewelry was for the women who attended my girlfriend is in that business. It provided a nice distraction!
The speakers you need to listen too and my invite still applies. We do install's all over the world. I have never been to Vancouver but certainly would be willing to go. I could probably get Carl to join me LOL
Thanks,
Elliot
PS If you are serious I am sure these will exceed your expectations
Most of the opinions here are about the Baby Grands. Can anyone who has heard the Metro Grands comment about them?
I was at Elliot's show, a proud owner or recently purchased Nola Micro Grand Reference speakers, Mcintosh MC2301, PS Audio DAC/Bridge running off my music server. At this point the Bridge cannot accept 172 or 196 source material (PS Audio guarantees their fix in the next few weeks, but I knew this going into this) so I am "stuck" listening to 96 and 88 source material being steamed from my music server.
First the show was fantastic. Nola's Baby Grand's are truly amazing, this coming from a former Wilson X1 owner. It didn't matter what Elliot had on the front end, the speakers just took on a little different character, but no less spectacular.
Those of you who missed this great presentation of what are clearly works of passion from all the designers also missed out on meeting Elliot who provides service and abilities most of us high end guys are not used to. Understanding that much of what makes us audiophiles is also a certain amount of inbred hubris to think we know maybe just a little more than we think we do. I have been in this hobby long enough and sold audiophile gear 25 years ago and can tell you, it is great to have someone you can trust to "dial in" your system with almost immediate results. While most think of the high end audio dealer as nothing more than a "supplier" I can tell you that, having done business with Elliot for close to 20 years now that he is much MORE than just a supplier of equipment. He makes sure it works, works not just right but to perfection.
Meeting Carl, was truly a pleasure. I have met many designers over the years, particularly during my "selling days" but Carl is one if not my favorite of all. Not because I own his absolutely spectacular Micros but because of the fine person he is and also because he takes his persona and desire for perfection into the building of his products; and it shows, down to the very littlest detail.
I am not going to speak with the usual superlatives and adjectives one uses to describe th "sound" but can tell you that I was shocked at what I heard at Front Row Center and proud to say, equally (actually more) shocked at what I now have burning in at my home.
For those of you who have not heard these incredible products, GO listen, they are wonderful. Between the Macs and the AR, choose your weapon, both are effective in different ways, but I have to say, I am now trying AR's incredible Reference 5 Preamp in my system with my MC2301s and it has added another level of transformation to the system I thought was not possible. While PS Audio claims the sound to be purer and no need for a preamp with their DAC, here is one guy who has heard both with and without and YES there is a huge difference.
Lastly, for the first time in most of my years engaged in this hobby, I can honestly say, I am now listening to THE MUSIC rather than fidgeting and moving this an inch, that 6 inches, room treatments, etc. THE MUSIC is that good.
Good to meet you, Priaptor!
Same here.
Priaptor,
Thank you for the kind words. It is a rare and wonderful treat these days to work with a client that is results driven. I really enjoy working with someone that cares about the sound and isn't all about the gear, the deal and reviews. Great sound requires patience, effort and excellent equipment!
Thank you for the opportunity to do what I love to do.
Enjoy your amazing system,
E
I need to get a pair of the Micro's they are really something. The size of the speakers really fool you they certainly dont sound like they look.
I hope to have the opportunity to hear them.
Well I just got a pair and they really are great. I still have some more setup to do as I have not optimized my room, "burned in" the system and am still waiting for the "finishing touches and components before I can give a definitive opinion. However, they do what I love about small speakers, namely disappear like no full range, regardless of price speaker, can do. I do realize I sacrifice some of the lower octaves with a speaker of this kind, but for me, the trade offs are well worth it.
As a former owner of X1s, I have run the full of gamut, and while I do not have the experience of exposure of reviewers, I do know what I like and for me these smaller speakers do the trick.
One thing I can say, right now, there is NO sweet spot and I can literally be standing behind, to the side, in front, etc. of the speaker and get a sound field like no other speaker I have ever owned or listened to.
I will report my progress as time goes by and my system resembles a favored system of one of our fond reviewers elderly reviewers who goes by the first name of Harry.
That's one of the qualities that really impressed me about the Nola's. The only other speaker that I've heard that does this well are the MBLs.