Symposium Acoustics Panorama Loudspeaker--World's Best?
Jonathan Valin -- Thu, 12/13/2007 - 20:08
Well, I guess it had to happen sooner or later, but I’ve finally heard a loudspeaker that substantially betters—at least in many of the regards that matter most to me—the MAGICO Mini II, the MBL 101 E, the Magneplanar 20.1, the Rockport Hyperion, the Nearfield Pipedreams, the Avantgarde Trios, the Quad 2805s, the Sound Lab M-1s, the Kharma Exquisite 1Ds, and every other great loudspeaker it’s been my good fortune and great pleasure to hear, own, review, or use as a reference.
I want to be very cautious here because, as of this writing, the speaker is not yet a real-world product—it is a prototype, albeit a prototype that has been in development for the better part of two decades. You will not be able to buy it until March at the earliest—and even that may be ambitious. And when it does materialize, it will cost you at least $80,000-$90,000 with its transmission-line woofers. It is my understanding that a “magnetostatic” woofer will be offered for a substantial premium that’ll probably put the speaker well over the $120k mark.
I also want to make it clear that the speaker presently looks like what it is—something handmade in a small shop. As an aesthetic object, it leaves a good deal to be desired (although this may change). As a transducer of music, it does not.
Virtually every high-end audio company that I can think of started off as the brainchild of a brilliant engineer or tinkerer, working by himself in a small shop or a kitchen or a garage. All of the great hi-fi marques—take ARC, Magneplanar, Wilson, Levinson, and Krell, for a handful of examples—were once just a guy with a better idea, who had the luck and the perseverance (and eventually the investment capital) to turn that idea into a profitable business. Such is the case with the Symposium Acoustics Panorama—the brainchild of Peter Bizlewicz, the author of Symposium Acoustics Rollerblocks and Isis Rack equipment stands, among other well-known vibration-control products.
A graduate of MIT and the holder of several patents on his ingenious vibration-control systems (several of which are used in the Panoramas), Bizlewicz began showing his planar-magnetic/ribbon speaker in 1994. (You can read about the history of the Panorama on-line at http://www.symposiumusa.com/panorama.html.) There have been many design changes and improvements between it and the latest Panorama that so impressed Robert, Jacob, me, and everyone else who heard it RMAF. What has not changed is the astounding level of dedication, enterprise, ingenuity, and sheer perfectionism that Bizlewicz has brought to this project. Every piece of the Panoramas—from the true ribbon tweeters to the planar-magnetic midrange and lower midrange units and the amazing curved stainless steel/7075-grade aluminum “wings” they are mounted on—is Bizlewicz’s work. Only the ScanSpeak Kevlar woofers in the transmission-line tower and the pricey caps and inductors in the hand-wired crossover (the cheapest of which is $75, the most expensive well over $300) are sourced from outside.
Lots of people call their products “handmade,” when, in fact, they are outsourced to (very fine) subcontractors and then “assembled” in house. The Panorama is handmade (and looks it). The frame that holds the midrange/tweeter assembly is formed of 7075-grade aluminum struts (the finest of the “aircraft”-grade aluminums—much more costly than 6061-T6 aluminum). The magnets in the planar-magnetic drivers and ribbon tweeters—so incredibly powerful they could crush a finger between them—are made of the most exotic neodymium compound. Nothing in the Panorama is cheap or accidental. This is a maximum-effort speaker in which aesthetic considerations took a backseat to sonics.
In my RMAF show report I said that I wasn’t sure how the Panoramas would fare on large-scale music. I am now—or I am growing to be.
Bizlewicz clearly didn’t pick his name for these things out of a hat. I have never auditioned a speaker in my home or at a show that soundstages like the Panorama. It truly is panoramic—the widest, deepest, tallest, most life-sized, most finally detailed, most completely immersive presentation I have heard outside of a concert hall. Absolutely astonishing. So astonishing, in fact, that, after they were delivered to my house by Bizlewicz and Fred Volz of Emotive Audio, I stayed up almost three days and nights—getting about three hours of sleep each night—listening and listening and listening to this magical speaker. I haven't done anything like this since I was a kid, but then that's the way this speaker made me feel--like a kid getting his first real "hi-fi" system.
In my room, which is frankly too small for these speakers, it has taken a great deal of work to get the best sound—and I’m still far from sure I’ve achieved it (or even come close to it—the Panoramas have that much potential). There are also some technical issues that need working out. The woofer, in particular, is problematical, and I'm not wild about the crossover. But I can already say that, at its best on really good sources, the Panoramas sound, for all the world, like gigantic Magico Minis with the dynamics of MBL 101 Es and the transient speed and vanishingly low levels of coloration of an electrostat. Where other loudspeakers may open a window on the music, this one knocks down walls. It’s as if a curtain that hangs across the middle of your listening room has suddenly parted and there, right there in front of you, is a real orchestra on a real stage.
I will continue to report on the Panoramas as time goes by and I get more experience with them. At the moment, I am just beginning to figure them out, though, outside of the great Magico Mini and the MBL 101 E, I don't know that I've heard another speaker that has made a better "first impression" on me, on manufacturers from out of state, and on the small group of listeners who regularly pay my listening room visits.
Having said this, it remains to be seen whether Bizlewicz can turn his one-ofs into a real-world product. Or whether the problems I've mentioned, and some others I haven't, will be adequately addressed.
I remember those days of staying up and listening to 3:00AM because it was like hearing everything for the first time again. Looking forward to your full review, and I would love to hear them. Invite me over. You supply the Chopin, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, and I'll supply the Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and Bruce Springsteen.
Thanks for the report. That sounds very intriguing. Unfortunately for me it's just another product that I will never ever be able to even remotely afford, unless by the grace of God I somehow come into some great wealth.
I can only hope that the hi-end will eventually become more financially accessible to the rest of us. Until then I'll continue listening to my Phase Technology speakers (V-12 fronts, VDT 7.5 rears that used to be fronts). They've kept me up way too late on many nights. :)
Larry,
I have invited you over. But consider the invitation permanent. Any time you're in my neck of the woods--and I mean this--give me a call and we will get together.
leetamm,
Kiddo, if you think I can afford any of the stuff that I review in Cutting Edge, you are gravely misinformed about what audio reviewers are paid. The fact that I will never own the Panoramas (or the Magico Mini IIs, for that matter) doesn't make them any less wonderful or praiseworthy. Such things are remarkable in their own right, as benchmarks and paragons. It would be a much sadder world than it already is if we simply rejected things we can't have solely because we can't have them.
jvalin wrote:Larry,
I have invited you over. But consider the invitation permanent. Any time you're in my neck of the woods--and I mean this--give me a call and we will get together.
Likewise, Jon, thank for the kind and gracious permanent invitation. I just sent you an email.
Larry
Jonathan,
Don't worry, I'm well aware that most of you guys can't afford a lot of the stuff you review. I've always wondered if it's frustrating for you to fall in love with a piece of review gear only to have to hand it back over after a while. But on the other hand, you guys always have something new to look forward to. But please don't think I'm begrudging you of this. I'm happy for you.
Likewise, I'm not rejecting the Panoramas. Indeed, how can I reject something I'll never be able to afford? It's just sad to me that only the very wealthy (and reviewers :wink: ) are able to enjoy the best of the hi-end. You could say the same is true of other things, like sports cars, for example, but I'm not convinced yet that that is an apples to apples comparison. That is, I just don't understand why so much hi-end audio gear is so dang expensive. I mean there must be some huge margins going on here, when you consider that the price of these things have limited their market to very wealthy people who happen to be aware of hi-end audio. Why not reduce the margins in order to broaden the market and sell more units? I know that there are no simple answers to all of this, and companies differ on how they do business. I'm just venting my frustration at not being able to afford most of the stuff I read about in TAS. And it's not that I'm poor, but I'm also not rich.
It wasn't that long ago that TAS did a round-table discussion about how to grow the hi-end. Well, imo the biggest obstacle to growing the hi-end is simply the cost of so much hi-end gear. For some reason hi-end audio has by and large confined itself to a niche of really wealthy audiophiles. Most of the people I know don't know that the hi-end world even exists. To them Bose is the hi-end. I want to experience more of the hi-end, I just simply can't afford to.
Getting back to the Panoramas, I'm honestly not sure if I would want to hear them or not. Of course, part of me is extremely curious to hear what $90,000 speakers sound like, but the other part of me is afraid that if I did hear them, I would no longer be able to enjoy my $1200 speakers. Of course I realize that the Panoramas probably don't sound like they are $88,000 better than my $1200 speakers. I mean if they did, I would probably die when I heard them considering how much pleasure I've gotten out of my V-12s.
Again, I'm certainly not knocking you or the folks who can afford hi-end gear, I would buy it to...if I could. :) Again, I'm just venting. Thanks for listening. I'm going to shut up now and go listen to some music. :D
I have heard these speakers for a couple of years running at the RMAF and was not especially taken by them. Keeping in mind that "show conditions" often can be "no conditions" (i.e. problematical), I appreciate hearing of JV's audition in his own room.
Simm
I've done a quick and dirty quasi-anechoic FR plot--hard to do with a multi-chassis, multi-driver planar speaker. Here, for what it's worth (and it isn't worth much) is what the Panoramas "look" like at the moment, up-close:
Actually this is a pretty damn good fr plot for a six-and-a-half-foot-tall, three-foot-wide, three-piece planar (with seven-and-a-half-foot-tall woofer towers), which, as I said, tends to be hard to measure; then again, in spite of its odd look and double chassis, the thing was designed to behave like an MTM quasi-point source, not a line source.
Here is a FR plot taken from farther away, an RTA of sorts.
You can see where my room is substantially boosting the low bass but also having an effect in the midbass. I'm working to solve the little hump there (this measurement and the quasi-anechoic plot were taken with no treatment in the room). The 80-90Hz bump aside, this is still +/-3dB response from 20Hz to well beyond 20kHz in room, without room treatment and with the speakers relatively untweaked.
Finally, here is a waterfall plot of the Panorama.
Also impressive for a large, two-chassis planar-hybrid.
In my room, as at this year's RMAF, the speaker sounds unbelievably pure, transparent, colorless, and "of a piece," albeit a bit lean in the lower mids and lumped-up in the midbass (because of room interaction and setup, which is tricky as hell because of numerous adjustments to panel rake and toe-in). At the moment, the Panorama sounds rather like a gigantic CLS, only with far superior mid-to-low bass, staging, and tone color.
Pardon my rhetorical question, but 93-94db sensitivity??? That is plain remarkable for such a big system.
EBF, it is also a bit misleading.
This is fundamentally a 4-ohm system, which means that sensitivity is actually about 90-91dB. OTOH, it is not a difficult system to drive and seems to be at home with low-powered amps (like the 50Wpc Emotive Audio Vitas I heard at RMAF) and high-powered ones (like the 600+Wpc ARC 610T I've been using).
Is it April 1st already?
:D
You would know.
jvalin wrote:You would know.
Lighten up, man.
:lol:
I am still having a bit of difficulty smoothing out the response of the bass towers. (Take a look at the RTA and you'll see my problem in the midbass, which may be room-induced.) Once I get the planar-magnetic woofers, this problem may go away. In any event, I think the crossover, which has (at the moment) no provision for adjusting hinge point or slope or gain, needs to be rethought (and Peter is working on this very thing). Having said this, these are still incredible loudspeakers.
John,
You might want to reserve judgment on this "best of the best" statement for a bit; that is until you have properly heard the best from your other recently stated "best of the best", the Magico 6. JL
Well...you have a point, JL.
The Model 6s sounded positively terrific the second time I listened to them (with analog tape as a source) at last year's CES. But I've never heard them in my home--and am not likely to because of their tremendous bulk (I listen on the third floor and it would take a crane to get them up there).
The Panoramas sound less darkish, faster, at least as incredibly finely detailed, and more open and airy than what I remember of the Model 6s, with truly phenomenal soundstage width and depth (and I'm used to sensational soundstaging from my reference Mini IIs) and shockingly good integration of their ribbon/planar-magnetic drivers. Even the dynamic woofers integrate surprisingly well, but my room is humping them up a bit between 70-90Hz. I'm starting to solve this problem, however, with the careful addition of a variety of (passive) room treatments.
The Model 6s probably hold an edge in sheer weight, body, and density of tone color and dynamic slam, but, then, cone drivers tend to have an edge over ribbons in all these areas. That said, the Panoramas are shockingly robust for ribbon-based loudspeakers.
While I won't be able to A/B the Model 6s and the Panoramas, I may be able to A/B the Model 3.5s and the Panoramas, which will be interesting.
And don't forget--as I've said repeatedly--the Panoramas are "works in progress," not finished products ready for market. At this point, they are fascinating in a kind of a theoretical way. The Magico line of loudspeakers is real world. To potential purchasers, this is the key consideration.
John,
Merry Christmas to you.
Thanks for your acknowledgment about the 6's. Indeed I truly believe
that is a speaker that needs to be listened to further, and I truly hope you will (as you said a few months back) actually go to Mr. Harley's
room to hear them.
Last, after taking a good look at those panorama's I'm left wondering if there is anything the designers could do to make them actually look beautiful, as opposed to their current high-school science project incongruence- not to minimize the sonic achievements by any means!
Thanks, JL
JL,
Peter's working on it. For one thing, instead of using the chintzy wood panel to suspend the midrange and tweeter, he could use another (smaller) wing of stainless-steel damped with aluminum. For another he could get rid of the wood trim on the frame that holds both low-mid wings and mid/tweet and let the impressive 7075 aluminum struts stand alone. This in itself would, I think, be a huge improvement in cosmetics. I should note that other people, including some very savvy distributor/manufacturers, have heard the Panoramas in my room and have overlooked what you correctly called the "high-school science project" appearance of the speakers because they were overwhelmed by the quality of the sound.
I will certainly pay Robert a visit when he gets the Model 6s but that isn't the same as hearing the speakers in my own room with my own gear. As I said, I will compare the M3.5s to the Panoramas if and when I get the 3.5s (which aren't going to be easy to haul up to third floor, either).
Merry Christmas back at you, BTW! And a happy, healthy, prosperous New Year!
Jon
Quote:Last, after taking a good look at those panorama's I'm left wondering if there is anything the designers could do to make them actually look beautiful, as opposed to their current high-school science project incongruence- not to minimize the sonic achievements by any means!
I'm glad someone else said this. MBL = odd, but in a good way. These things are just plain ugly.
Jvalin,
what is the gating on your frequency response diagram? Is it a 1/3 octave diagram?
happy Christmas
JV, do you know what Symposium will be showing at WCES?
Btw, sorry to hear about TPV going under, although I lost interest as it changed to "gadgets and gizmos magazine".
Sorry for not posting for the last few days, fellas, but I've been busy.
First, jfk, I use automated scripts in Liberty Instrument's Praxis Suite of measurement tools (plus Liberty's AudPod and calibrated mike) to take all my measurements. For more information on Praxis, I encourage you to go to http://www.libinst.com/ and for technical details download the Praxis manual at http://www.libinst.com/praxis_downloads.htm.
Rupert, since the only pair of Symposium Acoustics Panoramas that I'm aware of are currently sitting in my third-floor listening room, Peter won't be showing the Pans at CES (unless, of course, he's cooked up a second pair in the last month). I think he'll have his usual complement of Rollerblocks and stands, however.
As for TPV, frankly I have mixed feelings about its demise, which I thought was inevitable once it abandoned its focus on home theater and movies and tried to be all things electronic to all people. However, TPV's downfall does have an upside--for me. It appears that I may be back in the movie reviewing business. Our e-magazine, Playback (see http://magazine.playbackmag.net/playback/200712search/?folio=1&CMP=KNC-Google&src=G_Brand_Brand&gclid=CIjXi5e_ypACFQIQFQoddxbjXQ), may expand to include a smattering of display reviews and a healthy dose of DVD reviews, in addition to its current selection of hi-fi reviews and a whole bunch of new SACD/DVD-A, CD, and LP reviews. If this comes to pass, and I think it wiil, I'll let you and others on this site know. Much as I enjoy it, movie reviewing will be a sidelight for me, as I have my hands full at TAS.
BTW, tonight my long-suffering wife, who seldom listens to hi-fi (save for an obligatory taste of just about everything I've had in house), did something extraordinary. She joined me--and this marks the third time she's done this (a record!)--listening to the Panoramas, which she pronounced (quite accurately), "Peerless." I can't tell you how amazing this is. When Kathy falls for a loudspeaker, well, that's news. (To my astonishment she isn't put off by their high-school-science-fair looks.)
I must confess, it was real nice of you guys to still be sending me renewal subscription cards for TPV, when you knew full well that the mag was going under!
It was time for the magazine to go. It became little more than a promotion catalog in the end.
Quote:I must confess, it was real nice of you guys to still be sending me renewal subscription cards for TPV, when you knew full well that the mag was going under!
First of all, I personally have had nothing to do with TPV for the last 2-3 years, so your use of the phrase "you guys" is unfair and misleading.
Second, I'm sure the subscription cards were sent out well in advance of the decision to close down TPV. It was not a deliberate effort to "sucker" you or any other reader/subscriber.
Third, and most importantly, as I understand it, shutting the doors on TPV was finally decided upon just a few weeks ago, after considerable debate about whether to keep it going or change it or merge it (or the home-theater parts of it) with Playback, which was the final outcome.
As for the quality of the magazine, I agree (as I've already said) that it had become too gadget-oriented and too unfocused.
That said, this is a thread devoted to the Symposium Acoustics Panorama loudspeakers, so let us (me, too) try to stay on topic from here on.
jvalin wrote:...However, TPV's downfall does have an upside--for me. It appears that I may be back in the movie reviewing business. Our e-magazine, Playback...may expand to include a smattering of display reviews and a healthy dose of DVD reviews, in addition to its current selection of hi-fi reviews and a whole bunch of new SACD/DVD-A, CD, and LP reviews. If this comes to pass, and I think it wiil, I'll let you and others on this site know. Much as I enjoy it, movie reviewing will be a sidelight for me, as I have my hands full at TAS.
BTW, tonight my long-suffering wife, who seldom listens to hi-fi (save for an obligatory taste of just about everything I've had in house), did something extraordinary. She joined me--and this marks the third time she's done this (a record!)--listening to the Panoramas, which she pronounced (quite accurately), "Peerless." I can't tell you how amazing this is. When Kathy falls for a loudspeaker, well, that's news. (To my astonishment she isn't put off by their high-school-science-fair looks.)
Jon, I, for one, look forward to reading your movie reviews. We have agreed on some films, disagreed on others, however I always value your insights and opinions. I know that we look at films in different ways, you from a writer/reviewer perspective, and I from the perspective of a toiler in the hollywood vineyards. (BTW, I finally saw THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. I will have to post my opinion in the proper thread.)
My wife Lynne, says that she married me despite the fact that I had an audio system that required it's own room. The extent of her musical tastes are mid-70's rock and disco, while I, being an ex-musician (Berklee trained, and is there really such a thing as an "ex-musician"?) have "Big Ears", and enjoy a wide variety of musical genres. My wife doesn't have the patience to sit on the sofa in our "music room" to listen to an album or CD of music that she likes. Her usual reaction to the music I play on the system is: "That's the worst music I ever heard!" She dislikes going to live concerts, yet, she can sit for hours with our home theater watching Lifetime Movies-of-the-Week back to back.
I started out as a teenager with a pair of AR-4 speakers, an AR turntable and arm (I honestly don't remember the cartridge) and a Dynaco SCA35 integrated amp I assembled myself. Since then, much has changed, including wives, but a high end audio system has remained a constant in my life.
I have tried for the 15 years that Lynne and I have been together to help her appreciate my love of well reproduced music on a high end audio system. Whenever I make a change, be it a component, speaker, or cable, I have always explained to her what I perceived as the difference in sound and played her some of the music she likes. She remains adamant through the years that she can't hear any difference.
I completely understand your statement concerning your wife. When a spouse sits down and listens to music of her own free will, it is an occasion to celebrate! Have a very Happy New Year, a year of great viewing and listening.
Larry
Quote:Second, I'm sure the subscription cards were sent out well in advance of the decision to close down TPV. It was not a deliberate effort to "sucker" you or any other reader/subscriber.
What would you call "well in advance"? They sent me a card around the same time that Playback started. Somewhere in the last three months. Frankly, I don't give a damn when they made a decision as long as there is the option of a refund. Had I purchased the three year subscription, the only option given is a three year extension on TAS. Imagine if I purchased three years for both mags? I'd be sitting on a six year subscription to TAS! There's is no guarantee that they might be around at that time either, and there is no guarantee that I would want TAS for that long Ethically, a refund should be an option - not this give me what I didn't pay for BS.
Now I'm looking at my TAS subscription card, and I just can't see the wisdom in paying for it.
I wish all of you a happy, healthy, musical, and peaceful New Year!
The Panoramas continue to awe me with their utter transparency and lack of coloration--their sheer naturalness. As a friend of mine put it, after listening to the Pans playing back the Prokofiev Toccata and Gerhard Fourth Symphony on New Year's Eve, they simply don't sound the way you'd expect them to, given their size and component parts. Part of the reason why they image with greater precision than ribbon line-soource speakers is that they are actually quasi-point sources, with the drivers in the main "enclosure" arrayed in a semi-MTM configuration. As a result they are, at once, naturally "big" sounding and precise. And their resolution of fine inner detail is higher than anything I've heard, and yet they are never aggressive or analytical. Quite a feat.
There are important upgrades in the works for the Symposium Acoustics Panoramas that will answer some of the questions I've raised about setup (particularly optimizing the bass) and that will also improve cosmetics, I will have these upgrades installed in a couple of weeks and will report on them in detail, then. I will also try to post photographs.
Returning to this system after listening to the best that hi-fi has to offer at CES was--with certain key exceptions--like returning to a concert hall after spending a week in a hi-fi store. The few things I heard at CES that stood a chance of being competitive with this great loudspeaker are discussed in my CES report in Issue 181. I will be reviewing many of them in the course of this coming year--and comparing them to the Pans and the Mini IIs.
Here's a photo of the Symposium Acoustics Panorama in advance of this week's upgrade:
You can see the edge of one of the woofer towers at the left of the pic. On the right you can see one of the Audio Research Corporation 610Ts I use to drive both the Pans and the woofer towers. On the floor, between the amp and the Pan and the Pan and its separate woofer tower, are Tara Labs' fabulous new Omega Gold loudspeaker cables sitting on Dark Field cable elevators from Shunyata Research (both of which I will soon be reviewing and highly recommending).
As the Panorama is upgraded I'll take more pix to point out what has changed and been improved.
Here is another photo of the (unmodified) Panoramas, showing more of them and of my setup. Behind the Audio Research 610T amplifiers at the center of the picture between the Panormas, you can see a Walker Equipment Stand, loaded with TW Acustic Raven AC-3 with Graham Phantom and Air Tight PC-1 (left, top shelf), Walker Black Diamond record player (right, top shelf), Audio Research Reference 3 preamp (left, second shelf), and Audio Research PH7 phonostage (right, second shelf). The second woofer tower isn't pictured. The first woofer tower, on the far left, is almost seven-and-a-half feet tall. The Pans' center mid/tweet panel (the wooden thing in between the stainless steel lower-mid/upper-bass "wings" at top and bottom) will likely be changed to a stainless steel panel. I will post photos after changes have been made.
Thanks for the photos, Jon. I showed them to my wife, who now thinks that my setup doesn't look so bad. What is the I beam between the ARC 610T's?
Audiophile Mag's official lab fer sure.
Larry, the "I-beam" is a resonance-control device. Although you can't see them, there are also six Shakti Hallographs and two other I-Beams in the room and some RPG Skylines, to boot.
You ought to hear this system. It is extraordinarily lifelike--on much music, the most realistic stereo I've yet heard.
Hi Jonathan, it is very difficult for me to believe that devices like the Shakti Hallographs and the I-Beams could change a room's acoustics. Some audiophiles say that by using such devices they experience less anomalies due to room resonances and standing waves. I think this is quite BS. I think a listening room should be inherently OK acoustically. A room that has bad acoustics cannot be "transformed" into a good sounding room by using these devices. That would be against the laws of physics.
Chris
Chris-
Quote:I think a listening room should be inherently OK acoustically. A room that has bad acoustics cannot be "transformed" into a good sounding room by using these devices. That would be against the laws of physics.
You can argue all day that there's no way that such devices can work, but, in the end, people use stuff if they think it makes a difference. Many people will attest to the differences room treatments can make.
BTW John, you have a nice little budget system there. Heh heh. But seriously, how do you get into the room? It looks like you'd have to squeeze through $50k worth of loudspeaker just to get in there.
It's a tight fit, EBF!
Actually, there is enough room to step between the Pans and the woofer towers (on either side). The photo makes the space look a little more condensed than it is, but not much.
As for room acoustics...Chris, you may not be able to turn a pig's ear into a silk purse with room treatment but you can certainly (and salubriously) affect acoustics, making a good room better (and better suited to specific speakers). For the record, Jeurgen Scheuring, the inventor of Room Tools software, pronounced my odd little room "the best measuring (residential) room" he'd ever measured (and there was room treatment in the room when he measured).
The first change that Symposium's Peter Bizlewicz and Emotive Audio's Fred Volz have made to the Panoramas is a reworking of the crossover (see the photo below). Tremendous flexibility has been added, with provisions to adjust the gain of the high-frequency ribbon, the upper-midrange planar-magnetic, the lower-midrange planar-magnetic, and the cone bass drivers up and down by several dB in four discrete steps, with a central OdB detent for factory settings. Each of the rotary controls is hand-wired with extraordinarily high-quality resistors; the engraved control panel and the rotary switches themselves are also of the highest quality. (You will note that the entire crossover is mounted on a Symposium Acoustics Ultra equipment stand. The version you see here is a prototype; there may be small changes to the production unit.
I like the Audio Research retro look.
Wait till you see how he's modified the midrange/tweeter panel!
Okay, folks! You've seen the crossover, now meet the new midrange/tweeter panel. With improved drivers and transformers the new planar-magnetic midrange and ribbon tweeter are now mounted on a stainless-steel wing (damped with the highest-grade aluminum). Though you may not be able to tell from the photo, because of reflections, the curved mid/tweet wing is gorgeously machined to a mirror-smooth finish. The two large lower-mid wings, above and below it, will be machined in the future to precisely match the finish of the new mid/tweet wing. In addition, the wood-veneer panels, side, top, and bottom, will soon be replaced by anodized aluminum panels or constrained-layer wooden panels, finished in piano black. The top-grade-aluminum struts are also being changed to thicker, polished, top-grade-aluminum bar stock. And the woofer enclosures will be made of aluminum.
As you know, I've been sitting on the fence about this speaker, pondering whether to review it as a remarkable oddity or as one of the very best speakers money can buy. I am now convinced that Bizlewicz is dead serious about producing this speaker (and a much more affordable smaller version) for retail sale. Moreover, having seen what he has already accomplished in aesthetic re-design, I am also convinced that the "new, improved" Symposium Acoustic Panorama will be a thing of beauty and that it will sound even more phenomenal than the first prototype that Robert and I raved over at RMAF!
I will have notes on the sound of the new driver and of an amplifier newly added to my reference system, the Emotive Audio Vita, that may well be the best medium-powered amp I've ever heard (go to http://www.emotiveaudio.com/ for more info about Emotive products).
Here is what the "new" Panorama now looks like:
And here is a close-up of the new mid/tweet panel:
For those of you interested in the finest boutique amplification, here is a close-up of the incredible Emotive Audio Vita:
Jonathan, I am curious how your reactions to the Vita amps are holding up. Can you briefly describe how they sound compared to some other reference such as the ARC that you were using before the Vitas.
I heard the Symposium speakers with the Vita and Epifania at RMAF last year and was mightily impressed. Unfortunately, shows do not let you dissect what each component was contributing to the overall sound.
Thanks.
I still think the ARC Reference 610Ts are the best amplifiers I've heard, without qualification. The Vitas actually sound a great deal like them in most regards. Like the 610Ts, they are very transparent, very high in resolution, exceedingly low in coloration (perhaps the most color-neutral amps I've had in my system), and very lifelike in timbre and dynamic, with excellent imaging and staging and taut articulate low bass. But at 50Wpc they have considerably less power than the 600Wpc 610Ts.
With a speaker like the Symposium this makes somewhat less of a difference than it would with, say, the Magico Mini IIs; however, it still makes a difference. There's simply no substitute for unlimited power if you're using a speaker that needs power and, IMO, the Pans do. This doesn't mean that I don't highly recommend the Vitas--they sound, as noted, like mini-610Ts and may even be slightly more color-neutral. It's just that I think the Pans need more power than the Vitas can currently supply. (Fred Volz, their designer, may be coming out with a 100Wpc version of the Vita that could change things vis-a-vis the Pans.) I will be trying out the Vitas with the Quad 2905s, where it will, I think, make an ideal match, and will then report at greater length.
Thanks Jonathan. I am actually considering the Emotive Caeli, which is a single-ended 300B amp, rather than the Vita. The Vita is a quite different design but your comments are helpful nonetheless. By the way, I hope you are able at some point to hear the Epifania preamp with the other gear you are now listening to. There is probably some synergism with that combination.
Best regards.
Funny you mentioned it, as the Epifania is on its way to me as I write. I will certainly report on the combination because you are correct: You do get a synergy using the same designer's amp and preamp.
BTW, I haven't heard Fred's 300B amps, but I would imagine that they sound somewhat different than the Vitas, which are push-pull 6550 amps (just like the ARC Ref 610Ts). I can say this, however. Fred Volz is an extraordinarily talented (and immensely likable) man who has a genuine gift for designing and building gourmet tube electronics. He uses only the finest parts in hand-wired circuits of considerable sophistication. I'd have to think that anything this guy makes would be exceptional. When I said that I think the ARC Ref 610T is the best amp I've ever heard, don't forget that I've heard an awful lot of amps in thirty-five years--some fifteen or sixteen as a reviewer of ultra-high-end gear. To say, as I am, that Fred's Vita sounds like a mini-610 is to say that it sounds unbelievably good.
I should also have noted that the Vitas are sitting on some $3200 worth of Symposium Acoustics Ultra platform amp-stands and Rollerblocks, that I have heard the difference these stands and Rollerblocks make "before and after," and that that difference is quite audible and significant.
Speaking of audible and significant changes to my system...you guys might want to take a look at my "AAS Gabriel/DaVinci turntable and DaVinci Grandeeza arm" thread in the "Turntables and Related Gear" forum. The gear in question is pictured below:
With this front end (and an Audio Tekne phonostage I will be discussing in the "Turntables and Related Gear" forum), the Pans have reached new heights of lifelike realism. As a friend of mine said last night to another friend--both of whom have heard everything I've had in my home and practically everything else worth having--"My God, what a great stereo system!"
I agree. In most ways, this is as close as I've come--thus far--to the sound of the real thing in my home stereo, and Peter isn't done perfecting his design, both cosmetically and sonically (the new aluminum woofer towers promise further aural improvement). It is my hope that some of the rest of you will soon get a chance to hear the Symposium Acoustics Panoramas, either at RMAF or CES. (And that you'll also get the chance to hear the AAS Gabriel/DaVinci Grandeeza there in the Tangram Audio room.)
The TW Acustic Raven AC-3 has just been updated and its sound substantially improved--for details, see my "AAS Gabriel/Da Vinci turntable and Da Vinci Grandeeza arm" thread in the "Turntables and Related Gear" forum. This is going to be an interesting year from an analog standpoint.
The Symposium Acoustics Panoramas continue to garner raves from visiting "dignitaries"--many of whom heard my previous system based on the Magico Mini IIs. Trust me...exceeding the playback quality of the Mini II system was no easy task. However, those who've heard both (including me), agree that the Pans are substantially more neutral, more detailed, and more lifelike. To quote a recent visitor, "This is the best ribbon-based speaker system I've ever heard." And a large part of the reason why, beyond its exceptional coherence from midbass to top treble, is that it doesn't sound like a "ribbon-based system."
I've now added the dCS Scarlatti to my system.
This three-unit (transport, DAC, clock) stack is dCS' top o' the line. It sure doesn't sound like any other CD player or SACD player (it does both) I've heard. I'll have more on it and on the Pans shortly.
Would be interesting to hear your comments. Despite rave reviews of previous dCS gear, I've never been a fan; I've always thought that the EMM stuff is a class above.
I wonder if this will change with the new stack.
Zeb,
I can tell you already that if you like the EMMLabs sound (or the MBL sound, for that matter), you will not be wild about the dCS sound. They really couldn't be less alike. The difference here is, frankly, a lot like the sonic difference between transistors and tubes, with EMMLabs on the transistor side and dCS on the tube one. I think a persuasive case can be made for either (or both) presentations--and will discuss this very issue when it comes time to review the Scarlatti.
I will say that I like the Scarlatti a lot, both on CD and SACD.
Jon
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