A second high-end journey

[Craig M.]

They're epic Cno! I hadn't read much of that thread but your comment spurred me on, and now I see the op had already seen it! :doh:

Oh well, I should get a good price on wigwam should I ever sell.

 

[avexplorer]

Those Opals, whilst being 'nearfield' will sound just as good in a more open and traditional hifi type environment, The 'near field' designation relates to their ability to sound cohesive at close range, which hifi speakers are not designed to do.

Absolutely!!! In fact this was precisely what was demonstrated with the Event monitors during my auditioning. I was initially seated in an arrangement where the 2 speakers and my seating position, the vertex, formed an equilateral triangle with the edges being about 14 feet long. This length was progressively reduced down to about 2 feet in 4 or 5 iterations. To my utter dismay, the width and the depth of the sound stage remained almost identical with every reduction. Not just that, it appeared to me as if the transparency of the sound progressively increased as well. Simply astounding!!!

That was when the realization of the flexibility in speaker placement with these monitors dawned on me and the decision was made.

Btw, It's not just you, Overdose, and me who thinks they are special.

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?77756-The-next-mammoth-review!-The-Event-Opal-Studio-Monitors

To be honest, the seed of thought to consider the Event Opal’s for my hi-fi setup was implanted there. Thanks to the evangelism of a few Event Opal worshipers. Thereafter having experienced the monitors myself, I thought it was worthwhile to do my bit so as to raise awareness about them in other forums.

They must do something right, when a guy with an AN system is impressed after they are swapped over.

I think many of us audiophiles are constrained with our own reservation to accept newer paradigms of loudspeaker design. I was once in a discussion where an engineering principal from Meridian audio was explaining the benefits of active cross overs and multi-amplifier design and to be fair, it did appear that marketing aside, the engineering basis of the claim was really strong. This claim was later corroborated by the engineers of Linn and ATC whose top of the line offerings for both of these companies used identical principles. Where Meridian’s approach differed was in the fact that they even did the DA conversion within each speaker.

As a matter of fact, many design geniuses are now appreciating the benefits of active loudspeaker design. Take a look at this article: http://url2it.com/bccfa

 

[CnoEvil]

They must do something right, when a guy with an AN system is impressed after they are swapped over.

I think many of us audiophiles are constrained with our own reservation to accept newer paradigms of loudspeaker design. I was once in a discussion where an engineering principal from Meridian audio was explaining the benefits of active cross overs and multi-amplifier design and to be fair, it did appear that marketing aside, the engineering basis of the claim was really strong. This claim was later corroborated by the engineers of Linn and ATC whose top of the line offerings for both of these companies used identical principles. Where Meridian’s approach differed was in the fact that they even did the DA conversion within each speaker.

As a matter of fact, many design geniuses are now appreciating the benefits of active loudspeaker design. Take a look at this article: http://url2it.com/bccfa

......or what we have access to.

My benchmark is the sound of a good Class A amp, be it Solid State or Valve.......the Actives I've heard and liked, have all been very serious money.

Those Opals look interesting though.

 

[WishTree]

Nice to read that Opals' are nice to hear.

I assume that they would be a great match with my Oppo BDP-105! I love to hear them one day (soon). Given this, I am also inclined to check out the Genelec DSP series which seem to have some nice tech.

 

[robhifi]

Hi AVEX,
We are both from the east (Shanghai)so I guess I must reply your post.
I've been owning D2 for 2 years now, among other speakers.
D2 is, in general , very balanced sounding with a touch towards warm side.
Before D2, I used to own Proac TRS and the treble to me is a little bright.

However, if your room is small or they are placed at the corners, the bass can become booming, despite being front ported.
In my small AV room (3.5x 4 meters), the relax holes have to be blocked to prevent booming.
I auditioned D2 with NAIM XS integrated in a dealer's room and they sounded very good,especially the sound stage.
Although for Chinese audiophiles, it's believed that PROAC goes best with high quality tube amps.

Finally, I don't mean to be demoralizing, but Proac D2 and other gears you short-listed (Creek evo, Naim xs etc)are hardly "high -end", not in this part of the world at least. :twisted:

Have fun!!

 

[avexplorer]

So the Event Opals have arrived along with the CA 851C and have been home for a week now. Honestly, the only reason I have not written about them so far is 'coz I have been searching for words to describe how good they sound together.

I am beginning to realize how sound can be tranparent and vibrant without being bright, how fast, punchy and deep bass can be without being boomy and bloomy, how vocals can sound so natural and how that touch of warmth be delivered on a basic foundation of accuracy and neutrality.

Hi AVEX, We are both from the east (Shanghai)so I guess I must reply your post. I've been owning D2 for 2 years now, among other speakers. D2 is, in general , very balanced sounding with a touch towards warm side.

Hey thanks dude!!! Good to hear the voice of the east. Appologies for not have responded earlier. I had not visited the forum in a while. I was perhaps too busy soaking in some music for my parched soul.

However, if your room is small or they are placed at the corners, the bass can become booming, despite being front ported. In my small AV room (3.5x 4 meters), the relax holes have to be blocked to prevent booming. I auditioned D2 with NAIM XS integrated in a dealer's room and they sounded very good,especially the sound stage.

As you can see, it was a huge swing from the initial aim of building the stack around the ProAc D2's as that was a sound I knew well and loved. But such has been the impact of the Event Opal monitors; everything else went into a tail spin.There is also a positive side effect of using these studio speakers in a smallish room. As I had said, this was for my home office / study. Being near field monitors, I now have the flexibility of sitting very close to them on my work desk without overtly sacrificing the sound stage and at the same time enjoy the depth and loudness when I sit further away on the couch.

Although for Chinese audiophiles, it's believed that PROAC goes best with high quality tube amps. Finally, I don't mean to be demoralizing, but Proac D2 and other gears you short-listed (Creek evo, Naim xs etc)are hardly "high -end", not in this part of the world at least. :twisted: Have fun!!/quote]

I know they arn't in the high-end category per say, but I guess the more appropriate segment would have been "Mass Premium". True high-end would land you in the realm of the Accupahse, DCS, Esoteric, Avalon, Accapella, Avant-Garde etc. In fact my benchmark system thus far has been the Avalon Time with Accuphase gears. But now having seen what actives are capable of at a given price point I will have to wait until I compare that benchmark with comparable actives like the Backus & Muller. I have heard the Meridian DSP8000 and honestly at that price wasn't impressed at all with what they offered.

 

[CnoEvil]

It's always good to see a happy camper. :cheer:

 

[amcluesent]

If peeps fancy actives, what about AVI ADM9T active speakers with inbuilt amp and DAC, standmount and connect them using S/PDIF to a Sonos CONNECT streamer to pull FLAC files off the NAS? You can add the AVI 10" sub later isf more bass slam is desired.

The ADM9T have two S/PDIF inputs, so you can use one for the CONNECT and the other for a CD disgital out transport like the "Little Bit".