Anthony Gallo Strada - Box Killer

[WishTree]

Honestly.. I was not knowing what is a box coloration as I have never heard speakers which did not sound boxy.

I have stumbled up on the Strada speakers and been listening to them for a week. Today I switched the speakers back to back with some floor standers at a friends place. Now I know what boxy is about. For me, it is a totally new way of listening to music.

In the beginning my mind was not getting it.. I kept on waiting for the box sound to come otherwise it felt empty and hollow. Now after a week, I can hear the box coloration very easily and wonder why every one is putting up with boxy speakers.. well, I guess for some, it is the only way to listen unless known otherwise. Also, it might not be easy to switch over and definetly an audition at a shop will not help.

Good points -

Very un'boxy' sound.

Clean and smooth high frequencies (much much smoother than R300)

Can play really loud

Very wide Sweet spot

Can be mounted on the wall :bounce:

Not So good:

Sub Woofer is a must (Actually it is good for me as I always had subwoofer in my HiFi Set Up)

Upper Bass is not very chesty like the R300 but I am not too sure whether I want it or not

Some might feel the sound to be lean

As mentioned before in my posts, I am looking at other ways to listen and this is definetly a positive direction. Next would be ESL speakers.

 

[shooter]

I have listened to the 3.5 reference which are the same drivers but with the woofer at the bottom. The sound they produced was as you say, with no boxiness but i found that they struggled with my test tracks which are complex pop tunes but feeding them some blues and folk and they sounded wonderfull, very open and detailed.

Tried the 3.5 with valve mono's, solid state power also with and without the didicated amp for the driver. Also demoed the Ref 5's that day and they struggled with my music but with less complex stuff were really nice.

 

[The_Lhc]

Upper Bass is not very chesty

Chesty? Chesty? What does THAT mean?

 

[MajorFubar]

If they absolutely have to be paired with a subwoofer, then unfortunately you've only partly succeeded in getting away from a box.

Over the years there have been loads of attempts to make enclosures out of something which won't colour the sound. Anyone remember concrete speakers? I remember some being reviewed in WHF. They had tapered sides which made them look like Daleks. I can't remember if they got a glowing review, but either way it's not taken off in a big way. Somehow these 'thinking outside the box'* ideas never do.

*pun intended.

 

[DandyCobalt]

Upper Bass is not very chesty

Chesty? Chesty? What does THAT mean?

You know, that "Pamela Anderson" tone

 

[WishTree]

I have listened to the 3.5 reference which are the same drivers but with the woofer at the bottom. The sound they produced was as you say, with no boxiness but i found that they struggled with my test tracks which are complex pop tunes but feeding them some blues and folk and they sounded wonderfull, very open and detailed.

Tried the 3.5 with valve mono's, solid state power also with and without the didicated amp for the driver. Also demoed the Ref 5's that day and they struggled with my music but with less complex stuff were really nice.

Good to know that some one else tried this brand! I am currently driving them with HK990 and I see no such challenges with complex music. I have them from brand new and they are still opening up (Given that I listen may be 4 to 5 hours a day). May be I can try one or two tracks that you had troubles with these speakers. Do let me know.

 

[WishTree]

Upper Bass is not very chesty

Chesty? Chesty? What does THAT mean?

Damn.. I thought it is an expression...

What I mean is that the base tone in voices is not overly done. Like voice when some one has cold or a big hangover.

 

[WishTree]

If they absolutely have to be paired with a subwoofer, then unfortunately you've only partly succeeded in getting away from a box.

That is right. Given the current limitations that I have now with space, these speakers seem to put me on a different path altogether.

 

[WishTree]

You know, that "Pamela Anderson" tone

>)

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Clean and smooth high frequencies (much much smoother than R300)

yeah, I find typical domes struggling to keep up with lighter materials.

Next would be ESL speakers.

and another jaw dropping experience

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Over the years there have been loads of attempts to make enclosures out of something which won't colour the sound.

it's not really about box resonances per se. there are many examples that enclosures can be made quite sonically dead. it's more about having impression that sound is coming out of the box/ enclosure rather than just being "born" there in the room.

Somehow these 'thinking outside the box'* ideas never do. *pun intended.

Quad ESLs or Magnepans (for instance) are here for a few decades. I know that against box speakers they are comparably niche products but many people don't even realise such products even exist and others can't accommodate such speakers in their rooms. such a shame...

 

[WishTree]

it's not really about box resonances per se. there are many examples that enclosures can be made quite sonically dead. it's more about having impression that sound is coming out of the box/ enclosure rather than just being "born" there in the room.

I still have to try the ESL but with Strada it is the same feeling. The sound feels very airy and feels not coming from an enclosed space. It is very hard to explain. Also, I find it to be tough to like it on the first day as if something was missing. It took few days to get used to the lack of enclosed sound.

Again, I do not think not everybody is upto it and some even like the enclosed space sound, I guess.

 

[shooter]

I have listened to the 3.5 reference which are the same drivers but with the woofer at the bottom. The sound they produced was as you say, with no boxiness but i found that they struggled with my test tracks which are complex pop tunes but feeding them some blues and folk and they sounded wonderfull, very open and detailed.

Tried the 3.5 with valve mono's, solid state power also with and without the didicated amp for the driver. Also demoed the Ref 5's that day and they struggled with my music but with less complex stuff were really nice.

Good to know that some one else tried this brand! I am currently driving them with HK990 and I see no such challenges with complex music. I have them from brand new and they are still opening up (Given that I listen may be 4 to 5 hours a day). May be I can try one or two tracks that you had troubles with these speakers. Do let me know.

The first two track i throw at a system are Bat for Lashes "Glass" off the Two Suns album and Becks "Chemtrails" from the Modern Guilt Album. On a balanced system all the instruments will have there own space otherwise it sounds jumbled and messy with no definition in drum patterns or vocal, it does really depend on what music you listen too though. For me if a system cant deal with those tunes my interest wanes.

 

[MajorFubar]

Quad ESLs or Magnepans (for instance) are here for a few decades.

True of course, and their design can be traced back more than half a century. Shame that newer solutions can never seem to find a big enough market to make them viable, even at niché level. Maybe the market for speaker design is just not as receptive to new ideas as it once was, that is until someone invents a full-range transducing device the size of a golf-ball which sounds better than every speaker you've ever heard.

 

[DocG]

... many people don't even realise such products [ESLs] even exist and others can't accommodate such speakers in their rooms...

Or they crave deep bass, or large dynamics...

Having said that, I'm gonna audition some Maggies next week

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

Or they crave deep bass, or large dynamics...[of dynamic speakers]

Having said that, I'm gonna audition some Maggies next week

yeah. well, I don't want to get involved into another useless quarrel about whose d**k is bigger, but I just want to point out that there's always another point of view.

deep bass? most of 2-ways or even 3-ways don't really get down there in the nether regions. to get yourself passive speakers able to reach 20 Hz you should be ready to spend a lot or add some 12' active subwoofer. there's simply no other way. however,I can appreciate that in most cases 30 - 40 Hz is low enough for most people but that low ESLs (or planars in general) can go.

large dynamics? so what if your mini monitors or small floorstanders can play 105 - 115 dB if this comes at a price of 10% THD or thereabouts. Quad ESLs can go as loud as about 100dB with negligible THD - like small fraction of 1%, which IMO is loud enough to give you impression to be seated in middle rows in concert hall and thanks to low THD they will sound clear and will not lost their composure. not to mention large dynamics is not only macro dynamics. one might argue that accurate micro dynamics is even more important if you want to recreate the sound of live instruments/ voices accurately. and that's where no dynamic speaker can even dream to compete with ESLs and long ribbons.

:cheers:

 

[DocG]

Or they crave deep bass, or large dynamics...[of dynamic speakers]

Having said that, I'm gonna audition some Maggies next week

yeah. well, I don't want to get involved into another useless quarrel about whose d**k is bigger, but I just want to point out that there's always another point of view.

deep bass? most of 2-ways or even 3-ways don't really get down there in the nether regions. to get yourself passive speakers able to reach 20 Hz you should be ready to spend a lot or add some 12' active subwoofer. there's simply no other way. however,I can appreciate that in most cases 30 - 40 Hz is low enough for most people but that low ESLs (or planars in general) can go.

large dynamics? so what if your mini monitors or small floorstanders can play 105 - 115 dB if this comes at a price of 10% THD or thereabouts. Quad ESLs can go as loud as about 100dB with negligible THD - like small fraction of 1%, which IMO is loud enough to give you impression to be seated in middle rows in concert hall and thanks to low THD they will sound clear and will not lost their composure. not to mention large dynamics is not only macro dynamics. one might argue that accurate micro dynamics is even more important if you want to recreate the sound of live instruments/ voices accurately. and that's where no dynamic speaker can even dream to compete with ESLs and long ribbons.

:cheers:

I'm with you, Oldric! That's why I planned the Maggies-session next week

As for the willies, ... Well, never mind! :cheers:

 

[Big Chris]

yeah, I find typical domes struggling to keep up with lighter materials.

Hang on... Are we still talking about Pamela Anderson here? :?

:rofl:

 

[DocG]

Hi WishTree,

A little off topic maybe, but how was your encounter with the Vivids? I might have missed your comments in some other thread (in which case a link will do ).

Cheers.

Erik

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

yeah, I find typical domes struggling to keep up with lighter materials.

Hang on... Are we still talking about Pamela Anderson here? :?

:rofl:

:rofl:

 

[WishTree]

Hi WishTree,

A little off topic maybe, but how was your encounter with the Vivids? I might have missed your comments in some other thread (in which case a link will do ).

Cheers.

Erik

Hi Erik,

With all the relocation stuff that I am going through, I had to cancel the home demo. The main reason was that I got to know that I have to pay 15% customs duty of all the items that I take with me irrespective of the fact that they are for personal use. I am not willing to pay that much especially my relocation to Asia is only for two years. With this new information, even if I do home audition and I like them, I will not buy them which is unfair to the dealer who is offering a home demo. That is when I explained the delaer my situation and cancelled the home demo.

Hopefully I might be able to audition them in my next visit to USA where they are more popular!

Currently I am pretty excited about the Strada with HK990 I will write more detailed views on the combo and especially on HK990 some time soon!

 

[gregvet]

The main reason was that I got to know that I have to pay 15% customs duty of all the items that I take with me irrespective of the fact that they are for personal use.

Ouch!!

Of course, if you need someone to look after the Classe kit while you are away, I would like to be first in line

 

[WishTree]

Ouch!!

Of course, if you need someone to look after the Classe kit while you are away, I would like to be first in line

That is a great offer !! But for this time I will pass

I am not too sure whether I will store them away in the attic for two years or to sell them off and go what is new in the market after two years. The second option is very tempting as I am hoping to have that Pathos Tube DAC as the heart of the set up

 

[gregvet]

Well on a more serious note, let us know where you are selling them if you decide to go down that route, as I would consider buying the classe pre/power second hand.

Seems a shame mind you

 

[WishTree]

Well on a more serious note, let us know where you are selling them if you decide to go down that route, as I would consider buying the classe pre/power second hand.

Seems a shame mind you

Classe Power amp is already put up on ebay.de. (Item number: 251143322946)

Feel free to contact me over there as we need to keep WHF forum only for discussions and not for selling.