Are separates on borrowed time?

[relocated]

Wow! Thank you for that great description. I will be listening for just what you mentioned when I demo the Brio this weekend. Part of my interest lies in its phono ability as I intend to add a turntable later, and restart from scratch an LP library. So the system is geared towards record-playing, with decent playback of digital 24-bit files. Cheers for your help.

You're most welcome pet

Did I mention I'm half deaf ... ?

regards

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[the record spot]

Well, I'd question the whole "better way of listening" though accept that might be true technically. In practice though it's personal preference and high quality reproduction isn't the sole preserve of actives. Pick the wrong set for your tastes and you'll get bright, or overly neutral. The same things bedevil actives as they do other equipment. My pick though, would be Genelec or Yamaha HS80s. Then of course, there's the lovely Acoustic Energy AE22 Active from a few years back. Gorgeous boxes.

 

[relocated]

ADM owners have no product to sell

Actually that's not strictly true. I'm not suggesting people on that forum are receiving commission on new sales but they are getting a reward, namely that every time someone new buys an AVI product the existing owners get an increased sense of group approval, the feeling that their own choice has been validated, that sense of group belonging and approval is a massive (albeit subconscious) motivator for most people, so they'll promote (aggressively sometimes) their own choice and put down anything else that doesn't fit in to the group.

It happens everywhere, in fact it's the driver behind pretty much every argument on this forum (and everywhere else), see the iPhone/Android threads (guilty) or the MA Apex thread on here is great example of group self-assurance.

I personally couldn't give a cuss and I certainly don't need anyone else making a purchase to validate mine. My ears validate my choice every single day, thankfully, and to an extent that I have never experienced before.

Would you like chips with that psychology[?] thing you've got going on there?

 

[relocated]

NEver quite understood why separates should be going the way of the Dodo. After all, you still need a source, or several sources as is the case for many of us on here. So what element of the separates legacy is going? The removal of a separate amp and speaker arrangement. Fair dos, but did anybody come up with the same question around the death of the tuner when they started making receivers?

But no internet radio then or Spotify etc and like it or not[and I don't do computer music] it is possible now to wifi straight to speakers or via one box.

 

[drummerman]

Anyone give a toss apart from those who are trying to win some "intelectual" volleyball?

I'll give you a clue - the answer is not "yes".

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I would assume you dont mean me then ... intellectual ...

Talking about Volleyball, beach one that is, I have heard that these lovely, tight fitting, barely there, leaving nothing to the imagination, undersized garments are to be lost to knee length shorts and loose tops for the olympics.

I much prefer the legacy ones.

regards

 

[fr0g]

Group hug everyone??

 

[the record spot]

NEver quite understood why separates should be going the way of the Dodo. After all, you still need a source, or several sources as is the case for many of us on here. So what element of the separates legacy is going? The removal of a separate amp and speaker arrangement. Fair dos, but did anybody come up with the same question around the death of the tuner when they started making receivers?

But no internet radio then or Spotify etc and like it or not[and I don't do computer music] it is possible now to wifi straight to speakers or via one box.

I know; I own one (the Onkyo). USB, wireless and DLNA as well as the internet radio and Spotify you mention, both of which it has. You get the point I'm making though. This is just 50 years on and all that the technology allows.

 

[drummerman]

Group hug everyone??

Oh yes please

regards

 

[chebby]

...given that actives are relatively new and have few manufacturers in the domestic market.

I don't know what 'relatively new' means, but active speakers were around at least 30 years ago (and I do mean ones with active crossovers) including some consumer models.

Here are some from an Altec studio catalogue in 1971. (Active crossovers.)

There were also the Meridian M1 active speakers (1977 or thereabouts) that were aimed at domestic customers.

 

[steve_1979]

I was quite impressed by the Xeos. They sounded tighter than other Dynaudios, which I welcome.

Have you heard the floorstanding version too? How do they compare to other Dynaudio floorstanders?

everything else plugs into the transmitter situated with your sources. I'd say it's about as neat a solution as you can get at the moment, and could kick start demand for this type of product.

Although I haven't had a chance to hear them yet I do think that these are a great idea. They're just the sort of thing that the hifi industry needs IMO. Hopefully they'll kick start demand for this type of product and we'll see a few other companies jumping on the band wagon.

 

[Anonymous]

Group hug everyone??

Oh yes please

regards

 

[manicm]

If one stops and ponders about it - seperates have been on borrowed time since Sony unleashed the Walkman in the 70s. If you think about it, proper hifi equipment, unlike other home electronics, haven't really come down in price, or not to the level of other electronics. Why? It has to be attributed to the fact that all-in-ones sell more and the only way they can survive is to maintain relatively high prices.

 

[Alec]

Anyone give a toss apart from those who are trying to win some "intelectual" volleyball?

I'll give you a clue - the answer is not "yes".

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I would assume you dont mean me then ... intellectual ...

Talking about Volleyball, beach one that is, I have heard that these lovely, tight fitting, barely there, leaving nothing to the imagination, undersized garments are to be lost to knee length shorts and loose tops for the olympics.

I much prefer the legacy ones.

regards

So, I was fed up before, and now you've screwed my summer?! Thanks.

 

[Alec]

That swear filter's jolly good!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi All,

This is my first post on the forum. And full disclaimer: I own a speaker manufacturing company. So, take my opinions with this clearly in mind. I didn't read through every single post, but perhaps I can propose a slightly different thesis than what has already been discussed.

Might it be that active speakers are helping to create new audiophiles and expanding the hi-fi market, rather than displacing established product categories?

I manufacture high-end active studio monitors. They are fairly renowned in the professional audio world (Not trying to brag. Just stating a widely repeated sentiment). So far, we have done absolutely no advertising outside of the pro audio market. Nonetheless, every week I get more and more inquires and sales coming from hi-fi customers. The questions I get from these folks very often center around minimalist "computer audiophile" setups [computer/server -> DAC/processer -> active speakers]. I also get the impression that most of them are very tech savvy professionals, but relatively new to hi-fi. They’ve googled every imaginable product and approach on the planet and arrived at us as part of their minimalist solution.

So, I would argue that a lot of these people would have ended up with "lifestyle" systems had they not found the kind of streamline, high-end, computer audio focused products that weren't available just a few years ago. Does this sound reasonable?

Btw, this seems like a very vibrant and informative forum. I don't have much experience with the hi-fi community and I think this will be a great place to learn!

Cheers,

Thomas

 

[Overdose]

That's an interesting take.

 

[John Duncan]

Hi Thomas, and welcome. To be compliant with house rules, can you please amend your signature to indicate your trade status (position/company).

Thanks and regards

JD (moderator)

 

[manicm]

Anyone give a toss apart from those who are trying to win some "intelectual" volleyball?

I'll give you a clue - the answer is not "yes".

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I would assume you dont mean me then ... intellectual ...

Talking about Volleyball, beach one that is, I have heard that these lovely, tight fitting, barely there, leaving nothing to the imagination, undersized garments are to be lost to knee length shorts and loose tops for the olympics.

I much prefer the legacy ones.

regards

So, I was fed up before, and now you've screwed my summer?! Thanks.

I've always maintained that drummers, even my favourite ones, should have their mouths taped permanently :rofl:

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Thomas, and welcome. To be compliant with house rules, can you please amend your signature to indicate your trade status (position/company).

Thanks and regards

JD (moderator)

Hi JD. Great to be here. Signature updated.

 

[John Duncan]

Great, cheers.

 

[the record spot]

Hi JD. Great to be here. Signature updated.

I'll echo John's comments Thomas, welcome to the forum - hope you'll hang around a while. Nice site by the way and some very nice speakers!

(If you ever need a willing tester, etc., etc...!)

EDIT: And a cracking review for your MicroMain27s in Sound On Sound magazine. Not far off £6k a pair right enough, but yowza, they sound a bit good by all accounts!

 

[Frank Harvey]

I was quite impressed by the Xeos. They sounded tighter than other Dynaudios, which I welcome.

Have you heard the floorstanding version too? How do they compare to other Dynaudio floorstanders?

Yup, heard both models. We've ordered them for demo.

We've had the Excite range here before, and for whatever reason, I preferred the standmounts over the floorstanders. With the Xeos, I heard the standmounts first, which sounded great, not too dissimilar to other Dynaudio's standmounts, but seemed more open and less bass heavy. I expected the floorstanders to be noticeably bassier, but they weren't. Yes, they had more bass, and deeper too, but the bass never intruded or took over, they seemed nicely balanced. I tried my usual test discs and they never sounded nasty or wrong - even at lower levels they worked well.

Although I haven't had a chance to hear them yet I do think that these are a great idea. They're just the sort of thing that the hifi industry needs IMO. Hopefully they'll kick start demand for this type of product and we'll see a few other companies jumping on the band wagon.

I'm surprised that it's Dynaudio that have done it first. It just needed one of them to test the water - I reckon by this time next year, we'll be seeing other manufacturers adding their models to the market - if they're not well on their way to producing their own already.

 

[Overdose]

Interesting times.

 

[Craig M.]

So, I would argue that a lot of these people would have ended up with "lifestyle" systems had they not found the kind of streamline, high-end, computer audio focused products that weren't available just a few years ago. Does this sound reasonable?

i think that's pretty much my position. those who've grown up entrenched in the traditional way of doing 'hifi' are going to be much more likely to stick with what they know, but there is obviously a new generation growing up who have always listened to music through a computer/phone/ipod who see no reason to change to traditional seperates. heck, you don't even have to own the music anymore. dynaudios xeo will hopefully (from my point of view) herald a new type of product that doesn't necessarily mean you have to have a bunch of boxes and wires to get great sound.

 

[steve_1979]

Great to be here.

Welcome to the forum Thomas.

Might it be that active speakers are helping to create new audiophiles and expanding the hi-fi market, rather than displacing established product categories?

That's an interesting point. You might be on to something there.

every week I get more and more inquires and sales coming from hi-fi customers

The bloke who works at my local pro-audio shop told me that over the past couple of years he's started selling quite a few active monitors to people who want to upgrade their expensive separates hifi systems to something that sounds better. I think that people are gradually waking up to the idea that active speakers are usually better than passives and offer good value for money.