my system

[drummerman]

Spent the day at SteveR750's place yesterday the ATC's were stunning. The mids and high being the best part. I also thought they look very good, small Gloucestershire speaker company, low overheads not to greedy, great speakers Took along 3 pairs of iQ speakers and the Abrahamsen. A great day was had!

The suspense is killing me *help* , more please !*biggrin*

Yup, sure would love to hear extensively of your and Steve's impressions, good and not so good, in a non-flattering but polite way

 

[iQ Speakers]

I was going to let Steve give the full low down, however we really could not seperate the Hegel or the Abrahamsen. We did not do lots of A/B testing but we both concluded if we really could not notice much of a differance straight away then the rest did not matter. Steve was amazed by the performance of the Abrahamsen.

 

[iQ Speakers]

We both thought they were both good looking, so what do we know. Steve is much more analitical but sound than me. He is busy all day today in a meeting, so you will all have to be patient. The only thing I feel I can comment on is the ATC speakers I thought they were the best I'd heard and as the review says worth 2-3 times the £3275 asking price. They are fairly large. I need to build a pair of the S4's 8" drivers TL and revisit!

 

[drummerman]

So is the Abrahamsen a bargain or the Schmegel overpriced? ;-)

 

[SteveR750]

I was going to let Steve give the full low down, however we really could not seperate the Hegel or the Abrahamsen. We did not do lots of A/B testing but we both concluded if we really could not notice much of a differance straight away then the rest did not matter. Steve was amazed by the performance of the Abrahamsen.

Totally!

I think if you've got a grand to spend on an amp, you'd be frankly bonkers nit to listen to the Abrahamsen, it's a stunning box for the money. I think the hegel is ever so slightly smoother and better controlled bass, but there's nit much in it, apart from the extra power and of course that's justifiable. However, a pre / bridged monobloc Abrahamsen would be one hell of a set up.

Spent a lot of time listening to Colin's speakers, and very impressive they are too. Bear in mind they were literally plonked in my room without properly positioned, so not an entirely fair audition, but what was interesting is that we both had different impressions. I thought there was quite a noticeable difference between all four pairs, and concluded that I prefer/tolerate a brighter sound perhaps (not to confused with distorted or harsh). As a reference, I thought the floorstanders was easily on a par with something like a proac D28R, but at nowhere near the price they are a bargain. The monitors were brand new and not run in, so I was less sure of their slightly overblown upper bass, but I know Colin loves them! Interesting contrast again. The little (tiny!) bookshelf speakers were amazing! No real bass as you'd expect, but a nice taut rhythmic sound, and incredible soundstage, really "big" sounding. In conclusion, I didn't regret buying/spending the extra on the ATCs, they were to my ears a different proposition, but then I'm convinced that they are ridiculously good at their price point. If only ATC used Norwegian electronics in their active speakers, or Colin could secure a supply of ATC drivers then that would shake thing up!

We agreed to do a repeat, but next time Matt needs to bring his Dev and phantoms.

Thanks again Colin for making the effort to drive all that way!

 

[SteveR750]

So is the Abrahamsen a bargain or the Schmegel overpriced?  ;-)

Latter. Bear in mind you'd need to double up an Abrahamsen to get to the same power, and then the price gap is closer. Plus you'd need to add a DAC.

 

[drummerman]

So is the Abrahamsen a bargain or the Schmegel overpriced? ;-)

Latter. Bear in mind you'd need to double up an Abrahamsen to get to the same power, and then the price gap is closer. Plus you'd need to add a DAC.

A very sensible answer as we have come to expect from you and it clearly says a lot about the Abrahamsen (as does that both of you think they both look nice ... perhaps your vision isn't as acute as your hearing

 

[SteveR750]

So is the Abrahamsen a bargain or the Schmegel overpriced?  ;-)

Latter. Bear in mind you'd need to double up an Abrahamsen to get to the same power, and then the price gap is closer. Plus you'd need to add a DAC.

A very sensible answer as we have come to expect from you and it clearly says a lot about the Abrahamsen (as does that both of you think they both look nice ... perhaps your vision isn't as acute as your hearing 

Thanks. I forgot to add, headphone amp, I don't think the Abrahamsen has one. Add £200 for both, and you've got a 75w amp for £1300 v a 150w amp for £2k. Both will run the ATC at zero attenuation for as long as you wish, none of the system parts seem bothered by the effort. Where the Abrahamsen stands out is comparison to Roksan, Arcam, Rega et al at around £1k. Few if any have on board dacs or headphone amps worth mentioning.

 

[Jota180]

So is the Abrahamsen a bargain or the Schmegel overpriced? ;-)

Latter. Bear in mind you'd need to double up an Abrahamsen to get to the same power, and then the price gap is closer. Plus you'd need to add a DAC.

Plus add Apple Airplay support and it's also network enabled which may be important to some. The licence fee and technical support from Apple in implementing that wont come cheap. Airplay has a 2500 page spec list manual that needs to be adhered to. You can stream directly to it from Apple, Android and NAS drive or your PC/MAC/Linux and the H160 will appear as a 'soundcard' to the computer. It also has a very high quality headphone socket.

Maybe the H80 is the better comparison to the Abe.

 

[CnoEvil]

Good work chaps....In the absence of any new threads, we need old ones to be interesting.

I always like to read 2 individual opinions about the same products, as it doesn't happen very often now that Alex and Roby don't post any more.

 

[iQ Speakers]

I think what we have to remember here is that the Hegel is a superb amp, its got huge control, timing and musicality and represents great performance/price ratio compared with the usual suspects. The nature of Abrahamsen direct model, or in the case of the UK through a dealer with low overheads and price controlled by Abrahamsen, sounded as good as the Hegel be it with lower power and no DAC has its position and place. The fact we were just to blokes who got together to enjoy various products and give our honest opinions and have an enjoyable day.

 

[matt49]

Sounds like a rewarding and illuminating day's listening. Thanks for the detailed reports, chaps!

 

[SteveR750]

Sounds like a rewarding and illuminating day's listening. Thanks for the detailed reports, chaps!

Matt make sure you come to our next one. The nice thing about these things is it's more than just sitting listening to equipment, plus that song you found Colin has been playing all day in the car!

 

[iQ Speakers]

Yep hugely enjoyable and we talked about other stuff! The song was played at a demo I had the night before and loved it, evidently they are a Punk band that also does Mariachi! https://open.spotify.com/track/4NciONzHhi2UEmh5BkaJJW

 

[SteveR750]

Only downside is I appear to have contracted your manflu. As desperate as that is, it's a small price to pay.

The next speakers I'd really like to hear would be the two floorstanders. Ones with the mini silver drivers, and the D18 sized ones with that bigger bass driver from the monitors.

What's the biggest box design? That would be fun!

 

[SteveR750]

Hegel - their figures are incredible. Each one warrants it's own theme tune when announced or burst of thunder and lightning.

250watts@8ohm!

Those specs indeed lay the foundation of legend.....how real are they.

I've only heard the Hegels at the Bristol show and the high power claims don't compute with what I heard or expect a 150wpc+ to sound like.

Amazing how brands are made legend.

Accidentally landed on this amongst the chaotic organisation of this website, but maybe missed it. Here's the thing, Roksan Caspian M2, rated at 80 odd watts goes loud enough ish. Hardly a shoddy design. Abrahamsen similar power, goes harder and louder. Hegel, sounds the same goes even louder. Both amps driving 85dB/W/m speakers at maximum volume, ie zero attenuation. Impossible to talk, it was f ing loud. Both are as believable as early NAD amps; the 3130 only 35wpc?

 

[iQ Speakers]

We are on a roll now and I've had a few Red Stripes so may need to apologise in the morning! Both Amps went full volume, little or no distortion. Legends are made from substance, from real and tangible experiences either first hand, or passed down. My Sugden A21SE (35W) was as Loud as my Leema Pulse (80W) and the 70W V2.0UP is louder than both. Most good recordings sound non distorted at max volume if you can stand it.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Certainly did, amazing mid and treble a real richness and texture very lively and energetic. They are not flashy or mediocre sounding CM or R series style, they look more stately but every bit the £3.2k they cost. I knew before I went, for once I was up against a speaker from a company more interested in sound over all else (whilst still making a profit) IPL style. The IPL's were certainly not discrased and would of preferred them over a lot of other expensive speakers, in fact they had a little tighter better timed bass.

 

[SteveR750]

Hey Colin, I've put the sub back in, I like the extra bottom end thump. You could be right about the soundstage, but I put tonality above it! If I get round to optimising is position who knows, meantime, shoot to thrill!

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Having 2 X E110 would be something. A single E110 seems to have more than enough power though. The power of the thing is unnerving, it is easily capable of exciting my room to a point where it rattles so much it obscures the music!

Hi Steve

I agree even a single E-110 is yes has frightening power

Even here a single E-110 easily fills the store without breaking into sweat

Two E-110's are indeed awesome

and yet we haven't even got to their Fathom Series and the Gotham *biggrin*

All the best

Rick @ MusIcraft

 

[Jota180]

Spent the day at SteveR750's place yesterday the ATC's were stunning. The mids and high being the best part. I also thought they look very good, small Gloucestershire speaker company, low overheads not to greedy, great speakers Took along 3 pairs of iQ speakers and the Abrahamsen. A great day was had!

I recently read a review online that said pretty much the same thing. Mids and highs were the highlight.

What is your honest opinion of the bass from these speakers?

 

[SteveR750]

Spent the day at SteveR750's place yesterday the ATC's were stunning. The mids and high being the best part. I also thought they look very good, small Gloucestershire speaker company, low overheads not to greedy, great speakers  Took along 3 pairs of iQ speakers and the Abrahamsen. A great day was had!

I recently read a review online that said pretty much the same thing.   Mids and highs were the highlight.

What is your honest opinion of the bass from these speakers?

Why don't you audition them? Of all the components, demoing speakers is a must, it's a huge risk to buy unheard.

 

[Jota180]

Spent the day at SteveR750's place yesterday the ATC's were stunning. The mids and high being the best part. I also thought they look very good, small Gloucestershire speaker company, low overheads not to greedy, great speakers Took along 3 pairs of iQ speakers and the Abrahamsen. A great day was had!

I recently read a review online that said pretty much the same thing. Mids and highs were the highlight.

What is your honest opinion of the bass from these speakers?

Why don't you audition them? Of all the components, demoing speakers is a must, it's a huge risk to buy unheard.

Too far to the 'nearest' dealership. I'll ultimately buy whatever online and demo that way but want to be as sure as possible before resorting to the distance selling regs.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Sorry i did start a long answer! So much going on, on the day! What really struck me was the mids and high. I was not going to Steve's with a view to Demo/buy the ATC's so only had a very breif listen, they were very good indeed on my initial impressions. Steve is in a better position to give you a heads up on the bass. Certainly my S2's had more bass but they are transmission lines.

 

[SteveR750]

I thought the transmission line boxes had a stronger upper bass, 80-150hz. The ATC's I thought though went lower, and more integrated. It's quite deceiving, because the drivers are so well matched. It's not a bass forward presentation, but it's deep and powerful, and it's impossible to kill them.