Have arranged audition with 2 shops on Spendor SA1, PMC DB1i and MA GX-100 on this Sat. bringing along with my Leema Pulse and will make a quick decision which one to buy after listening.
Today I spent quite some time in two hifi stores carrying out audition of MA GX-100; PMC DB1i and Spendor SA-1 using my own Leema Pulse II and my OPPO 83 Nuforce Edition. I also bring along with my own collection of SACDs for music playback.
In summary, the characteristic of GX-100 is very similar to my RX-1 but with a bit warmer mid range and very clear highs and lows. Despite a small speaker DB1i can produce reasonably lows and with good clarity in all music ranges. SA-1 has very good tonal balance despite the fact that it lacks a bit of lows when compare with the other two however the bass of SA-1 are much tighter than the other two speakers.
Overall I love the mid range and highs of Spendor SA-1 as the vocals are wonderfully playback that the other two makes cannot compete with. On very complicated music such as playing the last movement of Beethoven Symphony No. 9, the different chorals are clearly distinguishable with very good separation and the sound stage of the whole orchestra can be clearly identified. I have the feeling of sitting in the concert hall listening to live performance. My existing RX-1 has no way near to SA-1's performance when playing this piece of music.
At first I though SA-1 is difficult to push but my Leema drives it without difficulty. The volume setting only has to increase by a bit when compare with GX-100 and DB1i to maintain the same output level.
I mostly listen to vocals, jazz, acoustics and blues with a bit of classical music, after audition Spendor SA-1 is a clear winner to me and I placed my order right away (well 1295 GBP gone
). My SA-1 will be arrived early next week
. According to the store I need to run the SA-1 for at least 50 hrs to allow the tweester and woofer to settle in before I can hear its peak performance.
My last word is that though the physical size of SA-1 is quite small the sound it produces is not at all small and the workmanship and finishes are of top quality. My SA-1 is piano balck.
In summary, the characteristic of GX-100 is very similar to my RX-1 but with a bit warmer mid range and very clear highs and lows. Despite a small speaker DB1i can produce reasonably lows and with good clarity in all music ranges. SA-1 has very good tonal balance despite the fact that it lacks a bit of lows when compare with the other two however the bass of SA-1 are much tighter than the other two speakers.
Overall I love the mid range and highs of Spendor SA-1 as the vocals are wonderfully playback that the other two makes cannot compete with. On very complicated music such as playing the last movement of Beethoven Symphony No. 9, the different chorals are clearly distinguishable with very good separation and the sound stage of the whole orchestra can be clearly identified. I have the feeling of sitting in the concert hall listening to live performance. My existing RX-1 has no way near to SA-1's performance when playing this piece of music.
At first I though SA-1 is difficult to push but my Leema drives it without difficulty. The volume setting only has to increase by a bit when compare with GX-100 and DB1i to maintain the same output level.
I mostly listen to vocals, jazz, acoustics and blues with a bit of classical music, after audition Spendor SA-1 is a clear winner to me and I placed my order right away (well 1295 GBP gone
My last word is that though the physical size of SA-1 is quite small the sound it produces is not at all small and the workmanship and finishes are of top quality. My SA-1 is piano balck.
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/rt60.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/water%20fall.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/no%20smoothing.jpgMy SA1 has run for about 30 hrs and the performance is getting better and better. I am really happy with this pair of wonderful speaker
.
To find out more about its performansce I have taken some measurements using REW software with a small omi directional mic. I reproduce the following plots for the reference of readers who may find the information interesting: (not sure if the images are uploaded or not. I will provide my observations later)
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/no%20smoothing.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/water%20fall.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/rt60.jpg
To find out more about its performansce I have taken some measurements using REW software with a small omi directional mic. I reproduce the following plots for the reference of readers who may find the information interesting: (not sure if the images are uploaded or not. I will provide my observations later)
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/no%20smoothing.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/water%20fall.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/rt60.jpg
plastic penguin
Well-known member
- Apr 28, 2008
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Inter_Voice said:/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/rt60.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/water%20fall.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/no%20smoothing.jpgMy SA1 has run for about 30 hrs and the performance is getting better and better. I am really happy with this pair of wonderful speaker.
To find out more about its performansce I have taken some measurements using REW software with a small omi directional mic. I reproduce the following plots for the reference of readers who may find the information interesting: (not sure if the images are uploaded or not. I will provide my observations later)
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/no%20smoothing.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/impulse.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/water%20fall.jpg
/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/freq%20response.jpg/sites/whathifi.com/files/images/REW/rt60.jpg
Well done I_V. What stands are you using?
PP: I do not use stands but I use granite slabs and 4" thick vibration absorbtion foam as stands for my SA1 which works nicely. I have uploaded a few photos of my living room below and you will understand what I mean. You may also note that I got a lot of acoustics tiles in my room including the ceiling and bass traps at corners
. This improves the SQ of my listening environment by a lot.
PS: The above photos are inserted from Flinkr's link but it seems to be not displaying anything
.
PS: The above photos are inserted from Flinkr's link but it seems to be not displaying anything
You may try my Flinkr's link to see the REW plots and Photos of my SMALL Living room and on each photos I have provided my explanations (click each photos and you can see my comments). The Frequency Response curve of my previous RX1 is also included for comparision.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64195350@N03/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64195350@N03/
plastic penguin
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- Apr 28, 2008
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chebby said:
Almost all of the info I've stated was taken from a reliable source - Wharfedale themselves (or Rank Organisation). The rest of the info comes from owning Wharfedale 'E' speakers since 1982. They make a 40 watt amp sound like a 100 watter. One Wharfedale's promos at the time was: "If you like to entain the neighbourhood, the 'E' series are the choice..."
The 'E' series were made specifically in response to the BBC studio monitors on the market at the time.
chebby
Well-known member
- Jun 2, 2008
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"Dunno about the makes you've mentioned, apart from they were designed at a time most speakers were extremely difficult to drive."
The P3ESR and SA1 were designed in the last few years and are both easy loads. They are not BBC designs nor were they designed by ex BBC engineers. (The Harbeth was designed by Alan Shaw.)
At the time of the Wharfedale E series there were shedloads of as efficient speakers on the market including those from KEF, Celestion, AR, Goodmans, Mordaunt Short and a host of others.
People were driving highly efficient speakers from very low power valve amps decades before the Wharfedale E series.
The P3ESR and SA1 were designed in the last few years and are both easy loads. They are not BBC designs nor were they designed by ex BBC engineers. (The Harbeth was designed by Alan Shaw.)
At the time of the Wharfedale E series there were shedloads of as efficient speakers on the market including those from KEF, Celestion, AR, Goodmans, Mordaunt Short and a host of others.
People were driving highly efficient speakers from very low power valve amps decades before the Wharfedale E series.
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