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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Dynaudio Audience 62's 
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views:2798
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 I took delivery of the Dynaudio Audience 62's last week and immediately set about turfing out the Epos 12.2's. No room for sentiment here and I was a child possessed. As one can imagine with new kit, I've been through my cd faves to look for the differences, the improvements over the Epos'.
I love my Epos speakers and for good reason. Along with the NVA amp and Cyrus cd player and nva connecting stuff the sound is very very pleasing indeed. I would strongly recommend them anytime to anyone. They are good. Just one problem - they are standmounts (a perceived space-saver in my shoebox living room) which suffer from the usual problem of insufficient bass (for me at least but not my neighbour).
Enter the Dyno's stage left. ooooooOOOOOOoooooo. It feels like my birthday. Whacking on my absolute favourite track 'Pampas Border' by the Angel Brothers with Satnam Singh (album 'From Punjab to Pit Top')..... it first opens up with organ, quickly followed by a thing or 2 being tapped in a percussive kind of way. Building with tom-toms and accordian the organ begins to swirl, in comes acoustic guitar and then finally, finally, we get gut-churning growling base. Bleedin' 'ell. Pump up the volume and see off the neighbours. I'm in heaven and my neighbour is having a chat with Satan. Ha
I love these speakers. The trouble is I can't vocalise as well as some to describe their attributes as I simply don't know what some terms mean. For example fast, open, transparency - dunno.
What I do know is that these produce a sound which sounds (er, sorry) like it costs more. There is definate imagery, definate sound stage, definate FULL SOUND. OK, OK I can imagine what some terms mean ) My wife nailed it with the comment "they have a much fuller sound, much bigger depth of field than your old speakers". Depth of field is good. I actually feel like the band is sitting in my living room ('cup of tea while your playing Mr Angel sir?') and can see the various instruments being fiddled about with. Bass - good - heading towards the earths mantle. Not quite there (need more money for that).
Change of cd and the Dyno's have removed the lisp which Peter Gabriel suffered throughout 'Sledgehammer'.
Change of cd to a raft of classical tracks. Piano, violin and choral all are reproduced so, so well. I love these speakers. I know, I've said that already.
In a nutshell, there is a much greater frequency response, greater clarity, greater imaging. *When I say 'greater' this is compared to my standmounts. What they also produce with my kit is an uncoloured sound. Again, full marks to NVA amp and cabling and cyrus cd player.
I can't enthuse anymore or I'll burst. ('wafer thin mint Mr Creosote?').
Stop press - I've just received Mozarts Complete Violin Concertos through the post - it sounds bloody gorgeous (seams are beginning to split).
Now, do I keep my Epos or sell them. I really like the Epos.
Oh god, I have a headache and still grinning like an idiot for a full week now.
When the wife has made more money round the back of the Miners Welfare and Copacabana Club and the kids have cleaned a few more chimleys I'm upping to the 82's. They can only sound even better. |
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| Review submitted: 2008/4/14
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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Dynaudio Audience 82s
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views:351
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In a nut shell, I am very pleased with my Dynaudio Audience 82s.
In them are some of the best domes, cones and 3 way crossovers I've heard. My Audience 82s revolutionised the sound of my hifi when they replaced their smaller 2-way Audience 62 sibblings in my largely Musical Fidelity based hifi set up.
The cabinets are large - impressively (/intimidatingly) so. They are well finished and, to my eyes, attractive, although relatively basic in design in the context of more recent releases of similiar price and 3 way design.
On the face of each nessles 2 mid/bass cones 1 midrange and 1 soft dome tweeter.
When the cones and domes start to move it is clear that these are breathtaking speakers. The Audience 82s have that rare balance of power and subtlety that is the neutral hifi experience. They reproduce 'unplugged' instruments e.g. Norah Jones' female vocal, acoustic guitar on Buena Vista Social Club, or Miles Davis' trumpet with outstanding uncoloured accuracy. And this is really the beginning and end of the story - the Audience 82s sound exactly like what they are supposed to sound like - the original studio or stage source of the music.
They sound awesome with electronically produced music. Never have I heard the Propeller Heads 'Take California' sound so huge and persuasive ("OK, I'll take Navada as well!") as it does through the Audience 82s: I'm always fooled into thinking that I've left my AV sub woofer on. Similarly, more atmospheric ambient electra like Speedy J's 'G-Spot' album just flows out of the 82s with a duvet like comfort. Beautiful.
From (very) extended listening to my Audience 82s I've come to the conclusion that for a speaker to be a great speaker, a 2 drivers are insufficient (I can feel the venomous replies coming already). I reckon you need a midrange cone and a 3 way cross over.
Now, I've read that '3 way' speakers can sound 'coloured' and have a 'sonic signature that they impose on recorded music' played through them. If this is generally the case, then nothing could be further from the truth - the Dynaudio Audience 82s sound completely (and I mean COMPLETELY) UNcoloured to my ears. Indeed I would say that the Audience 82s are a great example of how 3 way speakers (with the additional cone bolstering the midrange frequencies) do a grand job of nulifying the problem inherent to 2 ways: That of the cross over frequency falling at exactly that midrange frequency at which our ears and brains are most discerning (for the purpose of hearing consonants in human speech). That was the one shortcoming I heard with my old 2 way Audience 62s - I always felt that vocals, guitars, saxes, percussion weren't quite on the money. No such concerns with their bigger 82 brothers!
Finally the endless enjoyment I glean from my 82s is doubled by the fact that I picked them up second hand for £700. I understand that there original price tag was a grand more than that. Oh the joys of ebay.... |
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| Review submitted: 2005/9/22
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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Hyperion HPS938
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views:400
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I thought I’d share my experience as owner of a pair of Hyperion HPS938 floorstanders.
I’ve had these speakers since October, purchased second-hand and ‘blind’ (‘deaf’?) from a really knowledgeable enthusiast in Surrey.
Buying without listening is not something I’d normally do, but I took the risk after reading extensive and universally favourable reviews in the hi-fi press. It also helped that the speakers were well priced; hopefully insuring me against losing a big bag of beans if I didn’t like them.
The purchase went really well. The seller is as fastidious and anal about his kit as I am, so everything was exactly as it should be – a good demo, fabulous unmarked condition, all original paperwork and packaging. So far, so good.
The 938s were bought to replace my treasured JMLab Mini Utopias – a pedigree loudspeaker well suited to my listening room (16’ x 16’) and relatively unobtrusive. So now, please welcome the mighty Hyperions!
‘They look like Daleks’ said my wife (not helpful, but true) adding, ‘where on earth are they going to go?’ (again, not helpful, but true) and departing with ‘well, you know I won’t be dusting them’ (enough, already!).
Anyway, after agreeing to keep the grills on for good, I rearranged the whole room to accommodate the 938’s large footprint and found them a good spot away from both rear and side walls.
I’d purchased the Stereovox jumpers the former had been using with the 938s (all reviews insisted owners ditch the OEM jumpers) and hooked these up with some Townshend DCT cables and Townshend super tweeters and then sat back for a long listen.
Concerning sonic performance, I struggle to replicate hi-fi magazine ‘review speak’, but everything that has been written about these speakers is, in my humble opinion, quite true.
The immediate impression is one of space – a big, open soundstage with vocals and instruments presented in layers, well outside the ugly black cabinets. There’s bags of bass, good mids and grain-free highs (as you’d expect from a speaker of this price and reputation), but the real noticeable achievement is the soundstage – far beyond anything I’ve heard before and more important to my listening enjoyment than I had ever realised (I've not heard electrostatics, by the way).
All a touch evangelical? Perhaps, but these speakers have surprised me. I now find myself listening more and for longer, which surely must be a good sign?
Over the last couple of months I’ve been able to verify the 938’s reputation for transparency. I firstly changed my Townshend cables for a bi-wire setup using Stereovox HDLS cables, then changed again, upgrading this bi-wire setup to Philosophy Organon cables (a great cable, IMHO). I suspect that the 938s will reveal front-end system changes too, but I’m pretty happy with my electronics / interconnect setup so I haven’t yet explored this possibility.
Well, any downside? Yes, but nothing too significant. The speakers can’t be described as ‘small’ and their styling tends to provoke a Marmite reaction (unfortunately, most people hate Marmite!). The 6 Ohm impedance might be a problem for some, but they are a relatively efficient speaker. The OEM jumpers are next to useless and good jumpers don’t come cheap. Placement is also important to get the best from them.
In summary, the Hyperion HPS938s tick all the right boxes and more. If you major on soundstage (and I didn’t know that I did) and want a speaker that can communicate upstream changes to your system, then the Hyperions demand an audition - If you can track down a cherished pre-owned, UK spec’ pair you’ll get a great value slice of high-end audio.
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| Review submitted: 2007/2/3
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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Incredible Merlin VSM MMe speakers
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views:2834
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I just wanted to share a happy rant about my experience with a new pair of VSM MMe's. I've been into serious hi-fi (and a music lover) for many years and I just didn't think speakers could change a system this much.
There are no Merlin dealers over here and I originally came across VSMs back in 2004, when I managed to get hold of a second hand pair of VSM SEs. I fell in love with those and it was inevitable that I would upgrade at some point.
So I took the plunge and ordered a new pair of MMe's from the US. When they arrived, I knew they would need burning in, but the difference over the old SEs was dramatic even in the first hour. Much bigger, weightier sound, wider, more detailed, and just so, so sweet.
I now have well over 300 hours on the speakers and they have improved enormously on what I was hearing in the first week. I listen to an unusually wide range of music: from classical through jazz, folk, pop, electronic, dance, R&B and hip-hop. If there are good musicians behind the music, I usually like it.
The MMes seem to break all the rules by sounding breathtakingly detailed and airy, while also sounding incredibly sweet. Words really just don’t do the sound justice – I’ve heard top-end electrostatics and the MMes are right up there for delicacy and air. And if it's your thing, the soundstage is about 30% wider and much deeper. But now it's a believable place that's with you in the room, not just some impressive hi-fi artefact.
You know that over-used hi-fi mag phrase about speakers disappearing? When the music plays, the MMe's really do just disappear. The music has nothing to do with the speakers - it's just there in the room. Wall to wall, 3-dimensional and palpable.
But it's what MME's do for music, rather than hi-fi, that really strikes me after living with them for a two months. Music I know well suddenly has a new piano line, plain as day. And it's not just any old piano line, but piano being played with incredible emotion that just wasn't there before. Same goes for a favourite vocal at the beginning of a song - now there's a second voice quietly harmonizing, and very beautifully. I always thought you had to change your front end to get these kinds of changes.
I've always loved listening to the voices of talented female singers and, where the SEs were already remarkable, the MMe's take texture emotion and 'there-ness' to new levels. This is the kind of texture that is touchable and addictive. Lots of very late nights ...
I was told to expect deeper and more tuneful bass. It turns out this was a big understatement. Yes, the bass really is deeper, bigger, more tuneful and controlled than before, but now my system has rhythm and drive that it never had (I always thought my ageing CD player was the problem here). Suddenly, music makes sense as music - it all hangs together rhythmically and in every other way. It just sounds right and it makes you smile.
As for bass extension, there's a lot of talk online about a slight lack of weight at the bottom end. I'm probably using very different amps to most VSM owners, where fine valve amps are common. I use two big Meridian 557 amps running bridged mono and I guess they may play a part in this, with practically endless current and control. In my system the MMes go deeper than they should – very deep indeed and with absolute weight and conviction. This is all the scale I could want.
Anyway, time to stop ranting and sign off. If you have an older set of VSMs, get them upgraded! Or just take the plunge and buy the latest version. These speakers tick all the 'Hi-Fi' check boxes, but it's the way they play music that will make you happy and keep you up late at night.
SUMMARY: Incredible speakers at any price & ridiculously good at the US retail price. You\'ll soon hear why these speakers are class A recommended by Stereophile. |
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| Review submitted: 2008/10/22
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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Mission 751 Freedom
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views:4847
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Mission 751 Freedom
In 1980 ish Mission made the 751 and sold it at a retail price of £250 the press and public loved it and for two years on a row it won the best speaker under £500 award in What hifi. Every mag rated it very highly even Hifi World (one of the most respected mags in the world at the time) reviews from the public show it to be a much loved speaker that does little if anything wrong.
In the mid 80s everyone wanted a floor standing speaker.
Sales of mission 751 lost ground fast with a final throw of the dice Mission upgraded the 751 (making it Rear ported, Stronger cabernet, Sweeter tweeter , Bigger bass cone)
The new speaker was called the 751 Freedom and sold for a unbelievable low price of £350 the press ignored it,they had given the 751 so many awards it was becoming boring and now floor standards had 90% of the market so the press had to review them (many good standmounts/bookself speakers got ignored around this time)
Coming back to the Mission 751 Freedom what we get is a outstanding small stand mounted speaker we get Sweet , Fast , Musical, True to life and the two hardest things for a stand mount of this size we get open and we get the correct bass umph.
IMO the Mission 751 freedom is one of the best speaker mission have ever made and one of the last speakers they made that was designed just to play music.
The 751 are 2 a penny (and still a great buy) the 751 Freedom is a lttle harder to find (but not so many people know about them and they are a fantastic buy)
Considering inflation considering that it was under priced in the first place and considering other speakers I have heard at various price points buying new today the mission 751 freedom would be in the £450 to £600 price bracket.
I got the Mission 751 Freedom in mint for £90.
Ps. I do not know the link but cyrus seem to have sold the very same speaker but with a cyrus badge ?
Please do not take any of this as fact review is made up of a small amount of press snipets and a very large amount of my own opinion. |
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| Review submitted: 2008/2/9
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Category: Loudspeakers
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Title: Wharfedale Valdus 400
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views:1031
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What do you think of the Wharfedale Valdus 400 speakers?? Please rate or comment (or both) to air your opinions! 
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| Review submitted: 2003/11/23
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