As some of you know, I just bought a pair of quasi-outdoor speakers for my back porch from Flint. They were built to my budget and designed for my specific use case. I needed something that would sound great when played at lower volumes, but that could still be cranked up a bit for a party. I needed something that could handle being kept outdoors on a screened porch most of the year and I needed something low-key that would blend in with the house. Flint had them ready to go when I arrived at his house and they were just delivered to my house in New Hampshire this morning. Before anyone asks, I will post pictures after I get them hung on the porch this weekend.
I suspect the first thing inquiring minds want to know is, "How do these indoor/outdoor patio speakers compare to a pair of Paradigm Studio/40s?" I know I did!
It is obviously a silly comparison, but when has that ever stopped me. The best analogy I can think of is that if my Paradigms are an Audi A4, the porch speakers are a well-equipped Jetta. They don't have the detail or soundstage of the Studio/40s, but they are dynamic and a lot of fun to drive. The top end is open and airy. It almost reminds me of old-school Snell Type Es without the brightness. They have a smooth and balanced sound with slightly accentuated bass that never descends into boominess. That last bit is part of the secret sauce, because these speakers sound great at lower volumes.
The homes in my neighborhood are very close together and my neighbor's screened porch is maybe 30 feet from mine. That means I need to keep the volume down most of the time, so I specifically asked Flint if he could design a speaker that prioritized good sound quality at lower levels. He hit that bit out of the park. I've never heard a speaker produce clear, articulate base at such low volumes. Most speakers lose pretty much all of their bass response when you turn them down, but these don't. They are spot on perfect for the application and are exactly what I asked for. They fact that they can put a big stupid grin on my face when I crank them up is just bonus material.
When I write about speakers, I always want to point at a well-known speaker when describing the sound. That is hard here, because Flint's speakers sound like Flint's speakers. They don't sound like Paradigm, B&W, Dynaudio or any other brand I could reference. His work has its own signature.
Meh. All I know is that I've got the best sounding outdoor(ish) speakers I've ever heard and a big stupid grin on my face.
I suspect the first thing inquiring minds want to know is, "How do these indoor/outdoor patio speakers compare to a pair of Paradigm Studio/40s?" I know I did!
It is obviously a silly comparison, but when has that ever stopped me. The best analogy I can think of is that if my Paradigms are an Audi A4, the porch speakers are a well-equipped Jetta. They don't have the detail or soundstage of the Studio/40s, but they are dynamic and a lot of fun to drive. The top end is open and airy. It almost reminds me of old-school Snell Type Es without the brightness. They have a smooth and balanced sound with slightly accentuated bass that never descends into boominess. That last bit is part of the secret sauce, because these speakers sound great at lower volumes.
The homes in my neighborhood are very close together and my neighbor's screened porch is maybe 30 feet from mine. That means I need to keep the volume down most of the time, so I specifically asked Flint if he could design a speaker that prioritized good sound quality at lower levels. He hit that bit out of the park. I've never heard a speaker produce clear, articulate base at such low volumes. Most speakers lose pretty much all of their bass response when you turn them down, but these don't. They are spot on perfect for the application and are exactly what I asked for. They fact that they can put a big stupid grin on my face when I crank them up is just bonus material.
When I write about speakers, I always want to point at a well-known speaker when describing the sound. That is hard here, because Flint's speakers sound like Flint's speakers. They don't sound like Paradigm, B&W, Dynaudio or any other brand I could reference. His work has its own signature.
Meh. All I know is that I've got the best sounding outdoor(ish) speakers I've ever heard and a big stupid grin on my face.
