Ben and me headed to K-town yesterday to a store called Statement Media & Designs. I was wanting to check out the new Studios, mainly the 20s, but since he didn't have a set hooked up we looked around and listened to what he had.
One system we listened to was a pair of Monitor 7 towers. They are the v6 (the ones where the midrange driver looks like a rolled up condom stuck to the front of the speaker). The speaker is better looking than expected, but on some of the tracks we listened, it seemed they ran out of steam pretty easy. On some piano pieces, some of the notes seemed to be more louder than others. I didn't noticed this on the Studio 100s and the S2s I would hear later. One track, a tune called "Spanish Harlem", the female singer's vocals seemed to want to break up when she hits that one note and holds it. I feel a lot of it was probably the setup and not the speaker. There was a huge ass Mac amp driving it. I just wasn't impressed with the sound of the Monitors, but at the same time I think maybe it might be some abuse from a previous ignorant/inconsiderate customer? (crank 'em up man!)
Next were a pair of $7000/pr of Revel towers. I really liked these. I can't remember the model, but maybe from their Performa line? They sounded very smooth and laid back and seemed to have a pretty impressive low end to them. I liked these a lot, but at the same time, they just didn't really reach out and grab me.
The same can be said for the Signature S2s. They had a better sounding more silky smooth high end to them, but I felt they were getting held back. They originally weren't hooked up to the system we were listening. Instead, these higher end set of Revels were hooked up. The lady there let me unhook the Revels and connect the S2s to hear the setup (an all Mac setup), but the cables I noticed had some sort of in line amp hooked to it. She told me the S2s would probably sound different and not like they probably should, since the system was calibrated more for the Revels. I don't know if it was that statement had created a bias or the goofiness of the cables connecting the S2s to the Mac amp. The S2 seemed to have some great sounding highs, but everything else just seemed thin. No low end at all, so it can't be the speaker. You should have seen the speaker cables and that stupid looking passive amp thing on them. I swear that had to have some effect on the speaker's sound.
Next was a small dedicated room with a pair of Studio 100s. They sounded phenomenal, but yet again I felt like I was left wanting more. Good low end to them, but the mids seem to suffer and sounded a bit repressed. They still had that silky smooth high end just like with the S2s. Also I think it was more the environment, and not the speaker. When sitting in the sweet spot, there's a support pole sitting in the line of fire of the left speaker. This caused a lot of imagery issues and I had to point that out to the owner when he asked what I thought of the 100s. It was as if someone were standing in front of the speaker, trying to block the sound. The 100s were driven by a Lexicon amp and an Anthem pre/pro (I would love to have that pre/pro).
Before we left, we tried out a pair of Revel towers. These were the F12s from their Concerta line. The cherry finish looked great and when he fired them up, I was drawn in. They were driven by an Anthem receiver. This was the best sounding setup I've heard in that store so far. I think a lot of that was due to the setup. A long wall behind the towers and nothing but open space ahead of them. Also nothing complicated in hooking them up, just a run of simple speaker wire. They sounded as good as the more expensive towers we heard earlier, but imo (after hearing the $1500/pr price of the F12s) I would prefer the F12s. Yes they are more affordable, but I think it's like comparing the Dynaudio Focus 140s to the C1 bookshelfs. There's a difference, but I don't think the added benefits justify the added cost. IN other words, I wouldn't lose sleep wishing I had saved for the more expensive speaker.
I had a great time, but I also left the store really wanting more. Would I buy from this guy? Yeah, I would. They go out of your way to make you feel comfortable. I didn't feel like I was in a store so much as I thought I was just visiting someone. We even talked "shop" with the owner for a little while before heading out.
What sucked was, we head back to Ben's place to play back some of the same material we used for demoing on his system and just recollect on our day. I hate that guy's system (Vifa speakers, B&K preamp/stereo amp). If the Vifa kit was still available from Madisound, I would probably serious think about ordering it. Some of the tracks we played back on his setup, I don't remember hearing those really fine details on any of the speakers in Knoxville. It kinda changed my viewpoint on what I should consider for my next set of speakers.
One system we listened to was a pair of Monitor 7 towers. They are the v6 (the ones where the midrange driver looks like a rolled up condom stuck to the front of the speaker). The speaker is better looking than expected, but on some of the tracks we listened, it seemed they ran out of steam pretty easy. On some piano pieces, some of the notes seemed to be more louder than others. I didn't noticed this on the Studio 100s and the S2s I would hear later. One track, a tune called "Spanish Harlem", the female singer's vocals seemed to want to break up when she hits that one note and holds it. I feel a lot of it was probably the setup and not the speaker. There was a huge ass Mac amp driving it. I just wasn't impressed with the sound of the Monitors, but at the same time I think maybe it might be some abuse from a previous ignorant/inconsiderate customer? (crank 'em up man!)
Next were a pair of $7000/pr of Revel towers. I really liked these. I can't remember the model, but maybe from their Performa line? They sounded very smooth and laid back and seemed to have a pretty impressive low end to them. I liked these a lot, but at the same time, they just didn't really reach out and grab me.
The same can be said for the Signature S2s. They had a better sounding more silky smooth high end to them, but I felt they were getting held back. They originally weren't hooked up to the system we were listening. Instead, these higher end set of Revels were hooked up. The lady there let me unhook the Revels and connect the S2s to hear the setup (an all Mac setup), but the cables I noticed had some sort of in line amp hooked to it. She told me the S2s would probably sound different and not like they probably should, since the system was calibrated more for the Revels. I don't know if it was that statement had created a bias or the goofiness of the cables connecting the S2s to the Mac amp. The S2 seemed to have some great sounding highs, but everything else just seemed thin. No low end at all, so it can't be the speaker. You should have seen the speaker cables and that stupid looking passive amp thing on them. I swear that had to have some effect on the speaker's sound.
Next was a small dedicated room with a pair of Studio 100s. They sounded phenomenal, but yet again I felt like I was left wanting more. Good low end to them, but the mids seem to suffer and sounded a bit repressed. They still had that silky smooth high end just like with the S2s. Also I think it was more the environment, and not the speaker. When sitting in the sweet spot, there's a support pole sitting in the line of fire of the left speaker. This caused a lot of imagery issues and I had to point that out to the owner when he asked what I thought of the 100s. It was as if someone were standing in front of the speaker, trying to block the sound. The 100s were driven by a Lexicon amp and an Anthem pre/pro (I would love to have that pre/pro).
Before we left, we tried out a pair of Revel towers. These were the F12s from their Concerta line. The cherry finish looked great and when he fired them up, I was drawn in. They were driven by an Anthem receiver. This was the best sounding setup I've heard in that store so far. I think a lot of that was due to the setup. A long wall behind the towers and nothing but open space ahead of them. Also nothing complicated in hooking them up, just a run of simple speaker wire. They sounded as good as the more expensive towers we heard earlier, but imo (after hearing the $1500/pr price of the F12s) I would prefer the F12s. Yes they are more affordable, but I think it's like comparing the Dynaudio Focus 140s to the C1 bookshelfs. There's a difference, but I don't think the added benefits justify the added cost. IN other words, I wouldn't lose sleep wishing I had saved for the more expensive speaker.
I had a great time, but I also left the store really wanting more. Would I buy from this guy? Yeah, I would. They go out of your way to make you feel comfortable. I didn't feel like I was in a store so much as I thought I was just visiting someone. We even talked "shop" with the owner for a little while before heading out.
What sucked was, we head back to Ben's place to play back some of the same material we used for demoing on his system and just recollect on our day. I hate that guy's system (Vifa speakers, B&K preamp/stereo amp). If the Vifa kit was still available from Madisound, I would probably serious think about ordering it. Some of the tracks we played back on his setup, I don't remember hearing those really fine details on any of the speakers in Knoxville. It kinda changed my viewpoint on what I should consider for my next set of speakers.
