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  #31  
Old 10-22-2015, 02:01 AM
Art Vandelay Art Vandelay is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Douglas View Post
Totally agree with Bart and Vico26. My current speakers have even less WOW factor then the amazing Vivids.
I've heard Kaiser Acoustic's that really wow'ed me with their attack / decay clarity and dynamics though, and they sounded equally as transparent and accurate as the Vivid's.

OTOH, Wilson Alexia's have really wow'ed me, though I know they're slightly colored and less resolving by comparison.

So I'm not convinced that 'wow factor' is necessarily inversely proportional to accuracy as a rule, but if it was I would definitely need to question whether I wanted it as a prime requisite.

To that extent there are similarities with digital vs analogue or solid state vs tubes.
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  #32  
Old 10-22-2015, 04:25 AM
Vico26 Vico26 is offline
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Of course Art, you are completely right. WOW factor does not mean the speaker would not be good. Rather the opposite is true...

Nevertheless we only tried to describe our feelings about Giyas.

I can describe it also as:
- one would have WOW factor if he spent a night with a beautiful adult actress
- but he would probably appreciete his smart, kind and beautiful wife more :-)
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  #33  
Old 10-23-2015, 03:30 AM
Art Vandelay Art Vandelay is offline
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OK, I finally heard some 'wow' factor today listening to Vivid G2's.

Driven by Pass Labs XA160.8's there was a lovely synergy and the mids and treble sounded really sweet as well as tangibly real. The only issue with the Pass was that it didn't provide ultimate control over the bass.

But driven by a Gryphon Antileon, the bass had control and authority but the treble lost a touch of sweetness and didn't blend quite as seamlessly with the mids.

If Vivid's are anything, they're very difficult when it comes to amplification.
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  #34  
Old 10-23-2015, 05:36 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Art Vandelay View Post
OK, I finally heard some 'wow' factor today listening to Vivid G2's.

Driven by Pass Labs XA160.8's there was a lovely synergy and the mids and treble sounded really sweet as well as tangibly real. The only issue with the Pass was that it didn't provide ultimate control over the bass.

But driven by a Gryphon Antileon, the bass had control and authority but the treble lost a touch of sweetness and didn't blend quite as seamlessly with the mids.

If Vivid's are anything, they're very difficult when it comes to amplification.
They convey the essence of the amp more than any speaker I have ever heard. I compared AR REF 110 with LS 27 SE pre to a Burmester Integrated on the K1's. It was astounding how different it sounded. With the AR gear the presentation was very large, loud, (big time wow factor) and exciting, but everything was larger than life. With the Burmester it was a lot more subdued, with a much smaller soundstage, but way more natural and musical
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  #35  
Old 10-23-2015, 07:18 AM
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Briz Vegaas Briz Vegaas is offline
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That's the essence of the issue with audio.

You buy a " reference level" component that ( you assume) does as it is intended, but its still only one component. You hear the end result but are you able to identify what is contributing what. I think a component that reveals differences is great so long as everything else on the chain does its job. A speaker that is easier to drive, like the K1 vs the B1 for example, gives you more leeway to get it right overall.

Ultimately its the end result that you want, not one great component let down by everything else.

I think what matters in that equation is .........everything, if you are looking for that sublime sound. When i say everything, i mean everything. The recording, room, electricity, source cabling, racks, amplifier and speakers all contribute something. You are also part of the equation, including your mood, how fresh you are feeling, time of day, how familiar you are with the system ( its easier to like something new to your ears).

Every time i read someones comments about a new component i always thing, " yeah, but what is the context".

My own reference is an audio store is Singapore playing Sophie Mutter on Vinyl via Vitus electronics and Magico Q5 s with Magico subs in a heavily treated room ( dispersion , not absorption). I was on holidays ( vacation), in an unfamiliar city, room, system and recording. Lots of factors that may have given an unfair comparison. Claiming the Q 5 s are gods gift to audio with the ultimate wow factor would be problematic, although that system certainly was impressive.

I think a component that tells you about upstream gear shows great potential, you just have to find a chain,room and hopefully a broad range of recordings, that feeds it the right signal for a reference quality outcome.
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  #36  
Old 10-23-2015, 08:06 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Briz Vegaas View Post
That's the essence of the issue with audio.

You buy a " reference level" component that ( you assume) does as it is intended, but its still only one component. You hear the end result but are you able to identify what is contributing what. I think a component that reveals differences is great so long as everything else on the chain does its job. A speaker that is easier to drive, like the K1 vs the B1 for example, gives you more leeway to get it right overall.

Ultimately its the end result that you want, not one great component let down by everything else.

I think what matters in that equation is .........everything, if you are looking for that sublime sound. When i say everything, i mean everything. The recording, room, electricity, source cabling, racks, amplifier and speakers all contribute something. You are also part of the equation, including your mood, how fresh you are feeling, time of day, how familiar you are with the system ( its easier to like something new to your ears).

Every time i read someones comments about a new component i always thing, " yeah, but what is the context".

My own reference is an audio store is Singapore playing Sophie Mutter on Vinyl via Vitus electronics and Magico Q5 s with Magico subs in a heavily treated room ( dispersion , not absorption). I was on holidays ( vacation), in an unfamiliar city, room, system and recording. Lots of factors that may have given an unfair comparison. Claiming the Q 5 s are gods gift to audio with the ultimate wow factor would be problematic, although that system certainly was impressive.

I think a component that tells you about upstream gear shows great potential, you just have to find a chain,room and hopefully a broad range of recordings, that feeds it the right signal for a reference quality outcome.
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  #37  
Old 10-23-2015, 03:12 PM
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bart bart is offline
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Good post indeed!
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Stereo: Hegel H590, Grimm Audio MU1, Mola Mola Tambaqui, Burmester 948 - V3 & V6 racks, Vivid Audio G2 Giyas, REL Carbon Special (pair), Silent Angel Bonn N8 Ethernet Switch & Forester F1, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse IC and SE SC, Furutech Digiflux
AV: Hegel C-53, Marantz AV8802A, Oppo BDP-203EU, Pioneer Kuro 60", Vivid Audio C1 & V1w's, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, SE & E
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