Jimmy C
12-02-2003, 03:09 PM
...which is the Studio 20 equivalent, ie., the smallest one. They were hooked up to monster Classe gear... CDP, preamp and amp in a large 10'x16'x24' room. Speakers on short wall facing straight ahead, well out into the room. We listened to "Minu Cinelu" a Jazz CD I have been diggin' on lately. This guy is pretty good - worked with Weather Report and a few other notables.
This new series is definitely more transparent and open than the Studio series, which IMO is more closed-in and dark sounding. Soundstaging was very good - layered from the speaker to the back wall showing off whatever tricks the CD had. Very focused and realistic - nothing too big or too short.
The S2 is a very easy to listen to speaker, with a fairly silky HF and a clean midrange. These took a moderate amount of volume in stride - stayed composed and no part of the spectrum stood out as the volume rose. No obvious colorations to male vocals (which were very good, by the way) or anywhere else.
Problems? Well, there wasn't much bass. My M20s have one particular track of said disc pressurizing the room and tingling your innards... the S2s woofer didn't want any part of those low frequencies at higher volumes. To be fair, it WAS a pretty big room. Dynamics were average, IMO... again, no contest against the Revel.
Yesterday, I said the N805s had the best looking cabinets in the $2K range - I think the Paradigms are better. The "post-production" (my dealer called it) model were a Bird's Eye Maple with a gloss coat - stunning. A bit of a lute shape to them as well (ala Sonus Faber).
Not cheap - $1900 to start. Maybe in a smaller room the bass would be more obidient - the midrange and highs are quite good. I like 'em, but they ain't knockin' my M20s off their stands.
Oh - by the way... I FINALLY bought a DVD player! Yay me! It's a 2 year-old Rotel demo... RDV-985... something like that. It sold for $699 at the time, I got it for $375. Since this digital thing is probably just a fad, I'm still holding onto my Betamax... ;^P
This new series is definitely more transparent and open than the Studio series, which IMO is more closed-in and dark sounding. Soundstaging was very good - layered from the speaker to the back wall showing off whatever tricks the CD had. Very focused and realistic - nothing too big or too short.
The S2 is a very easy to listen to speaker, with a fairly silky HF and a clean midrange. These took a moderate amount of volume in stride - stayed composed and no part of the spectrum stood out as the volume rose. No obvious colorations to male vocals (which were very good, by the way) or anywhere else.
Problems? Well, there wasn't much bass. My M20s have one particular track of said disc pressurizing the room and tingling your innards... the S2s woofer didn't want any part of those low frequencies at higher volumes. To be fair, it WAS a pretty big room. Dynamics were average, IMO... again, no contest against the Revel.
Yesterday, I said the N805s had the best looking cabinets in the $2K range - I think the Paradigms are better. The "post-production" (my dealer called it) model were a Bird's Eye Maple with a gloss coat - stunning. A bit of a lute shape to them as well (ala Sonus Faber).
Not cheap - $1900 to start. Maybe in a smaller room the bass would be more obidient - the midrange and highs are quite good. I like 'em, but they ain't knockin' my M20s off their stands.
Oh - by the way... I FINALLY bought a DVD player! Yay me! It's a 2 year-old Rotel demo... RDV-985... something like that. It sold for $699 at the time, I got it for $375. Since this digital thing is probably just a fad, I'm still holding onto my Betamax... ;^P