The Great Speaker decision Is NOW within reach.

[MrClean]

Well TactAudio supplys equipment which can do the same also. What i might give a try is this

1. Tact CD-Drive with Digital AES-B out
2. Tact Digital Preamp and Room Correction
3. Tact Digitial Active Crossover
4. 6x Tact Digital Stereo AMPS

So the signal stays digital all the way to the speaker with no x-over or AD conversion at all. I will test it on the DIVA sinc that speaker can show the weakness and strength of all equipment. The NHT's look interesting, but i am a die hard ribbon and dipole freak with a love for size so i am sure i would not consider them in my main system. But they look very interesting and i will try to give them a listen.

My next step is i a digital active crossover on the DIVAS with a powerfull tube on the mid high ribbons and my big Sphinx SS amp on the bass. For 5500$ they are quite affordable too. Might be interesting to replace the VMPS speakers with, maybe they have a dealer for them in germany.

-Flo

Sounds like you're on to something there... As long as you can tailor the signal going to each driver to optimize its potential and avoid all the crap it would have to go through in an ordinary crossover, you should hear dramatic results.

I actually sold my dipoles (Genesis V) and a Pass Labs amp to get into this setup, and I don't miss them a bit. Granted, the reason I did so was because they sounded pretty bad in the new house, but regardless, I'm glad I did it.

J

[Florian]

Yeah it is no problem for me to drive each driver actively, Apogee designed the Dax3 and Dax3 for that many years ago. Or i can use the new digital active crossovers in the Lyngdorf Audio and TactAudio's.

You need a large room for the small Genesis V with plenty of power biamping them which can be a hassle. Which version of the V did you have?

-Flo

[MrClean]

Yeah it is no problem for me to drive each driver actively, Apogee designed the Dax3 and Dax3 for that many years ago. Or i can use the new digital active crossovers in the Lyngdorf Audio and TactAudio's.

You need a large room for the small Genesis V with plenty of power biamping them which can be a hassle. Which version of the V did you have?

-Flo

I wasn't aware there were different versions of the V. Not the 500/501, but the one with four woofers per side, the domed midrange, and the outboard bass amp. I had plenty of power going into them (near 900 watts/side), so that was not the problem.

The room is only about 13' wide, with 8' ceilings. On top of that, I had to combine the stereo/HT setup, so there was an armoire that housed the TV and other stuff right smack between the Vs, a huge no-no for dipoles. Not to say that the Xds only sound good in small rooms, as I auditioned them in a room about 4-5X the size of mine and they sounded BIG.

J

[Florian]

The room was too small for the Gens. Why did you not drive them actively?
You could have bought a Tact Audio RCS 2.2x and or the big 10 channel monster and drive each driver actively with a complete room correction There were different versions of the V which differentiated in driver material and amps. The midrange drivers are still avaliable through Genesis since they didnt employ the Emits or Emims from the early Infinity days which Arnie Noodle uses on the IRS series and later used in the early.

-Flo

PS: How much did you let them go for?

To all other members you can all drive your speakers actively. Simply ditch the internal x-over and buy a external digital crossover and 1 or 2 more stereo amps. You can enjoy direct driver controll and bypass all the crap usually found in the x-overs. Also you can use room correction and have the flexibility to add and switch amps and ajust the level of integration!

[MrClean]

The room was too small for the Gens. Why did you not drive them actively?
You could have bought a Tact Audio RCS 2.2x and or the big 10 channel monster and drive each driver actively with a complete room correction There were different versions of the V which differentiated in driver material and amps. The midrange drivers are still avaliable through Genesis since they didnt employ the Emits or Emims from the early Infinity days which Arnie Noodle uses on the IRS series and later used in the early.

-Flo

PS: How much did you let them go for?

To all other members you can all drive your speakers actively. Simply ditch the internal x-over and buy a external digital crossover and 1 or 2 more stereo amps. You can enjoy direct driver controll and bypass all the crap usually found in the x-overs. Also you can use room correction and have the flexibility to add and switch amps and ajust the level of integration!

Yes, the room was way too small for the Gens. Going active would not have helped... Instead, I sold them for $3600, the G750 center for $450, the Pass X250 for $2600, the Wireworld cables for $200. Bought the Xds for $5000 (demo) and had enough money to get the wife something nice to smooth things over, if you know what I mean.

NHT really did their homework on this one. The very small size of the satellites enabled them to build a very rigid enclosure - minimum baffle, high density, etc. Housing the sub in its own separate enclosure solved a LOT of problems, including isolating its effects on the mid and tweet, and allowing optimum placement. The two drivers are mounted in opposition with a force canceling rod in between, so there is no vibration at all. The use of class D amps does have its advantages (that was a hard one for me...), most of all is size, and heat - the flexibility to put it where an ordinary class A or AB amp could not go. Also, since the components are not subject to the same extremes in temperature fluctuation, they should last considerably longer than their A and AB cousins.

Lastly, unless you know what you're doing, you could screw the pooch doing it yourself. I will assume that you do in fact know how to do it (go active). I will also hazard a guess that your setup costs a tad over the $5000 I spent for the satellites, stands, sub, DEQX/DSP amp and cabling. I am very well aware of the sound of the Divas in their normal configuration, and I have to say I prefer the Xds. However, applying the same technology found in the Xds to your Divas would no doubt have the potential to at least level the field if not outright beat them. Undoubtedly, other manufacturers will in fact do just that in the future. For the time being, though, these sound as good as or better than anything I have heard at any price.

J

[Florian]

Well i don't know your DIVA experience. Mine are the DIVA Reference which is the latest german edition with precision ribbons from Graz and new Ceramic magnets which increases the field strength and control over the ribbons. I am sure the NHT's sound very nice and i know what small sattelites do and what a combination with a subwoofer can do. Also i know the use of room correction and the active configuration and personally i wouldnt put them anywhere near the DIVA or the Genesis V. The reason for this simple and depends hugely on taste. The regular cone drivers employed in your NHT's are simply not to my liking, this is not only NHT drivers, but also all the drivers from B&W, Dynaudio, Infinity etc.. The are too colored for my taste and simply too slow. They have to fake the dispersion and will not keep a stable image size and correct size of instruments across the field. This problem is also evident in the Soundlabs and ML's with the curved panels. Also the biggest problem is that even with digital eq you miss the radiating size and surface area to display a piano in a room or to display a full size orchestra. Driver speed is also a big IF if you compare them to pure no kapton backed ribbons. I can always hear box coloration and the chassy itself, in all speakers.

I am sure the NHT's are great but with respect diasagree with the statment of revolutionary, best of etc... The technology has been around for a long time, and is used by NewFormResearch, Tact, Lyngdorf, Infinity (partially). The soundfield they are projecting is simply too small on all speakers i know, the different driver materials just doesnt allow for a perfect integration and same color across all frequencys.

Now lets please not start this into a VS. thread, i am very happy that you found a speaker system you like and i am sure that it is very practical. Esp. from the standpoint of the size and requirements, but its not for me and i would personally have kept the Gen's and build the room for them. Later on driven them actively with room correction.

But thats just me. Have fun with them, and i am sure your wife likes them more.

-Flo

PS: Just as a addon, i think its wonderfull that a manufacturer has finally put it all in a nice package but i am not the type of person who jumpes on the first bandwaggon.

[MrClean]

Well i don't know your DIVA experience. Mine are the DIVA Reference which is the latest german edition with precision ribbons from Graz and new Ceramic magnets which increases the field strength and control over the ribbons. I am sure the NHT's sound very nice and i know what small sattelites do and what a combination with a subwoofer can do. Also i know the use of room correction and the active configuration and personally i wouldnt put them anywhere near the DIVA or the Genesis V. The reason for this simple and depends hugely on taste. The regular cone drivers employed in your NHT's are simply not to my liking, this is not only NHT drivers, but also all the drivers from B&W, Dynaudio, Infinity etc.. The are too colored for my taste and simply too slow. They have to fake the dispersion and will not keep a stable image size and correct size of instruments across the field. This problem is also evident in the Soundlabs and ML's with the curved panels. Also the biggest problem is that even with digital eq you miss the radiating size and surface area to display a piano in a room or to display a full size orchestra. Driver speed is also a big IF if you compare them to pure no kapton backed ribbons. I can always hear box coloration and the chassy itself, in all speakers.

I am sure the NHT's are great but with respect diasagree with the statment of revolutionary, best of etc... The technology has been around for a long time, and is used by NewFormResearch, Tact, Lyngdorf, Infinity (partially). The soundfield they are projecting is simply too small on all speakers i know, the different driver materials just doesnt allow for a perfect integration and same color across all frequencys.

Now lets please not start this into a VS. thread, i am very happy that you found a speaker system you like and i am sure that it is very practical. Esp. from the standpoint of the size and requirements, but its not for me and i would personally have kept the Gen's and build the room for them. Later on driven them actively with room correction.

But thats just me. Have fun with them, and i am sure your wife likes them more.

-Flo

PS: Just as a addon, i think its wonderfull that a manufacturer has finally put it all in a nice package but i am not the type of person who jumpes on the first bandwaggon.

And you have decided all of this before you have even listened to them? These do not sound anything like conventional small satellites/sub...

I get to hear the "Absolute Sound" every day at work. My ears are good. *Very* good. I like what I'm hearing. Besides, spending tens of thousands of dollars to build a room to house my old Gens, + the cost of going active, etc., simply is not anywhere near practical for something that still will not deliver the "real thing". It would be cheaper in the long run to do what I did - buy a nice instrument, go to a great music school or two, win a job in a major orchestra, and get paid to hear it every day.