RGA Reviews Page 3 - yes still more.

[Jimmy C]

... violin, no matter which room it's in. I agree with that, but a speaker isn't a violin. For instance, take something "real" - like a human voice you're familiar with. No matter which room you're in, the voice with sound similar... maybe a little echoey in one, less in another - whatever. Now take a recording of the voice... it will sound very different through a variety of speakers. I think there is a lot going on when listening to a stereo, and, no... I don't have any technical answers. In other words, the "real thing" will be less affected by the environment.

Listening to different speakers in the same room will let you know which sounds better - sorta agree, as long as each speaker is set up the way it should be (close as possible). For eg., your ANs probably sound wildly different close to the corners, or far out into the room. I had a pair of Snell Js that HAD to be the correct distance from the corners, and more importantly, the correct height off the floor.

Aw, well... a few rambling thoughts...

[RGA]

Jimmy C

Well of course a speaker needs to be correctly positioned. AN's version of the J of course does not require a corner to sound good. The E for example at Soundhounds is positioned about 3 feet from the back wall and nowhere near a corner.

I had the J at the wrong height for a while - and yes they ned to be close within reason fo the suggested height - but that should be true of any standmount speaker.

The reason the corner placement is ideal is to add foundation to the bass and to get rid of audible reflected waves. If you can get the AN crossover and tweeter for those J's as well as the adjustment to the port you should get to the AN sound.

Otherwise contact Peter - he might want to buy your Snell J if it is the original.

[Jimmy C]

...series I, they were series II. That in itself is problematic, according to many. The owner said they about 20 years old.

I bought them for $20... cleaned up the Oak cabinets (nice shape!) and re-foamed the woofers. Sold them for $60, IIRC.

I really wanted to like these... the Js, along with other brands I lusted after were my first memories when getting into "hi-end" around '79 or '80.

A local stereo store still has replacement tweeters for these! Actually, if they are the originals, they might make for an interesting DIY...

[RGA]

You can get all the Audio Note cabinet designs from Leo Beraneks book on loudspeaker designs which I believe goes back to 1940. AN speakers are a level up from the original Snell but most of this has to do with the quality of parts - but you'll get close.

There are a fair number of high end dealers carrying Audio Note so you should be able to hear them somewhere. Also they will be at the January CES in Vegas (trouble is I don;t think you get direct comparisons there.

And, they may still not be your cup of tea - I'm not telling you that you should or will like them - I'm telling people what I like and why and what I don't and why. Obviously if you're in the camp that has loved a lot of the sepakers I have not loved then chances are I'm not the reviewer for you to pay any sort of attention to. No different than film reviewers.

[Jimmy C]

You can get all the Audio Note cabinet designs from Leo Beraneks book on loudspeaker designs which I believe goes back to 1940. AN speakers are a level up from the original Snell but most of this has to do with the quality of parts - but you'll get close.

There are a fair number of high end dealers carrying Audio Note so you should be able to hear them somewhere. Also they will be at the January CES in Vegas (trouble is I don;t think you get direct comparisons there.

And, they may still not be your cup of tea - I'm not telling you that you should or will like them - I'm telling people what I like and why and what I don't and why. Obviously if you're in the camp that has loved a lot of the sepakers I have not loved then chances are I'm not the reviewer for you to pay any sort of attention to. No different than film reviewers.

...local dealer, but we have not gone yet. As a matter of fact, I ran into "Emil" (from AA, my de Capo demo guy) a the local Border's books, and he wants to take a run in to see him. We both curious about the Spendors (as well as AN and Von Schweikert). The guy didn't answer the phone on two calls, not sure if it's a small, out of the house operation or what. We'll get there...

And no, I haven't "loved" too many speakers... as a matter of fact, it wasn't until I heard the Revels that I bothered to open the wallet. I was happy with the Studio 60s, but I sat on them 'till I found something substantially better. The M20s make them seem broken.

Tell ya what - I was listening to the Paradigms yesterday, and I do like them. They actually had some traits you say they don't! (Conflicting opinions about audio? Go figure!) At low volume, there was ample bass, a feeling of warmth. I never used to think this (they used to be in my old livingroom - much bigger) but in a bedroom, they feel good. As long as you don't compare to something better, they're OK! LOL... actually, I'll give them a bit more credit than that. Would I have done them again as my first decent, $1K speaker? I probably would have gone with a better standmount. BUT - if you heard them in my set-up, I bet this would be your best demo yet.

[RGA]

JimmyC

I want to stress that I'm not trying to convert people. That is largely futile anyway. I can gaurantee that you will like the AN's over the Reference De Capo simply because the De Capo is more of a laid back sound - I would think Paradigm fans would generally prefer the AN's at least in the midrange over the type of stage presented by the De Capo. The De Capo is a lush or warmer speaker which I greatly like but it's not going to be to all tastes - no speaker is of course.

Bass definition and the microdynamics of the 100 (and to be fair all slim line designs of similar approach THAT I HAVE HEARD over the last 15 years) IMO do a lousy job in this regard. I don't expect anyone to agree with me - but i agree 100% with what Peter Qvortrup writes when he discusses the vocal band http://www.audionote.co.uk/speakers/spkr.htm

Once again if the Harman approach is something you absolutely love then chances are you are NOT going to be well suited or agreeable to what Audio Note believes is the best approach. I am not being argumentative saying you are wrong and I'm right or anything - Just that my posts have been for people who have gone out and listended to the likes of JBL, Energy, PSB, and Paradigm and the NRC supported Harman approach and have left wondering what the fuss was all about. This does not apply to those folks who are presold by advertising hype and spent 15 minutes listening and said yeah that's great and I have 12 reviews at home that say so too to make themselves feel good about what they are about to buy. I have no use for them.

If a person like yourself or Woochifer or PatD absolutely love the sound of those speakers and have listened to large sections of the competition then hey they made the choice that suited them - great. They don't need Audio Note and chances are neither do you.

However, at least there is one thing - all these engineers and folks who say SET is too simple to reproduce a good sound like some engineers and pseudo engineers on this board claim - well listen to the 9 watt perchannel Oto Se and the AN E (a modestly but not overly sensitive loudspeaker that goes to 3.6 ohms) then listen to Also Sprach ....(the Deadato 2001: space oddyssey Jazz take) . Then the SET myths the SS crowd purports can be put to rest. And when people realize that these engineers are SOOOOOO VERY WRONG about SET then their advice on other technical issues can be viewed in a new light.

[Jimmy C]

JimmyC

I want to stress that I'm not trying to convert people. That is largely futile anyway. I can gaurantee that you will like the AN's over the Reference De Capo simply because the De Capo is more of a laid back sound - I would think Paradigm fans would generally prefer the AN's at least in the midrange over the type of stage presented by the De Capo. The De Capo is a lush or warmer speaker which I greatly like but it's not going to be to all tastes - no speaker is of course.

Bass definition and the microdynamics of the 100 (and to be fair all slim line designs of similar approach THAT I HAVE HEARD over the last 15 years) IMO do a lousy job in this regard. I don't expect anyone to agree with me - but i agree 100% with what Peter Qvortrup writes when he discusses the vocal band http://www.audionote.co.uk/speakers/spkr.htm

Once again if the Harman approach is something you absolutely love then chances are you are NOT going to be well suited or agreeable to what Audio Note believes is the best approach. I am not being argumentative saying you are wrong and I'm right or anything - Just that my posts have been for people who have gone out and listended to the likes of JBL, Energy, PSB, and Paradigm and the NRC supported Harman approach and have left wondering what the fuss was all about. This does not apply to those folks who are presold by advertising hype and spent 15 minutes listening and said yeah that's great and I have 12 reviews at home that say so too to make themselves feel good about what they are about to buy. I have no use for them.

If a person like yourself or Woochifer or PatD absolutely love the sound of those speakers and have listened to large sections of the competition then hey they made the choice that suited them - great. They don't need Audio Note and chances are neither do you.

However, at least there is one thing - all these engineers and folks who say SET is too simple to reproduce a good sound like some engineers and pseudo engineers on this board claim - well listen to the 9 watt perchannel Oto Se and the AN E (a modestly but not overly sensitive loudspeaker that goes to 3.6 ohms) then listen to Also Sprach ....(the Deadato 2001: space oddyssey Jazz take) . Then the SET myths the SS crowd purports can be put to rest. And when people realize that these engineers are SOOOOOO VERY WRONG about SET then their advice on other technical issues can be viewed in a new light.

...we must remember that you haven't heard the M20s yet (AFAICR) and no, they don't sound like JBLs, Energy, Paradigm or whatever. Saying that simply because they fall under that type of design (whatever that is), they sound all the same. You have to remember that your cross-section example is of LOWER lines that fall (maybe) under those ideas - not fair. Actually, the JBLs you have heard aren't even made in CA. - they are produced in the far East. They have nothing to do with what the "white papers" are talking about. And, they have NOTHING to do with upper JBLs and Revel. Energy? The store I bought the M20s from sells these... they're "OK"... as you imply, similar to Paradigm. You can't bandie those examples around...

Actually, I read some of Harman's of the white papers... they seem like they have some merit to me! I mean, geez... that's a lot of undertaking for what they believe is one way to obtain good sound. When you hear some of their efforts, you MIGHT feel differert. As you say, still may not be your "cup of tea". BUT - give 'em a chance!

Kinda funny - I didn't think the de Capo was all that warm... maybe you just mean "warmer" than the ANs. Either way, that's still funny to me - I picture the ANs to be VERY warm... in the mids and the bass. AND, the tweeter shelved-back a bit. Time will tell... the store has a lot of nice stuff.

Single-ended triodes? Never heard them, but I don't doubt for one second they have magic. I'm working on a tubed integrated (C-J, maybe?) as my next upgrade.

Err... I believe Jimmy is done...