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  1. #1
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Strata Mini's anyone?

    Has anyone heard what the Strata Mini's sound like yet? Any thoughts or reveiws.
    They sure look hot. And sense their planner hybrids, I'm hoping that they sound as good as they look.
    http://www.av123.com/products_produc...s&product=78.1
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  2. #2
    rockin' the mid-fi audio_dude's Avatar
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    HOLE-E-WOW

    those look like totally amazing!!!

    now, if only I had $1600...
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  3. #3
    Phila combat zone JoeE SP9's Avatar
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    They look really good. That Rosewood veneer doesn't hurt either. Why doesn't someone here buy a pair and let us know how they sound?
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  4. #4
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JoeE SP9
    They look really good. That Rosewood veneer doesn't hurt either. Why doesn't someone here buy a pair and let us know how they sound?
    Nudge nudge?
    Last edited by GMichael; 12-18-2006 at 07:39 PM.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  5. #5
    Forum Regular Florian's Avatar
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    That was meant towards you GM
    Lots of music but not enough time for it all

  6. #6
    test the blind blindly emorphien's Avatar
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    I've heard of a lot of quality control issues with these, and reliability issues.

    I am constantly intrigued about the products AV123 sells, but I'm not brave enough to buy them yet.

  7. #7
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Florian
    That was meant towards you GM
    Yes. I just forgot the ?? marks. I'll go fix it.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  8. #8
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by emorphien
    I've heard of a lot of quality control issues with these, and reliability issues.

    I am constantly intrigued about the products AV123 sells, but I'm not brave enough to buy them yet.
    QC? I don't like the sound of that. (punn intended) Do you have any links or leads I could look into?
    The wife even told me to go ahead and get the "Strata Mini + SP3 Special w/ FREE pair of Ref .5's" package. She wants the .5's and SP3 in the computer room for her to use. I think she's catching on to the whole "gee this sounds teriffic" thing. But I do have other things that we need more. And QC issues? Yuck.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  9. #9
    test the blind blindly emorphien's Avatar
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    Just snippets I've picked up from various places. I can't recall where it was. It wasn't here though, it was either AVS or audioholics.

  10. #10
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Thanks, I'll keep digging.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  11. #11
    Suspended topspeed's Avatar
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    I've always been wary of hybrid dynamic/planar designs. There is always the risk of discontinuity due to the speed the the panels. It can heard in ML's, even the big Odyssey's.

    Still, why don't you tell Eric or Geoff and see if they can arrange a pair for review. Geoff, with his Maggie 3.2's as reference, would seem to be a great candidate to judge the quality and cohesiveness of these new hybrids. AV123 offers a 30 day return, no?

    The sure are purty!

  12. #12
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by topspeed
    I've always been wary of hybrid dynamic/planar designs. There is always the risk of discontinuity due to the speed the the panels. It can heard in ML's, even the big Odyssey's.

    Still, why don't you tell Eric or Geoff and see if they can arrange a pair for review. Geoff, with his Maggie 3.2's as reference, would seem to be a great candidate to judge the quality and cohesiveness of these new hybrids. AV123 offers a 30 day return, no?

    The sure are purty!
    Sounds great to me.

    Hey Geof & Eric,

    Are any of the AR Gods listening?
    What do you think? Worth it?
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  13. #13
    I took a headstart... basite's Avatar
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    they sure do look nice, can't speak on how they sound, since i've never heard them,
    if Emorphien is right, and there are QC problems, you should dig in to that, but i read several good things about them too, about how stunning they sound for their price and stuff like that,


    i don't know man, alot of good things about them, but the QC is a big factor too.
    i also read that their price is going up soon,

    i was looking at them too sometime, but since they aren't available here in Belgium, my lookings went to other brands, like magnepan, and focal/jm labs, and monitor audio and stuff.

    anyways, dig up some info about the QC probs...

    Good luck,
    and greetings,
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  14. #14
    Loving This kexodusc's Avatar
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    I wouldn't worry much about QC. They don't make their own drivers, use high quality components, and employ well known designers to come up with their models. Other than driver or element failure (which is rare but not zero), there's not much QC worry with a speaker (because there's so few components).
    Most hybrid designs I've heard sound alright until louder volumes. Then you get the impression you're listening to different transducers rather than a speaker. That's usually because of a shortcut in the crossover, not because hybrids can't work. Only one way to find out if these puppies have it covered.

  15. #15
    I took a headstart... basite's Avatar
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    well, in that case, go for them...
    Life is music!

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    I'm a happy 20 year old...

  16. #16
    Crackhead Extraordinaire Dusty Chalk's Avatar
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    Oh, look, they come in pink, too:

    Eschew fascism.
    Truth Will Out.
    Quote Originally Posted by stevef22
    you guys are crackheads.
    I remain,
    Peter aka Dusty Chalk

  17. #17
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk
    Oh, look, they come in pink, too:

    See through pink at that. Who could ask for more?
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  18. #18
    Crackhead Extraordinaire Dusty Chalk's Avatar
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    I don't think it's see-through pink, I think it's pink and white.
    Eschew fascism.
    Truth Will Out.
    Quote Originally Posted by stevef22
    you guys are crackheads.
    I remain,
    Peter aka Dusty Chalk

  19. #19
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk
    I don't think it's see-through pink, I think it's pink and white.
    Not transparent? Shucks!
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by emorphien
    I've heard of a lot of quality control issues with these, and reliability issues.

    I am constantly intrigued about the products AV123 sells, but I'm not brave enough to buy them yet.
    This is really isnt very acurate imformation,one guy ran a full frequencey sweep straight out of the box which is stupid on any speaker,and he blew a tweeter,and then their were a couple pairs that were damaged in shipping all were replaced those are the only issues that have came up,which can happen to any speaker.The Mini Strata is a outstanding value for what they offer,I'd put them up against anything up to 6k.and they will battle it out with them.

  21. #21
    Forum Regular blackraven's Avatar
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    Thirty day return policy sounds great but the total weight is 315lbs. I wonder what return shipping costs if you don't like them. I also wonder how much of the cost of the speaker goes into the Rosewood cabinets vs electronics. Rosewood is very expensive. The speakers look very nice though.
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  22. #22
    Tyler Acoustics Fan drseid's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by T BOMB25
    This is really isnt very acurate imformation,one guy ran a full frequencey sweep straight out of the box which is stupid on any speaker,and he blew a tweeter,and then their were a couple pairs that were damaged in shipping all were replaced those are the only issues that have came up,which can happen to any speaker.
    I can't speak for the Minis, but the sub (UFW-10) I bought my Dad from them had superb build quility and is still going strong in his system. I would say from my experience their QC is just fine. The fit and finish is absolutely stunning BTW... much better than I have seen on any speakers aside from maybe the likes of Dali and Salk.


    Quote Originally Posted by T BOMB25
    The Mini Strata is a outstanding value for what they offer,I'd put them up against anything up to 6k.and they will battle it out with them.
    I agree 100% on the value... as for the *challenge*... I'll be happy to oblige on *that* anytime someone wants to have their Minis battle it out with my Linbrook System. ;-) Seriously though, I am sure many higher priced speakers would indeed be embarassed by the Minis in a head to head based on my experience with other AV123 products.

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  23. #23
    Class of the clown GMichael's Avatar
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    All great news guys. Keep it coming.
    I believe that they are having a no risk thing now. Free shipping both ways. Not sure if that is in effect for the mini's though.
    WARNING! - The Surgeon General has determined that, time spent listening to music is not deducted from one's lifespan.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by emorphien
    I've heard of a lot of quality control issues with these, and reliability issues.

    I am constantly intrigued about the products AV123 sells, but I'm not brave enough to buy them yet.
    I've bought their equipment and have absolutely no regrets. Customer service is top notch, despite the mail-order-only business model. And they make some gorgeous speakers. Haven't heard the Mini though.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by drseid
    I can't speak for the Minis, but the sub (UFW-10) I bought my Dad from them had superb build quility and is still going strong in his system. I would say from my experience their QC is just fine. The fit and finish is absolutely stunning BTW... much better than I have seen on any speakers aside from maybe the likes of Dali and Salk.




    I agree 100% on the value... as for the *challenge*... I'll be happy to oblige on *that* anytime someone wants to have their Minis battle it out with my Linbrook System. ;-) Seriously though, I am sure many higher priced speakers would indeed be embarassed by the Minis in a head to head based on my experience with other AV123 products.

    ---Dave
    To be honest I have never seen build quality like the Salks with anything made of wood and that includes some very expensive grand piano's,Jim Salk's work is unreal,and the HT-3's sound even better than they look they easilly compete with megabuck speakers and dismiss a bunch of them,a stellar value by any standards.My favorite speakers are the Salk Veracity HT-3's,Onix Mini Strada Onix Ref 3,ACI Sapphire XL's,Ellis 1801,Tyler Taylo Reference III Tyler Linbrook System,Innersound,Legacy Whisper,Devore Gibbon Super 8,Revel Saloons,Dali Megalines,Odyessy Loralei, and Aerial 20T all of these are extremly musical speakers in my view.

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