callas01 Home Theatre

[sandman922]

Originally Posted by callas01

Going music shopping tomorrow. What are you up to?

not much listening to music some queen greatest hits now some jars of clay if i left the zoo. i want to see the dark knight rises this weekend maybe tomorrow after work .

[callas01]

Originally Posted by sandman922

not much listening to music some queen greatest hits now some jars of clay if i left the zoo. i want to see the dark knight rises this weekend maybe tomorrow after work .

Yea we were at the mall, wife wanted toms shoes. We want to go see as part of a date night.

[sandman922]

Originally Posted by callas01

Yea we were at the mall, wife wanted toms shoes. We want to go see as part of a date night.

have you heard the x36s?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by sandman922

have you heard the x36s?

I have heard them.

whatcha thinkin?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by sandman922

have you heard the x36s?

Some say the X32 are better balanced therefore actually sound better. I like the X32 a lot but i did not hear the X36.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Some say the X32 are better balanced therefore actually sound better. I like the X32 a lot but i did not hear the X36.

I think moreso, the X36s kept getting compared to the 220 MKIIs based on price being identical $3600, and the 220s being a 2-way produced slightly better results in all areas, detail, soundstage, dynamics, and transients, but all in a smaller cabinet that looked better too. The X16s went thru this too because of the focus 110s. However with the new focus line, it seems that the popularity of the X16s and X36s is increasing because at their price points they offer a lot of performance.

The X36s are very balanced, but like the X16s, you give a little bit of detail in the transients at the crossover point vs the X32s and X12s to get that extra bass output. Every speaker is a series of compromises, and this is where the X16/36s compromise vs the 12/32s, and vice versa, the 12/32s give up the bass to their larger brotheren for better crossover transients. The speaker that is often considered the least compromising speaker of the group is the X32s, you get better bass then the 12s and 16s, but you get all the transient response and coherence of the mini monitor(x12). This is also similarlly found in the new focus 260s, read the review on the absolute sound website.

Heres an old post I found in the Dyn thread, maybe it will be better for this conversation, since it was over a year ago, and closer to all my auditioning.
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=372

Now for comparisons, If I had to compare the X36s to the Studio 100s, Id say that the 100s bass sounds more impactful but looser. The Excites bass a little tighter, and the tweeter is smoother and more transparent to me. The Paradigms will sound like they are a little more aggressive and forward, but not bright; possibly depending on tastes more suited to someone whos mostly looking for HT speakers. Paradigms specs the 100s 44-22k hz, Dyn specs to 35-23k hz, even still I think the 100s will feel like their is more bass although not specd to have more, it simply 4 7" drivers vs 1 4.33" and 2 7.125" drivers... something has to give, its physics. However, the Excites will probably build a larger deeper soundstage; similar to what I have found with the S20s and X16s. I give Andrew a lot of shit over the Digms, but after several listening session, they are very good speakers. Of course I like the Excites a little more, but it would come down to personal preference and how they are gonna be used. Since Im more into music and movies come a close second, the Excites win, for me. If you are more Movies and music is a close second, perhaps the Studios win for someone else. And, for someone else, it might be Totem that wins,

[callas01]

Grabbed a radiohead cd and clapton cd today.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

I think moreso, the X36s kept getting compared to the 220 MKIIs based on price being identical $3600, and the 220s being a 2-way produced slightly better results in all areas, detail, soundstage, dynamics, and transients, but all in a smaller cabinet that looked better too. The X16s went thru this too because of the focus 110s. However with the new focus line, it seems that the popularity of the X16s and X36s is increasing because at their price points they offer a lot of performance.

The X36s are very balanced, but like the X16s, you give a little bit of detail in the transients at the crossover point vs the X32s and X12s to get that extra bass output. Every speaker is a series of compromises, and this is where the X16/36s compromise vs the 12/32s, and vice versa, the 12/32s give up the bass to their larger brotheren for better crossover transients. The speaker that is often considered the least compromising speaker of the group is the X32s, you get better bass then the 12s and 16s, but you get all the transient response and coherence of the mini monitor(x12). This is also similarlly found in the new focus 260s, read the review on the absolute sound website.

Heres an old post I found in the Dyn thread, maybe it will be better for this conversation, since it was over a year ago, and closer to all my auditioning.
http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.ph...&postcount=372

Now for comparisons, If I had to compare the X36s to the Studio 100s, Id say that the 100s bass sounds more impactful but looser. The Excites bass a little tighter, and the tweeter is smoother and more transparent to me. The Paradigms will sound like they are a little more aggressive and forward, but not bright; possibly depending on tastes more suited to someone whos mostly looking for HT speakers. Paradigms specs the 100s 44-22k hz, Dyn specs to 35-23k hz, even still I think the 100s will feel like their is more bass although not specd to have more, it simply 4 7" drivers vs 1 4.33" and 2 7.125" drivers... something has to give, its physics. However, the Excites will probably build a larger deeper soundstage; similar to what I have found with the S20s and X16s. I give Andrew a lot of shit over the Digms, but after several listening session, they are very good speakers. Of course I like the Excites a little more, but it would come down to personal preference and how they are gonna be used. Since Im more into music and movies come a close second, the Excites win, for me. If you are more Movies and music is a close second, perhaps the Studios win for someone else. And, for someone else, it might be Totem that wins,

Teah that makes a lot of sense, On digm Subject I have heard some of the older line Signature S4 and and they sounded really good driven by the Bryston 4BST. got to listen to some Diana Krall and a few other things and i can say Digm makes some good speakers, Specially the Signature line is an Excellent all rounder.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Teah that makes a lot of sense, On digm Subject I have heard some of the older line Signature S4 and and they sounded really good driven by the Bryston 4BST. got to listen to some Diana Krall and a few other things and i can say Digm makes some good speakers, Specially the Signature line is an Excellent all rounder.

I have no doubt that the Sigs sounded great. I would really love to hear the Sigs. Cant find anyone that has them on hand around here tho.

[aces high]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Teah that makes a lot of sense, On digm Subject I have heard some of the older line Signature S4 and and they sounded really good driven by the Bryston 4BST. got to listen to some Diana Krall and a few other things and i can say Digm makes some good speakers, Specially the Signature line is an Excellent all rounder.

Originally Posted by callas01

I have no doubt that the Sigs sounded great. I would really love to hear the Sigs. Cant find anyone that has them on hand around here tho.

The Sigs are a nice step up above the Studios, the tweeter does have the bite that the Studio one does. The mid range and bass are better as well, not up to the level of Dyn's though. The woofers are the biggest weakness, the reach low enough to blend very well with a sub but run full range the Dyn's leave them behind if you comparing the same size of speaker.

Totems with female vocal music sound very good, I can see why Olivier listens to a lot of it. To be honest I don't really remember what the bass is like on Totems, the imaging is fantastic though.

The one area for my tastes where the Digms pill away is in the dynamics, all though they may need to be crossed over a bit higher they stay composed to a higher level. My system right now kills it for HT but did fall behind the Dyn's for music, the Dyn's were more natural sounding. I really should give some Totems another listen one day soon, starting to forget what the sound like it's been so long since I heard a pair.

Steve, since you keep mentioning MA's bass when talking about them how do they compare to Dyn's bass?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by aces high

The Sigs are a nice step up above the Studios, the tweeter does have the bite that the Studio one does. The mid range and bass are better as well, not up to the level of Dyn's though. The woofers are the biggest weakness, the reach low enough to blend very well with a sub but run full range the Dyn's leave them behind if you comparing the same size of speaker.

Totems with female vocal music sound very good, I can see why Olivier listens to a lot of it. To be honest I don't really remember what the bass is like on Totems, the imaging is fantastic though.

The one area for my tastes where the Digms pill away is in the dynamics, all though they may need to be crossed over a bit higher they stay composed to a higher level. My system right now kills it for HT but did fall behind the Dyn's for music, the Dyn's were more natural sounding. I really should give some Totems another listen one day soon, starting to forget what the sound like it's been so long since I heard a pair.

Steve, since you keep mentioning MA's bass when talking about them how do they compare to Dyn's bass?

Bass on Totems in the higher models is very very good and extremely dynamic, similar to Dynaudio in that department, Model One is really good for single 5.25 inch woofer modified Dynaudio, for Floor Standers from the Hawk on you can consider them full range and they have plenty of bass, one thing if you want louder than 107db you need to X-over around 50hz and put asub with them, Elements Floor Standers Mani-2 and Wind do have outstanding bass and are true tull range speakers. The sound is as dynamic as Dynaudio persay just a different presentation all together.

In terms of Size to performance and price performance ratio i would say the Hawk is the best Totem speaker, it does have some killer bass and a 6db per octave x-over that is also characteristic to Dynaudio speakers.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by aces high

The Sigs are a nice step up above the Studios, the tweeter does have the bite that the Studio one does. The mid range and bass are better as well, not up to the level of Dyn's though. The woofers are the biggest weakness, the reach low enough to blend very well with a sub but run full range the Dyn's leave them behind if you comparing the same size of speaker.

Totems with female vocal music sound very good, I can see why Olivier listens to a lot of it. To be honest I don't really remember what the bass is like on Totems, the imaging is fantastic though.

The one area for my tastes where the Digms pill away is in the dynamics, all though they may need to be crossed over a bit higher they stay composed to a higher level. My system right now kills it for HT but did fall behind the Dyn's for music, the Dyn's were more natural sounding. I really should give some Totems another listen one day soon, starting to forget what the sound like it's been so long since I heard a pair.

Steve, since you keep mentioning MA's bass when talking about them how do they compare to Dyn's bass?

The MA RX6s bass is about as good as what X16s produce. There is a guy on AVS that just got the X16s and he was close to getting the MA RX8s, and was giving them mad props, but was just baffled about how the X16s can do what the RX8s can do with but with just 1 woofer.
If you read my review of the RX6s in the MA thread, you will read that for $1249, they were producing as much bass as the $2200 Energy Veritas 6.3s. The MAs actually stood up to the 6.3s in every way, but smoother on top, more of an audiophile sound. The X16s have more mid-range then both the MAs and 6.3s, but hang with both on the bass end. In terms of the highs, the 6.3s were a little sharp, not bright, but kinda like the Studios where they are good, but miss that nice smooth sound while staying extended, the RXs can do that similar to the Excites; but the MAs and Dyns presentation is a little different.

[callas01]

I have been listening to Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, its a rock band but with Nashvill roots, so its a little country without being country, similar like Train or The Black Crows, or even Nickelback without the grunge. The lady singing is pretty good, overall they sound pretty good, Im gonna add it to my amazon list and pick up their cd here soon. You guys should check them out on amazon see if its something you'd listen to.

[callas01]

Totems are good speakers, IMO. I like to give Olivier crap about them using Dyn woofers, but the presentation is not the same. I liked the Sttafs, but ended up liking the Excites more in the end. However if I found a cheap pair of Rainmakers for surrounds, I might jump on them just to have another higher end bookshelf to switch out once in a while.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

Totems are good speakers, IMO. I like to give Olivier crap about them using Dyn woofers, but the presentation is not the same. I liked the Sttafs, but ended up liking the Excites more in the end. However if I found a cheap pair of Rainmakers for surrounds, I might jump on them just to have another higher end bookshelf to switch out once in a while.

Mahogany Rainmakers would not be too bad and you would also enjoy them for music listening they are great Bookshelves and can produce some really nice bass too for 1100$ those are a super bang for the buck, mine are 1200$ but because of premium Cherry finish I ended up paying 1k so for the price I can say they are truly amazing speakers.

[aces high]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Bass on Totems in the higher models is very very good and extremely dynamic, similar to Dynaudio in that department, Model One is really good for single 5.25 inch woofer modified Dynaudio, for Floor Standers from the Hawk on you can consider them full range and they have plenty of bass, one thing if you want louder than 107db you need to X-over around 50hz and put asub with them, Elements Floor Standers Mani-2 and Wind do have outstanding bass and are true tull range speakers. The sound is as dynamic as Dynaudio persay just a different presentation all together.

In terms of Size to performance and price performance ratio i would say the Hawk is the best Totem speaker, it does have some killer bass and a 6db per octave x-over that is also characteristic to Dynaudio speakers.

IIRC I listened to the Model One's, not 100% sure about that so I can't really comment, the highest model tower I've heard is the Sttaf. One of these days I'd like to give The Wind a listen, those look like they'll produce some nice bass. Although I will say that I don't think any of our speakers will produce 107db cleanly running full range at a normal listening distance, maybe right at the speaker but not much further.

You must be happy with the way your Bryston pushes your speakers now. What do you think the biggest improvement of your speakers is with the Bryston hooked up?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Mahogany Rainmakers would not be too bad and you would also enjoy them for music listening they are great Bookshelves and can produce some really nice bass too for 1100$ those are a super bang for the buck, mine are 1200$ but because of premium Cherry finish I ended up paying 1k so for the price I can say they are truly amazing speakers.

Im thinking used or trade ins at like $500-600 for them.... that would be more what I have in mind. Im not sure how much I want to put into surrounds, esp. since I usually watch 1 movie a week at most.

[aces high]

Originally Posted by callas01

Totems are good speakers, IMO. I like to give Olivier crap about them using Dyn woofers, but the presentation is not the same. I liked the Sttafs, but ended up liking the Excites more in the end. However if I found a cheap pair of Rainmakers for surrounds, I might jump on them just to have another higher end bookshelf to switch out once in a while.

So in other words you like to be a Dyn snob and give us both crap about our speakers? Just sounds like someone trying to pump up an inferior product that couldn't meet the high standards of Canadian made speakers.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by aces high

IIRC I listened to the Model One's, not 100% sure about that so I can't really comment, the highest model tower I've heard is the Sttaf. One of these days I'd like to give The Wind a listen, those look like they'll produce some nice bass. Although I will say that I don't think any of our speakers will produce 107db cleanly running full range at a normal listening distance, maybe right at the speaker but not much further.

You must be happy with the way your Bryston pushes your speakers now. What do you think the biggest improvement of your speakers is with the Bryston hooked up?

I get to hear 110 dbs everyday when the F16s take off at the air base next to my office/store, I dont need that in my room. at 8 feet away, what is that 2.2 meters?, I think that 85 dbs is loud enough for my ears, I want to still hear the dialog and music in 10 years.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by aces high

So in other words you like to be a Dyn snob and give us both crap about our speakers? Just sounds like someone trying to pump up an inferior product that couldn't meet the high standards of Canadian made speakers.

YEP!

Remember, some paradigms are made in China and the other CAD mfg'r uses Dyn woofers to make their speakers good...

If you guys couldnt take it, I wouldnt say it.... but you guys know that I respect both brands and we all have different tastes. Its funny because I think that the 3 of us talk more about gear and music or movies then just about anyone on this site.... Now we have Sandman joining.... hey we actually talk about stuff this site is geared towards... audio/video.