I started off on hifi by actively following What Hifi. Inevitably, I got myself a WHF five star system about 4 years ago consisting of the following:
Cambridge Audio 640A Cambridge Audio 640C Mordaunt Short Declaration 914 QED Silver Spiral interconnects QED Silver Anniversary speaker cables (biwire)
I have to admit the system gave me years of enjoyment, much better than computer audio, car audio and the like. I did, however, get the upgrade bug a little while back and I wanted something significantly better. I had heard a couple of systems available with some of my friends which I really liked which became my reference for 'high end'
Krell SACD Standard, 280 pre, 2250 power, Martin Logan Summits -- A little dry but with beautiful clarity, dynamics and imaging
Pass Labs amps, Sonus Faber Stradivaris -- Very sweet,instruments would hang in the air, and it had grunt when called for
Carver Amps married with Totem Forest speakers -- Wow, what immediacy. Brilliant midrange and imaging
A high end Tannoy setup at my friends studio -- Sublime speed and immediacy, very in ur face
Arcam A70, matching CDP and KEF IQ9 -- Not impressed, didn't feel it was a worthy upgrade from the Cambridge setup
Mid Fi Marantz / KEF setup -- Not impressed, no better in my opinion than my current setup
I wanted to get the real high end deal, but without emptying my bank. Anyways, I've been hearing and reading a lot about AVI ADM9's and other active speakers. I explored all sorts of active options including Genelecs, JM Labs Twin 6be's, PMC actives, ATC actives and then I came across an American brand known as M Audio. They have recently launched an interesting product known as the EX66. I noticed they reviewed very well in Sound on Sound(one of the big pro magazines) and that it was priced very reasonably. I just went ahead and got myself a pair...
Lemme just shoot some specs your way:
Built in DAC, mono pre amp and 2 x 100 watt power amps in each speaker 36 hertz to 20+ KHZ frequency Max SPL of 115 decibels Built in DSP to counter cabinet resonance Analogue volume control Controls for adjusting treble, midrange and bass though a DSP system 2 sets of digital inputs (SPDIF and AES), 2 sets of analogue inputs (TRS and balanced)
Then I did something awful, I placed them ontop of my Mordaunt Short 914's and wired them up with Linn Analogue interconnects connected to the digital outs on my CA CDP! At first I found the sound very open and dynamic, but very stark and jarring. I trimmed the treble 2 decibels,boosted the midrange 2 decibels, and set my bass to half space. Then they really started to sing.
Treble -- extremely dynamic, very open and pleasant as long you don't toe them in. Never sweet, but pleasant
Midrange -- very alive, brilliant imaging with great depth and outstanding instrument separation without sounding clinical
Bass -- Awesome! It gave me a huge amount more extension than my old setup was capable of, was much faster and much more accurate
Dynamics -- Fantastic dynamics, even at very low volume. I have an SPL meter with me and have witnessed the SPL effortlessly jump up from 94 decibels to 102 decibels in my listening position which is 4m away from the speakers. That too in the 10 o clock position
Imaging -- I feel its comparable to the Krell / Martin Logan setup. Brilliantly executed but not overdone
Speed -- This system is lightning quick, my old system timed very badly in comparison
I'm gonna replace my Linn interconnects with a pair of proper QED digital cables and am getting myself some proper stands (probably Dynaudio). If its that good when not properly setup, I shudder to think how good it will be when properly setup.
The only niggle I have with the system is its user friendliness, the volume Controls are on the back of each speaker, and each speaker has its own volume control which can be a real pain. Just one more piece of advice... Never listen to anything with high frequency junk, these speakers will severely punish you with their dynamic treble.
I love music. I still listen to music on my crappy car system, on Ipods and the like and get some enjoyment out of it. What I am very aware of is the fact that these systems miss out some of the musical message.
The system conveys music the way it was intended to be heard. I listen to many different types of music, ranging from classic to rock, to trance, to bollywood, to a bit of hip hop.
The system is actually very simple, you pop your CD in and just let the music do cast its spell on you. Most of my collection sounds good on it because of its open frequency and dynamic range.
Its very very articulate, with my settings, in my room I dont think it sounds clinical. If the music has passion, you will hear it. If it has a good beat, you will tapping your feet.
Under sane volume settings, its pleasant enough to listen to music for hours. Last weekend I listened to it for 6 hrs straight. Needless to say, some music is recorded better than others.
I was listening to Everyday by bon jovi the other day. What I got on the track was a huge soundstage that extended 2 feet beyond the speakers to the left and right, 1 foot back and six feet infront. Chock full of detail.
You can clearly hear the position of the drummer, the guitarists screeching away. Bon Jovi is very alive and in your room!