This current system was begun as a downsizing effort to shed some boxes and bulk. It ended up as my first foray into tubes and a more enjoyable presentation than I ever had ever. The only back step was going to the bigger Rethm Saadhana from the Maarga. A turntable upgrade with mounting for two arms could be in the future if ever.
I just ordered a pair of these and their matching amps by Rethm and I am super excited and should have them in a week or so. I went with their amps to avoid getting on the amp merry-go round. Have just had Ascendo C8 Renaissance and Sonus Faber Guarneri Evolution's and those were both outstanding speakers with the Ascendo's costing about a 1/4 the price and I think overall were the better speaker. Different and not as good at many of the things but I think better overall IMO for my preference in a speaker. Because I was let down by the Sonus Evo I chose to go in this direction. The Ascendo is a point source with the tweeter in the middle of the midrange/mid-bass speaker so they imaged great and also had a unique bass subsystem and that seemed to be my preference but I am very excited to try the single driver with the supported bass modules. I think the strengths of this speaker are most important to me. Was wondering if you could talk or share a little about how far from the rear wall the back of the speakers is and how well they image and their specific separation and definition of images. These aspects and a very natural sound with very serious resolution are important to me and these are things the Ascendo did well and was hoping these might do better. The Ascendo needed tons of power to more their bass module and I only got to hear what they could do when I got a monster Class A Krell to get them to open up. I really liked that Krell and the Ascendo's but my tru love is tubes and it would have took way to much money to properly drive these Ascendo with Tubes. Why spend $20k on tubes amps to drive a $5k speaker. So here I am with these and any info you can share would be great. Thanks so much!
The only things I can add to my room and speaker set up to the above entry is that now I sit with my ears at 10 and1/2 feet away from the drivers. That's 10 inches closer than mentioned above. I feel this is more critical than the distance between the speakers. The distance to the side walls doesn't seem to factor in too much. Having some room behind the speakers seem help with image depth but I only have so much to experiment with. I have wall to wall carpet and a fabric futon folding bed on the left wall. Not ideal but it has to make due for this house. I have no room treatments and have only experimented with some modest foam panels. Based on set ups I've had over the years I guess I tend to prefer a livelier room. Congratulations on the purchase. You'll find the controls quite sensitive so be prepared to experiment. I found that the level control was pretty straightforward and quick to determine but the low pass filter is where you'll spend the time fine tuning to your room and ear. I'm curious as to what amp you'll be using. I've never heard these speakers on anything other than mine so I have no opinions on solid state or other tube amps with the Saadhanas.
"I listen most every night now". One of the best indicators that you've developed a "natural" sounding audio system. Music becomes a sheer joy to indulge in.
I have never tried a solid state amp with them but they have broken in by now and have definitely become more transparent but without the lack lower midrange lightness with my previous Maargas. I listen most every night now, largely to an evening jazz radio station during the week to relax after work and hear something new to me. It just amazes me how good even my Rotel RT-990BX tuner comes across on my Saadhanas. I couldn't be more pleased.
Hi Jardy , I was reading through your posts. Very interesting read. How is your system playing now after break in.Has it become more transparent ?Did u try any class A solid state amp on those speakers ?
I think so also. I was never able to hear the Aristoteles but I did audition the big Agalmes. Of course they were way out of my budget and wouldn't even fit in my house except for the garage but I got a good idea of how the Hornings sounded. I think the Rethm and Hornings are close in sound. I remember thinking the 3D sound stage presentation from the Hornings seemed to start from the from the front plane of the speaker forward where the Rethm appears in front and back of the speaker. It's been a while now though.
Jhardy, You sure had a nice list of speaker contenders. Your current speakers compared to the Hornings would be very interesting to hear with your Shindo amplification. Charles,
Mipai, no thankfully they do not overload the room. And this certainly was a concern when evaluating them and considering the Horning Aristoteles, Devore 0/96 and Audio Note AN/Es. Long ago a dealer told me not to be afraid of larger speakers in a smaller room. I think he was right to a point. I owned Focal Alto Utopias BEs in this same room and they were fine. Although even with 12 inch front firing woofers I would not call them overly bass heavy. But still associated gear matters a lot too. The Saadhana's do have a continuously adjustable bass level control. I dial it in at around 4 out of 13 notches. I would suspect that even driving them in a big room you would not have them cranked up much more than that as I would think they would be severely out of balance. Also consider that they are not crossed over to because there is no crossover. They are just for low end fill. There is far more bloom than boom. I think they would do well with some solid state amps but I've never heard the combo myself.
jeff1225 since I've had it since October 2012 the specific details of improvements when added are fuzzy now but I remember the amps seemed to open up with more a little more power but a lot more finesse. I remember I was reluctant at first because I thought going straight into the wall would be better especially for the amp. My previous solid state amp had internal power regulation. I also remember when I finally did buy and install the Mr. T, I wanted to kick myself for not doing it sooner.
My room is just over 15 x 11 with the entry door on right, middle of the room. The drivers are placed 40 inches from the front wall being 135 inches from my ears. They are about 33 inches from the side walls being 72 inches apart. The former measurements are more critical than the latter. I fell hard for the color too. The finish is flawless. I would have preferred the aluminum strips on the sides had rounded corners on the angles. The edges are sharp but it's not where you would grasp to move them either. They are finished off very nicely especially around the bottom in a way the maargas were not. The lighted brand name is a nice touch also but you don't see it from the listening position. Thanks for your comments.
Thanks Charles1dad. It truly does with no fatigue and nothing over or under done. If you read my Saadhana review, they truly enhanced the versatility of presentations I was going for before I got them.
