Post by gninnam on Dec 19, 2022 19:52:26 GMT
Had a bit of a drive to the country today to spend some time with Jason to listen to the Duos using most of my kit to see (well hear) how they compare to the speakers I am currently using (the Reiver Jennas)
Had a look in Jason's workshop before we started listening to music and the work he is carrying is to a very high standard (as some of you already know) and there are going to be some very lucky people out there who will be receiving these speakers
I took the following to try:
SP10 in Obsidian plinth
SME V tonearm
DL103M with new diamond (FGS profile)
BB3
Myryad Z40 headphone amp (used a pre)
Burston Bang power amp
Puresound A30 integrated valve amp
Various cables
Pi3 with R-2R DAC
A few albums
Let's start off with the bad news. We had limited time to listen which is always bad because you need to rush everything and the 2nd thing was the Z40 caused a very bad hum when connected to the BB3 - not had this before so very confusing - we changed cables, connections etc but nothing worked to remove the hum so we used Jason's Transcend pre-amp with the Burson power amp.
The view from the listening chairs to the speakers made them seem almost lost but the filled the room with some very musical sounds - the sub augmenting the bass nicely (even with the sub powered down, the Duos still managed to create a very believable bass sound, not as deep but nicely controlled - in my smaller room we think they would sound a lot 'deeper', but the sub helped them to feel like a much bigger speaker with good synergy.
After a few more albums we brought the valve amp into play which also seemed to be misbehaving with one of the rectifier valves producing a very nice purple glow and the volume pot crackling very loudly (i had put Servisol on it many months back so can't believe it was the pot.....
We left it on for a good 20 minutes while we ate lunch (thanks again Jason) then started to play some tunes.
With the Burson out of the way and the valve amp now playing you could notice straight away that the higher end was a lot tighter but we seemed to be missing a little 'air' but after a further 30 minutes i thought it was now coming on song (it had been in the garage for a good few months so probably sulking).
i seemed to only bring male voiced music so Jason put on a few records with female singers and to my ears the combo worked very well.
I would like to try the Duos in my room - when I got home I played the same tracks and found the sound from the Jennas to be different enough that they still made a great sound but I have been using these for many years so I am quite accustomed to their sound now - with them being a full size speaker and the seating position being quite close I suppose they are acting more like near-field monitors which will be very different to the Duos being a good 10ft plus away from where we were sat today.
Don'.t get me wrong, I lover the presentation and the depth that the Duos could get to and I felt the control of the high frequencies were very good but as we all know, until you have slotted them into your environment you just never know
We ran out of time to the Pi/R-2R DAC never got to be heard which is a shame but always a next time.
Many thanks Jason for your time today
Had a look in Jason's workshop before we started listening to music and the work he is carrying is to a very high standard (as some of you already know) and there are going to be some very lucky people out there who will be receiving these speakers
I took the following to try:
SP10 in Obsidian plinth
SME V tonearm
DL103M with new diamond (FGS profile)
BB3
Myryad Z40 headphone amp (used a pre)
Burston Bang power amp
Puresound A30 integrated valve amp
Various cables
Pi3 with R-2R DAC
A few albums
Let's start off with the bad news. We had limited time to listen which is always bad because you need to rush everything and the 2nd thing was the Z40 caused a very bad hum when connected to the BB3 - not had this before so very confusing - we changed cables, connections etc but nothing worked to remove the hum so we used Jason's Transcend pre-amp with the Burson power amp.
The view from the listening chairs to the speakers made them seem almost lost but the filled the room with some very musical sounds - the sub augmenting the bass nicely (even with the sub powered down, the Duos still managed to create a very believable bass sound, not as deep but nicely controlled - in my smaller room we think they would sound a lot 'deeper', but the sub helped them to feel like a much bigger speaker with good synergy.
After a few more albums we brought the valve amp into play which also seemed to be misbehaving with one of the rectifier valves producing a very nice purple glow and the volume pot crackling very loudly (i had put Servisol on it many months back so can't believe it was the pot.....
We left it on for a good 20 minutes while we ate lunch (thanks again Jason) then started to play some tunes.
With the Burson out of the way and the valve amp now playing you could notice straight away that the higher end was a lot tighter but we seemed to be missing a little 'air' but after a further 30 minutes i thought it was now coming on song (it had been in the garage for a good few months so probably sulking).
i seemed to only bring male voiced music so Jason put on a few records with female singers and to my ears the combo worked very well.
I would like to try the Duos in my room - when I got home I played the same tracks and found the sound from the Jennas to be different enough that they still made a great sound but I have been using these for many years so I am quite accustomed to their sound now - with them being a full size speaker and the seating position being quite close I suppose they are acting more like near-field monitors which will be very different to the Duos being a good 10ft plus away from where we were sat today.
Don'.t get me wrong, I lover the presentation and the depth that the Duos could get to and I felt the control of the high frequencies were very good but as we all know, until you have slotted them into your environment you just never know
We ran out of time to the Pi/R-2R DAC never got to be heard which is a shame but always a next time.
Many thanks Jason for your time today
