Anybody have Experience with Alta Audio Alyssa Speaker

@tjraubacher

Just found the Stereophile follow-up review, responding to H. Reichart’s original :

https://www.stereophile.com/content/alta-audio-alyssa-loudspeaker-jim-austin-december-2020

What seems odd, given what YouTube reviewers have reported, is the second Stereophile reviewer’s assertion that "they are at their best with female voices and higher instruments". Huh? What are we supposed to deduce from such a disparity?

What have you decided to do ?

I recently auditioned a pair of Alyssas and was greatly impressed. For reference I've been listening to Triangle Signature Thetas with two SVS SB2000 Pro subs. If I could find speakers combining the best of both they would be perfect! The Triangles are more "lively" and I missed that with the Alyssas. However, when it comes to bass reproduction there was no contest: the Alyssas were simply astounding in that regard. Yes, they play to 32Hz and seemingly lower in my room. And the bass is controlled, detailed, and palpable. I also heard bass passages in the mids and upper mids that I swear I'd not heard before even though I was very familiar with the tracks (and this from a musician/bass player). I also turned the subs off once I knew what the Alyssas were capable of, and never missed them. The soundstage was large: wide and deep. Highs were never bright, and overall the presentation was what I'd consider neutral; "Honest" would apply. As I said, I missed the liveliness of the Triangles with the Alyssas, but I think with Alyssas more is gained than is lost. Pretty sure I'm gettin' 'em! Good luck.

I made a point of hearing the Alyssa's at AXPONA this year. I visited the room twice and unfortunately the demo music was always focused on their amazing bass reproduction, to a fault I thought. I would have liked to hear something a bit more balanced to see how they perform across the spectrum. Not knocking them by any means, but it does seem like a speaker that you want to hear before you buy it. 

Noting the previous post, I also visit a room with the Triangles, it was really good, and yes lively.

@airwatcher I’d recommend listening to the Joseph Audio Pulsars if you can.  Given what you described they may well be that best of both worlds speaker you’re looking for.  Just my $0.02 FWIW.

I heard all three Alta Audio speakers shown at Axpona. All of them had the same issue. It sounded like the midrange driver did not correctly meet the tweeter making vocals seem recessed / distant / veiled. There was a suckout that just didn't work for me. The Stereophile measurements of the Alyssa not only show the suckout, but a peak at about 1.5k that make it even more obvious. It was clearly audible. I am with @soix , go with the Pulsars.