Buggtussel speakers: a "sleeper" hi- end spker?

At CES 2001 and 2002 the Buggtussels were among the speakers that impressed me most, particularly on voice and solo piano. They are very fast and articulate, and give a lively presentation more reminiscent of say a jazz club than a symphony concert hall. The lower registers of the piano were especially well rendered, and the dynamic impact and contrast was excellent - leaving no doubt in one's mind that the piano is a percussion instrument. I thought the price would be about twice what it actually was. For example, the seven grand ballpark Lemniscus sounded better to me than some very well respected speakers at over twice the price, which I had been considering carrying.

Ak, did you listen to the Buggstussel Amydagala(?). it is $3995 and the model recently reviewed in Audiophile Voice as offered by another GON member. What is the bass and and soundstaging of these speakers??? Do they sound natural, analytical, or warmish?? Please advise, Jim

Good to hear from you, SunnyJim!

Yes, I heard the Amygdala's at CES 2001. That was the Buggspeaker that originally turned my head. I kept coming back to the room over and over. I would characterize them as having rather natural timbre - neither "warmish" nor "analytical" really describe them. The Amygdala's had a refreshing lack of boxiness, something very rare in that price range. For example, there is a certain rosiny churrrumphiness to cello and double-bass that most speakers impose their signature on top of. The Buggs didn't. In fact, they impose very little sonic signature - one hears a great deal of variation between different recordings, which is a sign of an accurate speaker. And even music you aren't normally drawn to is enjoyable - which is a sign of a very good speaker. The bass was lively, neither overdamped nor hollow and underdamped like some transmission lines can be, and with very good pitch definition. I must confess I don't remember much about the soundstaging - every time I was there I was sharing the room with other listeners, and I don't think I ever got the "sweet spot".

At first when I heard the Buggtussels, it sounded to me like something was missing, but the sound was very engaging and musical. After going around and listening to other speakers, I was better able to put my finger on what it was: There was no boxy resonance subtly thickening the midbass. In comparison, many other speakers sound a bit warmer, but they also sound wrong after a while. I would expect the Buggtussels to appeal to the more experienced, been-there-done-that audiophile who is intimate with the sound of live instruments, as well as to die-hard Beverly Hillbillies groupies.

Like I tried to say earlier, their presentation is more intimate like what you'd get in a small hall or jazz club rather than enveloping like what you get in a large hall.

Duke

I wanted to let you know that Stereotimes.com is working on a review of the Lemniscus. Greg Weaver has already done a factory tour and mentioned us on the CES update page (Equipment Lust: Day 5.) Also, here is a link to the reference system that Greg is using

http://home.attbi.com/~analyst18/system.htm

stephen

Either the link provided by Kevin (klblair@buggtussel.com ) is non functioning, he is out of town or does not wish to communicate with me.

I sent Kevin an email 5 days ago and have not had a response.