Eggleston Andra IIIs at CES

Ozzy, I agree with your opinion on the looks of the new Andra III. They look pretty good, but I prefer the Andra II's looks more.

I upgraded from the Revel Studios (Original version), with the aluminium side panels, and while I liked their looks, (the modern design fit in very well with my living room decor), I must admit that I prefer the Andra II's looks even more. (Of course it could be that I grew bored with the looks of the aluminium side panels that I lived with, happily I might add, for five years. This might explain why I prefer the Andra II design to the Andra III design.) The black granite side panels add a nice touch of class to the Andra II speakers. I am one of those guys that really like my stereo equipment to have an understated look of class, which I feel the Andra IIs have. (My Lamm M2.1 monoblocks, being a big black amp, on black stands, look right at home beside the Andra IIs, as they too have very understated looks.)

I also like keeping the grills on the speakers, as it helps them blend into the background even more, as one does not see the drivers. Having the speaker surrounds in aluminium color really makes them much more visually apparent, which is not my desire. However, if you like to look at the drivers, (and some audiophiles do), then having the Aluminium surrounds might be a plus.

(Vx700, This is all a matter of opinion of course, and everyone has their own sense of aesthetics, so don't let Ozzy or myself diminish your admiration for your speaker's looks.)

I think that all three of us can agree that the Andra speakers, regardless of model, are some of the finest loudspeakers available.

My two cents worth.

I agree with both, no offense at all taken I love my III's and again I wanted II's- but the III's came out and I got a great deal and took them, again I won't look back after having had EW's and I am sure the same can be said for all the EW owners

Vx700, since the Andra III are ported, have you experimented with placement distances from the front wall? I have the Andra IIs and I prefer the sound farther from the front wall (48") ... cleaner bass, more depth, 3D, air ... EW recommends 24" and I found the sound flat and dark.

If I were to change speakers now, I would add Magico V3 and Revel Salon 2 to my list of potential replacements. Planning to check out the Magico's at local dealer when time permits.

I believe when discussing speakers within a price range, it's a matter of personal preferences and not better or worse. I know several individuals sold their Andra II for the Is. They prefer the crossoverless sound of the drivers.

IMHO, I believe the Is sounds different is due to lack of bass ... similar to mini-monitors. One of the individuals that switched had to add a sub to compensate for the loss of bass.

Knghifi,

Are you saying that you have the backs of your Andra II speakers 48 inches out into the room? (So that the speaker grill is about 6 feet into the room?) I am pretty sure that if I tried to pull the speakers that far out into my living room, that my wife would drop one of the speakers on my head, and bury me in one of the speaker boxes!)

I have mine about 24-30 inches from the wall, so the grill is about 48-60 inches from the wall. (I have not measured it, but basing it on memory, as I am here at work.) One of the things that I like about the Andra II speakers is that they are sealed and I can pull them closer to the wall than a ported design. (I get a fair amount of bass reinforcement in my room.)

Question: What are you, (and any Andra I, II or III users who care to contribute), using for speaker cables? And, are they single cables, or bi-wired?

(FYI, I am using Valhalla bi-wired speaker cables, and I really like them a lot. They are clearly better (slightly more refined), than the bi-wired Audience AU24 cables I used to use. And, they have better treble extension than the bi-wired Jena Labs Pathfinder cables I used immediately after the AU24s and before the Valhallas. (The Pathfinders were very musical, and I loved what they did for the mid-range. But they were just slightly dark sounding in the treble region, and combined with my Lamm M2.1s, which are also just slightly dark sounding, combined to produce a clearly dark sound and a slight loss of treble extension, albeit with a very musical sound. I really hated to give them up, but the synergy was just not there with my amps, and I love my amps!)

Kurt, tank, Knghifi

I have my Andra ll's speakers about 5-6 feet out into the room. Pulling them so far out does reduce the bass, but the soundstage is incredible! To augment the slight loss in the bass, I am using a Fathom F-113 sub.

Speaker cables that I am using are the Synergistic Apex bi-wire. These are not true bi-wire but have a pigtail to the other spades.

I would really like to try the Vahalla cables on the Andra's someday.