Need opinions from anyone who either owns or has recently auditioned Gershmann Acoustics speakers. You hardly see them for sale on the 'GON or under review by the major audio mags. How do they compare with some of the more "visible" names in hi-end speakers?? Or, is Gershmann speakers just another Canadian speaker company like Mission, Energy, MonitorAudio with a predictable "sound" Thank you!!
Please do Not pass Of British mediocrity for Canadian made product. Mission Monitor Audi are not Canadian made speakers. Gershman are outstanding,like Coincident,Verity, they smoke the competition.They just dont have the funds to take out full page adds. They put the money in the speaker.Have none left to play the shmuze game. So Sunnyjim if you want real speakers buy Canadian, if medicore is your bag the US Britsh will suit you fine.
Although I haven't heard them at length, Gershmann speakers have always been one of the most impressive speakers I've heard at various shows--very transparent, open, dynamic, and musical, and they always make it into my top 5 at any given show. I'd put them up there with the likes of Silverline, VonSchweikert, Thiel, etc. in terms of pure sound and overall build quality and definitely a significant notch higher than the brands you mentioned above(although Energy makes some nice models as well). However, I've heard their customer support is atrocious, so it's important to find a good dealer assuming you can find a dealer. Hope this helps.
My opinion is that US companies, produce THE best speakers on the market. And at any price will match ANY and EVERY speaker made in Europe or Canada, with equal or better product! Amen!
I think the genralizations made by Eldragon are absurd. "any Canadian speaker any time" Have you even heard the Gershmans? If so where? and with what equipment? I don't believe your statement to be accurate. Especially after hearing, Gershman, Sonus Faber, Piega, Kharma etc. We have heard them all including the Vanderstein.
FOLLOW UP: Let me clarify for the record my above question; my intention was not to start a "audio culture" war between the USA and Canada, but to get some useful feedback about Gershman.... In 1980, I was a retail audio salesmen in a market dominated by the British, especially KEF, Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth and B&W, etc. A speaker came along called Mission which revolutionized the moderate high-end speaker market. I don't know if they were the first, but Mission used polypropalene drivers to enormous success. The outlet I worked for sold hundreds of the bookshelf Mission 700's which put food on many salesmen's tables. Their 770 model, as a transducer of recorded music, was years head of the recording industry, and an easy sale to the discriminating listener. Many companies like Mission followed, using similar driver "materials" and therefore developed a characteristic "sound" just like KEF, Rogers, Harbeth, or for that matter, JBL, Advent and KLH(which we did not sell because these were products still considered mid-fi and not the staple of the toney American audio shops of that era)....I think Verity which I have auditioned several times,especially Fidelio, are excellent speakers, but also grossly overpriced. I have not heard Coincident Technology, but the reviews and feedback are always good....On this issue of "grossly overpriced" speakers, well Canadians are hardly the leaders in that category, when you consider American companies like Wilson and Avalon, and (even some models of) Revel. Finally,I have noted from reviews and feedback on the 'GON, that Gershman speakers leans more toward a warmer sound, possibly less analytical, than what became know as the (Canadian) polypropalene sound introduced by Mission. "Analytical" does mean inaccurate!! for, the early Mission speakers were some of the most accurate and listenable speakers I ever heard. They just did not possess that euphonic and natural presence that was the virtue of say the IMF, Infinity and(does anybody remember) Rectilinear speakers of the 1970's and 1980's.... So, Natalie and other friends from the great white North, cool your jets, we all love the same hobby and advocation. Thank you, Jimbo
CORRECTION FOLLOW UP(SEE BOLD TYPE TOWARD END OF REPLY) Let me clarify for the record my above question; my intention was not to start a "audio culture" war between the USA and Canada. In 1980, I was a retail audio salesmen in a market dominated by the British, especially KEF, Spendor, Rogers, Harbeth and B&W, etc. A speaker came along called Mission which revolutionized the moderate high-end speaker market. I don't know if they were the first, but Mission used polypropalene drivers to enormous success.The outlet I worked for sold hundreds of the bookshelf Mission 700's and put food on many of our tables. Their 770 model as a transducer of recorded music was years head of the recording industry and an easy sale to the discriminating listener. Many companies like Mission followed, using similar driver "materials", and therefore developed a characteristic "sound" just like KEF, Rogers, Harbeth, or for that matter, JBL, Advent and KLH(which we did not sell because these were products still considered mid-fi and not the product of the toney American shops of that era)....I think Verity which I have auditioned several times,especially Fidelio, are excellent speakers, but also grossly overpriced. I have not heard Coincident Technology, but the reviews and feedback are always good.Though,on this issue of "grossly overpriced" speakers, well Canadians are hardly the leaders in that category, when you consider American companies like Wilson and Avalon, and (even some models of) Revel. Finally,I have noted from reviews and feedback on the 'GON, that Gershman speakers lean more toward a warmer sound, possibly less analytical than what became know as the (Canadian) polypropalene sound introduced by Mission. "ANALYTICAL" DOES NOT MEAN IN INACCURATE!!! for, the early Mission speakers were some of the most accurate and listenable speakers I ever heard. They just did not possess that "euphonic" and "natural" presence that was the virtue of say the IMF, Infinity and(does anybody remember) Rectilinear speakers of the 1970's and 1980's.... So, Natalie and other friends from the great white North, cool your jets, we all love the same hobby and advocation. Thank you, Jimbo
Mr.Sunnyjim, In defense of your statement about American over priced speakers Avalon. I happen to own the Avalon Arcus retail priced at $7000.00 dollars and in my opinion it is not over priced for its performance and appearance. After owning many speakers and I have owned B&W, Mission and a few American speakers, this speaker out performs all the others I have had. The value of a speaker is in the mind ,eyes,EARS,and wallet of the owner. If the speaker can communicate the beauty and essence of the music it is worth it to the buyer.
SunnyJim, Natalie & El Dragon: Respectfully, if speakers are not designed, manufactured and played in Scotland (with only Scottish music, mind you) they are indeed crap and worth no more than a few coins as Ivy stands. Enough said.
Off course that is absurd! And i regret the fact that i let myself being drown into the 'trolling' contest. Also i realized that for better or for worst, this newsgroup is steadily on the changing course from couple of years ago. And finally i am taking the path of Carl_eber and Jhunters. Adios!
Don't do that! Stick around and be "part of the solution." Your contributions are valued. It's just that when anyone makes statements in terms of absolutes, they've got to expect to be jostled around a bit.
Yes Eldragon: and in the same spirit I will retract my absurd statement as well (upon thumbing through some old H&G's I have discovered that "such" speakers will work in a proper Thistle garden after all:-). Anyone care to follow our lead?
I used to have the Avant Garde RX20 driven by all YBA gear. The sound is ok. nothing special or goose bumps, The bass is a little bit too much even on my 30' by 25' room. I prefer the cheaper Revel M20.
The bass is only to much when not using the proper cables. Gershman has voiced the speakers with Nordost and they sound glorious with tight bass and wonderful extension. They are cable sensitive in that regard. Regardless of your opinion of Nordost it happens to work extremely well with the speakers. We have tried 7 other major cables and depending on the amplification some will work much better than others. You mention the equipment but not the cabling which is a huge part of the synergy of a system. I love YBA equipment so I doubt it was the equipment and I know for a fact the speakers don't have to much bass if properly set up with synergistic components like all gear! Check out www.audioreview.com for other peoples opinions on these. I repeat, it is all about Synergy!
I was using 5 different cables including Nordost Flatline and get the same results. The bass is just a little bit slow and too much for my taste. BTW this is my opinion which is different from others.
I love Gershman speakers. Very musical. I wish they had more dealers. There are no dealers in Southern California. I wonder how many dealers there are in the USA? I would love an audition of them for a few hours.
Gershman speakers are not under rated or average at all. In fact, they are outstanding speakers. I am currently using a pair of Black Swan and have yet to find a better speaker but my searh for audio perfection doesn't stop here.
Back in 2002, I owned a pair of RX20s for about 2 years and enjoyed them very much. Speakers were driven by Sim audio gears. Great performance for the money and such a small foot print. Give these puppies a lot of clean power like moon 5 or McCormack DNA 225 or 500 amplifier and they will sing. My only complaint was that it's not tall enough to convey a nice sound stage, vertically, so I placed them on a home made sand filled stand to bring to overall height of the speakers from 36" to about 43" to get the proper sound stage and the problem solved.
Since then I owned about 20 other speakers including wattpuppy7 and sophia, Andra II, Kef 205, Vadys 5A, Dali Megaline, Maggies 20.1, Revel Salon, and Usher Be20 just to name a few. As of right now I have the Gershman Black Swan in my system powered by a pair of Conrad johnson amps and preamp (premier 350, LP70s, and CT5). This is the best sounding speakers I have heard in my house to date. Of course, this is just my opinion. I hope this help....
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