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Teton monitors from Wavetouch Audio - A Must Hear

In the market for a pair of monitors recently, to gain more living spaces that being taken over by the growing LPs collection and the Wilson Sophia that I have put up for sale, I start doing some audition, googleing and look around. I know it's going to be a tough task finding any speakers that could produce the sound I have used to for many years from the Sophia.

To make sure I don't make a mistake and miss out on the big names, the likes of Harbert, Tannoy, B&W, psb, sonus....I start hitting the showrooms of LA. All of them are good, decent speakers but they don't strike me as possible replacements for the giant Wilson, three times their sizes. Then I found an unknown brand advertised, kevlar, horn tweeter and exotic rosewood in all. The rosewood always got me, I contacted the owner for a listen. A copy cat of B&W it turn-out and the speakers were bought in lots for testing and experiments by Alex Yoon of Wavetouch Audio in LA. Alex then let me take a peak listen to something he was 'putting together' as he said, and fine-tuning for review at StereoTimes. I hastily agreed. We headed for the studio where he does his work, the size of a four-car garage.

There I was introduced to a pair of tiny monitors, the 'Grand Teton', I later learned, in rich, exotic Russian birchwood that one can tell of top-notch quality, carefully and meticulously put together. We spent the next two hours listen to tracks after tracks of acoustic, instrumentals and vocals music. The monitors fill the huge studio with music as if a pair of 5-foot tall floor standing were in used. Soundstage were ceiling high and 6-foot deep. Vocals were in-your-face with each instrument precisely positioned as if we had attented a jazz rehearsal in a garage. I immidiately inquired about a pair for home audition. This could be the Wilson replacement, I said to myself with reservation. May be Alex had the room treated or using special equipments. But his gear is very mediocre.

Two week past and Alex deliver the monitors for audition. The same pair but has now been finely tuned. Personally position the monitors in my living room, Alex going over some adjustments tips, give me a week to test the monitors and head back to LA. Two day of comparison between the Grand Teton and the Sophia side-by-side, guitar, piano, vocals and everything in between. I contacted Alex and convinced him to leave the sample, don't come back for it and it was purchased with proceed from the Sophia sale. The Grand Teton is now in my living room replacing the giant Wilson for 1/10 the cost, 1/10 the size and not a note missing.

Quite a task for its size. Highly recommended and a must to audiition if you can arrange for one. It will be time well spent just to listen to it.

Music Fanatic,
Irvine, CA
connect400
musicalm
1 posts
 
A very brief...brief,

At 8pm last night I arrived at the manufacturing/ auditioning facility of Wavetouch Audio in Los Angeles, CA to do some listening with Alex Yoon... I met him briefly at the 2013 Newport show and was very impressed with his small Grand Teton monitors that were playing. So much so that a short time later while comparing notes with Mike Fremer I said that he would be very impressed at the honest, expansive sound to be heard there.

Back to last night, I ended up staying until 1:30am! After having shared many great songs and tips along the way (I'm also in the audio manufacturing business; SS Amps) I felt the musical message was being delivered, and the Grand Tetons ability to convey micro and macro dynamic detail accurately with lifelike texture and space was really something VERY special.
As he is also one of the most endearing of gentle men, he represents the kind of heart that should be behind audio manufacturing in our 21st century day and age.
If you are lucky enough (for several reasons) to live in the L.A. area and are looking for a speaker that is ALIVE, musically honest, transparent and EXPANSIVE audition these babies. Their size is small...but their sound is GRAND.

Thanks to my new friend and colleague Alex.
Cheers
uberchurl
3 posts
 
I own a pair of the Wavetouch Teton monitors in piano black finish and I have to say these speakers are simply wonderful. For jazz, vocals, or acoustic music, the soundstage is very detailed and beautifully accurate. Sitting in the “sweet spot” and listening to Dave Brubeck or Dinah Washington was somewhat of a “rediscovery” for me and my music collection. I have listened to these speakers with a single ended triode tube amp, Threshold SA/3 class-A solid state amp, and Scott Nixon mono blocks. The results from each were stellar.

Over the years I have owned an array of different speaker configurations from Klipschorns down to small custom full range monitors and even dabbled in speaker design myself. If you are looking for sound to wake the neighbors or rock a pool party, these are not for you. But if your interests lie in refined, accurate sound reproduction, the Wavetouch Teton monitors definitely fit the bill. And finally, when it comes to doing business, you will not meet a nicer, more honest individual than Mr. Alex Yoon.
audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,134 posts
 
I would like to state that the comment that these little speakers can't rock
Is only partially accurate. One thing that I suggest owners of these speakers do Is buy a good subwoofer,that is the only octave and a half that need fill.Below the mid to low 40 hz region, besides that these loudspeakers are amazing fast opened and detailed,with excellent midrange and coherency ,and can go pretty loud in a decent sized room.
I bought 2 Hsu 10 inch subs for just over $1k and these GT speakers
Blend in seamlessly. I had sold my Revel-208 speakers and they were a very good speaker.these GT speakers with at least 1 subwoofer is now a
Very good full range speaker that can compete with speaker systems well
Over the $10k range with ease, and that is with the standard model.
Through the grape vine and being nosey I just happened to see a decked out Xover example copy full of the best known parts ,a Duelund resistors Clarity,Mundorfsilveroil caps Jantzen Copper foil inductors. It is not official but in the next 2 months a Special edition with it's own external Xover that matches the Baltic Birch cabinet. I can only imagine how good that it will be with WBT Copper connectors and WBT Silver solder.It is about a $1,000 upgrade but a speaker then that will go toe to toe with the Big guy's. This current speaker beats many speakers you see in recommended components that is for sure.introductory pricing I was told is ending soon .in reality these speakers are way under priced to begin with.
johnnyb53
3,510 posts
 
Uberchurl and Audioman58 have both started and contributed to other threads, but the first five posts here are a total shill-fest: 4 one-post-wonders plus the speaker mfr.

It seems to be that way all over the Web. The only online mag review is StereoTimes. It has the same starry-eyed enthusiasm as the one-posters in this thread.

It seems to me that if a $3500 monitor were indeed a Wilson and Magico killer, everybody would be all over it, and Mihorn's biggest problem would be handling the backorders.
wolf_garcia
6,695 posts
 
Yeah...there's some shifty biz in this thread, and it should be nixed pronto. I've noted previously that the "yoon tone" baloney on the Wavetouch Audio site is one of the purest piles of sonic psuedo science crap I've yet to see anywhere...and I've been at this stuff for a long time. Seriously...if these speakers are actually worth anything somebody should take control of this outfit and fire the nutjob who wrote the website nonesense. If this weirdness is from the designer there's no excuse for it unless he was hallucinating.
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