Gilmore Audio planars revealed

"Mr.Gilmore obviously has smoked too much pakalolo, if he thinks anyone would pay $19K for these plug ugly kitchen counter tops."

I'm sure he will sell plenty of them. They are sure to be a great addition to the lofty collections of well pursed collectors. IMO, Corian seems like an ideal material to utilize in this application, and I look forward to checking them out. They might even spank the big VMPS hybrids for sheer dynamic-razor-embalism overkill. I hope so! But please spare us the psudo-tech descriptions of passive components. I'm still laughing.

Ok folks, I HAVE FINALLY heard these speakers in person.

I was invited over to Mark Gilmore's house when I went to visit relatives.

I was able to hear both the Model 2 and 3 speakers. We listened to the Model 3 speakers extensively because the Model 2 speakers were a bit too big for the room we were listening in.

Anyway... Let's forget about all the white paper BS specifications on these speakers for a moment. White paper has never told me anything about how something sounds. I have to hear a piece of gear before I can make a judgement on the sound.

And how do I think they sound???
On axis these speakers are possibly the finest speakers I have ever heard. What do these speakers do that makes them this good?
- They are amazingly coherent from top to bottom. I could NOT hear their crossover point.
- They are the most dynamic planer speaker I have ever heard. And most box speakers do not even come close to competing dynamically as well.
- The bottom end of these speakers is mind blowing. They go so deep with minimal distortion.
- This speaker has probably the least amount of distortion that I have EVER heard from ANY speaker. Listening to these speakers is like listening to the finest headphones EVER made but on a huge scale.
- This minimal distortion enables detail to just ooze from this speaker. These speakers are like windows to the music you are listening to.
- These speakers are perhaps the fastest speakers I have ever heard. Their speed from top to bottom is insanely good.

Is there anything negative I can say about these speakers?
- These speakers are designed to be listened to from a designated listening position (on axis). If you are NOT on axis BUT you are still ear level with the drivers of the speakers, the sound they project is GOOD but not great. And if your ear is above the drivers of the speaker, the sound these speakers project declies quite quickly. Thus, if you want to hear these speakers in all of their glory, you must listen from an on axis optimal listening position.

This is the only quibble I have with these speakers.

Anyway, I planned on only being at Gilmore's house for two hours or so, and I ended up staying around seven hours. We ended up spinning a ton of vinyl (YEE HA!!!!! and only a little digital) I would have stayed as long as I could, but I had to pick my mother up at the airport.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND EVERYONE GOING TO CES DROP BY AND HEAR THESE GILMORE SPEAKERS IN ACTION. IF YOU CAN AFFORD THEM (YEP, THEY NOT BE CHEAP), THESE SPEAKERS COULD BE THE LAST SPEAKERS YOU BUY FOR A LONG TIME. I kid you not... These are my favorite non box speakers by a WIDE MARGIN. THree years ago I sold my Maggies because I could NOT get dynamic sound like this from them... My favorite box speaker is the Vandersteen 5A speakers. For me to determine which I like better, I will need to hear them back to back in a reference system. Maybe one day....

Email me if you have any questions.

KF

If my data is correct, there will be a demonstration at CES that should put some of this to rest. One of the most recorded bass players (ever) will be playing live through these as part of the show demo, showing what they are capable of.

Abraham said these were superior at reproducing his instrument of any set up he had ever heard, including commercial / studio gear.

In addition, home music performance with LP produced sound closest to live of any home audio system he has ever heard.

Link to this bass player follows, he’s recorded with everyone from Ella Fitzgerald and Johnny Mathis to Gary Burton, Les McCann, Gary Burton and Freddie Hubbard.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=UIDMISS70312300302041549&sql=R95904#APPEAR

As already stated, I will reserve comments until I audition them.

Audiogon has tentatively contracted me (as with HE 2003) to cover CES, posting images of all the happenings. I plan on covering this artist as well as the Golden Ear award going to a deserving audio manufacturer who is a dear friend.

Kevin, what you report is quite tantalizing, even if the manufacturer has optimized everything to show off his product in the best possible light (and why wouldn't he), and especially considering that you were listening primarily to the second-tier model. Without any comparison demos of other speakers, in an unknown reference system, of course the results must be taken as preliminary, but they are suggestive. All speakers have tradeoffs and strengths and weaknesses (including the restrictive set-up requirements for large panels), but if these are even close to as good as you seem to have come away thinking they are, I guess Mr. Gilmore will have no trouble getting his asking price for them - too bad that'll still be too rich for my blood if they are. But then at least he might be able to dispense with paying for that model...

One thing though: Are you planning on becoming a dealer?

The sonic attributes that were described match those from a well-designed dipole. Before anyone plunks down the $19K I'd suggest trying to have a listen to the Linkwitz Orion speakers (www.linkwitzlab.com). The reviews there match the one above rather closely. The variation I built made my sell my Wilsons very qickly.

They also don't have the beaming problem described due to the limited vertical dispersion of the ribbon.