Daedalus

Thanks Jax and Dodge, appreciate the info! It seems tough to find anyone who owns or has heard the DA-RMa itself - I'm assuming it's similar overall in sound; I'll continue to research. I did contact Lou, he has been very helpful.

I am looking forward to a chance to hear this speaker as well as their larger Ulysses speaker. A friend of mine has heard the DA-RMa and he feels it is one of the best speakers he has heard. This has peaked my interest as I am looking for a relatively effecient speaker for my 18 watt monos.

Hi folks, I thought I would chime in on the daedulus posts. My first
speakers from him many years ago, were for acoustic instruments (guitar).
His speaker made an acoustic guitar with good pickup retain the sound
of an acoustic guitar. Other stuff I looked at made my acoustic sound like an electric.
Anyway, years later, Lou Hinkley was convinced to enter the audio
world and I found out about his made for audio speakers.
I was able to demo his DA-1 at my house. Two days later I bought them.
What do they do? Super efficient. Dynamic as hell. Sounds like real music.
What some are going to say, they don't image great. The design is two tweeters , one 10 degrees offset from the other. What happens is
you loose the pinpoint image What you get is still a good image but
the person next to you on either side hears what you do,huge soundstage.
Build quality is superb. Solid hardwood way better than MDF with veneer.
Dr. joe

PS. HIs new stuff is even better.

Drjoe:

I agree with your description of the DA-1's--I had a pair for a number of years and would describe them as you have here. The new DA-1.1's are a whole other animal. The new model retains all the superlative characteristics you cite above but adds much higher resolution, more extended high frequencies, better (leaner, tighter) bass and vastly improved imaging and soundstaging--sounding in this regard more like a traditional "audiophile" speaker but with a much wider sweet spot. You are correct, however--even the new DA-1.1's do not have real focused (pinpoint) imaging. That is why Lou builds the DA-RMa and the Ulysseys, which do not have offset tweeters and thus provide more precise imaging than the whole house designs. I would encourage anyone interested in the Daedalus speakers to give a listen to both model lines and/or talk with Lou about your room and listening habits--some of us "audiophiles" actually prefer the "whole house" models like the DA-1.1's since they image really well but allow people throughout the room to enjoy the music.

You guys have the Daedalus sound down pat. However, the Ulysses does have offset tweeters while the DA-RMa is a single tweeter design that does not position the tweeter off axis. None the less, the Ulysses do pinpoint imaging with the added benefit of sounding very engaging from off axis listening positions.

How good are Daedalus speakers? I have a good friend who is going through the figuring out phase of buying stereo equipment. One week it is this and the next week it is that. However, when he is in the mood to hear great music he comes here. At some point in time he will figure out that the reason he comes here is because of these speakers, although my room and the rest of my gear is pretty damn good.