Daedalus

Hey Lou--are we going to see a review of the new DA-1.1 anytime soon?

I haven't found the right magazine/reviewer yet for the DA-1.1. Any suggestions?

You can find some input from Dan Wright (Modwright) on the Daedalus RMa speakers on this thread on AudioCircle.

Marco

Lou:

I don't really follow the different mags and online journals enough to know which would be most open to and best qualified to review your gear. I thought Bound For Sound did a very good job with the original DA-1. They also seem very old school in terms of advertising and the influence it may have on their product reviews. Six Moons seems to review gear that is "off the beaten path" and so may also be worth considering. You know much better than I about how the mag review process works. I'd just hate to see them reviewed in the context of a home theater system since the DA-1.1's really excel in a two-channel application. On another note, you raised the issue of using a sub with your designs. Not that I need one--the DA-1.1's have plenty of bass for me and my space--but perhaps you could discuss what type of sub you have used successfully with your designs in case people want to get that last bit of low frequency response that is not reproduced in your DA-1.1's or Ulysseys.

My system uses Lou's Ulysses speakers being driven by Pass XA100.5 amps being driven by a ModWright LS36.5/PS36.5 preamp. I also use a pair of Art of Sound Jazzmon subs in an 18' x 23" room. These are 12" subs using an ACI driver in a closed cabinet. I have used them successfully with both Beauhorn and double stacked, Wayne Picquet re-built, Quad 57 speakers. Both of these were easier to blend with the subs than Ulysses and this is with the subs doing only below 27Hz via a Marchand X over and being operated with very little gain.

With almost all of the music I listen to, I don't need the subs and this particular night, as we were comparing the sound of my Marantz SA7S1 CD player with that of a Berekley DAC being driven by the Marantz and driving the amps directly, I didn't use the subs. The folks that were over hardly believed that the subs weren't on and we listened to everything from jazz, to rock, to classical and to solo guitar. My listening room is 18 x 23 and the sub doesn't add to the sound of the system, unless there is content there, which there usually is not.

These speakers do not need subs to sound great. Really, Lou's DA-RMa speakers don't either. My subs are fast, but if you ask them to do even 35Hz and turn them up even a little too much, they slow the sound down with Ulysses. This tells you one thing about Lou's speakers and that is that they are fast. They are also warm, dynamic, detailed and the most natural sounding speakers I've heard or owned. They are also beautiful and get even more so as they age.