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Blue Ridge Sound HR 1

Category: Speakers

Audio equipment is my hobby and I am not a professional reviewer or have any affiliation with Blue Ridge Sound, a direct seller of speakers. Blue Ridge is run by Carl Halling who has an extensive background in engineering and audio design and who is pleasure to deal with.

I was in the market to replace the front channels of my HT system. I currently have KEF 103.2s and a B and W center channel, but all are quite old. The set up was tricky as my wife agreed a HT system in the family room as long as the components were placed either on enclosed racks or in cabinets (which she designed) with the plasma below the center channel.

After doing some research on Audiogon, Audio Circle and Audioasylum, I found very few "true" bookshelf speakers. By happenstance on ebay I located Blue Ridge Sound Engineering on the internet www.blueridgesoundeng.com.

I corresponded with the President of the company via email and his forthright answers and willingness to work with me put me at ease so that I bid on a pair of HR1s on ebay. Carl has an engineering degree and extensive experience in speaker design. The business model of the company is to sell directly and to use ebay and paypal.

On to the important stuff. I have never written an equipment review so bear with me. After winning the ebay auction the speakers arrived as promised. Carl provided the necessary support (placement, acoustic foam treatment etc.) through numerous emails back and forth. He also provided a phone contact,as well.

The speakers are beautiful right out of the box with high quality mahogany cabinets. The tweeter is mounted on top with two woofers and a port in front and on the side. I believe there is a port in the back as well, but the speaker can be placed fairly close to the back wall.

The aesthetics of the speaker are important, but since they will be enclosed in a cabinet, not the most important item. The sound was amazing right out of the box. The speakers produced bass at least an octave lower than the KEFs. (I shut off the center channel so they I could perform a true A vs. B with the KEFs). The clarity and balance of the speaker was also outstanding and I felt that I was really "hearing into the music." The speakers at comparable sound levels on the amp played much louder than the KEFs. There was depth and pinpoint focus. My wife, who enjoys good music, but is not an audio buff, walked into the room and said this is closest to a live performance she had ever heard from one of our speaker systems. The size and finish also met the wife acceptance factor (WAF), although she was curious about the top mounted tweeter.

Carl has suggested that the speakers require only 10-20 hours of break in, but after last nights first taste of the sound, I think these are "keepers." Carl provides a 10 day home try out period.

I cannot say what is the absolute best bookshelf speaker, but I have tried and own some very fine speakers (KEF 101s and 103s, Von Schweikert VR1s, North Acoustic Spirit, Sound Design 3000). I have auditioned many more that I do not own. The Blue Ridge Sound HR1s, at this stage of the audition process and my particular application are the best I have come across. At the current price for these speakers they are an outstanding value ( and I am not given to hyperbole). Finally, I liked them so much I have discussed with Carl building a matching center channel. Delivery is expected sometime in Fall 2006.

Associated equipment Denon 3802 AVR, Sony 900ES DVD, McCormack DNA 225 and preamp, Luxman turntable.
beesymph
kingairflyboy
4 posts
 
Beesymph,

Are you still satisfied? Now that you have had the HR 1's for a while, what would you say are the positive and negative points.

Thanks.
Glenn
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,151 posts
 
I doubt you will get an answer to this question. Notice that this member has "0" feedback and only 1 active thread. That's it! Draw your own conclusions.

Oz
mittg
32 posts
 
I have been listening to the Blue Ridge HR-1's for over 2 weeks. They are a monitor speaker consisting of a 28mm dome tweeter (mounted on top of the main cabinet), 2-4" inverted midrange drivers and a base port on the front panel, and an 8" woofer on the outside panel. My system consists of:
Shanling t200a sacd player
Bel Canto pre3 preamp
2 Cary Slam 100 tube monoblocks
other speakers used are the ohm 5 mkii's
Bose 901's

I mainly listened to the 901's in comparison because of the different presentation of the Ohm's. First the Oak veneer of the HR-1 has a deep grain that is very nice. The black grills compliment the wood. The HR-1 is well built,solid and it has that appearance. They were set 8' apart, slightly angled inward facing into a 12'x24' room. The wall behind them was 1'away. It has a glass pain center behind the speakers.
The first music track was from Ottmar Liebert's Viva,Morning Arrival in GOA. I was surprised at the depth in the soundstage. The guitar and percussions had a definite placement. Much more than Bose. Throughout this disc the guitar and piano sounded much clearer with the HR-1's than the Bose. The room is symetrical and wherever I moved to I could clearly hear both HR-1's.
Next up was Santana Abraxis. The percussions sounded very clear and the highs were crisp from the HR-1's. The sound was more straight forward than the Bose. It was easier to seperate sounds and the music projected directly at me 10' away. The HR-1's filled the room and the bass was solid.
CelticTrance/dagda has some very low notes. The HR-1's handled them easily and filled the room. The bass sound was well dispersed thoughout. The Bose could not compete in this area.
Listening to acoustic sounds form the Belfast Harp Orchestra all the way to Rock with "Who's next" I found the HR-1's very pleasing. They have clarity, substance, depth of field and are able to produce all types of music well. They totally outperformed the Bose 901's.
At low volumes string instruments still "plucked" piano keys still had feeling. At high volumes the HR-1's produced well. They did not distort. I was very surprised. They are heavy but for a small package I expected them to not be able to produce some of the low bass guitars notes or percussion sounds. They are exceptional and very pleasing to hear. Even with these fine components I have listened to speakers that fatigued me. After 10-15 minutes I would turn the music down or off. Not with the HR-1's. While I am reading I can listen to them as back ground or immerse myself in music for hours. I just did not expect such quality sound from a speaker this size.
The acoustics in my other listening (living) room are difficult. The Ohm5 mkii's do what they do best. No matter which of the 7 seats I am in I get great sound with the Ohms. A conventional box speaker just cannot meet the demands. Although I must say my wife liked the looks of the HR-1's and pushed for them in the living room over the Ohms.
ozzy62's avatar
ozzy62
3,151 posts
 
I must say that I am surprised that you are using such ancilliaries with Bose speakers. Quite a mismatch there. But the fact that the BRSE speakers outperformed them is damning them with faint praise. I have a pair of 25 yr. old Polk Monitor 7s that could do this with ease.

Oz
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