RMAF 2016................Boenicke W5


I spent quite awhile in the Boenicke/Sotm room at the show and was quite taken aback on how musically engaging the W5's were. They ooze a musical timbre that was simply stunning. Considering how diminutive they are (no bigger than PC speakers) they produce a big sound stage. To my ears they are a true Hi-Fi bargain at a paltry $3600 a pair when they are compared to some speakers that cost many times  more and are not in the same league as these miniature mighty marvels. There were a few speakers at the show that nearly made my ears bleed and my wallet to hide........

Anything float your boat at this years show?


 
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Pretty sure its using fountek drivers so consider its running $300 retail in drivers and you liked it maybe DIY a pair
gawd,

You are comparing very small speakers that must have limited bass extension to much larger more expensive more full range models.

Getting full range speakers set up to sound good is always a bigger challenge. Bass resonances mask other frequencies and detail, sounds fat or muddy etc.

I could imagine the small speakers sounding "better" with some music than much larger and expensive ones and systems if room and setup is less than optimal. There is less bass to get in teh way or go wrong usually with small speakers.

Is that possible?

In any case, all I’m saying is they are small and price not paltry for their size. Comparing to much larger full range speakers sounds like apples and oranges and a pure judgement call that would be hard to substantiate it would appear. At the very least all should be set up optimally in order to make a fair comparison. Little guys like that would have a lot to prove against much larger similar quality competition.

In the end what one likes is all that matters. They are very nice looking tiny speakers and I’d expect sound very good within their limits.  Of course I have not heard them so do not know.

Just saying. Paltry is all relative I suppose.
Hi John,

I believe they are made with a solid piece of wood. The Innards look like someone was having fun with a router. I won't be buying a pair as I have enough (ahem, hope she does not read this....) speakers in the house. Another, and the most important reason is cats and dogs, they would not last 5 minutes on their stands.

I thought the Zu room sounded decidedly average.

Mapman- you should really hear a pair, you
I would like to hear them. I am always looking for good things in smaller packages.  They would fit nicely on my Isoacoustics stands, just a few inches off the floor and with slight tilt up.    I use corner placement  (similar to what is done with Audio Note speakers at shows) in the room that they would fit into and that helps a lot to get more bass out of smaller boxes when needed.

Zu has yet to reel me in from demos I have heard but the door is still open. I really like the looks and they are strong centenders for anyone building around a tube amp.

There could be a pair of Zu Soul or Tekton Lore speakers in my future just to try out for the fun of it and see where things might go.