I’m a horn guy, but needed a box speaker for demoing my Galibier products. Most folks get disoriented when presented with a horn system and I needed to address this. After hearing my customer’s (jazzdoc) Ulysses, I began to explore them further.
The Daedalus speakers in general will pass the amplifier’s sonic signature through. My auditions with solid state and hybrid amps were uninspiring and I was about to strike them off my list, but suspected it was the amplification. I finally plugged in some competent vaccum tube amps and was sold.
The Athenas are a bit less sensitive than the Ulysses and you could get by with the right 300B amp if this were your leaning. I’d say 20 watts (or my NiWatt amp) would be playing it safely.
The flip side is that the Athenas will handle 150 watts of solid state as well - as witnessed by an after hours session we held in Newport a few years ago. Someone asked how realistically they’d reproduce The Who. I put in my musicians earplugs and we let ’er rip. He was impressed.
While I’d also say that the Ulysses have a BBC/Harbeth thing going, the Athenas are a bit more US sounding - a tighter, punchier bass. Family resemblance, but with differences.
When presented with an option, I’ll always opt for the higher efficiency speaker. It’s more than about amplifier power. Lower sensitivity loudspeakers by definition, lose more energy (heating the voice coil). This in turn results in compression - irrespective of amplifier power.
Lastly, you'll find Daedalus owners are not gear swappers. They've been through the process and once they arrive at Daedalus, they consider themselves done. The only reason I'd ever sell my Daedalus' would be to return to my first love (horns) - certainly not for any other box loudspeakers.
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design
The Daedalus speakers in general will pass the amplifier’s sonic signature through. My auditions with solid state and hybrid amps were uninspiring and I was about to strike them off my list, but suspected it was the amplification. I finally plugged in some competent vaccum tube amps and was sold.
The Athenas are a bit less sensitive than the Ulysses and you could get by with the right 300B amp if this were your leaning. I’d say 20 watts (or my NiWatt amp) would be playing it safely.
The flip side is that the Athenas will handle 150 watts of solid state as well - as witnessed by an after hours session we held in Newport a few years ago. Someone asked how realistically they’d reproduce The Who. I put in my musicians earplugs and we let ’er rip. He was impressed.
While I’d also say that the Ulysses have a BBC/Harbeth thing going, the Athenas are a bit more US sounding - a tighter, punchier bass. Family resemblance, but with differences.
When presented with an option, I’ll always opt for the higher efficiency speaker. It’s more than about amplifier power. Lower sensitivity loudspeakers by definition, lose more energy (heating the voice coil). This in turn results in compression - irrespective of amplifier power.
Lastly, you'll find Daedalus owners are not gear swappers. They've been through the process and once they arrive at Daedalus, they consider themselves done. The only reason I'd ever sell my Daedalus' would be to return to my first love (horns) - certainly not for any other box loudspeakers.
Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design