Zingali Overture series thumbs "up" or "down"

I auditioned some of the smaller Zingalis (one floor stander and one book shelf) at a local retailer. I don't remember which models they were. I had very mixed feelings about them. On large scale recordings, they sounded phenomenal. They sounded their best with a recording of a swing band. The horns sounded incredibly realistic (I have heard this band live several times, and always make a point of standing near the stage at least once during the night so I can hear the unamplified sound). Large symphony also sounded excellent, and popular music sounded pretty good too. I was disappointed in the sound of a small chamber group, and solo singers. I concluded that the Zingalis had a harmonic distortion that sounded much like the sound of a musical instrument horn. This restored the sounds of recorded horns that "accurate" equipment can't reproduce. However, I felt the speakers imposed this harmonic structure on everything they palyed, which wasn't always so good. They never did sound bad, and even when their colorations didn't work to their advantage, I thought they still sounded quite pleasant. I had a similar feeling with a Golden Tube audio amp, which worked wonders on bowed strings, but made everyuthing (including Chris Isaac's voice) sound like it was being bowed.

Honest1 puts it very well. They sounded very colored to me as well, although, some people enjoy that type of sound. The Zingalis are nice sounding, but lack the detail of some of the other speakers on the market.

Davkle: I am a dealer for a number of other speakers, but none that I would consider competitors.

I've had the pleasure of hearing the 2s, 3s and 4s with a variety of amps and cables. I don't have a clue what Jtinn is talking about when he says they lack detail. My experience has been that they have boatloads of detail, and in some systems it may in fact be a detriment. They love warm, higher powered amps and copper cables. Silver cables and strident solid-state amps caused considerable "shout" that is frequently heard with horns. Higher-powered tube amps really make bass in the 2s and 4s come alive with detail and dynamics. I found the bass in the 3s to be too punchy and not nearly as refined. As for differences between the 2s and 4s, the 2s are identical to the 4s with the exception of a second woofer and a larger cabinet. The bass response of the 4s may be too much in smaller rooms as the second woofer and larger cabinet really make a difference. I found the 4s to be about right in my 15' x 35' listening room (8' to 16' high ceiling). I also heard the 2s in a 14' x 18' (8' ceiling) and they sounded very similar in terms of bass detail. As for the mid range and highs, I can honestly say I've never heard speakers sound so realistic. The attack and decay of cymbals and piano notes are exceptional, and the texture portrayed in saxophone music is amazing. It's a matching game with all speakers and the Zingalis are exceptional sounding when paired with complimentary components.