What's up with Talon?

Nvlashi,

Thanks for the update. I was not berating you. it's just that I have actually seen two companies fold indirectly due to rumors and hearsay (totally untrue mind you) that were started on this very Audiogon posting site. Not completely due to it, but as a result of the comments and concerns posted, his sales dropped precipitously within 4 weeks of the postings and the thread that followed.

I totally agree that Mike needs to fine tune things a bit, and I'm sure he will - especially after thsi little incident.

But for now let's get back to talking about Talon speakers....

It sounds like your system is going to be pretty sensational. Have you spoken to Mike about designing a bipolar speaker for on-wall rear mounting situations. It seams as if many people are starting to use a full 5.1 or 7.1 Talon system and that would make a nice addition... Let us know how it sounds when it's all up and running. And what equipment are you driving it all with? One monster multi-channel amp or separates?

-Matt

Matt,

After speaking with Mike and some other speaker designers/manufacturers at length about the pros/cons of bipole/dipole vs. direct radiating surrounds, I'm leaning towards buying some full range surrounds like the Raven. I've been looking at some high end surrounds like Revel, Wilson, and the Aerial SS3. I spoke with Klaus over at Odyssey Audio and they've got a very interesting product which has received little to no press. It's a 2'x3' speaker that is 3 inches thick and has a frame around it. You supply them with whatever artwork you want and they laser scan and print the same art work onto an acoustically transparent canvas. So basically you've got art work that are your speakers. The use all ScanSpeak drivers and frequency response is excellent, down to 45Hz at -1.5db. The idea of having some Picasso prints hanging on the walls as surrounds is pretty cool. Plus the price is $2000 which given the quality of the drivers and the ingenuity of the product, isn't bad at all.

So now it's a decision of whether to go with the Ravens or try the Odyssey product. The only hindrance I have with the Odyssey speakers is that because of the strange and irregular dimensions of my room, there really are no side walls which have the necessary space to mount them. One sidewall is 15 from the listening position, the other is 6 ft away and slightly ahead of the listening position. Not ideal to say the least. Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of options with rearranging the room layout. Perhaps my next apartment. In this particular configuration, the Ravens may work out better. However, it would be nice to have the rears be located above the listening position and with the Ravens that won't be possible. Decisions, decisions.

...Nisi

I own a full Aerial Acoustic surround set-up (10T's up front, CC3 center and SR3 surrounds ) and am VERY happy with it. I have always thought the SR3 surrounds did an excellent job of doing what they do. But my room has the necessary rear wall to provide adaquate rear reflections to make the dipoles do what they are supposed to. My two channel system is totally separate.

I own a custom home theater company and frequently encounter rooms that are not amenable to bipoles (which really require very specific room geometry to work to their greatest effect). The best choice IMHO is a direct radiator placed approximately 2-4 feet behind the listening position facing either backwards if there is something to bounce off of or straight out into the room; not pointing at the listener. The goal of a surround is to provide NON-point specific dispersion - that's why dipoles are ideal.

I have found these techniques work rather well for home theater. If, however, you are doing this for SACD/DVD-A multi-channel recordings then a complete direct radiating system is better suited to reproduce the surround channels. Of course, if you are doing an SACD/DVD-A surround system for multi-channel recorded music only, then the speakers themselves need to be placed in a different positions altogether...

if you want to draw out your room and scan or digi-photo it and E-mail it to me, I'd be glad to help as best I can. Just E-mail it to me and I'll see if I can make any suggesitons.

Bye the way, I am not trying to talk you out of the Ravens as they are an amazingly good choice for your needs. And if you already have Talon mains then your best bet is to match everything up Talon with the mains...

-Matt

PS- Isn't it more fun talking about this kind of stuff? :-)

Mike has had my speakers for 4 long months! will not return my calls. I'm thinking maybe he is going out of Business?? can't git any answers need help.

I E-mailed Mike regarding an order that I have pending and mentioned your name and your unhappy posting. Hopefully he will respond.

I know he's not great about answering voice mail messages left on his # at the office. Try E-mail maybe...

-Matt