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Green Mountain Audio Chroma HX Review

I just had my Green Mountain Audio Chromas upgraded to Chroma HX. The difference is the crossover, with the capacitors being exceptionally high-grade. The low-pass filter is specially made to Roy Johnson's specifications. Unobtainium (not for sale) Litz wire is used with the latest unobtainium solder. The change is dramatic enough to consider the HX a different speaker, even though the schematic is essentially the same.

And the result is absolutely stunning. I was expecting a substantial improvement, but I was unprepared for the result. It's going to be difficult to put this into words, but I'm going to try. Let's face, we've heard it all before.

I have never heard a speaker that so effortlessly plays music. Every note has more music in it. I guess you could call that greater detail, but the HX transcends that description. Perhaps I should call it harmonic richness. The sound is unbelievably accurate, yet musical, throughout the frequency spectrum. The copious bass digs down deeper while being more well-defined. I would call it high-definition bass, to coin a term. The midrange is similarly tuneful, clear and also hi-def. It just flows naturally and cleanly. I would describe the treble as ethereal, sparkly and airy, never bright.

The HX is also the most coherent speaker I have ever heard. The woofer and the tweeter coexist happily. It is impossible to tell where the crossover frequencies are. You cannot hear the port either, just the bass. I find myself listening for hours, without fatigue, because the music captures my attention and holds it.

The sheer accuracy seems to lend itself to the soundstage, imaging with pinpoint precision. You know where every voice and instrument is at all times. This is an area of audio that I didn't much care about previously, but I cannot ignore now.

Any criticisms? Well one, maybe. If you like to crank the bass hard enough to drive your neighbors to yell death threats, you're going to need a powered sub.

I have heard many speakers in my time, among them Wilson Audio, Joseph Audio, Paradigm, Triangle, Meadowlark, Dali, Thiel, Usher and Vandersteen. None of them can deliver what the HX can. It's not even close. If you have a pair of the already excellent Chromas, HXing them is a must. I have found the speakers that I am going keep for life in the Chroma HX.

Related equipment:
Musical Fidelity A308cr with upgraded clocks
Audio Note Kits DAC 2.1
Pass Labs B1 buffered passive pre modified for shunt volume control
Pass Labs Aleph 3 power amp
BPT BP-1 balanced power conditioner
Audio Magic Matrix Mini power conditioner
Pass Labs Aleph 3 power amp


dave122
kenjit
1,771 posts
 
@audiokinesis 

I've asked a series of questions in this thread about green mountain speakers and their technology / design choices. These questions have not been answered but will not go away.
I think they are reasonable questions which require answers.
This has nothing to do with grievances. The questions are about the speakers, not the designer per se.

@mindlessminion

I didn't build it. It was pre assembled. I just put it in a case.

I've used it with my previous PMC speakers. If you are trying to blame the amp for the problems I've mentioned,  that is ridiculous. Cabinet coloration, uneven frequency response and lack of bass are caused by the speaker. Nothing to do with the amp. 

The UK distributor brought the green mountain Rio speakers over to my place to demonstrate. The same amp and room were used then. he set them up and checked. If the amp or room was that bad he would have mentioned it.

the funny thing is, the chromas I bought actually sounded worse than the original rios I heard.

the rios themselves still had the same problems with bass. But I preferred the sound of the crossover on the Rio.

It's also important to note that the woofers natural response can vary between batches. unless you measure each woofer to make sure, the crossover will no longer work properly. 

But I asked green mountain
Audio for the records of the frequency response. They would not provide it.




kenjit
1,771 posts
 
@audiokinesis

He does things that are way beyond my ability as a loudspeaker. designer.


Like what?
audiokinesis
2,747 posts
 

@kenjit : "I think they are reasonable questions which require answers."

You clearly have an agenda. Let it go.

Kenjit: "Like what?"

The kinds of measurements and analysis he conducts, and the time coherent results he gets. Imo the things he can do well are a lot more difficult than the things I can (hopefully) do well.

Duke

kenjit
1,771 posts
 
There were no measurements. He just stuck a 0.21mh coil on the woofer and called it a day. No baffle step, nothing.
The baffle is so heavily slanted that you're never on axis unless you stand up. All in the name of time coherence and all at the expense of a smooth polar response. Which by the way you'd never get out of a cabinet the shape of the chroma. Olsen showed that a cylinder is the worst possible shape yet the eos is essentially a tweeter sat on top of the cabinet with no boundary other than its faceplate. Could have used a waveguide at least! 


mindlessminion
99 posts
 
If you were happy with the PMC speakers I recommend finding something with a like sound.  I have only heard PMC at shows and thought they were very good.  Perhaps the PMC twenty .24 or something in the twenty lineup is what you should strive for.

I was not suggesting your amp wasn't good, but merely curious what it was. a solid state amp with 100 watts of power vs a 8 watt tube amp does matter.  

I do find it somewhat odd that you haven't found a new set.  I couldn't live for 6 years without a decent set of speakers.
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