Stenheim Speakers

I recently listened to the Stenheim speaker for the first time, and put simply, it has become the speaker that all others are compared to. In a search for an upgrade to my system I went to many of the showrooms in the NY tristate area and heard their offerings, Focal, Wilson, Magico, Paradigm, Sonus Faber, and Stenheim speakers. All were good, but these stood out in no small way. The setup, at Audio Arts, was Stenheim 5’s powered by a Conrad Johnson GAT and CJ ART 150. I am no expert in the vernacular used to describe hifi, but I’ll do my best. We started with vocal tracks and worked up in dynamics through a live BB King recording & others with some bite and culminated with Pink Floyd’s “Hey You”. The sound was precise, incredibly so, but with warmth. And that’s the essence of what drew me in. It struck this chord of being completely enveloping and fulsome, while being so precise that more than anything else I heard, with these it felt like the instruments were in front of me. The combination of these two aspects was amazing. The Focals were full, but not nearly so precise. The Wilsons were precise, but not so enveloping.

It was the BB King track that really did it for me. One moment he is telling the crowd a story about Hendrix, and he just might as well be in the room, and the next the guitar is cutting through the air with such a pleasant sharpness, a correctness, that it was just all the way satisfying. I’m a guitar guy first and foremost and no speaker did guitars right the way the Stenheims did. The drums sounded great too, and those were particularly showcased on Hey You. More of the same, I just have never heard drums sound like they did on that track in that room. In every way a satisfying experience, which can be a rare thing in this hobby.

I’ve looked around this site and others and there is so little written about them, I wanted to start a thread/write a review. Has anyone else heard them or own them? Supposedly they are coming out with a new speaker at the end of the year, to be more accessible than the 5. I might strike if they can bring to the table the essence of the 5s…

I think they’ll be at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest in a couple of weeks, I see Audio Arts on the list of “Exhibiting”, for those of you going. Gideon, who runs it, was a pleasure to deal with. It seems like he'll be showing Zellaton's, which I saw in the showroom but didn't hear. Nonetheless would recommend checking his room out if you'll be at the show, as I will!