Persona 9h vs S3 mk 2

Hi Audiotroy, based on your selling the Paradigm 9H and having heard the Vimberg Tonda, about the same price, how are they different and similar?  I would never own a Magico or Wilson, just because of the power consumption as well as I don't want to live with their sound.  As I previously mentioned, the Von Schweikert VR55K is also on the table but it is double the price of the Paradigm and Vimberg.  Thanks

@sciencecop  and others thanks for the kind words!

The m2 was incredible but lets put things into perspective... those speakers cost $60k - $70k usd ! For that price they better be amazing LOL.

Anyhow I heard a few speakers today:

Persona 9H:
9H looked big and impressive with the glowing P symbol at the base of the tower. It was connected to a moon neo integrated amp, blue sound streamer. Not sure on which DAC was connected but ill find out and post later.

WOW! What an amazing speaker. I listened to them in a large 30 x 30 x 12 ft listening room.. it was actually the demo floor and the speakers were on one side of the room so it was by no means an optimal listening room. But the thing that stood out to me the most at first was the bass. Not only was it tight and articulated it had a very impressive low rumble and authority that I definitely missed when I heard the 7F.

The mid range clarity was exceptional and the high end had nice shimmer but it wasn't offensive at all or fatiguing (I listened for about an hour). The soundstage and imaging was excellent... I could place instrument players well and the overall sound signature was forward and exciting. Dynamics were great. 

Its strange because although the sound was precise and fast it also had a smoothness that was quite addictive. It was by no means thick or rich sounding but it was just precise, accurate, engaging and .... luxurious sounding?

Nicholas gunn - veracruz is one of my favorite test tracks and in the intro the flowing water sounded more real than I ever heard it. It sounded like the water was flowing right before me and immersed me as the rest of the song carried on. There is a type of flute or horn in this track and this is one of my measures for how much I enjoy a speaker. When the horn/flute peaks in the rhythm on great speakers I simply close my eyes (inadvertently) and become complete intoxicated by the experience. This happened with the 9H! 

Overall I would say the M2 was slightly more detailed and threw a bigger sound stage but its hard to compare them because the rooms and electronics were different. But the 9H is awesome. The dealer gave me a great price which tempted me.

One thing that bothers me is I don't like having berylium in my speakers as I worry about toxicity (especially if a driver breaks)... and having big midranges also just increases the beryllium dramatically. But this is just my own paranoia. Maybe ill get over it.

Wilson Sasha DAW:

I then heard the DAW at another dealer. This was a great speaker as well but sounded very different. Firstly it had a bigger more authoritative bass but was slightly slower than the 9H. Overall it had a lot less sparkle and was warm sounding but still quite detailed. Initially I didn't enjoy them but I found as I listened further I found myself enjoying them more and more. They were connected to big PS audio monos and PS DS dac and PS preamp so perhaps thats why it was so smooth? 

Overall I would take the 9H over them in a heartbeat. Especially since the price of the 9H is about half of the DAW. The DAWs to me sound ever so slightly veiled vs the 9H.

Sonus Faber Aida:

I cannot.. or prefer not to say too much about this speaker because it was on a system not connected to tidal and thus I couldn't listen to my own test tracks. The system was all mcintosh... quad amp monos, tube pre, mac cd player, not sure on dac. Overall the sound was solid... good dynamics, good soundstage.. I listened to mainly Bach that the dealer had on cd. It was also somewhat smooth sounding.

All I can say is it sounded good but its not like I fell off my chair in amazement.

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Anyway those are my thoughts I am by no means an expert and have a lot to learn. I will keep listening and keep my eyes open. I will say coming back to my S8 V2s and my humble system... I am impressed with them. The 9H cost just about what my entire system costs and the S8V2 sound very impressive in my bed room especially with my dual PSA 18 inch subs.

But I forsee an upgrade in my future... definitely.

@smodtactical

The Persona 9h have a huge advantage over other speakers like Wilson or Magico...any amp can drive them.

I am fortunate that my deal represent brands like Luxman, Accuphase, Gryphon, Shindo...and speakers like Rockport, Marten, TAD, Raidho, Avantgarde and Paradigm.

Its impressive the amps my dealer tried with the Personas, all with great results.

You want a more rich and warm sound, try a SET amp...I have a 50w SET Amp, but I listened in the dealer room a Luxman MQ300, 8w only, but OMG...what a great sound!

But tubes are not your thing?...try a small class A amp...like Accuphase A47...30w can make the Persona sing like no other speaker.

Believe me...it is not necessary a huge and expensive amp to drive the Personas...I am sure the small integrated Pass INT-25 will be another great match.

Try this amps with Magico or Wilson speakers and will see how crap they will sound!

And the Persona can sound great in almost any room...the fantastic bass you heard is courtesy of the Anthem room correction.

My room have a huge peak at 40/50hz that make setup big speakers a nightmare...not so with Personas...Now I have a fantastic bass like I never had in my listening room.

If you can get them at a good discount, don’t miss the opportunity!...at least try them at home.

@nabcs How do you think my dual bryston 4bsst's will do with the 9H?

Any worries you have about having so much beryllium in your listening room? I realise that its the powder aerosol beryllium thats toxic but do you have any concerns?

Did you hear any Raidho?

@smodtactical As someone who owned 7B-SST for 5 years and is 99% sure to buy a Persona 3F I would advise you to not use the Brystons with the Persona. It would be way too bright. The almost top of the line MOON gear that I demoed the Persona 5F was rather great but I still would want something a little warmer with the Persona's for long listening sessions. Bryston SST line is much more neutral sounding than those MOON electronics I recently heard.

I am getting the Luxman m900u for whatever speaker I get, either the 3F or TAD ME1, because it is an amazing amp and also slightly warm sounding. 

BTW - any chance to demo the Yamaha NS 5000?