VIVID AUDIO SPEAKERS

There are several companies that make amazing and unique speakers using MDF or other wood based materials beyond ATC.  

Innovative designs and creative solutions to each part of a speaker is something I wish more people would engage in.  Whether it be in shape, where a company like Vivid really pushes the limits, driver material where someone like Accuton, B&W and Paradigm are pushing limits. 

Open baffles, planars, electrostatics, whatever MBLs  are...these companies all pushing limits and producing amazing products.  

And even within the utilisation of composites, there are multiple cores and each behaves differently.  Some use balsa, others use airex and in my case, I use a nomex honeycomb.  To my knowledge, I am the only company that uses a nomex honeycomb core and if you recall, I even sent you a white paper on the benefits of this, explicitly around sound damping. 

I would agree completely that my speakers are "boxes with driver" and I don't use MDF.  True statement but this post isn't about my speakers, it's about Vivid .  And you are correct, Vivid does many things that are different and taken in aggregate, they produce some amazing, truly differentiated products.  I don't think Lawrence Dickie get's enough credit for the innovative things he's done.  

And even within the utilisation of composites, there are multiple cores and each behaves differently. Some use balsa, others use airex and in my case, I use a nomex honeycomb. To my knowledge, I am the only company that uses a nomex honeycomb core and if you recall, I even sent you a white paper on the benefits of this, explicitly around sound damping.

No I dont believe this. This is just splitting hairs. Brick would do the job. Its cheap and readily available. There is no point in trying other materials. The point you seem to miss is that a speaker box is WRONG. it doesnt matter what you make it out of if its WRONG. 
Why do you think open baffle speakers exist? Because its an extreme attempt to solve the problem of having a box. You have an obsession with box material and its completely misguided. 
Have you read the paper yourself?

this post isn't about my speakers, it's about Vivid .  

Yes but vivid is a good example of a speaker that tries to solve most of the main problems with box speakers and for that reason its justified in mentioning bad speakers that dont bother to deal with all the problems. A speaker box made of solid 5 inch thick diamond slabs would still sound horrific if for example the crossovers were badly done. That is only one example. 
You only ever speak about cabinet material which is misleading.
I bet your speakers arent even custom tuned either. They are just mass produced. Which is another problem. 

I was close to selecting the Vivid Kaya 45 for my office. The price gave me pause and I was wondering if it was that much better than the much cheaper KEF Reference 1 or 3 that I was also considering. I really liked the Kaya 45 and since it reminded me a bit of the KEF Blades, though not exactly at that level

I have also heard the Giya Spirit G1. I heard that immediately after a long demo with KEF Blades and Hegel gear. The Vivid Giya was using Luxman mono blocks and the C900u preamp. I preferred the KEF Blades though the Vivid with Luxman was amazing. Never heard a better version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller than on that Vivid system. I also heard the Vivid line prior to the Kaya line with Luxman gear and it was also amazing.

I am going to try and have a listen to the new Vivid Kaya monitor that they are coming out with. I said I would never replace my KEF LS50’s but this new Vivid monitor maybe the one that could do it. Hopefully the price is not too crazy.

I prefer not to buy speakers where the drivers are outsourced from other companies so I have focused on brands that make their own drivers. I have demoed the following:

Paradigm Persona 3F
Vivid Kaya line
KEF Reference and Blades
Yamaha NS 5000
Focal (though not too seriously but should have)

The Vivids as clear, fast, detailed, and non-fatiguing to me, just really amazing gear. They also have unique technology, just like the other brands I have listed above.


BTW - I just noticed this thread was resurrected from the dead. 

My favorite system had Vivid Audio Giya G1's. The "performances" heard through the system was magical to my wife's and my ears. That's the only system my wife ever said she wanted.

To the OP, I am not sure why Kenjit is trying to make this thread about me.  Vivid makes wonderful products that you should have a high level of confidence in buying.  This will be my final post in this thread and my apologies for the hijack.  

@kenjito to my knowledge you have never heard or even seen my speakers.  Did you come visit me at CAF or AXPONA last year?   If you did, wonderful.  I wish you would have introduced yourself.  If not, I suppose it is moot. I know you despise boxed speakers.  

Regarding the materials, the different impedance associated with the fiberglass or CH combined with the air and nomex honeycomb is an improvement in terms of damping.  To maximize efficacy, additional damping materials (stuffing) is required.  CF is also slightly more effective than fiberglass due to it's more textured surface.  In practical applications, the aerospace company that makes my cabinets uses these panels with additional light-weight damping material to reduce cabin noise from 120dB to below 70dBs.  Is it perfect?  No.  Is it a legitimate attempt to address issues within a box speaker?  Yes.  You obviously disagree.  That is fine.  

Vivid does more.  The shape of their designs are a further step in addressing this issue beyond material.  But to ignore material is to literally ignore what the designer explicitly says regarding the speakers.  The speaker drivers are explicitly designed based on how they interact with the cabinet and the exotic designs are explicitly intended to optimize sound production.  I don't have the resources to design my own drivers so I had to experiment with 3rd party units to see what worked best.  

Some day, I hope my speakers are sold broadly enough that I will have enough profit to invest in further R&D to address all the issues.  Regarding "mass production", last year my peak production run was 14 cabinets (7 pairs).  I am a true small business trying to experiment and have risked my retirement on it.  I am self funded, don't have deep pockets from the sale of another business and still work a day job.  In the interim, I am going to build the best product I possibly can.