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Raidho D1 audition


Two weeks ago I have heard the Raidho D1 speakers in a hi-end shop in Amsterdam (A10 audio). Surprisingly, but luckily for me, I was the only one attending the "morning" demonstration. I could listen all the CD that I brought with me sitting in the sweet spot and without any disturbances.

The D1 where driven by the Jeff Rowland Corus preamp and the 625 power amp. There were two CD players hooked up, i.e. the dCS Vivaldy and an EMM labs single box retailing at roughly 30k euros (I did not asked which model it was). The dealer told me that the system was optimized for the dCS player, meaning he has used his most expensive cables costing around 30K euros. He did not mention which brand of cables he used and I did not bother asking as I find it silly to use cables that cost as much as the pre-power combo (we all have our prejudice in this regard).

The D1s sounded certainly nice, very detailed and fast but also with a very full midrange. Resolution-wise, one would have a rather hard time to find speakers that are more transparent in the midrange and highs (IMO of course). Speed-wise, while very fast, the D1s are not as fast as horns or electrostatics. The stereo image and soundstage were quite good (given the fact that the listen room was filled with other electronics and speakers) and together with the very detail and full midrange made for a rather impressive presence of the speaker in the room. That is, voices and most instruments where rendered with full body and size with a confidence typically associated to large speakers (at least in my experience).

I could not really judge the bass output of the D1s, as the room was quite large (given the D1s' size), plus the position of the speakers in the room was not chosen to give the best bass response but rather a good stereo image and soundstage. Nonetheless, it seemed decent. However, given the level of performance in the midrange and high departments, it would be a pity to not add one or two top of the line subwoofers (in fact as many as necessary) to achieve a world class performance also in this department.

I have quite a bit of experience with moderately high priced monitors like Dynaudio C1 (mk 1&2), Focal Micro Be & Diablo, Wilson Duette and Vivid Audio V1.5. Among these monitors, the Focal Diablo sounds the closest to the D1s, i.e. fast and detailed. The Vivid V1.5 has also a similar presentation. While the D1s sounded much better than any of these monitors, I find it hard to say how much better it really is. Not only I have listen these speakers in different system and room and at very different times, but one should not underestimate the effect made by the dCS Vivaldi in the D1 demo I had. (The Vivaldi was a marvelous cd player to say the least, though at 90K euros ones should not be surprised.) Maybe I should also mention here that the dealer told me that in his opinion the D1s are above the Magico Q1 (while being cheaper here in Europe). Since I have never listened the Q1s, I can not make any comment in this regard, but the dealer carries Magico speakers for a long time and has first hand experience with the Q1s.

I would conclude by saying that I was quite impress with the Raidho D1 speakers. 17k euros (including stands) is certainly a lot of money for a monitor with limited bass, but the reality is that 17K represents only a fraction of the price of other expensive monitors, e.g. TAD CR1. (I would be really interested to hear from people who have listen the TAD CR1 monitor and also the Raidho D1s).

Finally, I should acknowledging A10 audio in Amsterdam (www.a10audio.nl) for putting together a very nice demo.
nvp
michaelkingdom's avatar
michaelkingdom
153 posts
 
I can put in a good word about Audio Salon in Coral Gables (Miami). I was just there this past week and had the chance to hear the Raidho D2 and the Magico S5. John the dealer was very kind and patient and made the experience great. Both speakers were great speakers and about as different as sounds come.

If I had to choose between the two, I would choose the Magico S5 because of the amazing presentation. They are cold and dry and as expressive as a Kandinsky painting. They don't cuddle you up in sound but rather just express what is being played with the highest degree of spatial / tonal precision I have ever heard.

The Raidhos were also excellent but in a different way. They took a bit to grow on my ears. Once I had understood their sound, they become more and more interesting. They are fast and sweet.

Sorry for the short review but if I HAD to pick, I would pick the Magicos - based on 30 minutes with each speaker. They soar. However, the Magico dryness might cause a detached feeling after a while which might cause me to yearn for the Raidho.
nvp OP
317 posts
 
Michaelkingdom, thanks for sharing your experience with Magico S1 and
Raidho D1 speakers. Though, I fear this thread has run its course for quite
some time now.

Razmika and Kiwi, the reason I usually post on audiogon is because I like to
share my experience with other and I like to get feed-back from other in the
hope that we all learn something useful. Aren't we bombarded/confused
enough by dealers, reviewers and advertisement with all this hi-tech crap? I
honestly, do not understand what are you trying to achieve.

Kiwi, you obviously have experience with the Raidho C1.1 and D1, yet you did
not bother to write here a single line about these speakers even though quite
a few people seem to be interested in this comparison. You could have written
a few short lines, (and, of course, also direct us to your blog) and not expect
us to read your entire blog which is quite extended. On the other hand, when
Razmika "attached" Raidho, you have written a rather extensive
post. If you are happy with your Raidho D2 speakers, why are you so
defensive?

Razmika, the first post about Audio Salon was by Mes on Apriel 8. He only
claimed that that respective store in Miami carries both brands, i.e. he did not
claimed that the store has both the D1 and the Q1 models on the floor. In
fact, except Dracule1, nobody has claimed somthing like that. My guess is
that Dracule1, did not answer your question because it was too brief/naive,
i.e. you should have mentioned at least the state were you are going as USA is
big (but of course I can not be sure about this). Also, IMO all of the
contributors here that said something about Magico vs. Raidho, did it in a
rather benign way making rather clear that they were talking about personal
preference (I too made it very clear in my opening post that it was the dealer's
opinion and that I can not make any further comments as I did not listen the
Q1s.) Consequently, I do not understand your attitude. Finally, from your
comments above I get the feeling that eventually you have listen the Raidho
D1 speakers, and also that you have experience with the Magico Q1s
speakers. Why don't you share with us your experience about these two
speakers?
usermanual
104 posts
 
The Magico are not dry, nor they are cold. The simply let you hear what was in front of them.
razmika
45 posts
 
>> They are fast and sweet.

They are colored, and that will cause a “detached feeling after a while”
kiwi_1282001
312 posts
 
Hi Nvp, In reply to your note:

First, for a comparison between the Raidho C1.1 and D1 I linked Boon (who asked) to the page on my blog that covered that. Just scroll down to post #116. Not too hard for you I hope? The post was way too wordy to cut and paste here.

Second, after chiding the thread about “mudslinging” and fabricated Magico opinion, Razmika disingenuously (as in hypocritically) goes on to state that Raidho’s diamond woofers are “marketing bullshit”, “not expensive” and “not effective”. That should be called out because the comments were reckless, ignorant and demonstrably without factual knowledge and precisely an example of what he was asking others not to do.

Finally, this is a forum not a physics lab. Forums are about opinion - you are wasting your time trying to bring method and order to that. Reality does not speak for itself here. Magico’s are “cold and dry” and Raidho’s are “fast and sweet”. The reality is neither statement is meaningful since there are too many uncontrolled variables. One of the biggest problems in subscribing attributes to loudspeakers comes down to the unavoidable fact that the speaker is at the end of a chain of other components, and that chain (particularly the amplifier) will impose its own character on the signal the speaker reproduces.
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