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
guys... let's stop the pissing contest... People have different opinions and taste, that's fine. Forums should be about sharing personal opinions, not criticizing each others...
Dracule1: Before my purchase, I have heard probably more speakers than 99% of Audiogon people, for the simple reason that I travel 250 days a year across 3 continents. I have a fully treated room, with dedicated power supply and a 10kW equitech power conditioner. Electronics are APL NWO-M player and Dartzeel amp. MIT MAX2 and HD120 cables. Room nodes are treated with more than 30 Helmholtz resonator. Room response is +-2dB down to 24Hz (and around 35Hz with the Q1). You can see my system with measurements on the Magico section of WBF ("new home for my Q1"). Besides the Q7 and the Magico Ultimate (that I have on order), I have not heard a more convincing system than what I am hearing now on the Q1 (and yes, everybody thought I am crazy when I replaced the MM3, a 600lbs/piece monster speaker by a small monitor).
guys... let's stop the pissing contest..
Well......only when you do......?
Usermanual, based on your response I pretty sure you don't have a dedicated room that's been treated properly. And I doubt you can have the capacity to properly evaluate a speaker or any other audio component, subjectively or objectively. Have fun rocking out on your Cerwin-Vega ;)
Ngchaisooon, Raidho's are better in almost every way, but the D1s are twice the cost of the Sasons. Raidho's have more refined and extended high frequency response, are more coherent and holographic, have better microdynamics and blacker background, and more accurate in reproducing timbre of instruments. The Sasans do have more extended and dynamic bass. The C1.1 are in between the Sasans and D1s.
Stereotaipei, you have an amazing setup, better than 99.99% of the so called reviewers out there. I can only imagine the length and expense you've put in your setup. IMO, the room is the most important audio component. Get that right, and you can make mediocre speakers sound great. And a treated room does not have to be expensive. Often times a couple grand of room treatment will do wonders. A lot of audiophile spend more on their cables. And I am not surprised; a good 2-way monitor speaker is more coherent and give a better illusion of the performers being in your room than a big 3- or 4-way speaker. The Q1s are not my cup of tea, but that's not important. It's what you like in the end. My hats off to you.