Hey guys, my sister and brother-in-law now living at my house during their transition from Hawaii back to the mainland puts a hamper on my ability to have some quiet and quality listening time. My sister, in particular, is a loudmouth and just won't shut up. It is beyond annoying. But I am doing the right thing in helping family. Hopefully they will make their move (out of my house) in the next 1 to 3 weeks. It's been a challenge.
Nevertheless, what I am doing is listening to a variety of albums that I have listened to most recently. That provides me with the most recent memory of sound quality for those albums. I am also looking to experience these speakers for human voice and wind/string instruments, wanting to hear truer tonal qualities. I'll explore other music as I begin to get past those albums. Yesterday I got in 3.
Phoebe Snow - Second Childhood
Eric Clapton - Unplugged
Jethro Tull - This Was
The new speakers, Daedalus Audio, model Apollo 11 V-3, out of the box are quite good and a step above my previous set of Dynaudio, Contour 60i. Midrange and the top end are far more realistic sounding. Female vocals are just so much more natural and acoustic guitar has much better natural tonal qualities. The bass and mid bass, as expected, have a lot of breaking-in to go. The warmth and depth in that frequency range is a bit strident and lacking the deeper frequencies. But again, as expected. Lou Hinckley (owner of Daedalus Audio) advised me that would be my experience. He said that the mechanical break-in time for the drivers is north of 100 hours and for the crossover electronics and wiring loom is closer to 300 + hours. I have a long way to go. But honestly, I already hear a lot of what I was looking for in tonality. And that's with just 1 1/2 hours of playing time. Of course, I also have a lot of experimenting to do with placement. My room doesn't allow for a great amount of change to positioning. But even an inch or two this way, that way, etc. can make a difference. I placed furniture glides/sliders under the footer spikes so I can make those changes more easily. These speakers are large and are very heavy. Those spikes and that weight on carpeting/padding, and down to the concrete floor makes for a much greater challenge to move than by having them on the sliders. I lose some of the benefit of coupling to the concrete floor, but once I feel I have the best location the sliders will be removed, and the spikes coupling to the concrete floor should provide a bit more of an advantage.
I have good opportunity for several hours of listening time today. I'll get back and offer some further information. In addition to the sonics, these speakers are stunningly beautiful works of woodcraft art. I mean, WOW, they are absolutely gorgeous. I'll get pictures updated on my system page sometime soon.
