WHICH SPEAKERS?

dolphin, what are the limitations of the newform? i, also, am searching for that "unbelievable" speaker at a believable price. low-bass is not an issue for me, as i'm satisfied w/my pair of larger vmps subs, driven by a pair of adcom 555's, x'd over w/a marchand 24db/octave x-over. yours is the 1st even remotely negative comment i've heard about the newforms; obviously, having to purchase them before an audition, is a bit of a concern... thanks, doug

Doug, You have to decide with your ears what sounds best to you. IMHO, speakers are the most personal and most important purchasing decision. To me bass is important, and that was one area that the Newform's did not excel in. They dont go down deep with authority and it was a little muddy (BTW I think I heard the R8-1-30's so I am not speaking for the line). Just like a hybrid electrostat, the biggest difficulty lies in mating the bass drivers to the ribbon. Compared to other ribbons they do not appear to be as strident in the highs. Like most good equipment they were picky with equipment, placement, and room size, but a little more so than others. Listen to both and make your own decision. While I love the Talons you may not. BTW, I never intend to disrespect anyone else who has made another purchasing decision. All tooo often in these audio boards a person comes out and says what they like and they are lambasted. I like what I like, so it is up to you to find out the same. Just put the Talon's down on a list to hear before purchasing.

Dolphin, I have too many speakers already, and don't feel this design would better any of them in overall performance, based on what I've learned about them...no offense. BTW, whenever I hear "custom designed", to me it means very little. I hear it all the time, and it's always just some minor variation on normal production drivers, usually from one of the terrific companies from Denmark.

Well, as folks are adding their two cents regarding the Talons, I might as well too. Don't listen to them. I wish I hadn't. I came home with an awful case of speaker envy. They are really quite astounding. Secondly, for the nay-sayers, I think that a lot of the rumpus about the Tallons (what makes them arguably somehow more than one stunning sounding speaker among a hoast of stunning sounding speakers) is the fact that they really are designed along some different principles. (Which I won't even pretend to know enough about to be able to go into). I think that, on the Khorus, there are five patents pending on, among other things, the bass driver and the porting system--more than just another "custom designed" variation on a theme--or so I have been led to believe. I suppose that only time will tell whether there is anything genuinely innovative going on here or it is just another array of smoke, mirrors and hype (Bose, anyone?...although I feel it almost criminally negligent to mention Bose in the same posting). In the meantime, however, at least it gives us addicts something to quibble over. Oh, that and the fact that they really do sound wonderful. Try'em. If you can get them home, even better. Worst case scenario, you like them enough to make you like your current speakers a little bit less. Sadly, it happened to me.

Mr Eber, thanks for your contribution to this post. Please keep sizing up speakers by their parts. That is your right. If I had done that I never would have heard the beauty of Quads, Spendors, the Walsh driver, or a number of other speakers that cannot be summated by looking at their parts. If you ever listen to them, I would LOVE to hear what you think.