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Anyone listened to LaHave Speakers

This is a speaker that has come on to my radar although I've never heard it. Apparently a very small manufacturer out of Nova Scotia Canada they have been making monitor speakers for 25 years yet seem almost completely unknown to the audiophile community. They have shown at the Montreal Audio Show over the years and most recently at RMAF with their Mela model.

How many of you have heard them and what are your impressions of their presentation? The buzz about these speakers seems under the radar but of the ones that have actually HEARD them there seems to be a concensus that they are quite special in their realistic presentation of music. What is the dope on these speakers? I really am quite curious but info seems quite limited and their website sure doesn't provide much information.
tubegroover
dgarretson
2,593 posts
 
I heard LaHave Mela monitors at a show with a very nice Artisan Fidelity analog front end. They have great fit & finish, sound superb across the entire FR, and go lower than expected for a monitor. The unusual Jordan driver is smooth and extended. They are among the top monitors that I've heard.
cafacal
4 posts
 
I have the Melas and they are one of the best standmount at any price.
The positioning in the room is very important for the best performance.
cafacal
4 posts
 
I have the Melas and they are one of the best standmount at any price.
The positioning in the room is very important for the best performance.
tubegroover OP
2,320 posts
 
Thanks you both for your impressions. I guess there is no substitute for listening but I have consistently been hearing very high praise for these monitors even compared to some quite expensive floorstanders.

Cafacal could you provide a bit of information concerning your room size, what is your impression of their low frequency extension and weight in your room? A sealed enclosure with a passive radiator seems like a good recipe for more perceived bass for a small monitor but these also seem relatively efficient at 87.5db for such a design, I guess the radiator helps.
rgs92
974 posts
 
I still have mine (for about 2 years now). Yep, natural
tonality is what defines
these speakers top to bottom. About the bass, I have heard
(mainly at the NY show) some well known monitors (Harbeth
among them) that have bass that seems be from a much larger
speaker, but, in comparison to the Melas, the bass from
these sounds sort of forced IMHO, but in the Melas the bass
is just there and sonorous and is some of the most tuneful
bass I ever heard, and does not feel truncated. It holds a
sustained bass note beautifully without quivering, it's just
nice and solid.
I'll stop now before I go on about the liquid but vivid mids
and sweet un-metallic highs.
I went through a lot of speakers but these are staying.

Imaging is fine, but, honestly, big planars and big Wilsons
throw a more vivid soundstage with a sort of virtual reality
space, but the imaging is, for sake of comparison, better
than the Aerial 10Ts I once owned, and on par/better than my
Sonus Faber Cremona Auditors. The Melas are more natural and
pleasing (significantly) than both of these pretty good
speakers.
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