Soul Sonic Speakers ???

Hi. Presume you have seen these reviews...i was intrigued but not heard them yet.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0414/soulsonics_impact_le_speakers.htm

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/frr.pl?rspkr&1316612796&&&/SoulSonic-Impulse-Supreme

http://www.monoandstereo.com/2011/07/miro-kranjc-soulsonic-wave-loudspeaker.html

My friend heard them, and he was impressed by sound.
I live in Slovenia.

Following this thread http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?6905-Totaldac-Reference-D1&p=322155#post322155

Here is one of my systems using Soulsonic speakers (demo room for Totaldac, digital source manufacturer):



The efficiency is 6dB higher that many other panels according to the manufacturer after direct comparisons, this allowed me to use single ended triode amplifiers to drive them, in active mode. It works fine this way.
The ribbon covers 500Hz-20KHz, close to full range a visitor said.

The model I use is a custom version. About the price question this big Impulse starts at 24000euros incl VAT.

I hope the manufacturer can answer with more details here.

These maybe a bit big for my room ;-) Any idea what price the smaller ones start at?

Hello AudioBear,

The new WAVE starts at 15.000, pair (VAT included)
The Impulse starts at 28.200, pair (VAT included).
All speakers are highly customizable, according to your needs (finish, crossover parts, speaker binding posts, etc).

In addition to the above, sometimes I have some special items (pre-production and ex-demos) that might be interesting.

Best regards,

Miro

Thanks Miro for the information, I guess the sensitivity is less with the smaller speakers?

1. I'm a little concerned about efficiency as I've been a 300B SE SET (8w) man for many, many years and now use First Watt SIT S1 monoblocks (10w)... I really like their sound! I'm using some Beauhorn B2.3 speakers, single driver, no crossover, 98db and they work well enough.

2. I'm not sure I understand the difference, sound wise, between the Classic Series (Wide) and Waveguide Series (narrow dispersion)?

3. And also perhaps explain a bit between the differing ribbon sizes and their frequency crossover?

4. Also their is not much information on the Wave on your website?

Your may want to PM me with your special items with pictures, specs and prices, I certainly liked the sound at Vincent's (totaldac), I presume he is the nearest dealer to me (North West UK)?

Best wishes,

Russ

Hi Russ,

generally speaking: the sensitivity is always less with the smaller speakers. On one hand it is dependent on the driver size (active surface area) and on the other hand it is dependent on the passive surface area (front baffle size). The bigger the active and passive area - the higher the sensitivity (there is no way around it).

For the woofers: the stronger the magnets - the higher the sensitivity BUT: there is always a trade-off between low frequency extension and efficiency. The stronger the magnet - the higher the sensitivity - but also less bass extension.

What I always put the greatest emphasis on is: proper spectrum balance, meaning I prefer natural tonal colors more than extremely high sensitivity with improper balance.

1. Just for the fun of it I have once tried the Audion Silver Night 300B amp on my Impulses; I could achieve respectable SPLs for listening but it was obvious the speakers need just a "tinny little bit more"

2. The wide dispersion models are suitable when there are more listeners than one; the soundstage and the individual instruments` focus is good even when listening off-axis, say in front of one of the speakers (on the couch). The Waveguide equipped speakers are more similar to horns, not entirely though. The best focus is maintained at the sweet spot. The waveguide series also minimize side wall reflections which gives a slightly better detailing in the mids.
If you mostly listen alone, then both types are suitable for you but if you mostly listen with another person or many of them, then the classic (wide dispersion) series are more suitable.

3. The size (height) of the ribbon determines the maximum SPL and overall sound stage height. In addition to that, these ribbons are line sources: the taller the line source - the taller the vertical listening sweet spot.
If you have ever listened to a small two way speaker, equipped with a short ribbon tweeter then there is a chance you have noticed that when you stand up, the highest frequency spectrum (above 10 or 12kHZ) is rolled off.

In practice this means that the roughly 1 meter tall ribbon of the BEAT has about 30cm tall vertical listening window where it sounds very open and transparent (the horizontal dispersion in high frequency spectrum for the BEAT is determined by the 90dg waveguide opening).

With an almost two metres tall ribbon like with the Impulses that you have heard at Vincent`s place, the vertical listening window isn`t crucial anymore: you can lay on the ground, sit or stand - it always sounds the same, open and transparent.
The crossover frequency is determined for each model respectively and is based upon the baffle size (width and height).
For instance, the baffle width of the Impulse model "supports" frequencies down to about 250Hz, however, this proved to be insufficient to set the actual crossover frequency at the same point. In order to ensure good micro and macro dynamic responsivness, I had to set the XO frequency one octave higher.

You need to understand that I had to fulfil the acoustic demands first and foremost and only after that I have tried to build a visual "story" around them. There are firm acoustic reasons why my speakers look like they do.

4. The Wave is in the final development stage; probably will be finished by the end of this month. The intention with this model was to make a speaker that would sound great even in medium sized rooms: lifelike sized instruments and voices, excellent microdynamics, lack of box induced colorations, etc. I also wanted to avoid the Allison room dip effect.

Best regards,
Miro

P.S.: You would need an essentially 3dB more sensitive speaker than the Impulse, to be able to use your amp but that could be done. 10W is 10dBW - 20W is 13dBW

Just thought I'd write a note to explain why my entries on this thread stopped rather abruptly: It is simply that I've been talking to Miro (SoulSonic Speakers) in private and I will maybe post more on the outcome of these talks in the future.

So, after some discussion we will be getting a special 'high efficiency' version of one of Miro's new 'Wave Speakers' a prototype of which can be seen at 'Mono & Stereo'.

I had the pleasure of listening a whole day to the Impulse at Totaldac's office. Having myself speakers that I (of course ) regard as being top notch, I looked to capture the errors in these weird looking speakers but in vain.
On the contrary, I think they are worth further investigation as i was in the end totally captivated by their sound: spaciousness, depth, veracity of timbre, very good focus, seemless integration between high/mid and low end and total lack of sense that anything is thrown at you. To sum up, a totally relaxed and most enjoyable listen!

At their price of course they are somehow supposed to answer all these criteria... but would they beat my Rockport Avior? Impossible to say as the acoustic characteristics of Totaldac's room is radically different from my room but very enjoyable as well because it was also purpose-built. But I might certainly want to give it a try one day...

very, very interesting soulsonic. Normally, they are so radical...i would have wondered if they were designed differently...simply to look different for marketing purposes. But given the extraordinary feedback from enjoy the music and mono and stereo...and now your own personal experience, i am intrigued. Unfortunately, not too many places to hear them. what were they using to drive the speakers and which model did they have?

When I came in, Vincent from Totaldac was driving them with a 25-watt SET mono amp from Voxativ. That sounded very fluid but pretty much limited the Soulsonic speaker as the room is pretty big. On top, like myself, Vincent loves classical music and listening to a piano concerto is not the forte of such configuration.

Then we hooked on the Tenor Audio 350M amps that I had brought along. They transformed completely into an utterly capable transducer in a way I (and Vincent if I am allowed to speak for him) was not expecting and as described above.

If I were in the market for new speakers (first would need to sell my Aviors , offers are welcome ), I would hop on some cheap flight to Slovenia and get to see and hear Soulsonic in situ. I did the same with another brand in Berlin a year or two ago and it costed me 100 EUR back and forth in a day... If you are in the market to spend that amount of money, then this is not an exaggerated thing to do, on the contrary. Except if you are going for the red carpet brands with dealers and importers all over the place...

flyer said:

When I came in, Vincent from Totaldac was driving them with a 25-watt SET mono amp from Voxativ. That sounded very fluid but pretty much limited the Soulsonic speaker as the room is pretty big. On top, like myself, Vincent loves classical music and listening to a piano concerto is not the forte of such configuration.

Then we hooked on the Tenor Audio 350M amps that I had brought along. They transformed completely into an utterly capable transducer in a way I (and Vincent if I am allowed to speak for him) was not expecting and as described above.

If I were in the market for new speakers (first would need to sell my Aviors , offers are welcome ), I would hop on some cheap flight to Slovakia and get to see and hear Soulsonic in situ. I did the same with another brand in Berlin a year or two ago and it costed me 100 EUR back and forth in a day... If you are in the market to spend that amount of money, then this is not an exaggerated thing to do, on the contrary. Except if you are going for the red carpet brands with dealers and importers all over the place...

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fantastic...great feedback. will make an effort to go hear them at some point. thanks.

flyer said:

When I came in, Vincent from Totaldac was driving them with a 25-watt SET mono amp from Voxativ. That sounded very fluid but pretty much limited the Soulsonic speaker as the room is pretty big. On top, like myself, Vincent loves classical music and listening to a piano concerto is not the forte of such configuration.

Then we hooked on the Tenor Audio 350M amps that I had brought along. They transformed completely into an utterly capable transducer in a way I (and Vincent if I am allowed to speak for him) was not expecting and as described above.

If I were in the market for new speakers (first would need to sell my Aviors , offers are welcome ), I would hop on some cheap flight to Slovenia and get to see and hear Soulsonic in situ. I did the same with another brand in Berlin a year or two ago and it costed me 100 EUR back and forth in a day... If you are in the market to spend that amount of money, then this is not an exaggerated thing to do, on the contrary. Except if you are going for the red carpet brands with dealers and importers all over the place...

Click to expand...

For a fraction of the price the GT Audioworks speakers will outperform them.
They have rave reviews check them out at www.GTAudioworks.com

Audio_Karma said:

Has anyone here heard these speakers yet?

http://www.soulsonicspeakers.com/about.html

Click to expand...

Audio_Karma said:

Has anyone here heard these speakers yet?

http://www.soulsonicspeakers.com/about.html

Click to expand...

Heard them - two different Impulse models - during two listening sessions before Covid lockdowns....deep emotional experience, really extraordinary. They definitely carry proper name, I.e.Soulsonic speakers. Recently their quality was "reconfirmed" by Nagra audio stating: "Great sound" hearing them playing " Nagra 70th anniversary LP " on YouTube. You can only imagine their sound in reality...the speakers to be seriously considered.