Vivid's new flagship Giya G1 "Spirit" launch in Chicago 11 Feb. 2017

Steroids have been banned and are illegal in this country. This is why I cannot, in good conscience, attend.

Kevin
I like your sense of humour !
warm regards

Philip
 

Rodney Gold

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Jan 29, 2014
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How did the launch go ..
Im keen to hear impressions of the G1S ...
 

sujay

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May 5, 2012
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How did the launch go ..
Im keen to hear impressions of the G1S ...
Hi Rodney,

I just got to know today that there is a launch scheduled in Johannesburg on March 8th if you would care to trek up here to the highveld.....the Spirits will be driven by a pair of VTL monos and Philip Guttentag is setting this up himself! Unless, of course, your speakers arrive before then.

In all seriousness, if you are keen do let me know and I will let the organizers know.

Cheers

Sujay
 

Rodney Gold

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Jan 29, 2014
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Hiya sujay
The same event is happening in CT on 02 March .. but had it not been so , I would have flown up
My set is scheduled for March delivery .. just finalised the colour today ..Copper.
 
We invited the press & some out of town guests to fly in on Friday and enjoy an intimate concert by Kyomi Audio's George Vatchnadze. The idea was to listen to George perform the Prokofiev 6’th Piano Sonata at his studio at the Music Department at DePaul University, then listen to the Exton DSD recording that night at his home on the Giya G1.


Vatchnadze performs.jpg
George playing one of the three Steinway B in his studio

After Beethoven completed his monumental 32 piano sonatas in the long form (four movements), most composers afterwards opted for the short form (single movement) to avoid comparison with the grand old man from Bonn.
Prokofiev’s sixth piano sonata was first performed in 1940, Europe was at war and most Russians felt that it was only a matter of time before they too would be dragged in. So it is no surprise that the Sixth Piano Sonata, the first of the War sonatas, has a profound vein of despair running through it. The Sixth is dominated by grinding dissonances and frequent modulation, further increasing the despair of the work. Throughout most of the movements, there is a lack of a key melody.
The first movement is explosive & disturbing, the second & third movements a little more melodic & romantic. George played this from memory. When we queried him afterwards if it was difficult to memorize, he said that the Rachmaninov Third Piano Concerto was in fact even more difficult, with over 25,000 notes for the piano alone.

Kyomi_Giya G1.jpg
Kyomi’s Giya G1 playing the Exton recorded DSD files of Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata #6 sounded stunning, playing through a Merging+ NADAC (behind the stool in the photo). George did extensive tube rolling wth Luxman’s EQ-500, TechDAS Airforce 3, Graham 9” Elite & a Koetsu rounded out the analog source.

Friday Night Musical Highlights were:
Chet Baker’s "Someday My Prince Will Come” recorded in Copenhagen in 1983.
Stan Getz Presents Jimmie Rowles ?– The Peacocks 1977 on Columbia
Oscar Peterson & Joe Pass - The Paris Concert 1978 on Pablo
George Vatchnadze performance / recording of Giya Kancheli’s 30 Miniatures for Piano. (To be released)

LD & Spirit.jpg
Laurence Dickie looking v pleased with his latest creation, the Giya G1 Spirit. Its 4" shorter than a G1 and almost 2" fatter by the woofers.

J Atjkinson.jpg
John Atkinson (editor of Stereophile) talking about his experiences with Laurence Dickie’s B&W & Vivid designs over the past two decades.

Spirit & Doug Schneider.jpg
Doug Schneider (editor, founder of SoundStage) was extremely articulate talking about his reviews of the B1, Giya G2 & the B1 Decade.

The final production Spirit, now with a rectangular external crossover only arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, so there was barely 100 hours on this pair. But the new mid-range woofer is noticeable in that it has considerably less distortion than its predecessor. Due to the addition of a carbon fiver stiffening ring (just like the tweeters) first harmonic distortion has been moved up from 4.3kHz over over 10kHz . Those huge 11" woofers sounded terrific on Bob Marley's duet with Lauryn Hill - "Turn Your Lights Down Low." My latest mono vinyl compilation "Mono Jazz" sounded terrific on both systems - check it out on Tidal - https://tidal.com/playlist/ae42c84b-9bec-46ee-a2c3-178c83b947b3
 
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Rodney Gold

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Jan 29, 2014
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Thanks Philip, sounds like it was a great event

I will have my 2 year old G1's and G1S's up alongside each other for a month ..It should be an interesting comparison...
 
Thanks Philip, sounds like it was a great event

I will have my 2 year old G1's and G1S's up alongside each other for a month ..It should be an interesting comparison...

Rodney

I don't doubt that you will be thrilled with the Spirit; Dic describes the Spirit has having seriously more shove over the classic G1. But the lower distortion on the mid-range will really capture your attention. All of the new woofers have twice the power handling & greater excursion, wider diameter voice coils. Next thing we are going to try is having the crossover cryo'd. From past experience it makes a big difference. Or else have the crossover zapped on a Tesla Coil, Synergistic Research have one.

I am sure you will be thrilled. We look forward to your comparison...

Philip
 

DaveyF

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Jul 31, 2010
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That review had a lot of warts!! Question is whether the speaker has them too, LOL.:D

Although IF the sound is anywhere near as good as the G1's and G2's I have heard, I would seriously doubt it.
 

Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
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Cape Town South Africa
Yeh... that was more warts than all..
However when I first heard the G1's at a somewhat compromised hotel demo , I was ambivilent and underwhelmed .. upon hearing them in a well sorted room with a very simple system (devialet) , I sprung for a pair.
 
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Joel,

Lovely colour; its a matte brown. What is it called ? You need to post more photos. How many hours do you have on the Spirit ?
warm regards

Philip
 

Joel

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Sep 13, 2013
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Hello Philip,

Indeed it's a Sahara Matte. I obviously need to post more photos. Just need to know how it's possible to post pictures without this horrible compression that makes all look like a iPhone shot...
They arrived a few days ago, so very very few hours right now. But it's already impressive compared to the original G1s... it seems the distortion threshold has been pushed far away. I know Laurence never releases something that should not be a real technical achievement, and this speaker sounds as a confirmation...

Best regards,

Joël

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ciie42hhjz1sh2r/DSC_3446.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n3mf22c9qijmwob/DSC_3454.JPG?dl=0
 
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Rodney Gold

Member
Jan 29, 2014
983
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Cape Town South Africa
Wow .. they look a lot smaller than the G1's
What are you driving them with?
 
Wow .. they look a lot smaller than the G1's
What are you driving them with?

Rodney
Spirit is approx 11cm shorter than the G1, but 4cm wider or stouter then the G1. In appearance it looks like a scaled up version of the G2. Personally I prefer the aesthetic of the Spirit / G2.
warm regards
Philip
 

cjf

Well-Known Member
Nov 19, 2012
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Im sure these new speakers will sound even better still without the old ones sitting next to them. If it sounds good now it can only get better from here when they stand by themselves
 

Joel

Well-Known Member
Sep 13, 2013
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www.audiophile-magazine.com
Im sure these new speakers will sound even better still without the old ones sitting next to them. If it sounds good now it can only get better from here when they stand by themselves

That was just some pics shot to highlight the comparison between regular G1s and Spirit...
Obviously listening tests are not performed with the speakers placed in this position. Do you think audio reviewers are so stupid ?
 

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