Sonus Faber Aida

microstrip said:

What type of refurbishing are you referring to? Even the huge SoundLabs with their high-tech stators and doped Mylar diaphragm can not compete with Aida's in drive. I have listened to a friend's pair driven by DartZeel NH458 and at the levels we listened to the Crime of the Century the Quad's would fly ...

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A.wayne said:

Well i have heard 57's refurbed by wayne picquet and i can tell you db levels and drive would not be an Issue unless in a pretty large room ....

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microstrip said:

Just to remember that some people say that the TIR2 is a large improvement over the TYR, and is affecting the sales of the Valhalla.

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whart said:

That's the guy.

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Tonepub said:

Yeah, I had a pair of those. Sorry, still no deal. No major dynamics or bass extension to speak of. Wonderful playing small scale music at modest volume though.

Not even close to the Aidas or my Gamut S9s in any way. But, much less expensive.

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whart said:

Davey, you are asking me to remember what a system from 25 years ago sounded like, but I can try to do it, recognizing that this is filtered not only through my own listening biases but through the rosy glow of memory:
On the old Quad '57' system:
Midrange was just 'there'- natural, unconstrained, human voice was entirely without artifact, except what the recording brought to it, string tone marvelous, horns great within the limits of the system's ability to go loud (some dynamic constriction) and scale- (image size constriction); orchestra worked only in miniature, for both of those reasons, but fine as far as it went. With a sub, there was always discontinuity; I didn't crossover the Quads, I just ran the sub in tandem, because I didn't want the Quads to be filtered through a crossover; the ribbons added air and didn't really bother me as much as the woofer. Adding the rear channels was a hit or miss affair, on some recordings it worked, on others it didn't. When it worked, as the late, great Chuck Lamonica said, when he heard it (a great, characterful, sweet guy who was very much part of the NY audio community who sadly passed away back in around 1991), 'you could kiss every note.'
Compared to what i am running today:
the midrange is just as coherent and unconstrained, at far greater equipment cost, compared to that old system- so that makes the old system crazy good for the money; these days, i have dynamics and an effortlessness with the horns that is much closer to real music on any program material beyond simple human voice and basic instruments (even a small combo, especially horns and drums, can really tax a system); I still have bass integration issues (although better with the latest line stage and phono stage and cabling, but at a cost for those components alone that exceeds by far, the cost of the old system).

The punchline: I could easily live with a Quad 57-based system with the right associated equipment. And whether the current rig I am running is really worth the X factor in cost is probably debatable. I think anybody listening to the two side by side would probably say the current system gets their vote. And, there's probably less 'murk' in the current system, owing to improvements in phono playback and electronics, but even that may be less pronounced than I'm imagining, sitting here thinking about it 25 years later- the Quads weren't a model of efficiency and the noise floor was different than working with 104db horns, so it is essential that I get the 'muck' out of the current system for me to live with it. The Quads probably filtered that stuff, partly through (in)efficiency and restricted bandwidth.
I think that's a fair summary.

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turntable said:

I have heard that to, but I have not actually read where anyone has long term owned Tyr ic or sc and compared. I have just read they are fuller - hard to tell if real performance increase or part of marketing cycle.

I have Tyr speaker cable and 6m ic between pre and power. I have no desire to go to Tyr 2, it will be used Valhalla next to go with my Valhalla phono cable, ic's and PC's.
In fact I have a Tyr phono cable in transit now at close out prices of 50% off - happy with that.

Cheers

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MylesBAstor said:

Guess I'm just not a Quad 57 fanboy. Way too limited speaker. Does 1 thing well and a lot more wrong. But what bothers me the most (and I've heard stock and modded), is that it sounds like you're listening through a mail slot. I think we tend to look at some older products with rosé colored glasses and I think today's stats are worlds better.

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MylesBAstor said:

Guess I'm just not a Quad 57 fanboy. Way too limited speaker. Does 1 thing well and a lot more wrong. But what bothers me the most (and I've heard stock and modded), is that it sounds like you're listening through a mail slot. I think we tend to look at some older products with rosé colored glasses and I think today's stats are worlds better.

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Tonepub said:

Yeah, I had a pair of those. Sorry, still no deal. No major dynamics or bass extension to speak of. Wonderful playing small scale music at modest volume though.

Not even close to the Aidas or my Gamut S9s in any way. But, much less expensive.

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DaveyF said:

turntable, I'm in the same boat as you, awaiting the Tyr phono cable. Did you have yours burned in, as this does make a pretty big difference. BTW, I have heard the Tyr 2 ( albeit not for an extended listen) and while I would say it is slightly ( very slightly) more capable in the bottom end, I wasn't bowled over by the difference. Plus, I think Nordost has actually cheapened the connector's in the new line. Wouldn't be the 1st time that a high-end manufacturer has cheapened the quality in their line only to claim it superior.

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turntable said:

Hi Davey

I just received the Tyr phono cable today. Now on the TW AC-3. No burn in, I'll do it the old way - by playing LP's.

Yes, I noticed the cheaper rca connectors. No more wbt, only on Valhalla and Odin. I don't need any additional bass weight, so happy with the original Tyr's, especially at 50% off and wbt RCA's.

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turntable said:

Hi Davey

I just received the Tyr phono cable today. Now on the TW AC-3. No burn in, I'll do it the old way - by playing LP's.

Yes, I noticed the cheaper rca connectors. No more wbt, only on Valhalla and Odin. I don't need any additional bass weight, so happy with the original Tyr's, especially at 50% off and wbt RCA's.

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