FM Acoustics XS Speakers

Elberoth · Feb 7, 2013

FrantzM said:
Underlying this is the audiophile tendency to equate price with performance. IOW if it is that expensive it must be good ... Since FMA occupies likely the exosphere when it comes to pricing then performance must reside in the same stratum

Very good point. The problem with FMA is that there are very few (if any !) independent reviews comparing the FMA to other gear (at least in english or german), chence it is very difficoult to say how this gear really compares sonic wise to the other top-end gear.

The only review I can recall, was published in German AUDIO back in 1990s and in that review, the German magazine did not find it to be 'superior to anything in existence' - as many FMA fans like to claim.

The price was 10x lower back then as well (that was when they were still selling in Europe, before they discovered that ppl in Asia have more money than common sense).

andromedaaudio · Feb 7, 2013

Imagine for that money one can buy 4 Boulder 3050 mono amps plus go on a nice worldtrip , what would i choose

Or buy a new ferrari 458 italia plus a secondhand lamborghini , or ....... go for the almost empty box ???

Steve Williams · Feb 7, 2013

Christian

I understand your gut instinct. I've had people make the same comments about the insides of my $145K amp however it's my ears which decides not the looks of the internals. I've never heard the XS speaker but would very much want to

Frantz in no way am I making the assumption that FMA must be good or the best because it is so expensive.

To my ears their electronics sound wonderful. Can't say much more than that except my Lamm is a keeper.

LL21 · Feb 7, 2013

FrantzM said:
LLoyd

A friend of mine had FMA. heard it and it was good but not superior to anything and everything I heard then. My point is not so much that they could be good. They likely are. IT is the automatic assumption that they are better. So you find Audiophiles with superlative equipment deferring quasi-automatically to FMA without having heard it one either in their system nor a system with which they are familiar ... Underlying this is the audiophile tendency to equate price with performance. IOW if it is that expensive it must be good ... Since FMA occupies likely the exosphere when it comes to pricing then performance must reside in the same stratum

Still waiting to know what makes the XS so superior ...

I am with you Frantz...i'll truly believe it when i have heard it for myself...i admit i am very intrigued however, when people like Gary Koh whom i trust has said FMA amps are fantastic. For the moment, i am not fussed about the cost...mainly because it aint in my bracket so i have no reason to consider buying it. nevertheless from the standpoint of 'all the hype'...i admit to being curious. Just like i am curious to hear the mighty Arrakis and Q7 when i am in Boston.

microstrip · Feb 7, 2013

FrantzM said:
Syeve

... FMA are likely very good. Calling them THE best is to me a stretch from hearing them in a show. An alien environment. BTW Lamm is expensive at the very top but these days the price of the second tier Lamm would be said to be almost "normal" what with the 18-watts SET at less than $40K... ...

Frantz,

This is an interesting subject. How can we say that a system is some of the best we have listened to just based on a few listening sessions in non ideal conditions?

Consider this example. I have the feeling that the TheSonusfaber, at some time called Fenice, is one of the best, if not the best speaker I have listened to. Although I never listened to it in ideal conditions - the demo was carried in a room that was non ideal and not adequate to such large speaker. However, used with SOTA equipment it was able to reproduce some aspects of my usual test recordings with a lifelike similitude that I could not find in any other system. I re-listened in another room for a shorter session and my opinion become stronger.

I think when a system plays exceptionally well, we are able to overcome most of the limitations that surround the system. And this exceptionally well is not in the bass, middle or high frequencies - it is in the systematic suspension of disbelief.

andromedaaudio · Feb 7, 2013

I am not an electronics expert , but looking at the internal pics elberoth showed, your looking at a couple 1000 $$ at the most i reckon , the aluminium cnc d anodized box 1 K at the most , then asking 420 K $$ for that is just way out of line in my opinion .
No matter how good it sounds , i personally would not want to buy such a brand

Elberoth · Feb 7, 2013

andromedaaudio - I'm with you on that one, although in all fairness to FMA, $420k is the cost of TWO monoblocks and a preamp. Not that it changes much though ...

andromedaaudio · Feb 7, 2013

Mysteries sell , just making a good or even excelent product doesnt get you the stratopheric status , even in the 21 th century

LL21 · Jun 1, 2013

Hi Wizard,

For those of us who do not have the opportunity to hear these speakers, (and even less opportunity to buy them, as I believe to buy these, you first need to be an owner of FM electronics...)...could you compare them to other SOTA speakers? I look at those speakers, not knowing what's inside, and my first question is, relative to cost, is this speaker going to be able to produce the dynamic range and effortless power of an Alexandria/Grande Utopia, the speed of a great panel (Genesis), the unique invisibility for a box like a Q7 (I've only heard Q5)? What is it for you that places this speaker above so many others? At this pricepoint, a speaker ought to have a near-matchless magic about it that appeals...not magic in EVERYTHING, but usually there is magic that makes it stand above the rest in this area which is what drives certain audiophiles to consider it their SOTA speaker of choice.

Thanks for sharing, as I suspect many of us are curious about FMA...and unfortunately speaking for myself, til I can find someone in close proximity who has something to hear, reading descriptions like these are what is helpful insight until that time. I do intend to hear FMA.

Dave_A · Jun 15, 2013

wizard said:
Pictures from the 1st meeting of FMA Users Society in March.

Wow, where was this at?

LL21 · Jun 15, 2013

Hi Wizard,

Cool stuff. How do the Giyas compare with the XS?

Elberoth · Jun 15, 2013

I bet Gayas are better

LL21 · Jun 16, 2013

wizard said:
Vivid sounded excellent with FMA 711II and 268 - reminds me of the sound at Highend 2013 with CH A1 and C1.
Musical/organic relaxed not bright sound - no fatigue here.

No they are not at XS sound level, but they costs much less.

Thanks for that, seems you like the Giyas quite a bit. Good to know. Am going to be hearing G3s within a week at a new dealer.

Lloyd

Dave_A · Jun 17, 2013

Dave_A said:
Wow, where was this at?

?

Dave_A · Jun 18, 2013

wizard said:
Seoul.

Duo sound has more energy than the relaxed Vivid G1, but not bright.
FMA was a great match with both, G1 sound very bright and fatigue with wrong matching, but not here with FMA's musical/organic sound.

Oh ok, thanks. There wouldn't be anything like that here in the US, lol.

Cool, sounds good.

Jazzhead · Mar 25, 2014

zbub · Apr 10, 2014

FWIW, the largest audio magazine (AudioArt) did review the XS1 driven by 268 pre and a pair of 1811 amps a few years back. Granted Taiwan is not a large country with only 23 million population, but considering this magazine can be seen at every book store around the country, it may actually has a higher circulation than Stereophile or TAS.
This reviewer reviews all the top highend stuff, and a simple summary of the review is that the reviewer felt he was so ignorant through his decades of reviewing for not knowing such sound and music was capable from any hi fi system. And he also said FM Acoustics performs its best as a "complete system" as substituting only the 268 pre for example does not even come close to what the whole system can bring.

zbub · Apr 10, 2014

But per my personal auditions with FM Acoustics at shows and at a store in Taipei, I have mixed feeling about FM Acoustics. I do own an FM 611X amp right now (driving Wilson Alexandria 2's), which was upgraded from FM 411, which was upgraded from Rowland. I do like the FM amps a lot, and this came from comparisons between 411 and ARC and Ayre monoblocks some years back to fully convince me to purchase the amp. But as a full FM system (XS 1 and 2 speakers; 266 and 268 pres; 411, 611, 1811 amps) I thought the sound was really good but not exceptionally so, especially considering the price. Even if I have the money will I pay triple the retail amount as the Alexandria 2s? Probably not.

Elberoth · May 18, 2014

DonH50 · May 18, 2014

^^^ Reverse-firing drivers?

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