In my opinion there was no fundamental difference. The overall gestalt is similar and the trick that the O series pulls off comes through with both designs, i.e. they immerse you and let you forget about everything except the music. This is what I got in Munich, but also at home. Of course you do get more of everything with the O/Ref, bandwidth, dynamics, tone, control, etc. I love the bronze details of the O/Ref, I think it is a fantastic material for audio in the right applications.Was there a fundamental difference between what you heard from the O/Ref set and what you heard from the O/96 at home? I ask, because I can only assume you were expecting a lot of what you liked from the Ref to pass on with the 96 (albeit with two less woofers and different drivers, etc) Thanks
Indeed, that was my takeaway as well. Overall they still were lovely speakers and I am absolutely sure their shortcomings with complex material will be much better with the O/Ref due to better drivers and cabinet construction.It's surely going to be nigh on impossible to run these effectively "double width" spkrs with plenty of freedom to side walls.
I'm running more conventional 12" wide spkrs, and anything less than 18" to side walls was audibly negative (I have the luxury of 48").
It just sounds like they were too cramped in your space, and need at least 20' of room width.
How long did you let them run in? There is a massive difference between brand new O/96's and those with 600+ hrs on them. Out of the box my O/96's sounded nothing like the ones John takes to shows. But with time for the beefy surrounds to loosen up they become sublime. And I do understand that proper run in won't fix a room configuration issue.They lead me to purchase a pair of 0/96 right after the show, which unfortunately didn't work out too well in my room.
Bought them second hand, well run in!How long did you let them run in? There is a massive difference between brand new O/96's and those with 600+ hrs on them. Out of the box my O/96's sounded nothing like the ones John takes to shows. But with time for the beefy surrounds to loosen up they become sublime. And I do understand that proper run in won't fix a room configuration issue.
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