Heh, Heh! A slice of audiophile heaven. How do you get people to leave? You must have a bouncer.
Thank you for sharing. During my brief visit to Axpona this fall, the Alsyvox was by far the most realistic sounding system. Vast majority of rooms sounded like they had broken gear in comparison.
In that conference setting, they had the speaker far, far, far away from all the walls (and in a conference ballroom with a very high ceiling). How close to the walls do you have them in your shop? What's the ideal distance?
Also, which amplification sounds the best? How does the sound change when you go from solid state to tubes to SET? Kind of surprised, actually, that you used a SET. My initial gut reaction was that these things need Boulder-type of power, like Magnepans, to come alive. But obviously it's not the case. ...
Also, they only played the best recordings during the show. How forgiving is the system playing "normal" recordings?
Thanks
Interesting that he developed his ribbon concept with 300b amp. Flea powered amps and ribbons have typically been like oil and water or just an oxymoron. It's nice that Alsyvox has achieved this efficiency.
Give them a free 300b amp with every speaker purchase, Heh, Heh.
With my recently acquired and highly efficient BG 75 midrange ribbons operating in the 300-7KHz range, I have been introduced to the wonders of flea powered amps again with ribbons and it is quite something. I have adopted a 2A3 amp as a daily driver for this ribbon, and it works perfectly with 45 tube as well. 300b is overkill.
I used the flea powered amps as tweeter amps over the years, but can now use them for the midrange on this ribbon. The 50 watt Wavac 572b is reserved for vinyl, because it's richness and vitality go well, but the 2a3 wins on the awesome spooky effect for routine listening. How does it compare to flea powered and horns vs. efficient ribbon? I would say very well indeed.
I have to say that the flea powered amps remain unique in their ability to render layers, space, quicksilver transients, refinement etc. The 2A3 also has airiness and freshness for want of a better terminology.
Great videos bob. Wow the store looks amazing too. I plan too see you soon , I truly enjoyed our past visits. Your a very kind person and very knowledgeable. A rare find in ultra high end audio as many are filled with snobby looks and seem to just care about a sale and little to no support. The past video you were kind enough to share sounded amazing as well as looking great.
Al D
The Alsyvox can be as close to 1M from the back wall although I have tried them even at 1/2M and they still sound great, BUT when any of the Alsyvox models are about 1.5-2M from the back wall you get more layering on the 3D soundstage than you do if the speakers are placed closer to the back wall. [emphasis Duke's]
This observation is very interesting to me.
Let me ask you something about the 3D soundstage you get at 1.5 to 2 meters, if you don't mind: With a good recording, when you close your eyes, does it feel more like your room's boundaries are still present but further away; or does it feel more like you are enveloped in the soundscape on the recording itself?
Also, do you notice any change in clarity, relative to shorter distances?
Hi Duke,
We listen at about 9' from the speakers. You have a full 3D holographic soundstage. If you move up to about 6' you still have the same soundstage. Also off axis you still get the soundstage.
In my room, where I have been for 19 years, you do not observe the wall boundaries. There is a definite connection between sitting at 9' between you and the soundstage. NOT like you are sitting and looking at the soundstage that is between the speakers and the rear wall. It feels more like you are connected to the soundstage. As if you were sitting in a club with the music encompassing the room, but you can see where the musicians are standing/playing.
I don't notice much difference in clarity pretty much anywhere in the room.
I don't feel exactly comfortable with my explanation, if you heard the sound in my room maybe you would articulate it differently???
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply!
I'm a SoundLab dealer and I manufacture polydirectional speakers, so I think I understand everything you are saying. By the way, more than one person has told me at recent audio shows that the Alsyvox speakers were their favorites of the whole show. I am typically stuck in a room so I haven't heard them yet.
I see a correlation between distance from the wall and some really good things that dipoles can do, such as "It feels more like you are connected to the soundstage. As if you were sitting in a club with the music encompassing the room, but you can see where the musicians are standing/playing."
There seems to be a threshold around 10 milliseconds time delay on the arrival of the backwave, which falls right in the middle of your 1.5 to 2 meters observation, where the spatial cues which are on the recording become, for lack of better terminology, "more plausible to the ear" than the spatial cues inherent to the listening room. At that point I think the ear attaches the recording's spatial cues, rather than room's spatial cues, to the first-arrival sound. So the "sonic event" which we perceive now incorporates the recording venue's cues (whether real or engineered) rather than the playback room's cues. The perceptual result is imo a much bigger transformation than can be accounted for by the mere addition of a few more milliseconds to the backwave's bounce: I think there is a transition from "hearing the playback room" to "hearing the recording venue", again whether said venue's acoustics are real or engineered.
I think I also hear improved clarity at 1.5 to 2 meters, but maybe that's just me.
Anyway thank you very much for taking the time to reply. I think you sell magnificent equipment, and tip my virtual hat to Alsyvox in particular.
On another subject, couldn't help but notice in your avatar pic your multiple active woofers, arrayed asymmetrically in all three planes with the one to your right and the other elevated behind your left shoulder, both obviously incorporating plenty of damping material. Well done!
I would say that the Alsyvox differ from many other speakers as you can be standing in the back of the room against a side wall, where I stand a lot during shows, and it's like you are in a club, as I notice my feet tapping to the music as I would in a club type venue.
It is always better in the "sweet spot" of course but the sound is REALLY consistent around the room, EVEN standing behind the speakers.
Sitting here in my hotel room in Jersey on my last night here and completely forgot to schedule a visit.
This is true. I experience this “effect” every day and it’s so rewarding. At times instruments sound crazy realistic even when listening from the next room. My ex. speakers Avalon Time also did this but not nearly as good as Botticellis.I bet it still sounds good in the next room, listening through the open doorway, with no line-of-sight to the speakers! All you can hear would be the reflected sound, and I bet it still sounds FAR more realistic than from "conventional" speakers.
Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |