Fortunately the local UPS collects from home when I ship and I have a few wheeled platforms laying around ...
Ron's Speaker, Turntable, Power and Room Treatment Upgrades
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Fortunately the local UPS collects from home when I ship and I have a few wheeled platforms laying around ...
Saturday morning musing:
I ordered the Gryphon Pendragon loudspeakers almost four years ago. Since then I have developed a greater appreciation for, and listened to more, jazz music and classical music. Jazz music and classical music definitely were not focuses of mine when we listened to the Pendragons in Denmark.
In the last four years I have developed a greater appreciation for the importance of the tone and body of acoustic instruments in audio reproduction. My friends with vintage or horn or concentric driver-type systems which reproduce particularly realistically the tone of acoustic instruments has allowed me to better understand and to better appreciate the importance of this sonic attribute to the suspension of disbelief. in the last four years I have had the opportunity to learn about, and to hear, many horn loudspeakers which I was unfamiliar with four years ago.
I have developed a greater appreciation of the benefit of driver-to-driver coherency in a loudspeaker. I like the coherence and holistic organicness I hear from Tannoy and Fyne concentric drivers, and from the wide-band driver of the PBN M2!M Jeff Tyo Special Edition. The biggest weakness of a two-way, four column system like the Pendragon with radically different driver topologies is the coherence of the drivers -- and the columns -- into a unified, organic, sonic whole.
In addition, during the last four years, I have crystallized upon the personal view that low sensitivity loudspeaker designs sacrifice more in dynamics and jump factor than I recognized previously. This is why I feel like I am "over and done with" many low-sensitivity/multi-way driver/complex cross-over/traditional box speakers. The Magnepan MG-IIIA was my first loudspeaker. I would not buy a 86dB sensitivity loudspeaker today. The Pendragon is a relatively low-sensitivity planar design.
Finally, I believe that the manufacturers of dynamic driver loudspeakers have not stood still in the last four years. The Wilson Audio XVX is the first dynamic driver loudspeaker I have heard that puts me on the same indifference curve with the planars I have always preferred. As someone who has owned only planar loudspeakers since 1988 this is, for me, a pretty dramatic development.
No loudspeaker is perfect. Every design is a compromise on one or more sonic parameters. I believe that some loudspeakers make easier the suspension of disbelief with certain types of music than with other types of music.
It will be very interesting to see how I feel about the Pendragon in light of these personal developments and evolving preferences and competing speaker manufacturer innovations. I remain absolutely confident of the Pendragon’s ability on vocals. But will it be able to perform as creditably on other genres of music? Time will tell . . .
I ordered the Gryphon Pendragon loudspeakers almost four years ago. Since then I have developed a greater appreciation for, and listened to more, jazz music and classical music. Jazz music and classical music definitely were not focuses of mine when we listened to the Pendragons in Denmark.
In the last four years I have developed a greater appreciation for the importance of the tone and body of acoustic instruments in audio reproduction. My friends with vintage or horn or concentric driver-type systems which reproduce particularly realistically the tone of acoustic instruments has allowed me to better understand and to better appreciate the importance of this sonic attribute to the suspension of disbelief. in the last four years I have had the opportunity to learn about, and to hear, many horn loudspeakers which I was unfamiliar with four years ago.
I have developed a greater appreciation of the benefit of driver-to-driver coherency in a loudspeaker. I like the coherence and holistic organicness I hear from Tannoy and Fyne concentric drivers, and from the wide-band driver of the PBN M2!M Jeff Tyo Special Edition. The biggest weakness of a two-way, four column system like the Pendragon with radically different driver topologies is the coherence of the drivers -- and the columns -- into a unified, organic, sonic whole.
In addition, during the last four years, I have crystallized upon the personal view that low sensitivity loudspeaker designs sacrifice more in dynamics and jump factor than I recognized previously. This is why I feel like I am "over and done with" many low-sensitivity/multi-way driver/complex cross-over/traditional box speakers. The Magnepan MG-IIIA was my first loudspeaker. I would not buy a 86dB sensitivity loudspeaker today. The Pendragon is a relatively low-sensitivity planar design.
Finally, I believe that the manufacturers of dynamic driver loudspeakers have not stood still in the last four years. The Wilson Audio XVX is the first dynamic driver loudspeaker I have heard that puts me on the same indifference curve with the planars I have always preferred. As someone who has owned only planar loudspeakers since 1988 this is, for me, a pretty dramatic development.
No loudspeaker is perfect. Every design is a compromise on one or more sonic parameters. I believe that some loudspeakers make easier the suspension of disbelief with certain types of music than with other types of music.
It will be very interesting to see how I feel about the Pendragon in light of these personal developments and evolving preferences and competing speaker manufacturer innovations. I remain absolutely confident of the Pendragon’s ability on vocals. But will it be able to perform as creditably on other genres of music? Time will tell . . .
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Two different points on the same indifference curve means that while each point has a different set of positives and negatives each point nets out to the same utilitarian or economic -- or in this case sonic -- value.
There's no doubt Ron that there is a real risk. You haven't heard the Pendragons in...years?
And you've heard some spkrs subsequently that speak to you in a holistic "of a voice" fashion, like the XVX.
Yes, you COULD find the Pendragons don't compare fully favourably.
And you've heard some spkrs subsequently that speak to you in a holistic "of a voice" fashion, like the XVX.
Yes, you COULD find the Pendragons don't compare fully favourably.
Time will tell?
Ron on his deathbed decades from now, "now that I hear them, I wish I would have had different speakers in storage."
Ron on his deathbed decades from now, "now that I hear them, I wish I would have had different speakers in storage."
Ron's AS2000, Pendragons etc in crates is the ultimate ultimate adult version of the kid with his wrapped Christmas presents under the tree.
One day Ron is gonna have to unwrap/uncrate...and make sure he still likes the bike he's revealed.
One day Ron is gonna have to unwrap/uncrate...and make sure he still likes the bike he's revealed.
I would not sweat it, Ron. Look at the IRS V, Apogee Grand, mighty Silbatones, the X1/Grand SLAMM, the Arrakis...these are 30-60 year old speakers of the past whose legendary performance is still remarkable by modern day standards. Might you prefer something newer than these? Of course...in your case, the Pendragons. But significantly prefer something only 4 years later? There is ALWAYS something around the corner...and yes, when well designed then they DO provide some things which are different, in some cases better.
But when you then layer on the enormous complexity of 'the system'...source, amplification, room, isolation, integration, setup...and personal choice...I find it hard to believe you wont be thrilled with the Pendragons given that all of your incredibly selective choices have been made with your ear and expressly with the Pendragons firmly in mind (ie, coming back to the concept of 'system').
You have built a system that incorporates your Pendragons as the head of that flagship. And those choices will undoubtedly play to the strengths of that mighty speaker which you've raved about as your personal 'dream design' for FIVE years (at least).
But when you then layer on the enormous complexity of 'the system'...source, amplification, room, isolation, integration, setup...and personal choice...I find it hard to believe you wont be thrilled with the Pendragons given that all of your incredibly selective choices have been made with your ear and expressly with the Pendragons firmly in mind (ie, coming back to the concept of 'system').
You have built a system that incorporates your Pendragons as the head of that flagship. And those choices will undoubtedly play to the strengths of that mighty speaker which you've raved about as your personal 'dream design' for FIVE years (at least).
Not having heard the Pendragons, this is what comes to mind:
There are of course competing schools of thought in loudspeaker design, and the fullest expressions of these competing schools of thought show up in the top models from those few companies which create genuine engineering-department "no holds barred" designs (as opposed to "marketing-department" no-holds-barred designs). And it certainly looks to me like the Pendragons are the fullest expression of one of those schools of thought.
I tend to look at speaker design through the lense of room interaction, and it looks to me like the Pendragons do a LOT of things right in that regard. Their line-source-approximating characteristics essentially eliminate undesirable floor and ceiling interactions, and the dipole nature of their panels (combined with the approximately omni-in-the-horizontal-plane behavior of the woofer towers down low) promises spectrally-correct reverberant energy to a degree more conventional speakers seldom if ever approach. Imo this matters because minimizing the spectral discrepancy between the first-arrival and reverberant sound promotes natural timbre and long-term fatigue-free listening. I would guess that the Pendragons do fewer things wrong than many other competing designs, and my perception is that fine gradations in preference between competing excellent loudspeaker designs often come down to which presents the fewest distractions to the suspension of disbelief.
There are design details which obviously cannot be evaluated from my perch behind a computer screen, but the basic configuration of the Pendragons looks extremely well thought-out to me.
I agree, Duke, obviously. I love the technical design of the speakers. I even like where Flemming placed the crossover.
The Infinity IRS V is the loudspeaker that offered me my first religious experience of an audio nature, and tractor beamed me into this hobby. It is a fitting book-end for me personally that Flemming designed the Pendragon conscientiously as a simpler, more contemporary version of the IRS V.
The Infinity IRS V is the loudspeaker that offered me my first religious experience of an audio nature, and tractor beamed me into this hobby. It is a fitting book-end for me personally that Flemming designed the Pendragon conscientiously as a simpler, more contemporary version of the IRS V.
I take it that there being another speaker - that there now is an indifference curve - is what is dramatic - that or the need to make a choice? Is it frustrating or challenging? I say defer to your changing values - the 'maturation' of your listening preferences. Don't let opportunity cost nag at you.
I can't think of many people who would have a 2die4 set of spkrs in crates, unaffordable to most, maximum effort expended to acquire...and be thinking of replacing them, or that they're not what's really wanted, before uncrating and having an extended listen.
I would say Lol...but this is no laughing matter...lol.
I would say Lol...but this is no laughing matter...lol.
He has heard them only once. So he can definitely go back to Denmark to listen, and on the way can meet Lagonda...Lmao
Agree no loudspeakers are perfect. I have a very high sensitivity horn system for rock,pop and demanding music and a low sensitivity system for vocal and acoustic audiophile music.owning a single pair of speakers will always be a compromise,that’s why I have two very different systems for different types of music.
As was said once, there's only two kinds of music...good and bad.
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