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Thumb5's system
#11
The Guarneri Evolution was an obvious option: on paper, at least, it's the path of least resistance.

I was lucky enough to have a pair on loan for a couple of weeks.  As it turned out, it didn't take anything like that long to realise that these were not the speakers I was looking for.

They certainly ticked the box for substantial bass, no doubt about it.  They are beautifully finished, and look good, although I'm not totally convinced that Sf haven't overdone the bling a little.  The problem for me is that they just didn't have that magical, airy treble that I'm used to with the Homage.

My listening notes are full of words like "mellow", "dark", "weighty" and "solid", and end with:

Quote:They are giving me the bass I want, but with the loss of some treble air, openness, brilliance, attack, or magic - call it what you will.  Imaging is very good - wide, and solid.  They are very smooth and “easy to listen to” and may be technically more accurate than the Homage.  

Ultimately, it’s a no.  They are undoubtedly very good loudspeakers, but I couldn’t live with the feeling that I was missing something.

One down, two to go.
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
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#12
Being candid, the Accordos made it onto the list simply because they're designed by Franco Serblin and look gorgeous in the pictures I'd seen.  My heart said I must consider them.  In my head, though, I must admit I was sceptical.  They are so tiny -- even compared to the Guarneri Homage -- that I thought they couldn't really do a better job in the bass.  I'd also read a few reviews that suggested they were a bit of a curate's egg: "very sensitive to amplifier matching", "only good for chamber music and jazz", you get the picture.

Anyway, I was convinced to try a pair, and had them at home for a couple of weeks together with the G Evo.

At first listen, I was instantly back in familiar territory.  To cut a long story short, these are like the Guarneri Homage fifteen years on.  As might be expected.

My listening notes include:

Quote:These sound very similar to the G Homage + Gravis, without the faff of a sub and with perhaps an even clearer, airier, more open presentation.  They do a creditable job with loud and nasty rock music.  Imaging is very good, at least on a par with the G Evo if not better.  They are very good all round, except for large-scale orchestral tracks which can sound a bit mushy in the bass - i.e. you can’t easily follow the lines of the cello, bass, etc. independently.  They image extraordinarily well.  If I had to buy a direct replacement today for the G Homage, this would be it, without a doubt.

There is much more bass coming out of these tiny boxes than there should be, and it suffers a little bit from port resonances being picked up by room modes, I suppose...there’s just a touch of “one-note-ness” to it at times.

Drums are not entirely convincing.  That mid-range and imaging is completely addictive, though…if someone said I had to live with these for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t complain.

I can't emphasise enough how beautiful the Accordos are in the flesh.  Lovely craftsmanship, and so elegant.  They almost disappear visually because the aggressively-tapered body is hidden by the dark baffle.  My wife loved them too.

I listened to them very happily for a week or so thinking:

Quote:I wonder whether I prefer these to both the G Evo and the G Homage, but perhaps they’re not different enough from the G Homage to make it worth the switch…if I bought a pair I’d be happy listening to them, but they don’t quite satisfy the brief.

Then the penny dropped: they have a SAM profile!  A few minutes with the configurator, and I'd enabled it.

Quote:Wow! Bass is tighter, room modes have “gone away”!  Can follow bass/drums /much/ better.

Not only is the bass improved, but something good has happened in the mid-range and treble too.  SAM seems to have locked something into place that I hadn't realised was even wrong.

The second week with them was just spent playing music, and enjoying every minute of it.  Very often I found myself thinking: how is it possible to get that bass out of those tiny boxes?  Truly amazing.

The Accordos are an absolute gem.  They're not cheap, but taking inflation into account they cost a little less  than the Gaurneri Homage.  With SAM, they sound so much more accomplished.  For me, they knock spots off the G Evo.  I was sad to let them go back.
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
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#13
Finally, the Kaiser Chiara.  Rather an off-piste option at first glance, because Kaiser are not primarily a loudspeaker-making business.  What I'd read about the Chiaras in the few on-line reviews I could find was all positive, though.  Perhaps more to the point, they seemed to be designed by a very experienced engineer (Rainer Weber) who had interesting ideas about the right way to design a very good stand-mount speaker, and wasn't having to build it within an arbitrary price range.

As it turned out, these were the first speakers from my short list that I listened to, and the last.  I had two home demos, the best part of a day each, but separated by about a month.  (The G Evos and Accordos were at home for two weeks in between.)

First impressions were very positive:

Quote:More bass! - darker sound than I’m used to
Some warmth in the upper bass, lots of body to (eg) classical guitar
Faithless sounds great
Orchestral (Janacek) very well balanced, organ solo excellent
Timing e.g. on Jens Felger is excellent - guitar sounds very natural, attach on percussive notes is good
System sounds cleaner, tighter, faster, more lively.

(These comments are the first time I've listened to different speakers in my home system for fourteen years, remember.)

There seemed to be nothing not to like!  I listened to most of my test tracks and was thoroughly impressed.  This was a really good speaker, based on one day's listening.

Time passed, during which I spent two weeks with the Evos and Accordos.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, I began to doubt my memory of the Chiaras -- were they really as good as I had thought?  Did they have the same sense of air and openness that I'd found lacking in the G Evos?  And, given that they definitely have a more "technical" look to them, would my wife be happy after seeing them in the flesh?  In short, were they worth the extra cost over the Accordos?

The obvious way to answer these nagging questions was to have another demo, back-to-back with the Accordos.  The dealer was kind enough to agree.  By the way, it's no fun moving these speakers around: they may be stand-mounts but they are not light - the case with two speakers is about 100 kg!

The second listen very quickly confirmed that these are really great speakers, for my taste.  They just don't do anything wrong, as far as I can tell.  There is no SAM profile to experiment with, but even without that their bass is tight, well-defined and goes plenty low enough for me.  And I am hearing the air that I wanted to:

Quote:Miles Gurtu: Golden Rust @ -32dB: excellent - bass sounds great, good layering
D’Angleo: Playa Playa/Devil’s Pie @ -29dB: - lovely cymbals and finger snaps, bass is tight, vocals not too sibilant
Janacek: Glagolitic Mass - Veruju (5:00-ish) @ -18dB: really excellent, full-bodied, realistic vocals, doesn’t get befuddled
Bruford: Nerve @ -25dB: tight, dense, solid, controlled
Porcupine Tree: Halo @ -32dB: tight! cymbals sound great - plenty of air, but controlled
Gary Willis: The Everlasting Night (No Sweat) - very good
Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time - excellent, cello sounds great!

Seem to take a lot more drive than the Accordos for the same volume level?
Overall impression is slightly "drier", more accurate than the Accordos.  Less emotional, more intellectual?
Sound is open and airy.  Not “sweet” but equally not at all harsh.
Bass is tight, controlled, deep.
Imaging and timing are very good.
Work very well at low volumes too.

An easy decision, then?  Not so fast...
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
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#14
At this point I had ruled out the Guarneri Evolution, but before rushing into a decision between the Accordos and Chiaras I thought it would be a good idea to do some listening tests when I went back to the Guarneri Homage.

So, switching back to the Guarneri Homage after continuously listening to other speakers for more than two weeks, I wrote:

Quote:Miles Gurtu: Golden Rust @ -32dB: what’s there sounds great, but the bass is definitely missing - imaging less precise, though sound stage is wide/high
Porcupine Tree: Halo @ -32dB: there’s no bass/drums! cymbals aren’t as clear as on either the Accordos or Chiaras - a little splashy?
Bruford: Nerve @ -25dB: sounds clear, airy, tight but a little lightweight - drums have not much impact
Senser: Time Travel Scratch @ -32dB: clean but bass/drums are lacking weight
D’Angelo: Playa Playa @ -32dB: finger snaps sound slightly “soft-edged”?

OK, guilty as charged: this all needs bass to sound good.  But the point is, there was no “oh my goodness, why am I thinking of upgrading” revelation.  That was reassuring -- except for the implications to my wallet.  What really surprised me, though, is that the G Homage actually sounded a tiny bit rough-edged compared to what I'd become used to.  I suppose nearly fifteen years of treble driver evolution are bound to show!

The decision was between the Accordos and Chiaras, then.

Pros and cons for the Accordo:

+ sounds very good
+ looks very good
+ less expensive

- depends on SAM to sound its best
- "emotional" appeal of its sound may wear off?

Pros and cons for the Chiara:

+ sounds excellent
+ doesn't need SAM

- striking looks, but not obviously "pretty"
- more expensive

Tricky one.  It was a classic "head vs heart" decision in the end.  Much as I loved the Accordos, I felt that the Chiaras would prove a better choice in the long-term.  That was mainly because the Accordos needed SAM to get close to the sound quality of the Chiaras: all very well while I have a Devialet amplifier, but that could change (not that I have any plans).

I eventually made up my mind and decided to order a pair of Chiaras at the end of November last year.  Since Kaiser offer a large range of finishes, the speakers are built to order and there can be quite a delay before they arrive.  Mine turned up on Thursday Smile
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
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#15
Some great posts here, thoroughly enjoyed reading them......and of course the pictures will surely follow ;-)
Devialet 200 -- Roon Nucleus-- Sonus Faber Olympica 2 -- Tellurium Q Black Speaker Cables --
Chord Qutest -- Niimbus US5 Pro Headphone amp —HifiMan HEK, Abyss 1266TC
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
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#16
A couple of pictures:

[Image: IMG_0704_zpsjy00rvsx.jpg]

[Image: IMG_0706_zpsnkjrw1jn.jpg]

I'm afraid my photographic skills, such as they are, don't do them justice!  The veneer is ziricote (no, I'd never heard of it -- it comes from central America, apparently) with a piano gloss lacquer.  The front baffles are in the same veneer, but stained to an almost-black colour which blends well with the drivers.

So far I've just plonked them roughly in the right place and am keeping them fed with a continuous diet of music to run them in a bit.  Then I'll try to set them up properly.  Even so, they are already sounding superb -- even better than I had remembered.
Roon (Mac Mini), Wilson Benesch Full Circle, Expert 1000 Pro CI, Kaiser Chiara
Warwickshire, UK
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#17
They look amazing ........happy listening!
Devialet 200 -- Roon Nucleus-- Sonus Faber Olympica 2 -- Tellurium Q Black Speaker Cables --
Chord Qutest -- Niimbus US5 Pro Headphone amp —HifiMan HEK, Abyss 1266TC
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
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#18
Fantastic write-up and congrats on the new speakers they look fantastic!

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#19
Wow, great looking speakers, I'm sure they'll sound great as well! Smile

Congratulations Ian and thanks for sharing the process that lead you to your choice. I hope your wife likes them as well!
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#20
Hi Ian, could you post a pic of the front baffles?

I had to think about it for a while but it's come back to me now... I did actually see/hear some Kaiser speakers at Munich last year, in the totaldac room partnered with some pretty crazy looking Engström and Engström valve amps. Was very difficult to form a proper view of individual components but the sum total was rather special. 


Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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